Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers International Union v. Mobil Oil Corp.

Section 8 (a) (3) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 452, as amended, 61 Stat. 140, 29 U. S. C. § 158 (a)(3), permits employers as a matter of federal law to enter into agreements with unions to establish union or agency shops.1 Section 14 (b) of the Act, 61 Stat. 151, 29 U. S. C. § 164 (b), however, allows individual States and Territories to exempt themselves from § 8 (a) (3) and to enact so-called “right-to-work” laws prohibiting union or agency shops.2 We must de*410cide whether, under § 14 (b), Texas’ right-to-work laws can void an agency-shop agreement covering unlicensed seamen…