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Nlrb Vs Boeing Co - Citation 103275 - Court Judgment | LegalCrystal
Nlrb Vs. Boeing Co. - Court Judgment
LegalCrystal Citation legalcrystal.com/103275
Case Number 412 U.S. 67
Respondent Boeing Co.
nlrb v. boeing co. - 412 u.s. 67 (1973) u.s. supreme court nlrb v. boeing co., 412 u.s. 67 (1973) national labor relations board v. boeing co. no. 71-1607 argued march 26, 1973 decided may 21, 1973 412 u.s. 67 certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit syllabus the adjudication by the national labor relations board (nlrb) under § 8(b)(1)(a) of the national labor relations act of an unfair labor practice allegedly committed by a union does not include authority to determine whether the amount of a disciplinary fine levied by the union against a member is reasonable, the issue being one of internal union affairs over which the nlrb exercises no jurisdiction. pp. 412 u......
NLRB v. Boeing Co. - 412 U.S. 67 (1973)
U.S. Supreme Court NLRB v. Boeing Co., 412 U.S. 67 (1973)
The adjudication by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under § 8(b)(1)(A) of the National Labor Relations Act of an unfair labor practice allegedly committed by a union does not include authority to determine whether the amount of a disciplinary fine levied by the union against a member is reasonable, the issue being one of internal union affairs over which the NLRB exercises no jurisdiction. Pp. 412 U. S. 71 -78.
REHNQUIST, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BRENNAN, STEWART, WHITE, MARSHALL, and POWELL, JJ., joined. BURGER, C.J., filed a dissenting opinion, post, p. 412 U. S. 78 . DOUGLAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BURGER, C.J., and BLACKMUN, J., joined, post, p. 412 U. S. 79 .
The question presented in this case is whether the National Labor Relations Board is required by § 8(b)(1)(A) of the National Labor Relations Act [ Footnote 1 ] to inquire into the reasonableness of a disciplinary fine imposed by a union upon a member when the Board exercises its admitted authority under that section to determine whether the fine otherwise constitutes an unfair labor practice. The Board held that the validity of union fines under the Act does not depend on their being reasonable in amount. Booster Lodge No. 405, 185 N.L.R.B. 380, 383 n. 16, 75 L.R.R.M. 1004, 1007 n. 16 (1970). On petition for judicial review of this determination, the Court of Appeals held that an unreasonably large fine is coercive and restraining within the meaning of § 8(b)(1)(A), and remanded the case to the Board with directions to consider "questions relating to the reasonableness of the fines imposed by the Union." Booster Lodge No. 405, International Association of Machinists v. NLRB, 148 U.S.App.D.C. 119, 137, 459 F.2d 1143, 1161 (1972). We granted certiorari, 409 U.S. 1074 (1972), and now reverse the judgment below.
From May 16, 1963, through September 15, 1965, Booster Lodge No. 405, International Association of Machinists; Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO (the Union), and the Boeing Co. (the Company) were parties to a collective bargaining agreement. Upon expiration of this agreement, the Union called a lawful economic strike at the Company's
During the 18-day strike, some 143 employees out of 1,900 production and maintenance employees in the bargaining unit at the Michoud plant crossed the picket lines and returned to work. All of these employees were Union members at the time the strike began, although some of them tendered their resignations either before or after crossing the picket lines. [ Footnote 2 ] In late October or early November, 1965, the Union notified these employees that charges had been preferred against them for violating the International Union's constitution. The constitution provides penalties for the "improper conduct of a member," which term includes "[a]ccepting employment . . . in an establishment where a strike . . . exists." In accordance with appropriate union procedures, including notice and opportunity for a hearing, all strikebreakers were found guilty, fined $450, and barred from holding Union office for a period of five years. [ Footnote 3 ] While
some of the fines were reduced and some partial payments were received by the Union, no member paid the full $450. [ Footnote 4 ] After warning members to pay their fines or face the consequences, the Union filed suits in state court against nine individual employees to collect the fines. None of these suits has been finally adjudicated.
