Local 926, International Union of Operating Engineers v. Jones

• Decision Date: 04 April 1983
• Docket Number: AFL-CIO,No. 81-1574,81-1574
• Citation: 75 L.Ed.2d 368,460 U.S. 669,103 S.Ct. 1453
• Parties: LOCAL 926, INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS,, et al., Appellants v. Robert C. JONES
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

460 U.S. 669

103 S.Ct. 1453

75 L.Ed.2d 368

LOCAL 926, INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, AFL-CIO, et al., Appellants

v Robert C. JONES.

No. 81-1574.

Argued Dec. 1, 1982.

Decided April 4, 1983.

Syllabus

Respondent filed a charge with a Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (Board), alleging that petitioner Union (Union) had procured his discharge by a company from his position as a "supervisor" because he was not a member in good standing with the Union. Supervisors are expressly excluded from the definition of "employee" under the National Labor Relations Act. The Union's conduct allegedly violated § 8(b)(1)(A) of the Act, which proscribes unions from coercing employees in the exercise of their rights under § 7 to engage in concerted action, and § 8(b)(1)(B), which prohibits unions from coercing employers in the selection of their representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining or the adjustment of grievances. The Regional Director refused to issue a complaint, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the Union had caused respondent's discharge or had coerced the company in the selection of its bargaining representative. Instead of appealing to the Board's General Counsel, respondent filed suit against the Union and others in a Georgia state court, alleging that the Union had interfered with his employment contract by coercing the company into breaching the contract. The trial court dismissed the complaint, concluding that the common-law tort action was pre-empted because the subject matter of the complaint was arguably within the Board's exclusive jurisdiction, but the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of the case against the Union.

Held: Respondent's state-court action against the Union is pre-empted by the National Labor Relations Act. Pp. 675-684.

(a) If the conduct that a State seeks to regulate or to make the basis of liability is actually or arguably prohibited or protected by the Act, otherwise applicable state law and procedures are ordinarily pre-empted. However, when the conduct at issue is only a peripheral concern of the Act or touches on interests so deeply rooted in local feeling and responsibility that, in the absence of compelling congressional direction, it cannot be inferred that Congress intended to deprive the State of the power to act, the state regulation or sanction is not pre-empted. Pp. 675-676.

(b) Here, the Union arguably violated § 8(b)(1)(A), because it is not unusual for workers in the construction industry, such as respondent, to fluctuate between supervisory and nonsupervisory positions and, in view of the low-level supervisory position that respondent held, it was not unlikely that he would from time to time serve in a nonsupervisory position and that he might be intimidated by the Union's conduct once he again became a statutory employee. The Union's conduct also arguably violated § 8(b)(1)(B), since it was at least arguable that respondent was a "supervisor" within the Act's meaning, his complaint filed with the Regional Director having indicated that he would have collective-bargaining responsibilities. It was for the Board, not the state courts, to decide whether respondent was the kind of supervisor who could invoke § 8(b)(1)(B). Cf. Iron Workers v. Perko, 373 U.S. 701, 83 S.Ct. 1429, 10 L.Ed.2d 646. Pp. 678-680.

(c) Pre-emption cannot be avoided on the theory that the Regional Director concluded that the Board lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the complaint because of respondent's supervisory status, since the Regional Director instead addressed the merits of the complaint. Nor did the Regional Director's rejection of the complaint for insufficient evidence satisfy all of the federal-law interests involved, so as to clear the way for a state cause of action. The pre-emption doctrine not only mandates substantive pre-emption by the federal law in the areas to which it applies, but also protects the exclusive jurisdiction of the Board over matters arguably within the Act's reach. Nor can pre-emption be avoided on the asserted grounds that the state cause of action and the § 8(b)(1)(B) unfair labor practice charge were not sufficiently alike, Sears Roebuck & Co. v. Carpenters, 436 U.S. 180, 98 S.Ct. 1745, 56 L.Ed.2d 209, distinguished; or that respondent should be permitted to proceed in the state court because he could be awarded punitive damages and attorney's fees there, whereas he would be limited to backpay if his complaint had gone forward before the Board. Pp. 680-684.

Appeal dismissed and certiorari granted; 159 Ga.App. 693, 285 S.E.2d 30, reversed.

Laurence Gold, Washington, D.C., for appellants.

