Source: http://openjurist.org/229/f2d/138/kovach-v-national-labor-relations-board
Timestamp: 2017-07-28 00:41:52
Document Index: 340688671

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 160', '§ 8', '§ 158', '§ 7', '§ 157', '§ 7', '§ 7', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 160', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 102', '§ 10', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8']

229 F2d 138 Kovach v. National Labor Relations Board | OpenJurist
229 F. 2d 138 - Kovach v. National Labor Relations Board HomeFederal Reporter, Second Series 229 F.2d.
229 F2d 138 Kovach v. National Labor Relations Board 229 F.2d 138
Harry L. Browne, Raymond F. Beagle, Jr., Kansas City, Mo., and Spencer, Fane, Britt & Browne, Kansas City, Mo., for petitioner.
Marcel Mallet-Prevost, Asst. Gen. Counsel, Elizabeth W. Weston, Attorney, N. L. R. B., Washington, D. C., Theophil C. Kammholz, General Counsel, David P. Findling, Associate General Counsel, John Francis Lawless, Attorneys, National Labor Relations Board, Washington, D. C., for respondent.
Donald Cronson, New York City, John H. Morse, New York City, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, New York City, for intervenor Studebaker Packard Corp.
Nathan Levy, South Bend, Ind., George N. Beamer, Joseph T. Helling, South Bend, Ind., Crumpacker, May, Beamer, Levy & Searer, South Bend, Ind., of counsel, for intervenor, Local No. 5, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, UAW-CIO.
We do not think that the time limitation upon appeals in Rule 73 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S. C.A., controls the time within which petitions to review a decision of the Labor Board may be filed. Strictly speaking a petition to review is not an appeal within the meaning of Rule 73. It is an independent statutory proceeding, initiated in the Court of Appeals, to review the order of the Board. A time limitation on the right to petition for such a review if fixed by statute would be in the nature of a statute of limitations or of a condition to the right. In Haas v. Overholser, D.C.Cir., 223 F.2d 314, where a former civil service employee brought suit in the District Court to set aside an administrative decision to terminate his employment, the Court of Appeals held that the former employee was guilty of laches because he had waited more than two years after termination of his employment.
The cases cited by Kovach involve petitions for enforcement by the Board, rather than petitions for review by an aggrieved person. It has been held that the Board may successfully petition for enforcement of an order two and one-half years after the order was entered. National Labor Relations Board v. Pool Mfg. Co., 339 U.S. 577, 70 S.Ct. 830, 94 L.Ed. 1077. One case cited by Kovach, however, intimates that a petition to review is subject to no more limitation than is a petition for enforcement. In National Labor Relations Board v. Central Dispensary & Emergency Hospital, 79 U.S.App.D.C. 274, 145 F.2d 852, 854, the court said:
Those who owned "off-brand" (i. e. other than Studebaker) cars were severely criticized. An attempt was made to have the Union adopt a rule that employees could drive only Studebakers. The President of the Union spoke out strongly against such a Union policy and the proposal was defeated. Groups of workers, however, began refusing to work with fellow employees who drove "off-brand" cars. In each case the employees in a certain department would stop work. When asked why, they would say that they were protesting against a particular employee (usually in that department) because he drove an "off-brand" car. They would say that as soon as the offending person would get rid of his "off-brand" car or would be removed from their department they would resume work. The foreman would then take the offending worker to the office of Mr. Beutlich, the Company's Assistant Director of Industrial Relations. Mr. Beutlich would say that as far as the Company was concerned its employees could buy whatever make of car they preferred, but that it could not afford a shutdown because of one man and that it would have to take the offending worker's badge until he could make peace with his fellow workers. Without a badge no one could enter the plant, so this action was in effect a layoff. Many of the employees so laid-off, including the petitioner, Kovach, have never returned to work at Studebaker.
"Any person aggrieved by a final order of the Board granting or denying in whole or in part the relief sought may obtain a review of such order * * *." 29 U.S.C.A. § 160 (f). (Emphasis added.)
The first substantive argument made by the petitioner is that the facts as found by the Hearing Examiner and accepted by the Board establish a violation by the Company of § 8(a) (1) of the Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 158(a) (1). The gist of the argument is that the employees' practice of buying Studebakers is a concerted activity for their "mutual aid or protection," and is therefore protected by § 7 of the Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 157. The petitioner says that, this being true, the right of individuals to refrain from engaging in such concerted activity is also protected by § 7. Therefore petitioner insists that the Company laid off the nineteen employees because of action by those employees which was protected by § 7 and that § 8(a) (1) makes that an unfair labor practice on the part of the employer. Of course, the Company would not be excused of violations of the Act merely because it had been coerced by work stoppages by other employees. N. L. R. B. v. American Car & Foundry Co., 7 Cir., 161 F.2d 501; N. L. R. B. v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 5 Cir., 129 F.2d 661; Printz Leather Co., Inc., 94 N.L.R.B. 1312. The Board, however, does not argue the merits of an 8(a) (1) violation.