In February, 1966, the Company filed a charge with the Labor Board alleging that the attempted court enforcement of the fines violated § 8(b)(1)(A) of the National Labor Relations Act. The allegations were basically twofold: first, that the Union committed an unfair labor practice by fining employees who had resigned from the Union, an issue that we consider in the companion case, Machinists Aerospace Workers v. NLRB, post, p. 412 U. S. 84 ; and, second, that, as to the members who were otherwise validly fined, the fines were unreasonable in amount. Thereafter the Board's General Counsel issued a complaint, and the case was heard by a Trial Examiner. With respect to the second issue, the Trial Examiner determined that the fines were impermissibly excessive, but the Board refused to adopt his conclusion. It relied on a case decided the same day, Machinists, Local Lodge 50 (Arrow Development Co.), 185 N.L.R.B. 365, 75 L.R.R.M. 1008 (1970), reversed sub nom. O'Reilly v. NLRB, 472 F.2d 426 (CA9 1972), in which it held that Congress did not intend to give the Board authority to regulate the size of union fines or to establish standards with respect to a fine's reasonableness.
Section 8(b)(1)(A) of the Act provide, in pertinent part, that it shall be an unfair labor practice for a labor organization "to restrain or coerce (A) employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 7 of this title." [ Footnote 5 ] Among the § 7 rights guaranteed to employees is the right to refrain from any of the concerted activities described in that section. [ Footnote 6 ] We have previously held that 8(b)(1)(A) was not intended to give the Board power to regulate internal union affairs, including the imposition of disciplinary fines, with their consequent court enforcement, against members who violate the unions' constitutions and bylaws. NLRB v. Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co., 388 U. S. 175 (1967); Scofield v. NLRB, 394
This interpretation, however, permissible as it may be, is only dicta, since, in both Allis-Chalmers and in Scofield, the reasonableness of the fines was assumed. 388 U.S. at 388 U. S. 192 -193, n. 30; 394 U.S. at 394 U. S. 430 . [ Footnote 7 ] Being squarely presented with the issue in this case, we recede from the implications of the dicta in these earlier case. While
"What legislative materials there are dealing with § 8(b)(1)(A) contain not a single word referring to the application of its prohibitions to traditional internal union discipline in general, or disciplinary fines in particular. On the contrary, there are a number of assurances by its sponsors that the section was not meant to regulate the internal affairs of unions. "
388 U.S. at 388 U. S. 185 -186 (emphasis added). [ Footnote 8 ] In Scofield, we decided that Congress intended to distinguish between the external and the internal enforcement of union rules, and that, therefore, the Board would
have authority to pass on those rules affecting an individual's employment status, but not on his union membership status. 394 U.S. at 394 U. S. 428 -430.
Inquiry by the Board into the multiplicity of factors that the parties and the Court of Appeals correctly thought to have a bearing on the issue of reasonableness would necessarily lead the Board to a substantial involvement in strictly internal union affairs. While the line may not always be clear between those matters that are internal and those that are external, to the extent that the Board was required to examine into such questions as a union's motivation for imposing a fine, it would be delving into internal union affairs in a manner which we have previously held Congress did not intend. [ Footnote 9 ] Given the rationale of Allis-Chalmers and Scofield, the Board's conclusion that § 8(b)(1)(A) of the Act has nothing to say about union fines of this nature, whatever their size, is correct. Issues as to the reasonableness or unreasonableness of such fines must be decided upon the basis of the law of contracts, voluntary associations, or such other principles of law as may be applied in a forum competent to adjudicate the issue. Under our holding, state courts will be wholly free to apply state law to such issues at the suit of either the union or the member fined.
