Opinion ID: 397209
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Underlying Relationship of the Parties

Text: 3 The events in this case grow out of a controversy at the Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, located in Lake Charles, Louisiana. In 1976, the Union won a contested election and became the certified bargaining representative of the Hospital's employees after the National Labor Relations Board overruled the Hospital's objections to the election. The final tally showed that 171 employees voted for the Union, while 160 voted against it. 1 4 To force the Union to file unfair labor practices for a refusal to bargain, the Hospital then declined to meet with Union representatives. This is the established and proper means of mounting an election challenge. R. Gorman, Labor Law 60 (1976). 2 The Hospital advised the Union that it would accept a judicial determination of its duty to bargain. The Union, for strategic reasons, however, did not then file charges with the Board. Instead, to avoid the delay in moving a case through the Board and the courts, the Union took more direct action. To aid the Union in its bargaining efforts, the Office & Professional Employees International Union sent a regional representative, Jack Langford, to Lake Charles. On January 25, 1977, Langford began to lay the groundwork for a strike against the Hospital. Langford did this by giving notice to the FMCS that the initial bargaining between the Union and the Hospital had broken down. 5