United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 28, 1949

85 N.L.R.B. 417 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter Of .UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS
OF AMERICA AND LOCAL 813 of UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND
MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE CONGRESS OF
INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS and RYAN CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION
Case No. 35-CC-7.Decided July 28,1949
DECISION
AND
ORDER
On November 24, 1948, Trial Examiner Charles W. Schneider
issued his Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding,
finding that the,Respondents had not engaged in any unfair labor prac-
tices. and recommending that the complaint be dismissed in its entire-
ty, as set forth in the copy of the Intermediate Report attached hereto.
Thereafter, Ryan and the General Counsel filed exceptions to the In-
termediate Report and supporting briefs.
The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner made
at the hearing and finds that no prejudicial error was committed. The
rulings are hereby affirmed. The Board has considered the Intermedi-
ate Report, the exceptions and briefs, and the entire record in the case,
and hereby adopts the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of
the Trial Examiner, except as they are inconsistent herewith.
1. We agree with the Trial Examiner that the Respondents have
not violated Section 8 (b) (1) (A).
Like the Trial Examiner, we are convinced that the "gate lock-
ing" episode was no more than "picket line horseplay," and, standing
alone as it did, was too insubstantial to warrant finding a violation
of Section 8 (b) (1) (A).
Also like the Trial Examiner, we find that the picketing at the Ryan
gate was not coercive. Although there were as many as 20 pickets
beforea 23-foot-wide entrance on occasion, none of the pickets at any
time engaged in any violence or threats, overt or implicit. On the
contrary, the pickets specifically informed Ryan employees that they
were free to pass through the picket line if they wished to do so. More-
over, Ryan supervisors were permitted to and did pass through the
picket line at will, and the record does not contain any evidence to
85 N. L. R. B., No. 76.
417
418 , DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
impeach the assurances given to rank and file Ryan employees that
they might do likewise. In addition, the testimony of Ryan em-
ployees clearly shows that they would not have passed through even
a one-man picket line because as "good union men," they did not believe
in crossing picket lines under any circumstances. On the record be-
fore us, therefore, we are not convinced. that the picketing at the
Ryan gate was coercive.
. 2. We also agree with the Trial Examiner that the Respondents
have not violated Section 8 (b) (4) (A) by picketing the Ryan gate?
As the record reveals and the Trial. Examiner finds, the Respond-
ents, in support of their demands on Bucyrus, proceeded to picket
the entire Bucyrus premises, including the gate that had been cut
through the fence to provide ingress for Ryan employees to the site
of a construction project Ryan was performing for Bucyrus. All this
picketing was therefore primary picketing. Concededly, an object of
the picketing was to enlist the aid of Ryan employees, as well as that
of employees of all other Bucyrus customers and suppliers. However,
Section 8 (b) (4) (A) was not intended by Congress, as the legisla-
tive history makes abundantly clear, to curb primary picketing. It
was intended only to outlaw certain secondary boycotts; whereby
unions sought to enlarge the economic battleground beyond the
premises of the primary Employer 2 When picketing is wholly at
the premises of the employer with whom the union is engaged in a
labor dispute, it cannot be called "secondary" even though, as is vir-
tually always the case, an object of the picketing is to dissuade all
persons from entering such premises for business reasons. It makes
no difference whether 1 or 100 other employees wish to enter the
premises. It follows in this case that the picketing of Bucyrus
premises, which was primary because in support of a labor dispute
with Bucyrus, did not lose its character and become "secondary" at
the so-called Ryan gate because Ryan employees, were 'the only persons
regularly entering Bucyrus premises at that gate. While we agree
that Section 8 (b) (4) (A) represents an intent by Congress to re-
strict union action to the "parties immediately involved," as the dis-
sent states, we do not agree that by picketing the Ryan gate the
Respondents were enlarging the area of the dispute. The signs and
placards carried by the pickets at the Ryan gate, which were the same
as the signs carried at other gates of the Bucyrus premises, were
1 We do not adopt the Trial Examiner's finding respecting Section 8 ( c). See Matter of
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America , at at ., and Wadsworth Bldg.
Co., Inc. 81 N. L. R. B. 802.
2 See Matter of Oil Workers International Union, Local Union 3!)6 (010) and The Pure
Oil Company , 84 N. L. R. B . 315 ; Matter of International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Local No. 201, APL, and The Inter-
national Rice Milling Co ., Inc., et al., 84 N. L. R. B. 360.