Local 28, UAW, 145 N.L.R.B. 1097, 1104 (1964). See also Minneapolis Star & Tribune Co., 109 N.L.R.B. 727, 34 L.R.R.M. 1431 (1954). We have held in analogous situations that such a consistent and contemporaneous construction of a statute by the agency charged with its enforcement is entitled to great deference by the courts. Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U. S. 424 , 401 U. S. 433 -434 (1971); Udall v. Tallman, 380 U. S. 1 , 380 U. S. 16 (1965). [ Footnote 10 ]
As we noted in Allis-Chalmers, court enforcement of union fines is not a recent innovation, but has been known at least since 1867. 388 U.S. at 388 U. S. 182 n. 9. See also Summers, The Law of Union Discipline: What the Courts Do in Fact, 70 Yale L.J. 175 (1960). The relationship between a member and his union is generally viewed as contractual in nature, International Association of Machinists v. Gonzales, 356 U. S. 617 , 356 U. S. 618 (1958); Scofield v. NLRB, 394 U.S. at 394 U. S. 426 n. 3; NLRB v. Textile Workers, 409 U. S. 213 , 409 U. S. 217 (1972), and the
We alluded to state court enforcement of unusually harsh union discipline in Allis-Chalmers when we stated that "state courts, in reviewing the imposition of union discipline, find ways to strike down discipline [which] involves a severe hardship.'" 388 U.S. at 388 U. S. 193 n. 32, quoting Summers, Legal Limitations on Union Discipline, 64 Harv.L.Rev. 1049, 1078 (1951). The Board assumed that, in view of this statement, our reference to "reasonable" fines, when reasonableness was not in issue, in Allis-Chalmers and in Scofield, was merely adverting to the usual standard applied by state courts in deciding whether to enforce union-imposed fines. The Board reads these cases, therefore, as encouraging state courts to use a reasonableness standard, not as a directive to the Board. [ Footnote 11 ]
Our review of state court cases decided both before and after our decisions in Allis-Chalmers and Scofield reveals that state courts applying state law are quite willing to determine whether disciplinary fines are reasonable in amount. [ Footnote 12 ] Indeed, the expertise required for a determination
of reasonableness may well be more evident in a judicial forum that is called upon to assess reasonableness in varying factual contexts than it is in a specialized agency. In assessing the reasonableness of disciplinary fines, for example, state courts are often able to draw on their experience in areas of the law apart from labor relations. [ Footnote 13 ]
Nor is it clear, as contended by the Court of Appeals, that the Board's setting of standards of reasonableness will necessarily result in greater uniformity in this area even if uniformity is thought to be a desirable goal. Since state courts will have jurisdiction to determine reasonableness in the enforcement context in any event, the Board's independent determination of reasonableness in an unfair labor practice context might well yield a
For all of the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the Board was warranted in determining that, when the union discipline does not interfere with the employee-employer relationship or otherwise violate a policy of the National Labor Relations Act, [ Footnote 14 ] the Congress did not authorize it "to evaluate the fairness of union discipline meted out to protect a legitimate union interest." [ Footnote 15 ] The judgment of the Court of Appeals is, therefore,
Of the 143 employees who crossed the picket lines, 24 made no attempt to resign from the Union, 61 resigned before crossing the picket lines, and 58 resigned after crossing the picket lines and reporting for work. The validity of the fines imposed against those who resigned from the Union is considered in a companion case, Machinists & Aerospace Workers v. NLRB, post, p. 412 U. S. 84 . See also NLRB v. Textile Workers, 409 U. S. 213 (1972).
Moreover, since the Board has consistently over a long period of time interpreted the Act as not giving it authority to examine the reasonableness of disciplinary fines, infra at 412 U. S. 74 -75, it is not likely that the Court specifically intended, by the use of a single adjective, and without mentioning the Labor Board cases to the contrary, to overturn the Board's interpretation of the Act. Nor can it be argued that the Court was unaware of the Board's interpretation, for the Scofield Court stated that, in Allis-Chalmers, it
Scofield v. NLRB, 394 U. S. 423 , 394 U. S. 428 (1969).
NLRB v. Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co., 388 U.S. at 388 U. S. 194 .
Cf. Motor Coach Employees v. Lockridge, 403 U. S. 274 , 403 U. S. 296 (1971); U. O. P. Norplex v. NLRB, 445 F.2d 155, 158 (CA7 1971) ("The reasonableness of the fines is a matter for the state court to determine should the Union seek judicial enforcement of the fines").
Scofield v. NLRB, 394 U.S. at 394 U. S. 429 ; NLRB v. Marine Workers, 391 U. S. 418 (1968).
