NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449

Last updated

NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449
Seal of the United States Supreme Court.svg
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 17,22, 1957
Decided April 1, 1957
Full case nameNational Labor Relations Board v. Truck Drivers Local Union No. 449, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helps of America, A.F.L.
Citations353 U.S. 87 ( more )
77 S. Ct. 643; 1 L. Ed. 2d 676; 1957 U.S. LEXIS 1629
Case history
PriorTruck Drivers Local 449 v. NLRB, 231 F.2d 110 (2d Cir. 1956); cert. granted, 352 U.S. 818(1956).
Holding
A temporary lockout to preserve the multi-employer bargaining basis from the disintegration threatened by the union's strike action was lawful under the Taft-Hartley Act
Court membership
Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Associate Justices
Hugo Black  · Felix Frankfurter
William O. Douglas  · Harold H. Burton
Tom C. Clark  · John M. Harlan II
William J. Brennan Jr.  · Charles E. Whittaker
Case opinion
MajorityBrennan, joined by Warren, Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Burton, Clark, Harlan
Whittaker took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
National Labor Relations Act, Taft-Hartley Act

NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449 (Buffalo Linen Supply Co.), 353 U.S. 87 (1957), is an 8-0 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held that a temporary lockout by a multi-employer bargaining group threatened by a whipsaw strike was lawful under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), as amended by the Taft-Hartley Act. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Background

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters had organized truck drivers working for linen supply and laundry companies in and around Buffalo, New York, in the early 1930s. In 1934, eight of the employers formed the Linen and Credit Exchange, a multi-employer association to act as a collective bargaining agent for the employers. A first contract with the Exchange was negotiated, and successor contracts also agreed to and implemented. [2]

The most recent contract was due to expire on April 30, 1953, but no successor contract was negotiated. Negotiations continued slowly. Finally, the Teamsters engaged in a whipsaw strike against one of the employers, Frontier Linen Supply, on May 26, 1953. The following day, the other seven employers locked out their truck drivers. A week later, a new collective bargaining agreement was signed, the lockout ended, and the locked out workers rehired. [2]

But the Teamsters filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against the seven employers alleging that the lockout violated Section 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act. The trial examiner, now called administrative law judge, concluded that a ULP had been committed; but, the five-member National Labor Relations Board (Board) overruled the examiner. The Board concluded the lockout was defensive, not retaliatory, and therefore lawful. [7]

The union appealed the Board's ruling. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals held (231 F.2d 110) that the strike was an economic strike, not an unfair labor practice strike, and hence not protected by the Section 8 of the NLRA. [8] However, the appellate court concluded that a temporary lockout based on the perceived threat of a strike could be justified only if a strike would impose an unusual economic hardship on the employer. Since none of the seven employers had demonstrated such hardship, the Court of Appeals ruled that the employers had committed a ULP.

The NLRB appealed to the Supreme Court, which granted certiorari . [9]

Decision

Associate Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. delivered the unanimous opinion of the Court. Justice Charles Evans Whittaker took no part in the oral argument or decision. [10]

Nearly half of the short decision is taken up by Brennan's review of the collective bargaining history between the Exchange and the Teamsters, the arguments before the NLRB board agent, and the ruling of the Court of Appeals.

Justice Brennan opened his argument by observing that although the NLRA does not mention lockouts, it also does not prohibit them. Citing no evidence, Brennan then asserted that the legislative history of the NLRA did not indicate any intention by Congress to ban lockouts. Inclusion of the term in the Taft-Hartley Act, the majority found, indicated congressional recognition of the lockout and implied that there were circumstances in which a lockout might be legally employed. [11]

Brennan next addressed the issue before the Court. "The narrow question to be decided," he wrote, "is whether a temporary lockout may lawfully be used as a defense to a union strike tactic which threatens the destruction of the employers' interest in bargaining on a group basis." [12]