UNITED ELECTRICAL , RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 419
directed at Bucyrus , not Ryan . In addition , although only Ryan
employees and suppliers had in fact used the Ryan gate before picket-
ing started , Bucyrus employees could always also have entered this
gate in order to reach their job location.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and conclusions of law,
and pursuant to Section 10 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,
as amended , the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that
the complaint herein against United Electrical , Radio and Machine
Workers of America and Local 813 of United Electrical , Radio, and
Machine Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Indus-
trial Organizations , be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
MEMBER GRAY , concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I must disagree with the majority of the Board that the Respondents
'did not violate Section 8 (b) (4) (A) of the Act by maintaining a
picket line at the "Ryan gate." In my opinion , this activity, directed
as it was against Ryan with whom the Respondents admittedly had no
dispute, clearly fell within the contemplated proscription of that
section.
As fully discussed in the Intermediate Report, Ryan was a general
building contractor engaged since long before the strike in erecting
an addition to the Bucyrus plant. To afford Ryan's employees and
suppliers access to the construction site, a gate , called the Ryan gate,
was installed for their exclusive use about 500 feet from the plant's
main entrance . Apparently, no Bucyrus employee or supplier shared,
or even attempted to share this gate before or after the picketing
started.
The majority concedes that the Respondents picketed the Ryan gate
to enlist the support of Ryan 's employees in their strike against Bucy-
rus. By this means, the Respondents obviously intended to compel
Ryan to bring pressure to bear on Bucyrus to submit to the Respond-
ents' demands . As a consequence of this picketing , a complete stop-
page of work on the construction job resulted. This stoppage con-
tinued for 3 weeks when work was resumed after picketing at the
Ryan gate was enjoined by injunction of a United States district court.
In sum, the necessary effect of these picketing activities, to paraphrase
the language of Section 8. (b) (4) (A), was to induce and encourage
Ryan's employees to engage in a strike or concerted refusal in the
course of their ' employment to perform services , with an object of forc-
ing Ryan to cease doing business with Bucyrus.
857829-50-vol. 85-28
420 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL.LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The majority, nevertheless, holds that Section 8 (b) (4) (A) was
not violated because the picketing occurred on Bucyrus' premises and
.therefore constituted primary picketing which Congress did not intend
to reach. But the majority's reasoning is'based on a false assumption
that the picketing of Ryan was primary. There can be little, if any,
doubt that it was against Ryan, the secondary employer with whom the
Respondents. admittedly had no dispute, and not against Bucyrus, that
the picketing in question was conducted.3 How, in these circum-
stances, it can be concluded that this conduct was primary and not
secondary, it is difficult to understand.
Moreover, the majority's refusal to find the picketing of Ryan vio-
lative of Section 8 (b) (4) (A) neither accords with the express lan-
guage of that provision nor effectuates Congressional intent. It
cannot be denied that Congress, in enacting Section 8 (b) (4) (A), in-
tended to confine labor disputes to the parties immediately involved
and to prohibit labor organizations from extending them to other em-
ployers neutral in the dispute. Nowhere in the legislative reports or
debates, as far as I have been able to discover, has Congress indicated
that this protection to neutral employers should be lost simply because
of the geographical proximity of the sites of the neutral employer's
enterprise to that of the struck plant. Indeed, the Board itself until
today has recognized no such limitation.
In previous decisions it has found picketing for a proscribed ob-
jective to be violative of Section 8 (b) (4) (A), despite the fact that
the location of the primary and secondary employer's operations was
one and the same' Perforce, there is even more persuasive reason in
the present case for not attaching controlling significance to the fact
that the construction site was on Bucyrus' property. For here, not
only were Ryan's building operations manifestly unrelated to the oper-
ations of Bucyrus' struck plant, but also the construction site was
$ The majority asserts in its opinion that the signs carried by the pickets at the Ryan
gate "were directed at Bucyrus, not Ryan." Although the Board has never regarded the
content of a picket sign as a defense to a Section 8 (b) (4) (A ) violation , the majority's
assertion is palpably incorrect . With the possible exception of one sign which is vague
in this respect , the signs did not identify the picketed employer , leaving the inevitable
connotation that the picketed employer was Ryan, not Bucyrus . Thus, as noted in the
Intermediate Report, °each of the signs in question bore one of the following legends :
On strike for security and decent wages.
No contract, no shovel.
On strike.
We vets didn 't fight for low wages. On strike till we win.
We want a signed contract Bucyrus -Erie members of Local 813.
