Law and Intergenerational Relationships.

BACKGROUND

In any aging society, the sociolegal construction of intergenerational relationships is of great importance. This study conducts an international comparison of a specific judicial issue: whether active labor unions have the legal right to strike for the purpose of improving the benefits given to nonactive workers (specifically, pensioners).

METHOD

A comparative case law methodology was used. The texts of three different Supreme Court cases-in the United States, Canada, and Israel-were analyzed and compared.

FINDINGS

Despite the different legal outcomes, all three court rulings reflect a disregard of known and relevant social gerontology theories of intergenerational relationships.

CONCLUSION

Social gerontological theories can play an important role in both understanding and shaping judicial policies and assisting the courts in choosing their sociojudicial narratives.