Source: http://supreme.nolo.com/us/366/667/case.html
Timestamp: 2019-12-14 10:13:22
Document Index: 529883441

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8']

ELECTRICAL WORKERS V. LABOR BOARD, 366 U. S. 667 - Volume 366 - 1961 - Full Text - US Supreme Court Center - USSC Cases - Nolo
US Supreme Court Center > Volume 366 > ELECTRICAL WORKERS V. LABOR BOARD, 366 U. S. 667 (1961) > Full Text
Since 1954, General Electric sought to confine the employees of independent contractors, described hereafter, who work on the premises of the Park, to the use of Gate 3-A, and confine its use to them. The undisputed reason for doing so was to insulate General Electric employees from the frequent labor disputes in which the contractors were involved. Gate 3-A is 550 feet away from the nearest entrance available for General Electric employees, suppliers, and deliverymen. Although anyone can pass the gate without challenge, [Footnote 1] the
"to enmesh these employees of the neutral employers in its dispute with the Company," thereby constituting a violation of § 8(b)(4)(A) because the independent employees were encouraged to engage in a concerted refusal to work "with an object of forcing the independent contractors to cease doing business with the Company." [Footnote 2]
Labor Board v. Denver Building Council, 341 U. S. 675, 341 U. S. 686. "Congress did not seek by § 8(b)(4), to interfere with the ordinary strike. . . ." Labor Board v. International Rice Milling Co., 341 U. S. 665, 341 U. S. 672. The impact of the section was directed toward what is known as the secondary boycott, whose
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Labor Board, 181 F.2d 34, 37. Thus, the section
Labor Board v. Local 294, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 284 F.2d 887, 889.
Local 1976, United Brotherhood of Carpenters v. Labor Board, 357 U. S. 93, 357 U. S. 98. See also United Brotherhood of Carpenters (Wadsworth Building Co.), 81 N.L.R.B. 802, 805.
Important as is the distinction between legitimate "primary activity" and banned "secondary activity," it does not present a glaringly bright line. The objectives of any picketing include a desire to influence others from withholding from the employer their services or trade. See Sailors' Union of the Pacific (Moore Dry Dock), 92 N.L.R.B. 547.
Seafarers International Union v. Labor Board, 105 U.S.App.D.C. 211, 265 F.2d 585, 590.
Local 294, supra, 284 F.2d at 890. But picketing which induces secondary employees to respect a picket line is not the equivalent of picketing which has an object of inducing those employees to engage in concerted conduct against their employer in order to force him to refuse to deal with the struck
employer. Labor Board v. International Rice Milling Co., supra.
However difficult the drawing of lines more nice than obvious, the statute compels the task. Accordingly, the Board and the courts have attempted to devise reasonable criteria drawing heavily upon the means to which a union resorts in promoting its cause. Although "[n]o rigid rule which would make . . . [a] few factors conclusive is contained in or deducible from the statute," Sales Drivers v. Labor Board, 97 U.S.App.D.C. 173, 229 F.2d 514, 517, [Footnote 3] "[I]n the absence of admissions by the union of an illegal intent, the nature of acts performed shows the intent." Seafarers International Union, supra, 265 F.2d at 591.
Republic Aviation Corp. v. Labor Board, 324 U. S. 793, 324 U. S. 800.
The early decisions of the Board following the Taft-Hartley amendments involved activity which took place around the secondary employer's premises. For example, in Wadsworth Building Co., supra, the union set up a picket line around the situs of a builder who had contracted
to purchase prefabricated houses from the primary employer. The Board found this to be illegal secondary activity. See also Printing Specialties Union (Sealbright Pacific), 82 N.L.R.B. 271. In contrast, when picketing took place around the premises of the primary employer, the Board regarded this as valid primary activity. In Oil Workers International Union (Pure Oil Co.), 84 N.L.R.B. 315, Pure had used Standard's dock and employees for loading its oil onto ships. The companies had contracted that, in case of a strike against Standard, Pure employees would take over the loading of Pure oil. The union struck against Standard and picketed the dock, and Pure employees refused to cross the picket line. The Board held this to be a primary activity, although the union's action induced the Pure employees to engage in a concerted refusal to handle Pure products at the dock. The fact that the picketing was confined to the vicinity of the Standard premises influenced the Board not to find that an object of the activity was to force Pure to cease doing business with Standard, even if such was a secondary effect.
