Opinion ID: 398107
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Is this a case which lends itself to the doctrine of preemption?

Text: 13 At the outset we note that Oklahoma Statute Title 85 §§ 5-7 (Supp.1980) is in its nature remote from the National Labor Relations Act and the collective bargaining agreement that was agreed upon between Peabody and the Union. The remedy which is being pursued by the plaintiffs in no way conflicts with the collective bargaining agreement or with the National Labor Relations Act. Thus, it cannot be said that this two sided action is preempted. The statute impedes neither collective bargaining nor any of the policies and purposes of the federal statute. 14 It is quite true that the powers of the National Labor Relations Board are very broad, and the Board functions under a liberal construction of interstate commerce. Its main purpose is to promote the organization of unions and to provide the unions with an atmosphere of freedom to organize and to bargain collectively. The kind of state law or policy that conflicts with the NLRB's jurisdiction is one which deals with a similar subject and which limits, restricts or interferes with the functioning of the National Labor Relations Act. 15 The Supreme Court's decision in Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. San Diego County District Council of Carpenters, 436 U.S. 180, 187, 98 S.Ct. 1745, 1752, 56 L.Ed.2d 209 (1978) raised the question whether the granting of an injunction against picketing under state law was in conflict with the National Labor Relations Act. Indeed the question posed in the Supreme Court opinion per Mr. Justice Stevens was whether the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, deprived the state court of the power to entertain an action by an employer to enforce state trespass laws against picketing, which is arguably-but not definitely-prohibited or protected by federal law. The Supreme Court concluded that the National Labor Relations Act did not preempt trespass law enforcement jurisdiction. The Supreme Court said in passing: 16 The Court has held that state jurisdiction to enforce its laws prohibiting violence, defamation, the intentional infliction of emotional distress, or obstruction of access to property is not preempted by the NLRA. But none of those violations of state law involves protected conduct. In contrast some violations of state trespass law may be actually protected by § 7 of the federal law. 17 436 U.S. at 204, 98 S.Ct. at 1761. 18 The Court cited NLRB v. Babcock & Wilcox, 351 U.S. 105, 76 S.Ct. 679, 100 L.Ed. 975, which recognized that in certain circumstances union organizers have the limited right of access to the employers' premises for the purpose of engaging in solicitation. The Court further observed, however, that the locus of the accommodation of § 7 rights and private property rights    may fall at differing points along the spectrum depending on the nature and strength of the respective § 7 rights and private property rights asserted in any given context. 436 U.S. at 204, 98 S.Ct. at 1761, quoting Hudgens v. NLRB, 424 U.S. 507, 522, 96 S.Ct. 1029, 1037, 47 L.Ed.2d 196. In Sears, the Union had not presented the matter to the Labor Board and had not invoked its jurisdiction. The Court ultimately found that Congress had not intended to protect the character of the union's conduct, or to deprive the California courts of jurisdiction to entertain Sears' trespass action. 19 The holding in the Sears case seriously undermines the appellees' argument that the state statute is facially precluded by federal law. In Farmer v. United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, 430 U.S. 290, 295, 97 S.Ct. 1056, 1060, 51 L.Ed.2d 338, it was said: 20 (B)ecause Congress has refrained from providing specific directions in respect to the scope of preempted state regulation, the Court has been unwilling to declare preempted all local regulation that touches or concerns in any way the complex in the relationships between employees, employers, and unions. 21 Farmer, supra, at 295-96, 97 S.Ct. at 1060-1061 (quoting Motor Coach Employees v. Lockridge, 403 U.S. 274, 289, 91 S.Ct. 1909, 1919, 29 L.Ed.2d 473 (1971). It is thus apparent at the very outset that the preemption doctrine is not turned on by simply shouting preemption or by pressing a button. 22 Two rationales apply to the invocation of the preemption doctrine. They are, first, the supremacy clause principle and second, the primary jurisdiction theory. Sears, supra, 436 U.S. at 198-200, 98 S.Ct. at 1758-1759. The supremacy clause focuses on the extent to which Congress has occupied the field of labor relations by extending federal protection to certain conduct. The primary jurisdiction theory requires preemption where the conduct at issue is subject to the unfair labor practice jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board. Id.; Wilkes-Barre Publishing Co. v. Newspaper Guild of Wilkes-Barre, 504 F.Supp. 54, 65 (M.D.Pa.1980). 