Florida Power Light Co v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 641 National Labor Relations Board v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 8212 556, 73 8212 795

Decision Date24 June 1974
Docket NumberAFL-CIO,Nos. 73,s. 73
Citation41 L.Ed.2d 477,417 U.S. 790,94 S.Ct. 2737
PartiesFLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO., Petitioner, v. INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL 641, et al. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Petitioner, v. INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS,, et al. —556, 73—795
CourtU.S. Supreme Court
Syllabus

A union does not commit an unfair labor practice under § 8(b)(1)(B) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it disciplines supervisor-members for crossing a picket line and performing rank-and-file struck work during a lawful economic strike against the employer. Pp. 798—813.

(a) Both the language and legislative history of § 8(b)(1)(B) reflect a clear congressional concern with protecting employers in the selection of representatives to engage in two particular and explicitly stated activities, viz., collective bargaining and adjustment of grievances. Therefore, a union's discipline of supervisor-members can violate § 8(b)(1)(B) only when it may adversely affect the supervisors' conduct in performing the duties of, and acting in the capacity of, grievance adjusters or collective bargainers, in neither of which capacities the supervisors involved in these cases were acting when they crossed the picket lines to perform rank-and-file work. Pp. 802—805.

(b) The concern that to permit a union to discipline supervisor-members for performing rank-and-file work during an economic strike will deprive the employer of those supervisors' full loyalty is a problem that Congress addressed, not through § 8(b)(1)(B), but through §§ 2(3), 2(11), and 14(a) of the NLRA, which, while permitting supervisors to become union members, assure the employer of his supervisors' loyalty by reserving in him the rights to refuse to hire union members as supervisors, to discharge supervisors for involvement in union activities or union membership, and to refuse to engage in collective bargaining with supervisors. Pp. 805—813.

159 U.S.App.D.C. 272, 487 F.2d 1143, affirmed.

Norton J. Come, Washington, D.C., for NLRB.

Ray C. Muller, Miami, Fla., for Fla. Power & Light Co.

Laurence J. Cohen, Washington, D.C., for respondents.

Laurence Gold, Washington, D.C., for AFL—CIO, as amicus curiae, by special leave of Court.

Mr. Justice STEWART delivered the opinion of the Court.

Section 8(b)(1)(B) of the National Labor Relations Act, 61 Stat. 141, 29 U.S.C. § 158(b)(1)(B), makes it an unfair labor practice for a union 'to restrain or coerce . . . an employer in the selection of his representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining or the adjustment of grievances.' The respondent unions in these consolidated cases called economic strikes against the employer companies. During the strikes, supervisory employees of the companies, some of whom were members of bargaining units and some of whom were not, but all of whom were union members, crossed the picket lines and performed rank-and-file struck work, i.e., work normally performed by the nonsupervisory employees then on strike. The unions later disciplined these supervisors for so doing. The question to be decided is whether the unions committed unfair labor practices under § 8(b)(1)(B) when they disciplined their supervisor-members for crossing the picket lines and performing rank-and-file struck work during lawful economic strikes against the companies.

I

Since 1909, Local 134, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL—CIO, one of the respondents in No. 73—795, has been recognized by the Illinois Bell Telephone Co. (Illinois Bell) and its predecessors as the exclusive bargaining representative for both rank-and-file and certain supervisory personnel, including general foremen, P.B.X. installation foremen, and building cable foremen. Rather than exercise its right to refuse to hire union members as supervisors, the company agreed to the inclusion of a union security clause in the collective-bargaining agreement which required that these supervisors, like the rank-and-file employees, maintain membership in Local 134. In addition, the bargaining agreement in effect at the time of this dispute contained provisions for the conditions of employment and certain wages of these foremen.

Other higher ranking supervisors, however, were neither represented by the union for collective-bargaining purposes not covered by the agreement, although they were permitted to maintain their union membership.1 By virtue of that membership, these supervisors, like those within the bargaining units, received substantial benefits, including participation in the International's pension and death-benefit plans and in group insurance and old-age-benefit plans sponsored by Local 134.

