Summary
The Second Circuit reversed a preliminary injunction issued under section 10(l) of the National Labor Relations Act against a union distributing handbills at businesses that leased and used equipment serviced by employees of the struck employer. The majority held that existing National Labor Relations Board precedent interpreting the publicity proviso made it unreasonable to expect the Board to find an unfair labor practice, and that granting relief would improperly intrude on the Board’s function. The court also held that the alleged falsity of the handbills was not properly before it in the section 10(l) proceeding, while allowing for a possible later petition based on that issue.
Holdings
- A finding of reasonable cause under section 10(l) must be based on a reasonable possibility that the NLRB will sustain the unfair-labor-practice charge. Because existing Board decisions construed the publicity proviso to protect the challenged handbilling, the injunction could not properly issue.
- The court could not grant section 10(l) relief based on the alleged falsity of the handbills because the Regional Director had not relied on that ground in the petition or argument. A further petition based on allegedly untruthful handbilling was not barred by the reversal.
Questions Presented
- Whether a section 10(l) preliminary injunction may issue when existing NLRB decisions make it unreasonable to anticipate that the Board would find the challenged handbilling to be an unfair labor practice.
- Whether the court could determine in the section 10(l) proceeding that the handbills were untruthful and grant relief on that ground when the Regional Director had not relied on that theory in the petition or argument.
- Whether the district court's injunction should be reversed under the statutory allocation of authority between the courts, the Regional Director, and the NLRB.
Disposition
reversed
Cases Cited (12)
- Empressa Hondurena de Vapores, S. A. v. McLeod, 300 F.2d 222 (2d Cir. Jan. 12, 1962)(followed)
- Lohman Sales Co., 132 N.L.R.B. No. 67(followed)
- Golden Dawn Foods, 134 N.L.R.B. No. 73(followed)
- Northwestern Construction of Washington, 134 N.L.R.B. No. 46(followed)
- Middle South Broadcasting Co., 133 N.L.R.B. No. 165(followed)
- Penello v. Local Union No. 59, Sheet Metal Workers, 195 F. Supp. 458, 473 (D. Del. 1961)(followed)
- Local 753, Milk Wagon Drivers v. Lake Valley Farm Products, Inc., 311 U.S. 91, 61 S. Ct. 122, 85 L. Ed. 63 (1940)(followed)
- New Negro Alliance v. Sanitary Grocery Co., 303 U.S. 552, 58 S. Ct. 703, 82 L. Ed. 1012 (1938)(followed)
- Marine Cooks v. Panama S.S. Co., 362 U.S. 365, 370 n. 7, 80 S. Ct. 779, 783, 4 L. Ed. 2d 797 (1960)(followed)
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. N.L.R.B., 341 U.S. 694, 704, 71 S. Ct. 954, 95 L. Ed. 1299 (1951)(cited)
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Cited In (0)
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