Source: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/427/132
Timestamp: 2013-05-20 11:54:26
Document Index: 211025360

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 8', '§ 7', '§ 8', '§ 7', '§ 7', '§ 7', '§ 7', '§ 8', '§ 13', '§ 501', '§ 13', '§ 8', '§ 501']

LODGE 76, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS AND AEROSPACE WORKERS, AFL-CIO, et al., Petitioners, v. WISCONSIN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION et al. | Supreme Court | LII / Legal Information Institute
Supreme Court aboutsearch liibulletin subscribe previews LODGE 76, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS AND AEROSPACE WORKERS, AFL-CIO, et al., Petitioners, v. WISCONSIN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION et al.
427 U.S. 132 (96 S.Ct. 2548, 49 L.Ed.2d 396)
Instead, while negotiations continued, the employer filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board that the Union's resolution violated § 8(b)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 452, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 158(b)(3). The Regional Director dismissed the charge on the ground that the "policy prohibiting overtime work by its member employees . . . does not appear to be in violation of the Act" and therefore was not conduct cognizable by the Board under NLRB v. Insurance Agents, 361 U.S. 477, 80 S.Ct. 419, 4 L.Ed.2d 454 (1960). However, the employer also filed a complaint before the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission charging that the refusal to work overtime constituted an unfair labor practice under state law. The Union filed a motion before the Commission to dismiss the complaint for want of "jurisdiction over the subject matter" in that jurisdiction over "the activity of the (Union) complained of (is) pre-empted by" the National Labor Relations Act. App. 11. The motion was denied and the Commission adopted the Conclusion of Law of its Examiner that "the concerted refusal to work overtime, is not an activity which is arguably protected under Section 7 or arguably prohibited under Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, and . . ., therefore, the . . . Commission is not pre-empted from asserting its jurisdiction to regulate said conduct." The Commission also adopted the further Conclusion of Law that the Union "by authorizing . . . the concerted refusal to work overtime . . . engaged in a concerted effort to interfere with production and . . . committed an unfair labor practice within the meaning of Section 111.06(2)(h). . . ."
The Commsion thereupon entered an order that the Union, Inter alia, "(i)mmediately cease and desist from authorizing, encouraging or condoning any concerted refusal to accept overtime assignments . . . ." The Wisconsin Circuit Court affirmed and entered judgment enforcing the Commission's order. The Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed the Circuit Court. 67 Wis.2d 13, 226 N.W.2d 203 (1975). We granted certiorari, 423 U.S. 890, 96 S.Ct. 186, 46 L.Ed.2d 121 (1975). We reverse.
* "The national . . . Act . . . leaves much to the states, though Congress has refrained from telling us how much. We must spell out from conflicting indications of congressional will the area in which state action is still permissible." Garner v. Teamsters, Chauffeurs and Helpers Local Union, 346 U.S. 485, 488, 74 S.Ct. 161, 164, 98 L.Ed. 228 (1953). Federal labor policy as reflected in the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, has been construed not to preclude the States from regulating aspects of labor relations that involve "conduct touch(ing) interests so deeply rooted in local feeling and responsibility that . . . we could not infer that Congress had deprived the States of the power to act." San Diego Building Trades Council, Millmen's Union v. Garmon, 359 U.S. 236, 244, 79 S.Ct. 773, 779, 3 L.Ed.2d 775 (1959). Policing of actual or threatened violence to persons or destruction of property has been held most clearly a matter for the States.
Similarly, the federal law governing labor relations does not withdraw "from the States . . . power to regulate where the activity regulated (is) a merely peripheral concern of the Labor Management Relations Act." Id., at 243, 79 S.Ct., at 779.
However, a second line of pre-emption analysis has been developed in cases focusing upon the crucial inquiry whether Congress intended that the conduct involved be unregulated because left "to be controlled by the free play of economic forces." NLRB v. Nash-Finch Co., 404 U.S. 138, 144, 92 S.Ct. 373, 377, 30 L.Ed.2d 328 (1971).
Concededly this inquiry was not made in 1949 in the so-called Briggs-Stratton case, Automobile Workers v. Wisconsin Emp. Rel. Board, 336 U.S. 245, 69 S.Ct. 516, 93 L.Ed. 651 (1949), the decision of this Court heavily relied upon by the court below in reaching its decision that state regulation of the conduct at issue is not pre-empted by national labor law. In Briggs-Stratton, the union, in order to bring pressure on the employer during negotiations, adopted a plan whereby union meetings were called at irregular times during working hours without advance notice to the employer or any notice as to whether or when the workers would return. In a proceeding under the Wisconsin Employment Peace Act, the Wisconsin Employment Relations Board issued an order forbidding the union and its members to engage in concerted efforts to interfere with production by those methods. This Court did not inquire whether Congress meant that such methods should be reserved to the union "to be controlled by the free play of economic forces." Rather, because these methods were "neither made a right under federal law nor a violation if it" the Court held that there "was no basis for denying to Wisconsin the power, in governing her internal affairs, to regulate" such conduct. Id., at 265, 69 S.Ct., at 527.
