Opinion ID: 3066125
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Injunction Must Be Vacated Because ASIG

Text: has not Complied with Section 8 of the NLGA. Even if the majority’s one-sided construction of the RLA could be justified, the injunction must still be vacated because ASIG failed to comply with the requirements of Section 8 of the NLGA before seeking that injunction. In order to obtain a labor injunction, a complainant must not only seek to enjoin behavior that falls within an exception to the NLGA, it must meet the statutory requirements set out in that Act. 29 U.S.C. § 101 (“No court of the United States, as defined in this chapter, shall have jurisdiction to issue any restraining order or temporary or permanent injunction in a case involving or growing out of a labor dispute, except in a strict conformity with the provisions of this chapter . . . .”). Section 8 of the NLGA states that “[n]o restraining order or injunctive relief shall be granted to any complainant who has failed . . . to make every reasonable effort to settle such dispute either by negotiation or with the aid of any available governmental machinery of mediation or voluntary arbitration.” 29 U.S.C. § 108. This principle applies even where the injunction is aimed at enforcing compliance with a specific duty of the ASI V. IBT 41 RLA. See Grand Trunk W. R.R., Inc. v. Bhd. of Maint. of Way, 497 F.3d 568, 571 (6th Cir. 2007) (analyzing whether employer had complied with Section 8 where the injunction sought to enforce provisions of the RLA). In order to comply with Section 8, a complainant “must also go beyond [its legal obligations] and make all reasonable effort, at the least by the methods specified if they are available, though none may involve complying with any legal duty.” Bhd. Of R.R. Trainmen Enter. Lodge, No. 27 v. Toledo P. & W. R.R., 321 U.S. 50, 57 (1944). The majority holds that because the Fuellers “have not carried their duty under the RLA, ASIG has shirked none of its duties.” Maj. at 23. In other words, the majority contends that because the Fuellers have not sought a representative, ASIG does not have a legal obligation to negotiate. Id. Section 8, however, requires ASIG to take steps to resolve a dispute even if it is not legally required to do so, prior to even seeking an injunction. See Bhd. Of R.R. Trainmen Enter. Lodge, No. 27, 321 U.S. at 57; Carter v. Herrin Motor Freight Lines, 131 F.2d 557, 561 (5th Cir. 1942) (“[The NLGA] denies the equitable relief of injunction to one, who, as plaintiff did here, standing upon his legal rights, fails to use every reasonable effort by negotiation, mediation or arbitration to find a common ground for composing and settling a labor dispute.”). Interestingly, this language mirrors the language that the majority finds so persuasive in Section 2, First of the RLA. 45 U.S.C. § 152, First. Surely if “every reasonable effort” requires the Fuellers to seek a representative before they can strike, the same language in the NLGA requires ASIG to at least make some effort to resolve the dispute before seeking the drastic remedy of a labor injunction. Accordingly, ASIG has not fulfilled its obligations under Section 8 of the NLGA, the district court 42 ASI V. IBT did not have jurisdiction to issue the injunction in this case, and the injunction issued by the district court should be vacated.