Opinion ID: 358135
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Exclusive or primary jurisdiction of the NLRB

Text: 24 Standard's first attack on the subject matter jurisdiction of the trial court comes by way of its assertion that the NLRB has exclusive and/or primary jurisdiction of the matters in issue. We believe Standard's reliance on such cases as Motor Coach Employees v. Lockridge, 403 U.S. 274, 91 S.Ct. 1909, 29 L.Ed.2d 473 (1971); San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon, 359 U.S. 236, 79 S.Ct. 773, 3 L.Ed.2d 775 (1959), and Garner v. Teamsters Local Union No. 776, 346 U.S. 485, 74 S.Ct. 161, 98 L.Ed. 228 (1953), to be seriously misplaced. Those cases all involved the issue of whether state tribunals had been preempted by the NLRA, 2 not the issue presented in this case of whether federal courts have jurisdiction under § 301 of the NLRA to enforce arbitration awards. A long line of Supreme Court cases has reaffirmed the now-familiar doctrine that federal district courts have jurisdiction . . . over enforcement suits even though the conduct involved was arguably or would amount to an unfair labor practice within the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board. Hines v. Anchor Motor Freight, 424 U.S. 554, 562, 96 S.Ct. 1048, 1055, 47 L.Ed.2d 231 (1976). 3 Such suits are cognizable because of the evident congressional determination that courts should be free to interpret and enforce collective-bargaining agreements even where that process may involve condemning or permitting conduct arguably subject to the protection or prohibition of the National Labor Relations Act. Motor Coach Employees v. Lockridge, supra, 403 U.S. at 300, 91 S.Ct. at 1925. 25 There is no question that the District Court's jurisdiction was properly invoked under 29 U.S.C. § 185(a). The question is whether, and to what extent, the District Court could enforce the arbitration award. This issue, really the focal issue in this case, will be dealt with in Part IV, Infra, but we conclude that the District Judge properly dealt with this branch of Standard's challenge to its jurisdiction. 26