Under the International's constitution, all union members could be penalized for committing any of 23 enumerated offenses, including '(w)orking in the interest of any organization or cause which is detrimental to, or opposed to, the I.B.E.W.,' App. 76, and '(w)orking for any individual or company declared in difficulty with a (local union) or the I.B.E.W.' Id., at 77.

Between May 8, 1968, and September 20, 1968, Local 134 engaged in an economic strike against the company. At the inception of the strike, Illinois Bell informed its supervisory personnel that it would like to have them come to work during the stoppage but that the decision whether or not to do so would be left to each individual, and that those who chose not to work would not be penalized. Local 134, on the other hand, warned its supervisor-members that they would be subject to disciplinary action if they performed rank-and-file work during the strike. Some of the supervisor-members crossed the union picket lines to perform rank-and-file struck work. Local 134 thereupon initiated disciplinary proceedings against these supervisors, and those found guilty were fined $500 each.2 Charges were then filed with the NLRB by the Bell Supervisors Protective Association, an association formed by five supervisors to obtain counsel for and otherwise protect the supervisors who worked during the strike. The Board, one member dissenting held that in thus disciplining the supervisory personnel, the union had violated § 8(b)(1)(B) of the Act,3 in accord with its decision of the same day in Local 2150, IBEW (Wisconsin Electric Power Co.), 192 N.L.R.B. 77 (1971), enforced, 486 F.2d 602 (CA7 1973), cert. pending No. 73—877, holding:

Accordingly, the Board ordered the unions to rescind the fines, to expunge all records thereof, and to reimburse the supervisors for any portions of the fines paid.

The Florida Power & Light Co., (Florida Power), the petitioner in No. 73—556, has maintained a collective-bargaining agreement with the International

'The Union's fining of the supervisors who were acting in the Employer's interest in performing the struck work severely jeopardized the relationship between the Employer and its supervisors.

'The purpose of Section 8(b)(1)(B) is to assure to the employer that its selected collective-bargaining representatives will be completely faithful to its desires. This cannot be achieved if the union has an effective method, union disciplinary action, by which it can pressure such representatives to deviate from the interests of the employer. . . .' 192 N.L.R.B., at 78. Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL—CIO and Locals 641, 622, 759, 820, and 1263, represented by the System Council U—4,4 since 1953. That agreement does not require employees to become union members as a condition of employment, but many of its supervisory personnel have in fact joined the union. The company has elected to recognize the union as the exclusive bargaining representative of these supervisors, and certain aspects of their wages and conditions of employment are provided for in the agreement.5 In addition, othr higher supervisory personnel not covered by the agreement were allowed to maintain union membership,6 and, although not represented by the union for collective-bargaining purposes, received substantial benefits as a result of their union membership, including pension, disability, and death benefits under the terms of the International's constitution.

Since the same International union was involved in both No. 73—556 and No. 73—795, the union members of Florida Power bore the same obligations under the International's constitution as did the union members of Illinois Bell. See supra, at 793. With respect to union discipline of supervisor members, however, the Florida Power collective-bargaining agreement itself provided:

'It is further agreed that employees in (supervisory) classifications have definite management responsibilities and are the direct representatives of the Company at their level of work. Employees in these classifications and any others in a supervisory capacity are not to be jacked up or disciplined through Union machinery for the acts they may have performed as supervisors in the Company's interest. The Union and the Company do not expect or intend for Union members to interfere with the proper and legitimate performance of the Foreman's management responsibilities appropriate to their classification. . . .' App. 47.

From October 22, 1969, through December 28, 1969, the International union and its locals engaged in an economic strike against Florida Power. During the strike, many of the supervisors who were union members crossed the picket lines maintained at nearly all the company's operation facilities, and performed rank-and-file work normally performed by the striking nonsupervisory employees. Following the strike, the union brought charges against those supervisors covered by the bargaining agreement as well as those not covered, alleging violations of the International union constitution. Those found guilty of crossing the picket lines to perform rank-and-file work, as opposed to their usual supervisory functions, received fines ranging from $100 to $6,000 and most were expelled from the...

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