"The detailed prescription of a procedure for restraint of specified types of picketing would seem to imply that other picketing is to be free of other methods and sources of restraint. For the policy of the National Labor Management Relations Act is not to condemn all picketing but only that ascertained by its prescribed processes to fall within its prohibitions. Otherwise, it is implicit in the Act that the public interest is served by freedom of labor to use the weapon of picketing. For a state to impinge on the area of labor combat designed to be free is quite as much an obstruction of federal policy as if the state were to declare picketing free for purposes or by methods which the federal Act prohibits." 346 U.S., at 499-500, 74 S.Ct., at 170-171.
Moreover, San Diego Unions v. Garmon, expressly recognized that "the Board may decide that an activity is neither protected nor prohibited, and thereby raise the question whether such activity may be regulated by the States." 359 U.S., at 245, 79 S.Ct., at 780.
It is true, however, that many decisions fleshing out the concept of activities "protected" because Congress meant them to be "unrestricted by any governmental power to regulate," Insurance Agents, 361 U.S., at 488, 80 S.Ct., at 426 involved review of Per se NLRB rules applied in the regulation of the bargaining process. E. g., NLRB v. American National Ins. Co., 343 U.S. 395, 72 S.Ct. 824, 96 L.Ed. 1027 (1952); NLRB v. Insurance Agents, supra, NLRB v. Drivers Local Union, 362 U.S. 274, 80 S.Ct. 706, 4 L.Ed.2d 710 (1960); NLRB v. Brown, 380 U.S. 278, 85 S.Ct. 980, 13 L.Ed.2d 839 (1965); American Ship Bldg. Co. v. NLRB, 380 U.S. 300, 85 S.Ct. 955, 13 L.Ed.2d 855 (1965); cf. NLRB v. Truck Drivers Union, 353 U.S. 87, 77 S.Ct. 643, 1 L.Ed.2d 676 (1957); H. K. Porter Co. v. NLRB, 397 U.S. 99, 90 S.Ct. 821, 25 L.Ed.2d 146 (1970); Florida Power & Light v. Electrical Workers, 417 U.S. 790, 805 n. 16, 94 S.Ct. 2737, 41 L.Ed.2d 477 (1974). But the analysis of Garner and Insurance Agents came full bloom in the pre-emption area in Local 20, Teamsters, Chauffeurs & Helpers Union v. Morton, 377 U.S. 252, 84 S.Ct. 1253, 12 L.Ed.2d 280 (1964), which held pre-empted the application of state law to award damages for peaceful union secondary picketing. Although Morton volved conduct neither "protected nor prohibited" by § 7 or § 8 of the NLRA, we recognized the necessity of an inquiry whether " 'Congress occupied this field and closed it to state regulation.' " 377 U.S., at 258, 84 S.Ct., at 1257. Central to Morton's analysis was the observation that "(i)n selecting which forms of economic pressure should be prohibited . . ., Congress struck the 'balance . . . between the uncontrolled power of management and labor to further their respective interests,' " Id., at 258-259, 84 S.Ct., at 1258,
"(R)esort to economic weapons should more peaceful measures not avail" is the right of the employer as well as the employee, American Ship Bldg. Co. v. NLRB, 380 U.S., at 317, 85 S.Ct., at 966,
and the State may not prohibit the use of such weapons or "add to an employer's federal legal obligations in collective bargaining" any more than in the case of employees. Cox, Supra, n. 4, at 1365. See, E. g. Beasley v. Food Fair of North Carolina, 416 U.S. 653, 94 S.Ct. 2023, 40 L.Ed.2d 443 (1974). Whether self-help economic activities are employed by employer or union, the crucial inquiry regarding pre-emption is the same: whether "the exercise of plenary state authority to curtail or entirely prohibit self-help would frustrate effective implementation of the Act's processes." .Railroad Trainmen v. Jacksonville Terminal Co., 394 U.S., at 380,9 S.Ct., at 1116.
Although it did employ economic weapons putting pressure on the Union when it terminated the previous agreement, supra, at 134, it apparently lacked sufficient economic strength to secure i bargaining demands under "the balance of power between labor and management expressed in our national labor policy," Teamsters Union v. Morton, 377 U.S., at 260, 84 S.Ct., at 1258.