Elinor Hadley Stillman, Washington, D.C., for N.L.R.B. as amicus curiae by special leave of Court.

Robert F. Gore, Springfield, Va., for appellee.

WHITE, Justice.

This case presents the question whether a state-court action brought by one who is a "supervisor" ¹ within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act § 2(11), 29 U.S.C. § 152(11), for interference by a union with his contractual relationships with his employer is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (the NLRA or the Act).

I

Respondent ² Robert C. Jones was offered a supervisory position by the Georgia Power Company (Company). Jones reported for work on June 12, 1978. By agreement, he took vacation time after his second day on the job and reported for work again on June 20, 1978. On this latter date he was discharged.

Jones believed that the Company had been persuaded to discharge him by the union bargaining agent, Local 926 of the International Union of Operating Engineers (Union). The reason for the Union's hostility, he believed, was his decision years ago to work for a non-union employer. On June 28, 1978, Jones filed a charge with the Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (Board) against the Union, alleging that the Union had "procured" his discharge, "and thereby coerced [the Company] in the selection of its supervisors and bargaining representative, because [Jones] had not been a member in good standing of said labor organization." Allegedly, this action violated § 8(b)(1)(A) and (B) of the Act.³ Appendix to Jurisdictional Statement at 25a.

In a letter dated July 19, 1978, the Regional Director said that further proceedings on respondent's charge were unwarranted and that he would not issue a complaint.⁴ He ex- plained that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the Union had caused Jones' discharge; there was also a lack of evidence indicating that the Union had restrained or coerced the Company in the selection of its representative for purposes of collective bargaining. The Regional Director had instead come to the conclusion that Jones' discharge had been a part of changes in the Company's supervisory structure and that the Union had merely participated in discussions regarding the changes.

Instead of appealing to the General Counsel,⁵ Jones proceeded to state court, suing both the Union and the Company. Count 1 of his complaint claimed that the Union had interfered with the contract between him and the Company. The allegations were simple. He pled that he had been a member of Local 926 from 1969 to 1974, when he resigned from the Union. More recently, the Company had offered him the job of Equipment Supervisor at one of its plants, and he and the Company had entered into a contract in reliance on which he had terminated his prior employment. The crucial allegation was that petitioner Thomas D. Archer, the business agent and representative of the Union, had "maliciously and with full intent, intimidated and coerced Georgia Power Company, or caused Georgia Power Company to be intimidated and coerced, into breaching its employment contract with plaintiff." Respondent prayed for a judgment of $80,000 against petitioners, to be composed of $25,000 in lost wages, $50,000 in punitive damages, and $5,000 in attorney's fees, interest, and costs. Count 2 of his complaint sought relief against the Company and alleged that the Company had breached its employment contract.

The Georgia trial court dismissed the complaint, concluding that the common-law tort action had been preempted because the subject matter of the complaint was arguably within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Board. The court observed that there was no justification for allowing joint federal-state control over the alleged conduct, since the state interest in protecting state citizens from the alleged conduct was insignificant and the risk of interference with the Board's jurisdiction was substantial.

The Georgia Court of Appeals, 159 Ga.App. 693, 285 S.E.2d 30, reversed the dismissal of the case against the Union.⁶ Following Georgia precedent it considered to be controlling, Sheet Metal Workers International Association v. Carter, 133 Ga.App. 872, 212 S.E.2d 645 (1975), and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Briscoe, 143 Ga.App. 417, 239 S.E.2d 38 (1977), the state Court of Appeals held the cause of action not preempted because Georgia had a deep and abiding interest in protecting its citizens' contractual rights and because the cause of action, which sounded in tort, was so unrelated to the concerns of the federal labor laws that it would not interfere with the administration of those laws. As an additional reason for not finding preemption, the court stated that the Union's acts were not even arguably within the ambit of § 7 or § 8 of the NLRA, thus purporting to distinguish Iron Workers v. Perko, 373 U.S. 701, 83 S.Ct. 1429, 10 L.Ed.2d 646 (1963). The Georgia Supreme Court denied review, and petitioner appealed.

We postponed to the merits consideration of our appellate jurisdiction. Petitioners now acknowledge that this is not a mandatory appeal.⁷ We agree, but, treating the papers as a petition for writ of certiorari, we grant the petition. Concluding that the Georgia Court of...