84 N.L.R.B. at 318. See also Newspaper & Mail Deliverers' Union (Interborough News Co.), 90 N.L.R.B. 2135; International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Di Giorgio Wine Co.), 87 N.L.R.B. 720; International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Rice Milling Co.), 84 N.L.R.B. 360.
In United Electrical Workers (Ryan Construction Corp.), 85 N.L.R.B. 417, Ryan had contracted to perform construction work on a building adjacent to the Bucyrus plant and inside its fence. A separate gate was cut through the fence for Ryan's employees which no employee of Bucyrus ever used. The Board concluded that the union -- on strike against Bucyrus -- could picket the Ryan gate, even though an object of the picketing was to enlist the aid of Ryan employees, since Congress did not intend to outlaw primary picketing.
85 N.L.R.B. at 418. See also General Teamsters (Crump, Inc.), 112 N.L.R.B. 311. Thus, the Board eliminated picketing which took place around the situs of the primary employer -- regardless of the special circumstances involved -- from being held invalid secondary activity under § 8(b)(4)(A).
common premises. The Moore Dry Dock case, supra, laid out the Board's new standards in this area. There, the union picketed outside an entrance to a dock where a ship, owned by the struck employer, was being trained and outfitted. Although the premises picketed were those of the secondary employer, they constituted the only place where picketing could take place; furthermore, the objectives of the picketing were no more aimed at the employees of the secondary employer -- the dock owner -- than they had been in the Pure Oil and Ryan cases. The Board concluded, however, that when the situs of the primary employer was "ambulatory," there must be a balance between the union's right to picket and the interest of the secondary employer in being free from picketing. It set out four standards for picketing in such situations which would be presumptive of valid primary activity: (1) that the picketing be limited to times when the situs of dispute was located on the secondary premises, (2) that the primary employer be engaged in his normal business at the situs, (3) that the picketing take place reasonably close to the situs, and (4) that the picketing clearly disclose that the dispute was only with the primary employer. These tests were widely accepted by reviewing federal courts. See, e.g., Labor Board v. Service Trade Chauffeurs, 191 F.2d 65; Piezonki v. Labor Board, 219 F.2d 879; Labor Board v. Chauffeurs, Teamsters, 212 F.2d 216; Labor Board v. Local 55, 218 F.2d 226. As is too often the way of law. or at least of adjudications, soon the Dry Dock tests were mechanically applied so that a violation of one of the standards was taken to be presumptive of illegal activity. For example, failure of picket signs clearly to designate the employer against whom the strike was directed was held to be violative of § 8(b)(4)(A). See Superior Derrick Corp. v. Labor Board, 273 F.2d 891; Truck
Drivers v. Labor Board, 249 F.2d 512; Labor Board v. Local Union 728, 228 F.2d 791. [Footnote 4]
In Local 55 (PBM), 108 N.L.R.B. 363, the Board for the first time applied the Dry Dock test, although the picketing occurred at premises owned by the primary employer. There, an insurance company owned a tract of land that it was developing, and also served as the general contractor. A neutral subcontractor was also doing work at the site. The union, engaged in a strike against the insurance company, picketed the entire premises, characterizing the entire job as unfair, and the employees of the subcontractor walked off. The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit enforced the Board's order, which found the picketing to be illegal on the ground that the picket signs did not measure up to the Dry Dock standard that they clearly disclose that the picketing was directed against the struck employer only. 218 F.2d 226.
The Board's application of the Dry Dock standards to picketing at the premises of the struck employer was made more explicit in Retail Fruit & Vegetable Clerks (Crystal Palace Market), 116 N.L.R.B. 856. The owner of a large common market operated some of the shops within, and leased out others to independent sellers. The union, although given permission to picket the owner's individual stands, chose to picket outside the entire market. The Board held that this action was violative of § 8(b)(4)(A) in that the union did not attempt to minimize the effect of its picketing, as required in a common situs case, on the operations of the neutral employers utilizing the market.
116 N.L.R.B. at 859. The Ryan case, supra, was overruled to the extent it implied the contrary. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in enforcing the Board's order, specifically approved its disavowance of an ownership test. 249 F.2d 591. The Board made clear that its decision did not affect situations where picketing which had effects on neutral third parties who dealt with the employer occurred at premises occupied solely by him.