But the economic weakness of the affected party cannot justify state aid contrary to federal law for, as we have developed, "the use of economic pressure by the parties to a labor dispute is not a grudging exception (under) . . . the (federal) Act; it is part and parcel of the process of collective bargaining." Insurance Agents, 361 U.S., at 495, 80 S.Ct., at 430. The state action in this case is not filling "a regulatory void which Congress plainly assumed would not exist," Hanna Mining Co. v. Marine Engineers, 382 U.S., at 196, 86 S.Ct., at 335 (Brennan, J., concurring). Rather, it is clear beyond question that Wisconsin "(entered) into the substantive aspects of the bargaining process to an extent Congress has not countenanced." NLRB v. Insurance Agents, supra, at 498, 80 S.Ct., at 432.
Our decisions hold that Congress meant that these activities, whether of employer or employees, were not to be regulable by States any more than by the NLRB, for neither States nor the Board is "afforded flexibility in picking and choosing which economic devices of labor and management shall be branded as unlawful." Ibid. Rather, both are without authority to attempt to "introduce some standard of properly 'balanced' bargaining power' Id., at 497, 80 S.Ct., at 431 (footnote omitted), or to define "what economic sanctions might be permitted negotiating parties in an 'ideal' or 'balanced' state of collective bargaining." Id., at 500, 80 S.Ct., at 433.
To sanction state regulation of such economic pressure deemed by the federal Act "desirabl(y) . . . left for the free play of contending economic forces, . . . is not merely (to fill) a gap (by) outlaw(ing) what federal law fails to outlaw; it is denying one party to an economic contest a weapon that Congress meant him to have available." Lesnick, Preemption Reconsidered: The Apparent Reaffirmation of Garmon, 72 Col.L.Rev. 469, 478 (1972).
Accordingly, such regulation by the State is impermissible because it " 'stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress.' " Hill v. Florida, 325 U.S. 538, 542, 65 S.Ct. 1373, 1375, 89 L.Ed. 1782 (1945).
There remains the question of the continuing vitality of Briggs-Stratton. San Diego Unions v. Garmon, 359 U.S., at 245 n. 4, 79 S.Ct., at 780, made clear that the Briggs-Stratton approach to pre-emption is "no longer of general application." See also Insurance Agents, supra, 361 U.S., at 493 n. 23, 80 S.Ct., at 429. We hold today that the ruling of Briggs-Stratton, permitting state regulation of partial strike activities such as are involved in this case is likewise "no longer of general application."
Briggs-Stratton assumed "management . . . would be disabled from any kind of self-help to cope with these coercive tactics of the union" and could not "take any steps to resist or combat them without incurring the sanctions of the Act." 336 U.S., at 264, 69 S.Ct., at 527. But as Insurance Agents held, where the union activity complained of is "protected," not because it is within § 7, but only because it is an activity Congress meant to leave unregulated, "the employer could have discharged or taken other appropriate disciplinary action against the employees participating." 361 U.S., at 493, 80 S.Ct., at 430. Moreover, even were the activity presented in the instant case "protected" activity within the meaning of § 7,
economic weapons were available to counter the Union's refusal to work overtime, E. g., a lockout, American Ship Bldg. Co. v. NLRB, 380 U.S. 300, 85 S.Ct. 955, 13 L.Ed.2d 855 (1965), and the hiring of permanent replacements under NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Tel. Co., 304 U.S. 333, 58 S.Ct. 904, 82 L.Ed. 1381 (1938). See Prince Lithograph Co., 205 N.L.R.B. 110, 115 (1973); Cox, The Right to Engage in Concerted Activities, 26 Ind.L.J. 319, 339 (1951); Getman, The Protection of Economic Pressure by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, 115 U.Pa.L.Rev. 1195, 1236 (1967).
Our decisions since Briggs-Stratton have made it abundantly clear that state attempts to influence the substantive terms of collective-bargaining agreements are as inconsistent with the federal regulatory scheme as are such attempts by the NLRB: "Since the federal law operates here, in an area where its authority is paramount, to leave the parties free, the inconsistent application of state law is necessarily outside the power of the State." Local 24 of International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, A.F.L.-C.I.O. v. Oliver, 358 U.S. 283, 296, 79 S.Ct. 297, 305, 3 L.Ed.2d 312 (1959). And indubitably regulation, whether federal or State, of "the choice of economic weapons that may be used as part of collective bargaining (exerts) considerable influence upon the substantive terms on which the parties contract." NLRB v. Insurance Agents, 361 U.S., at 490, 80 S.Ct., at 427. The availability or not of economic weapons that federal law leaves the parties free to use cannot "depend upon the forum in which the (opponent) presses its claims." Howard Johnson Co., Inc. v. Hotel Employees, 417 U.S. 249, 256, 94 S.Ct. 2236, 2240, 41 L.Ed.2d 46 (1974).