The Exchange and the Board had argued that preservation of the cohesiveness of the multi-employer association justified use of the lockout. The Court of Appeals had rejected that argument. Reviewing the legislative history of the Taft-Hartley Act, the appellate court found that Congress had deferred judgment on the legality of multi-employer bargaining units to a commission. [13] Brennan rejected the finding of the Court of Appeals. Reviewing the academic literature on the history of collective bargaining in the 20th century as well as the legislative history of the Taft-Hartley Act, Brennan found that multi-employer bargaining not only pre-dated the Taft-Hartley Act but that Congress had considered and rejected language limiting or banning such bargaining. The "compelling conclusion," Brennan wrote, is that Congress intended to let the NLRB make case-by-case decisions as to the wisdom of permitting multi-employer bargaining. [14]

In the decision's final two paragraphs, the majority drew an important conclusion from the foregoing. Citing NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co., 304 U.S. 333 (1938), among others, Brennan held that the NLRA's protection of the right to strike is not absolute. Balancing the rights of union members to strike against the right of employers to preserve the multi-employer bargaining unit, [15] Brennan asserted (without additional argument or evidence) that the appellate court had erred in establishing an "economic hardship" test for lockouts. Then the Supreme Court deferred to the Board's ruling, and concluded that "a temporary lockout to preserve the multi-employer bargaining basis from the disintegration threatened by the Union's strike action was lawful." [15]

Additional rulings and assessment

NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449 (Buffalo Linen Supply Co.) is one of a number of Supreme Court cases stemming from the Court's 1938 decision in NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Building on its ruling in Buffalo Linen Supply Co., the Supreme Court held in American Ship Building v. NLRB [16] that an employer may lock out its employees without violating the NLRA if a bargaining impasse has been reached and the lockout is for the purpose of applying economic pressure to support the employer's bargaining position. However, the employer cannot hire permanent replacements, only temporary ones. [17] The high court further extended its reasoning in NLRB v. Brown Food Stores , [18] holding that an employer could lock out its employees in advance of a whipsaw strike so long as the employer only utilized temporary replacements and locked out all workers (not just those who supported the union). [19]

Buffalo Linen Supply Co. has not itself been the focus of much academic or legal analysis. However, it is often referred to in general discussions of the Court's labor relations jurisprudence. Buffalo Linen Supply Co. is one of many post-Mackay Radio rulings criticized as a Court-approved infringement on the right to strike. [3] [4] [5] [6] [20] [21]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449, 353 U.S. 87 (1957). This case is more commonly cited as "Buffalo Linen Supply Co." The National Labor Relations Board titles cases based on the ULP filed against the employer or the union. In this case, the ULP had been filed against the employer, Buffalo Linen Supply Co. However, complainant Truck Drivers Local 449 appealed the case to the courts. The courts refer to this case as "Buffalo Linen" in order to keep the reference to the original NLRB decision.
  2. 1 2 3 "Multi-Employer Lockout Found Lawful Response to Whipsaw Strike," Columbia Law Review, December 1957.
  3. 1 2 3 Atleson, Values and Assumptions in American Labor Law, 1984.
  4. 1 2 3 Getman, Pogrebin, and Gregory, Labor Management Relations and the Law, 1999.
  5. 1 2 3 Gorman and Finkin, Basic Text on Labor Law: Unionization and Collective Bargaining, 2004.
  6. 1 2 3 Lambert, "If the Workers Took A Notion": The Right to Strike and American Political Development, 2005.
  7. ↑ NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449, 353 U.S. at 91-92.
  8. ↑ Truck Drivers Local 449 v. NLRB, 231F.2d110 ( 2d Cir. 1956).
  9. ↑ NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449, 352 U.S. 818(1956).
  10. ↑ Justice Stanley Forman Reed retired from the Supreme Court on February 25, 1957. Whittaker was appointed his successor on March 2, after oral argument had already occurred. See: Huston, "Justice Reed, 72, to Retire From the Supreme Court," New York Times, February 1, 1957; "Justice Reed Retires From Supreme Court," New York Times, February 26, 1957; "Federal Judge in Missouri Named to Supreme Court," New York Times, March 3, 1957.
  11. ↑ NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449, 353 U.S. at 92-93.
  12. ↑ NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449, 353 U.S. at 93.
  13. ↑ 231 F.2d at 118.
  14. ↑ NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449, 353 U.S. at 92-96.
  15. 1 2 NLRB v. Truck Drivers Local 449, 353 U.S. at 97.
  16. ↑ American Ship Building v. NLRB, 380 U.S. 300 (1965).
  17. ↑ "The Unanswered Questions of 'American Ship'," Michigan Law Review, March 1966; McWilliams, "An Employer May Lock Out Employees Solely for the Purpose of Supporting His Bargaining Position After a Bargaining Impasse Has Been Reached. American Ship Bldg. Co. v. NLRB, 380 U.S. 300 (1965)," Texas Law Review, 1965.
  18. ↑ NLRB v. Brown Food Stores, 380 U.S. 278 (1965).
  19. ↑ "Hiring of Replacements by Nonstruck Employers in 'Whipsaw Strike' Context Held Not an Unfair Labor Practice," Columbia Law Review, January 1964; "Limits on Labor & Management," Time, April 9, 1965; LeRoy, "Lockouts Involving Replacement Workers: An Empirical Public Policy Analysis and Proposal to Balance Economic Weapons Under the NLRA," Washington University Law Quarterly, Winter 1996.
  20. ↑ Estlund, Cynthia L. (2006). "The Death of Labor Law?". Annual Review of Law and Social Science . 2: 105–123. doi:10.1146/annurev.lawsocsci.2.081805.110015. S2CID   154534298.
  21. ↑ Pope, "How American Workers Lost the Right to Strike, and Other Tales," Michigan Law Review, December 2004; Estreicher, "Collective Bargaining or 'Collective Begging'?: Reflections on Antistrikebreaker Legislation," Michigan Law Review, December 1994; Gillespie, "The Mackay Doctrine and the Myth of Business Necessity," Texas Law Review, 1972; Turner, "Restoring Balance to Collective Bargaining: Prohibiting Discrimination Against Economic Strikers," West Virginia Law Review, Spring 1994; Weiler, "A Principled Re-Shaping of Labor Law for the Twenty-First Century," University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor and Employment Law, 2001.

