Opinion ID: 2341461
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Power of State Courts to Enjoin Violence During Labor Disputes

Text: The hearing court concluded that no labor dispute existed between Altemose and the Council and that the latter's course of conduct was intended to coerce Altemose not to contract with subcontractors who hire nonunion employees. So viewed, the acts complained of constituted an unfair labor practice by the Council within section 8(b) (4) of the Labor-Management Relations Act, supra, 29 U.S.C.A. § 158(b) (4), commonly referred to as a secondary boycott. See Kerr v. Butler Building Trades Council, AFL-CIO, 447 Pa. 247, 288 A. 2d 525 (1972). Appellants argue that this interpretation of their activities is erroneous in that they were picketing to protest the destruction of area wage standards by Altemose and its subcontractors. If in fact this were so, the Council's activities would be protected under § 7 of the LMRA. [8] Under either view, however, defendants' conduct is arguably subject to § 7 or § 8 of the [Labor-Management Relations] Act and the Supreme Court has held that in such circumstances the act of Congress vesting jurisdiction in the National Labor Relations Board preempts the jurisdiction of state and federal courts. San Diego Building Trades Council, etc. v. Garmon, 359 U.S. 236, 3 L. Ed. 2d 775 (1959); see Kerr v. Butler Building Trades Council, supra. Grafted onto this general rule, however, is an important exception. The Supreme Court of the United States, both before and after the Taft-Hartley [Labor-Management Relations] Act, has repeatedly held that State Courts have the power, the right and the duty to restrain violence, mass picketing and overt threats of violence, and to preserve and protect public order and safety and to prevent property damage  even if, absent such conduct, the activities complained of would constitute unfair labor practices [or protected activities] over which the National Labor Relations Board, would have exclusive jurisdiction: [citations in the margin] [9]  (emphasis in original). City Line Open Hearth, Inc. v. Hotel, Motel & Club Employees' Union, 413 Pa. 420, 431, 197 A. 2d 614 (1964). See also Amalgamated Assoc. of Sheet, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America, etc. v. Lockridge, 403 U.S. 274 (1971). [10] State jurisdiction has prevailed in these situations because the compelling state interest, in the scheme of our federalism, in the maintenance of domestic peace is not overriden [sic] in the absence of clearly expressed congressional direction. San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon, supra, 359 U.S. at 247. The same considerations which underly the violence exception to the federal preemption doctrine no doubt prompted the Pennsylvania legislature, in treating of nonfederal labor disputes, to divest the jurisdiction of the State Labor Relations Board in favor of the courts where public order is threatened. Section 4(d) of the Labor Anti-Injunction Act, Act of June 2, 1937, P.L. 1198, 43 P.S. 206d(d) provides that the state courts shall be without jurisdiction to issue any injunctions in labor disputes except where in the course of a labor dispute as herein defined, an employe, or employes acting in concert, or a labor organization, or the members, officers, agents, or representatives of a labor organization, seize, hold, damage, or destroy the plant, equipment, machinery, or other property of the employer with the intention of compelling the employer to accede to any demands, conditions, or terms of employment, or for collective bargaining. We have no difficulty in concluding that the evidence adduced below and the findings of fact based thereon unquestionably justified the lower court's decree enjoining any future violence by the Council. Appellants do not seriously argue to the contrary.