Opinion ID: 567686
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Alleged Union Racial Discrimination

Text: 22 The Company contends the Union should have been denied certification because the Union allegedly discriminates against employees on the basis of race. Therefore, argues the Company, this court should remand for a hearing on the Company's evidence of discrimination. In rejecting this argument, the Board stated that [i]t is well settled that allegations of racial discrimination are properly cognizable under the duty of fair representation and must be adjudicated under Sec. 8(b) of the Act and cannot constitute a defense to an 8(a)(5) proceeding. Respondent's App. at 30. 23 In Handy Andy, Inc., 228 N.L.R.B. 447 (1977), the Board established that employer allegations of union racial discrimination will not be entertained as a defense to a refusal to bargain unless that allegation relates to unfairness in the election itself. 7 [B]ecause of the essentially nonadversary nature of representation proceedings, we believe that allegations of invidious discrimination should be considered in such proceedings only when required to fulfill our primary obligation of protecting employees from interference in exercising their right to select a bargaining representative. Id. at 454. To consider in representation proceedings claims of union discrimination unrelated to the election, reasoned the Board, would provide employers with an incentive to inject charges of union racial discrimination into Board certification and bargaining order proceedings as a delaying tactic in order to avoid collective bargaining altogether rather than to attack racial discrimination. Id. at 453. 8 24 Here, the Company has not provided concrete evidence that the alleged union discrimination was in any way related to the election or the pre-election campaign. The Company alleges that a number of charges of discrimination have been filed against the Union, that the Union has been named in at least one lawsuit for its discriminatory practices, that it has attempted to disobey court orders, and that the Union probably has denied membership to minorities on racial grounds. However, under Handy Andy, because these allegations are unrelated to the election process, an evidentiary hearing was not required. 9