A union must, of course, have some disciplinary powers, or it would disintegrate. However, the power to discipline can easily turn from a means of enforcing valid
During the strike, about 143 employees at the Michoud plant crossed the picket line and reported for work. All of these had been Union members during the 1963-1965 contract period. Some of the 143 who worked during the strike did not resign from the Union; 119 did resign -- 61 before they crossed the picket line and returned
Boeing filed a charge of an unfair labor practice against the Union under § 8(b)(1)(A) of the Act. * The General
The unfair labor practice under § 8(b)(1)(A) is the action of a union "to restrain or coerce" an employee from the "right to refrain from" assisting a union as that right is defined in § 7. In Scofield v. NLRB, 394 U. S. 423 , we upheld a union rule and concluded "that its enforcement by reasonable fines does not constitute the restraint or coercion proscribed by § 8(b)(1)(A)." Id. at 394 U. S. 436 (emphasis added). See also NLRB v. Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co., 388 U. S. 175 . The imposition of a nominal fine of $1 might suit the circumstances of a case, where a $1,000 fine would be monstrous. A nominal fine might be justified where, as here, the employees had no warning that they would or could be fined for working behind a picket line. A fine where the only sanction would be temporary suspension from the union might be "reasonable," yet unreasonable if it was court-enforceable, meaning, as it does here, that attorneys' fees, costs,
and interest may be added. A member who must pay the union's attorney as well as his own if he challenges the reasonableness of a fine in a state court and loses, may well be suffering an unconscionable penalty. Moreover, the fine may be imposed by a union which believed, as did the present Union, that the member had no "right" to resign, though NLRB v. Textile Workers, 409 U. S. 213 , held to the contrary. The present fines seem to be swollen by that predilection of the Union. The present fines also exceed the earnings of the workers during the strike period. By what standard can that possibly be justified? As member McCulloch of the Board, dissenting, said, the excess of the fines over the wages collected during this period is, in actual effect, an assessment after the strike is over. If after the strike the Union caused Boeing to suspend a member without pay after the strike because he had worked during the strike, there could be no question but that the Union violated § (b)(1)(A). Yet the assessment of fines greater than the wages earned during the strike has precisely that effect. Thus, in assessing an unreasonable fine the Union, in my view, goes beyond the permissible bounds of regulating its internal affairs.
It is no answer to say that the reasonableness of a fine may be tested in a state court suit. That envisages a rich and powerful union suing a rich and powerful employee. Employees, however, are often at the bottom of the totem pole, without financial resources, and unworldly when it comes to litigation. Such a suit is likely to be no contest. The Board procedures, on the other hand, may be readily available. If an employee files a charge with any merit, the Regional Director will issue a complaint. Thereafter, the General Counsel represents the employee, and the agency bears any cost of prosecuting the claim.
But my difficulty with the Court's decision is even greater. State judges, though honest and competent, have no expertise in labor-management relations. The Board does have that expertise, and can evolve guidelines based on its broad experience. It is said that Congress has provided the Board with no guidelines for passing on the "reasonableness" of union-imposed fines. But the Board, through case-by-case treatment, has been developing an administrative common law concerning "unfair" practices of employers and unions alike. We have said on other occasions that the "experience and common sense" which are facets of the expertise of the Board, NLRB v. Radio & Television Broadcast Engineers, 364 U. S. 573 , 364 U. S. 582 -583, are adequate for the difficult and delicate responsibilities which Congress has entrusted to it, subject of course to judicial review. A fine discretely related to a legitimate union need and reflecting principled motivations under the law is one thing. A fine that reflects the raw power exercised by a union in its hunger for all-pervasive authority over members is quite another problem. The Labor Board, which knows the nuances of this problem better than any other tribunal, is the keeper of the conscience under the Act. It and it alone has primary responsibility to police unions, as well as employers, in protection of the rights of workers. In my view, it cannot properly perform its duties under § 8(b)(1)(A) unless it determines whether the nature and amount of the fine levied by a union constitute an unfair labor practice.