In rejecting the ownership test in situations where two employers were performing work upon a common site, the Board was naturally guided by this Court's opinion in Rice Milling, in which we indicated that the location of the picketing at the primary employer's premises was "not necessarily conclusive" of its legality. 341 U.S. at 341 U. S. 671. Where the work done by the secondary employees is unrelated to the normal operations of the primary employer, it is difficult to perceive how the pressure of picketing the entire situs is any less on the neutral employer merely because the picketing takes place at property owned by the struck employer. The application of the Dry Dock tests to limit the picketing effects to the employees of the employer against whom the dispute is directed carries out the
Labor Board v. Denver Building Council, supra, at 341 U. S. 692.
From this necessary survey of the course of the Board's treatment of our problem, the precise nature of the issue before us emerges. With due regard to the relation between the Board's function and the scope of judicial review of its rulings, the question is whether the Board may apply the Dry Dock criteria so as to make unlawful picketing at a gate utilized exclusively by employees of independent contractors who work on the struck employer's premises. The effect of such a holding would not bar the union from picketing at all gates used by the employees, suppliers, and customers of the struck employer. Of course, an employer may not, by removing all his employees from the situs of the strike, bar the union from publicizing its cause, see Local 618 v. Labor Board, 249 F.2d 332. The basis of the Board's decision in this case would not remotely have that effect, nor any such tendency for the future.
The Union claims that, if the Board's ruling is upheld, employers will be free to erect separate gates for deliveries, customers, and replacement workers which will be immunized from picketing. This fear is baseless. The key to the problem is found in the type of work that is being performed by those who use the separate gate. It is significant that the Board has since applied its rationale, first stated in the present case, only to situations where the independent workers were performing tasks unconnected to the normal operations of the struck employer -- usually construction work on his buildings. [Footnote 5] In such situations, the indicated limitations on picketing activity respect the balance of competing interests that Congress has required the Board to enforce. On the other
United Steelworkers v. Labor Board, 289 F.2d 591, 595. These seem to us controlling considerations.
may turn out not to affect the result. The legal path by which the Board and the Court of Appeals reached their decisions did not take into account that, if Gate 3-A was in fact used by employees of independent contractors who performed conventional maintenance work necessary to the normal operations of General Electric, the use of the gate would have been a mingled one outside the bar of § 8(b)(4)(A). In short, such mixed use of this portion of the struck employer's premises would not bar picketing rights of the striking employees. While the record shows some such mingled use, it sheds no light on its extent. It may well turn out to be that the instances of these maintenance tasks were so insubstantial as to be treated by the Board as de minimis. We cannot here guess at the quantitative aspect of this problem. It calls for Board determination. For determination of the questions thus raised, the case must be remanded by the Court of Appeals to the Board.
Member Fanning concurred in the result, reasoning that the common situs criteria set out by the Board in Sailors' Union of the Pacific (Moore Dry Dock), 92 N.L.R.B. 547, could be applied to situations where the primary employer owned the premises, and that the requirement that the picketing take place reasonably close to the situs of the labor dispute had therefore been violated by the picketing around Gate 3-A.
See also Labor Board v. General Drivers, Local 968, 225 F.2d 205.
The Dry Dock criteria had perhaps their widest application in the trucking industry. There, unions on strike against truckers often staged picketing demonstrations at the places of pickup and delivery. Compare International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Schultz Refrigerated Service, Inc.), 87 N.L.R.B. 502, with International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Sterling Beverages, Inc.), 90 N.L.R.B. 401.
I did not vote to grant certiorari in this case, because it seemed to me that the problem presented was in the keeping of the Courts of Appeals within the meaning of Universal Camera Corp. v. Labor Board, 340 U. S. 474, 340 U. S. 490. Since the Court of Appeals followed the guidelines of that case (see 107 U.S.App.D.C. 402, 278 F.2d 282, 286), I would leave the decision with it. I cannot say it made any egregious error, though I might have decided the case differently had I sat on the Labor Board or on the Court of Appeals.
Powered by Justia US Supreme Court Center: ELECTRICAL WORKERS V. LABOR BOARD, 366 U. S. 667 (1961)