Opinion ID: 458754
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Suits to enforce contractual rights.

Text: 34 We are aware that several circuit court and NLRB decisions have held that section 8(b)(4)'s coercion bar does not prevent a union from bringing a lawsuit to enforce its contractual rights. See Carrier Air Conditioning Co. v. NLRB, 547 F.2d 1178, 1191 & n. 15 (2d Cir.1976), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 974, 97 S.Ct. 2940, 53 L.Ed.2d 1072 (1977); Local 644, United Brotherhood of Carpenters v. NLRB, 533 F.2d 1136, 1145 (D.C.Cir.1975); Acco Construction Equipment, Inc. v. NLRB, 511 F.2d 848, 852 (9th Cir.1975); Local Union No. 48 of Sheet Metal Workers, International Association v. Hardy Corp., 332 F.2d 682, 686 (5th Cir.1964); Bay Counties District Council of Carpenters, 265 N.L.R.B. 646, 650 n. 10 (1982); National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians and Metromedia, 255 N.L.R.B. 372, 374 (1981), petition dism'd (mem.) sub nom. Metromedia, Inc. v. NLRB, 676 F.2d 711 (9th Cir.1982); Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 89 and Sullivan & Associates, 230 N.L.R.B. 638, 638-39 (1977). 35 In none of these cases, however, would the enforcement of the union's contract in court have resulted in a conflict with an existing section 10(k) Board determination. Thus, these decisions were never required to resolve the conflict between the policy of encouraging dispute resolution through the courts and the countervailing labor policy considerations of the supremacy doctrine. Instead, these decisions dealt with arguably meritorious claims that had not been precluded by a contrary NLRB determination, see National Association of Broadcast Employees, 255 N.L.R.B. at 374; Laborers' International Union, 230 N.L.R.B. at 639. Furthermore, when the union's use of the contractual grievance procedure in connection with its demand for payment of lost wages amounted to 'thinly disguise[d] clearly coercive tactics,'  the NLRB has found section 8(b)(4) coercion to be present. Brotherhood of Teamsters & Auto Truck Drivers Local 85, 224 N.L.R.B. 801, 807-08 (1976), quoting Southern California Pipe Trades District Council 16, 207 N.L.R.B. 698, 700 (1973); see Local Union No. 7, International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, 273 N.L.R.B. No. 58 at 12 (Dec. 14, 1983) (finding section 8(b)(4)(ii)(D) violation when longshoremen's union sought to enforce arbitrator's award of time-in-lieu payments against company which had no direct control over work assignment and section 10(k) decision had already assigned work to AWPPW). 36 We therefore uphold the NLRB's finding of a section 8(b)(4)(ii)(D) violation. Because the section 10(k) order expressly requires the union to refrain from using means proscribed by Section 8(b)(4)(D), the Board's finding of noncompliance is also affirmed. 37