Lechmere Inc. v. NLRB
Encyclopedia
Lechmere, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, 502 U.S. 527
(1992), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States
case on union rights and private property
rights. It forbids nonemployee union organizers from soliciting support on private property, except in the case where no reasonable alternatives exist.
The union filed an unfair labor practice charge to the NLRB (the National Labor Relations Board
), claiming that Lechmere had violated §7 of the NLRA (the National Labor Relations Act
) by barring them access to the parking lot. The applicable language of the law cited was the guarantee of the NLRA that employees have, "the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations," (§7) and that it is an unfair labor practice for an employer, "to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees" in exercising their §7 rights. The NLRB affirmed the union's grievance, and the Court of Appeals enforced the NLRB's decision.
reversed the lower court's decision based on three primary faults observed with the complaint:
The opinion of the Court was delivered by Justice Thomas
, who was joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist
and Justices O'Connor
, Scalia
, Kennedy
, and Souter
. Justice White
filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justice Blackmun
. Justice Stevens
filed a separate dissenting opinion.
access to public property
."
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1992), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
case on union rights and private property
Private property
Private property is the right of persons and firms to obtain, own, control, employ, dispose of, and bequeath land, capital, and other forms of property. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which refers to assets owned by a state, community or government rather than by...
rights. It forbids nonemployee union organizers from soliciting support on private property, except in the case where no reasonable alternatives exist.
Background
Lechmere, Inc. owned a retail store in a shopping plaza in a metropolitan area, and also was part owner of the plaza's parking lot. Employees of Lechmere, Inc. who drove to work used this lot to park their vehicles during their shifts. This parking lot was separated from a public highway by a strip of land which was almost entirely public property. Local union organizers, not employees of Lechmere, Inc., attempted to organize Lechmere employees by placing promotional handbills on the windshields of cars parked in the employee area of the lot. After this, Lechmere denied the organizers access to the lot. This act caused the organizers to instead distribute their handbills from the aforementioned strip of public land between the lot and the highway.The union filed an unfair labor practice charge to the NLRB (the National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
), claiming that Lechmere had violated §7 of the NLRA (the National Labor Relations Act
National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act , is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions , engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in...
) by barring them access to the parking lot. The applicable language of the law cited was the guarantee of the NLRA that employees have, "the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations," (§7) and that it is an unfair labor practice for an employer, "to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees" in exercising their §7 rights. The NLRB affirmed the union's grievance, and the Court of Appeals enforced the NLRB's decision.
The Decision
The Supreme CourtSupreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
reversed the lower court's decision based on three primary faults observed with the complaint:
- The NLRA "confers rights only on employees, not on unions or their nonemployee organizers." They reasoned that the NLRA, while guaranteeing that employees would be free to organize if those so chose, the employer is not obligated to allow nonemployee union representatives access to their private property.
- §7 of the NLRA does not apply to nonemployee union organizers except when, "the inaccessibility of employees makes ineffective the reasonable attempts by nonemployees to communicate with them through the usual channels." The Court reasoned it was improper to even begin a balancing test with regards to 7 and private property rights unless "reasonable access to employees is infeasible."
- The union failed in demonstrating that there were any "unique obstacles" that prevented reasonable union access to the employees. The employees did not live in the shopping plaza, so they were not beyond the union's reach, and the Court further reasoned that the mere size of the city itself did not render the employees "inaccessible." The Court cited the fact that the union had been able to directly contact at least 20 employees regarding the organization.
The opinion of the Court was delivered by Justice Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
, who was joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
and Justices O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
, Scalia
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
, Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennedy has often been the swing vote on many of the Court's politically charged 5–4 decisions...
, and Souter
David Souter
David Hackett Souter is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served from 1990 until his retirement on June 29, 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat vacated by William J...
. Justice White
Byron White
Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White won fame both as a football halfback and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed to the court by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, he served until his retirement in 1993...
filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justice Blackmun
Harry Blackmun
Harold Andrew Blackmun was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 until 1994. He is best known as the author of Roe v. Wade.- Early years and professional career :...
. Justice Stevens
John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...
filed a separate dissenting opinion.
Aftermath
After the decision, the Court of Appeals remanded the case to the NLRB to consider whether the Lechmere Company had violated Section 8(a)(1) by directing the non-employee union organizers to leave the public grassy area. The NLRB reaffirmed its previous ruling, holding that "the Supreme Court's vindication of the [employer's] private-property rights, if anything, elevates the gravity of [the employer's] attempt to bar unionUnion
Union may refer to:* Trade union or labor union, an organization of workers that have banded together, often for the purpose of getting better working conditions or pay...
access to public property
Public property
Public property is property, which is dedicated to the use of the public. It is a subset of state property. The term may be used either to describe the use to which the property is put, or to describe the character of its ownership...
."
See also
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 502
- List of United States Supreme Court cases
- Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
- List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist Court