BLACKLISTING. A method employed in various countries to place upon record for the guidance of others the names of persons or firms whom it might not be desirable to employ or to have business relations with. Lists of those against whom unsatisfied judg ments are standing, or whose credit is poor, or who have given chattel mortgages on stock in trade and lists of a similar nature have been published by mercantile agencies and are not only regarded as of great benefit to the busi ness world but also fair and lawful. The pub lisher or compiler of such list must be careful that, in printing a person's name, he do not subject himself to a libel suit. He must be able to prove that his statements about the blacklisted person are true, or that they were correctly transcribed from some public record, or that they constituted a fair and accurate report of some judicial proceeding, or that the information contained in the statements was secured in a privileged manner, such as a report of financial standing of a person or firm asking credit of another. But the black list is more widely known for its use in labor controversies. For many years railroads kept
lists of employees dismissed for any reason so that they could not be re-employed. Manufac turers and dealers who have formed an asso ciation or combination to control a certain line of industry have blacklisted others who refused to enter the association. The black list of the early period of labor controversies was a printed list of the names of workmen, circulated among employers, who had previ ously agreed not to employ those so listed. Labor unions have kept lists of non-union workmen with the object of preventing the laborers or of employers of non-union employment of the workmen or of boycotting the employer. Such lists are now termed a misdemeanor in the statutes of some States.
and offenders are punishable by a fine or im prisonment. The central offices of employers' associations keep a list from which informa tion regarding workmen is exchanged, thus coming within the law. See BLACKLIST; BOY con ; STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS; TRADE ISM ; LABOR LEGISLATION ; LIBEL ; CONSPIRACY.