Related Research Articles

The Railway Labor Act is a United States federal law that governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The Act, enacted in 1926 and amended in 1934 and 1936, seeks to substitute bargaining, arbitration, and mediation for strikes to resolve labor disputes. Its provisions were originally enforced under the Board of Mediation, but they were later enforced under a National Mediation Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Labor Relations Act of 1935</span> 1935 U.S. federal labor law regulating the rights of workers and unions

The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action such as strikes. Central to the act was a ban on company unions. The act was written by Senator Robert F. Wagner, passed by the 74th United States Congress, and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Labor Relations Board</span> U.S. Federal Government agency responsible for enforcing certain labor laws

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, the NLRB has the authority to supervise elections for labor union representation and to investigate and remedy unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of protected concerted activity.

In labor law, a union shop, also known as a post-entry closed shop, is a form of a union security clause. Under this, the employer agrees to either only hire labor union members or to require that any new employees who are not already union members become members within a certain amount of time. Use of the union shop varies widely from nation to nation, depending on the level of protection given trade unions in general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States labor law</span> US laws on fair pay and conditions, unions, democracy, equality and security at work

The rights and duties for employees, labor unions, and employers are set by labor law in the United States. Labor law's basic aim is to remedy the "inequality of bargaining power" between employees and employers, especially employers "organized in the corporate or other forms of ownership association". Over the 20th century, federal law created minimum social and economic rights, and encouraged state laws to go beyond the minimum to favor employees. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 requires a federal minimum wage, currently $7.25 but higher in 29 states and D.C., and discourages working weeks over 40 hours through time-and-a-half overtime pay. There are no federal laws, and few state laws, requiring paid holidays or paid family leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 creates a limited right to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in larger employers. There is no automatic right to an occupational pension beyond federally guaranteed Social Security, but the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 requires standards of prudent management and good governance if employers agree to provide pensions, health plans or other benefits. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires employees have a safe system of work.

The National Labor Relations Board, an agency within the United States government, was created in 1935 as part of the National Labor Relations Act. Among the NLRB's chief responsibilities is the holding of elections to permit employees to vote whether they wish to be represented by a particular labor union. Congress amended the Act in 1947 through the Taft–Hartley Act to give workers the ability to decertify an already recognized or certified union as well. This article describes, in a very summary manner, the procedures that the NLRB uses to hold such elections, as well as the circumstances in which a union may obtain the right to represent a group of employees without an election.