The only reply the Labor Board makes to Kovach's claim that there has been a violation of § 8(a) (1) is that the question cannot properly be brought before this court. The complaint alleged an independent violation of § 8(a) (1), and the Hearing Examiner found that the Company had not violated § 8(a) (1). However, the Board in its Decision and Order expressly refrained from deciding that question. In Footnote 2 of its decision the Board said:
"With respect to the Trial Examiner's finding that Section 8(a) (1) was not violated, the General Counsel excepted only on the ground that `the (19 complaining) employees had the right under Section 7 to refrain from joining in union action' (italics added). As we have found above, there was no union policy or action to which the suspensions may be attributed."
No exception was filed to the Hearing Examiner's findings with regard to the alleged violation of § 8(a) (1) so the Board following its own rule did not consider that finding. We, in turn, may ordinarily consider only objections which have been urged before the Board.
"No objection that has not been urged before the Board, its member, agent, or agency, shall be considered by the court, unless the failure or neglect to urge such objection shall be excused because of extraordinary circumstances." 29 U.S.C.A. § 160 (e).
Four months after the Board's decision the Petitioner filed a motion to reconsider. In his motion he argued that certain parts of the General Counsel's Exceptions did relate to the finding as to the alleged independent violation of § 8(a) (1), and he asked the Board to overrule the Trial Examiner's conclusion and find that the Company had committed an unfair labor practice in violation of § 8(a) (1). The Board overruled the motion on two grounds: nothing new had been raised, and it was not timely. Petitioner now claims that the grounds given by the Board in overruling his motion show that the Board did originally consider the question of an independent violation of § 8(a) (1) because otherwise it would have been new material when raised in the motion. It is difficult to reconcile this argument with the Board's affirmative statement that it was not considering the possibility of an independent violation of § 8(a) (1).
The motion to reconsider cites the General Counsel's Exceptions 59 and 71 as those which bring the issue of an independent § 8(a) (1) violation before the Board. But an examination of these exceptions shows that, like the rest of the statement, they are addressed to the employee's right to refrain from taking part in "union action," and that § 8(a) (1) is mentioned only because under the facts of this case the Union is accused of an unfair labor practice under § 8(b) (1) (A) by coercing the Company to layoff the Petitioner in violation of § 8(a) (1). This is demonstrated by the section of the Intermediate Report to which Exception 71 is made. That part of the Report begins:
"Since there can be no Section 8 (b) (2) violation unless that which is caused or attempted is a violation of Section 8(a) (3), and no Section 8(b) (1) (A) violation unless the employee right claimed to have been trenched upon is also one safeguarded from employer interference by Section 8(a) (1), we shall consider first whether, independent of union causation, the Company's conduct was such as alone to be illegal under Section 8(a) (3) and 8(a) (1), and, if not, then whether what was lawful without union causation was made unlawful with it."
The difference between arguing a § 8 (a) (1) violation in order to show an unfair labor practice on the part of the Union under § 8(b) (1) (A), and arguing it as an independent unfair labor practice by the Company is graphically demonstrated here by the fact that the Board completely refuted the former by finding that there was no union action involved in this case. Of course, if the argument had been that the Company was guilty of an independent § 8(a) (1) violation the presence or absence of "union action" would be immaterial.
In summary: the statement of exceptions, including Exceptions 59 and 71, claimed only that the Union was guilty of an unfair labor practice under § 8(b) (1) (A) by coercing the Company to violate § 8(a) (1); and the Board completely answered this contention by determining that there was no Union action. Under its own rule (29 C.F.R. § 102.46), the Board was correct in refusing to decide any more. As we pointed out above, § 10(e) of the Act provides that this court may not review any objection to the Board's order which has not been urged before the Board unless the failure to urge the objection before the Board is excused because of extraordinary circumstances. No such circumstances have been brought to our attention.
The remaining argument that Petitioner makes is that the Union is guilty of an unfair labor practice under § 8(b) (2) by causing the Company to discriminate against him and other employees in violation of § 8(a) (3). Before the Board the petitioner also argued that the Union had violated § 8(b) (1) (A), but he has not renewed that argument before this court. The Board answered all of the petitioner's contentions by finding that "* * * the Union had no policy giving rise to a union obligation concerning the cars its members might or might not buy, and did not, in fact, cause, or attempt to cause, the suspensions or the work stoppages leading to the suspensions." We not only find ample evidence to support the Board's finding that the Union did not cause or try to cause the layoffs, but from the record as a whole we reach the same conclusion and further believe that this finding is a complete answer to the charge of a violation of § 8(b) (2).
Section 8(b) (2) of the Act makes it an unfair labor practice for the union "to cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an employee" in violation of § 8(a) (3). The Board's finding, that the Union did not cause or try to cause the layoffs, is a finding, that the Union did not violate § 8(b) (2). The section does not place upon the Union the duty of stopping a "wild-cat" strike by some of its members.