This is equally true whether the self-help activities are those of the employer or the Union. I agree with the Court that the Wisconsin law, as applied in this case, is pre-empted since it directly curtails the self-help capability of the Union and its members, resulting in a significant shift in the balance of free economic bargaining power struck by Congress. I write to make clear my understanding that the Court's opinion does not, however, preclude the States from enforcing, in the context of a labor dispute, "neutral" state statutes or rules of decision: state laws that are not directed toward altering the bargaining positions of employers or unions but which may have an incidental effect on relative bargaining strength. Except where Congress has specifically provided otherwise, the States generally should remain free to enforce, for example, their law of torts or of contracts, and other laws reflecting neutral public policy.
See Cox, Labor Law Preemption Revisited, 85 Harv.L.Rev. 1337, 1355-1356 (1972).
If the partial strike activity in this case were protected, or even arguably protected, by § 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, the Court's conclusion would be supported by San Diego Building Trades Council Millmen's Union v. Garmon, 359 U.S. 236, 79 S.Ct. 773, 3 L.Ed.2d 775. But in International Union, U. Automobile Workers v. Wisconsin Emp. Rel. Board, 336 U.S. 245, 69 S.Ct. 516, 93 L.Ed. 651 (Briggs-Stratton), the Court rejected the argument that comparable activity was protected by § 7. And as I understand the Court's holding today, it assumes that this activity remains unprotected.
Moreover, if such activity were prohibited, or arguably prohibited, by § 8 of the Act, the Court's conclusion would also be supported by Gaon. But ever since NLRB v. Insurance Agents, 361 U.S. 477, 80 S.Ct. 419, 4 L.Ed.2d 454, it has been clear that this activity is not even arguably prohibited.
If Congress had focused on the problems presented by partial strike activity, and had enacted special legislation dealing with this subject matter, but left the form of the activity disclosed by this record unregulated, the Court's conclusion would be supported by Teamsters Union v. Morton, 377 U.S. 252, 84 S.Ct. 1253, 12 L.Ed.2d 280. But this is not such a case. Despite the numerous statements in the Court's opinion about Congress' intent to leave partial strike activity wholly unregulated, I have found no legislative expression of any such intent nor any evidence that Congress has scrutinized such activity.
If adherence to the rule of Briggs-Stratton would permit the States substantially to disrupt the balance Congress has struck between union and employer, I would readily join in overruling it. But I am not persuaded that partial strike activity is so essential to the bargaining process that the States should not be free to make it illegal.
It is particularly inappropriate to do so when the Court is purporting to implement the intent of Congress with respect to an issue that Congress has yet to address. Edelman v. Jordan, 415 U.S. 651, 671 n. 14, 94 S.Ct. 1347, 1359, 39 L.Ed.2d 662. Finally, I am not nearly as sanguine as the Court about the likelihood that this decision will clarify or harmonize a fairly confused area of the law. In sum, I would adhere to prior precedent which is directly in point.
In this case we need not and do not disturb the holding of Briggs-Stratton, later remarked in Insurance Agents, 361 U.S., at 494 n. 23, 80 S.Ct., at 430, that § 13 of the NLRA, 29 U.S.C. 163, which guarantees a qualified right to strike, is not an independent limitation on state power apart from its context in the structure of the Act. Nor need we determine the vitality of the implication in Briggs-Stratton, also remarked in Insurance Agents, supra, at 494 n. 23, 80 S.Ct., at 430; that § 501(2) of the Taft-Hartley amendments to the NLRA, 29 U.S.C. 142(2), is not to be considered in connection with § 13, but rather is only an aid to construction of § 8(b)(4), 29 U.S.C. 158(b)(4), of the NLRA. We do note, however, that in determining the sense of the entire structure, of the federal law respecting the use of economic pressure and the economic weapons assumed by Congress to be available to the parties, it is not insignificant that § 501(2) in defining the term "strike" refers to the use of "any concerted slow-down or other concerted interruption of operations by employees." "It is hardly conceivable that such a word as 'strike' could have been defined in these statutes without congressional realization of the obvious scope of its application." Insurance Agents, supra, at 511 n. 6, 80 S.Ct., at 438 (opinion of Frankfurter, J.).