An unfair labor practice (ULP) in United States labor law refers to certain actions taken by employers or unions that violate the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 29 U.S.C. § 151–169 and other legislation. Such acts are investigated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union busting</span> Efforts to prevent or hinder unionization among workers

Union busting is a range of activities undertaken to disrupt or prevent the formation of trade unions or their attempts to grow their membership in a workplace.

The National Labor Board (NLB) was an independent agency of the United States Government established on August 5, 1933, to handle labor disputes arising under the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA).

NLRB v. Hearst Publications, 322 U.S. 111 (1944), was an administrative law case heard before the United States Supreme Court. The case concerned the meaning of the term "employees" in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc., 420 U.S. 251 (1975), is a United States labor law case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. It held that employees in unionized workplaces have the right under the National Labor Relations Act to the presence of a union steward during any management inquiry that the employee reasonably believes may result in discipline.

<i>The Blue Eagle at Work</i> 2005 legal treatise written by Charles J. Morris

The Blue Eagle at Work: Reclaiming Democratic Rights in the American Workplace is a legal treatise written by Charles J. Morris which analyzes collective bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the federal statute governing most private sector labor relations in the United States. Published in 2005 by Cornell University Press, the text claims that the NLRA guarantees that employees under that Act have the right to bargain collectively through minority unions—but only on a members-only basis—in workplaces where there is not an established majority union, notwithstanding that the present practice and general understanding of the law is that only majority-union employees are entitled to engage in collective bargaining on an exclusivity basis. Contracts resulting from such minority-union bargaining would apply to union members only, not to other employees.

A whipsaw strike is a strike by a trade union against only one or a few employers in an industry or a multi-employer association at a time. The strike is often of a short duration, and usually recurs during the labor dispute or contract negotiations—hence the name "whipsaw".

NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co., 304 U.S. 333 (1938), is a United States labor law case of the Supreme Court of the United States which held that workers who strike remain employees for the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The Court granted the relief sought by the National Labor Relations Board, which sought to have the workers reinstated by the employer. However, the decision is much better known today for its obiter dicta in which the Court said that an employer may hire strikebreakers and is not bound to discharge any of them if or when the strike ends.

Communications Workers of America v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735 (1988), is a decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that, in a union security agreement, unions are authorized by statute to collect from non-members only those fees and dues necessary to perform its duties as a collective bargaining representative. The rights identified by the Court in Communications Workers of America v. Beck have since come to be known as "Beck rights," and defining what Beck rights are and how a union must fulfill its duties regarding them is an active area of modern United States labor law.

National Labor Relations Board v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corporation, 306 U.S. 240 (1939), is a United States Supreme Court case on labor laws in which the Court held that the National Labor Relations Board had no authority to order an employer to reinstate workers fired after a sit-down strike, even if the employer's illegal actions triggered that strike.

NLRB v. Columbian Enameling & Stamping Co., 306 U.S. 292 (1939), is a US labor law case where the US Supreme Court held 5-to-2 that the National Labor Relations Act required decisions of the National Labor Relations Board (Board) to be based on substantial evidence. The Supreme Court overturned a ruling of the Board for not being based on substantial evidence. The Court also held that only the representative of the workers could issue collective bargaining proposals under the law, and that proposals transmitted by a third party did not trigger the Act's protections or duties.

National Labor Relations Board v. Sands Manufacturing Co., 306 U.S. 332 (1939), is United States labor law case, decided by a majority of 5 to 2 by the Supreme Court of the United States, which overturned a decision by the National Labor Relations Board because it was not supported by substantial evidence. The Court defined collective bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act to mean that proposals and responses to proposals were pending, and that future meetings were being planned. Absent such conditions, bargaining was not occurring. The Court also held that an employer did not violate the Act if it chose to deal with the employees on an individual basis.

Guy Otto Farmer was an American lawyer and civil servant. He was Chairman of the United States National Labor Relations Board from July 1953 to August 1955. After leaving government service, he represented the Bituminous Coal Operators Association, the collective bargaining arm of the bituminous coal mining industry in the United States.

Golden State Transit Corp v City of Los Angeles, 475 U.S. 608 (1986), is a US labor law case, concerning the scope of federal preemption against state law for labor rights.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.