23 Some guidelines were provided by the Supreme Court in San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon, 359 U.S. 236, 79 S.Ct. 773, 3 L.Ed.2d 775 (1959). There the Court said that when the activities which a state purports to regulate are protected by § 7 of the NLRA, or constitute an unfair labor practice under § 8, due regard for the federal enactment requires that state jurisdiction must yield. The Court further said that when an activity is arguably subject to § 7 or § 8 of the Act, the states as well as the federal courts must defer to the exclusive competence of the National Labor Relations Board if the danger of state interference with national policy is to be averted. Garmon, supra, 79 S.Ct. at 779-780. 24 The formula discussed in Garmon was later supplemented by decisions establishing an alternative supremacy clause-based route to preemption where the conduct at issue is neither arguably protected nor arguably prohibited by federal labor law. See, e.g., Lodge 76, International Association of Machinists v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, 427 U.S. 132, 96 S.Ct. 2548, 49 L.Ed.2d 396 (1976); Local 20, Teamsters Union v. Morton, 377 U.S. 252, 84 S.Ct. 1253, 12 L.Ed.2d 280 (1964). These cases hold that a finding of preemption is justified if the court finds that the absence of federal regulation is indicative of a congressional determination to leave the challenged conduct available, and that to allow the states to regulate the conduct would be to upset the balance of power between labor and management expressed in national labor policy. Local 20, Teamsters Union v. Morton, supra, at 260, 84 S.Ct. at 1258. 25 There is a third preemption standard that is called the frustration test. This is outlined in 93 Harv.L.Rev. 60, 270 and n. 46 (1979). This test bases the decision to preempt state jurisdiction upon the nature of the particular interests being asserted and the effect upon the administration of national labor policies of permitting the state court to proceed. Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 180, 87 S.Ct. 903, 911, 17 L.Ed.2d 842 (1967), quoted in Sears, supra, 436 U.S. at 188-89, 98 S.Ct. at 1752-1753. The state law will be found preempted if application of the law would frustrate the effective implementation of the National Labor Relations Act's processes. Lodge 76, International Association of Machinists, supra, 427 U.S. at 147-148, 96 S.Ct. at 2556-2557; Railroad Trainmen v. Jacksonville Terminal Co., 394 U.S. 369, 380, 89 S.Ct. 1109, 1116, 22 L.Ed.2d 344 (1969); Wilkes-Barre Publishing Co., supra, at 66. 26 The Supreme Court has discouraged the inflexible application of the Garmon doctrine, especially where the state has a substantial interest in regulation of the conduct at issue and the state's interest is one that does not threaten undue interference with the federal regulatory scheme. Farmer v. United Brotherhood of Carpenters, supra, 430 U.S. at 290, 97 S.Ct. at 1058. The Court has recognized exceptions to the preemption doctrine in cases that fulfill the just mentioned standard. 27 A state statute otherwise within the scope of Garmon will not be preempted if the conduct it regulates was a merely peripheral concern of the Labor Management Relations Act or touched interests so deeply rooted in local feeling and responsibility that, in the absence of compelling congressional direction, it could not be inferred that Congress had deprived the states of the power to act. Garmon, supra, 359 U.S. at 243-44, 79 S.Ct. at 778-779, quoted in Farmer, supra, 430 U.S. at 296-97, 97 S.Ct. at 1061. One such example is the decision of the Supreme Court in New York Telephone Co. v. New York State Department of Labor, 440 U.S. 519, 539-40, 99 S.Ct. 1328, 1340-1341, 59 L.Ed.2d 553 (1979), wherein a state unemployment compensation statute was not preempted. See also Sears, supra, 436 U.S. at 195-97, 98 S.Ct. at 1756-1757 (state trespass statute not preempted); Farmer, supra, 430 U.S. at 304, 97 S.Ct. at 1065 (intentional infliction of mental distress action not preempted); Linn v. Plant Guard Workers, 383 U.S. 53, 86 S.Ct. 657, 15 L.Ed.2d 582 (1966) (libel action not preempted); Automobile Workers v. Russell, 356 U.S. 634, 78 S.Ct. 932, 2 L.Ed.2d 1030 (1958) (action for malicious interference with lawful occupation not preempted; conduct involved mass picketing and threats of violence); Youngdahl v. Rainfair, Inc., 355 U.S. 131, 78 S.Ct. 206, 2 L.Ed.2d 151 (1957) (state injunction against violent or threatening activity not preempted); Machinists v. Gonzales, 356 U.S. 617, 78 S.Ct. 923, 2 L.Ed.2d 1018 (1958) (action for wrongful expulsion from union membership not preempted). In addition, the Court has refused to apply the preemption doctrine where the particular rule of law sought to be invoked before another tribunal is so structured and administered that, in virtually all instances, it is safe to presume that judicial supervision will not disserve the interests promoted by the federal labor statutes. Motor Coach Employees v. Lockridge, 403 U.S. 274, 91 S.Ct. 1909, 29 L.Ed.2d 473 (1971), quoted in Farmer, supra, 430 U.S. at 297, 97 S.Ct. at 1061. See Vaca v. Sipes, supra (union's duty of fair representation). 28