4 Matter of Montgomery Fair Co. ( Local 1796, United Brotherhood of Carpenters etc),
82 N. L. R. B. 211; Matter of Samuel Langer ( International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers etc.) 82 N. L. R. B. 1028; Matter of Gould d Preisner ( Denver Building and Con.
struction Trades Council et al. ), 82 N. L. It. B. 1195.
UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 421
located on a portion of Bucyrus' premises specifically set aside for such
purposes, with its own, exclusive means of access.
For the foregoing reasons, I would find that the Respondents vio-
lated Section 8 (b) (4) (A) of the Act.
INTERMEDIATE REPORT AND RECOMMENDED ORDER
Mr. Karl Dieffenbach, for the General Counsel.
Mr. Sydney L. Berger, of Evansville, Ind., Mr. David Scribner and Mr. Arthur
Xinoy, of New York, N. Y., for the Respondents.
Mr. William P. Foreman, of Evansville, Ind., for Ryan.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a charge filed August 5, 1948, by Ryan Construction Corporation, Evans-
ville, Indiana, herein called Ryan, the General Counsel of the Board issued his
.complaint on August 24, 1948, against United Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers of America and Local 813 thereof, herein called the Respondents.
The complaint alleged that the Respondents were engaging in unfair labor
practices affecting commerce within the meaning of Section 8 (b) (1) (A) and
8 (b) (4) (A), and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations
Act (61 Stat. 136).
With respect to the unfair labor practices, the complaint alleged, in substance,
that the Respondents: (1) beginning about August 2, 1948, in violation of
.Section 8 (b) (4) (A), engaged in, and induced, and encouraged the employees of
Ryan to engage in, a strike or concerted refusal to perform services for Ryan
with an object of requiring Ryan to cease doing business with Bucyrus-Erie
Company, Evansville, Indiana, herein called Bucyrus; and (2) in violation of
Section 8 (b) (1) (A), prevented Ryan's employees from performing their
duties, and thus restrained and coerced them, by (a) picketing and mass picket-
ing, (b) locking the gate used by Ryan's employees, and (c) threats of reprisal,
promises of benefit, orders, and intimidation.
On September 8, 1948, the Respondents filed their answer in which they denied
the commission of unfair labor practices, prayed dismissal of the complaint,
and set up the following affirmative defenses: (1) that the case is moot for
the reason that there is no longer any current labor dispute; (2) that the
picketing and other activities complained of did not constitute a violation of
the statute; (3) that the activities were protected by Section 8 (c) of the
statute and by the 1st, 5th, and 13th Amendments of the Constitution of the
United States; and (4) that the Act, and particularly Section 8 (b) (4) (A)
-thereof, violates the aforesaid provisions of the Constitution, and is consequently
unconstitutional.
- -Upon due notice a hearing was held at Evansville, Indiana, on September 14,
1948, before the undersigned Trial Examiner. The General Counsel, the Re-
spondents, and Ryan appeared, were represented by counsel, participated in
the hearing, and were afforded full opportunity to be, heard, to examine and
cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. All
parties were accorded opportunity to argue the issues orally upon the record
-and to submit briefs and proposed findings. Briefs were received from the
'Respondents and the General Counsel on, respectively, October 12 and October 26.
The Respondents' motion to dismiss on the ground of mootness is without
inerit. The cessation of a labor dispute does not make moot the question
422 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
whether unfair labor practices were committed in the course of it. The re-
mainder of the Respondents' grounds for dismissal are disposed of by the findings
hereinafter.
Upon the entire record in the case, and upon observation of the witnesses, the
Trial Examiner makes the following:
FINDINGs OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANIES
Ryan Construction Corporation is an Indiana corporation with its principal
office and place of business at Evansville, Indiana, where it is engaged in the
general construction business. During the fiscal year August 1, 1947, to July 31,
1948, Ryan purchased materials and supplies valued at approximately $1,500,-
000. Over 68 percent of such materials and supplies were purchased and shipped
to Ryan from points outside the State of Indiana, sometimes to Ryan jobs in
Indiana, sometimes to jobs in other States. The record does not provide a more
specific break-down. During the same period Ryan entered into the following
contracts for construction work :
Contracting party Project
Value of con-
tract
Indiana State Highway Com-
mission.
Construction of highways with
Federal aid, presumably in In-
diana.
$658, 000
U. S. Engineering Office----- Construction of a flood control
dam at Painesville, Kentucky.
2, 000, 000
Bucyrus-Erie Company---- Construction of addition to plant
at Evansville Indiana
600, 000
Southern Indiana Gas and
Electric Company (Subsidi-
, .
Construction of addition to
power plant at Evansville, In-
1,000,000 ,
ary of Commonwealth and diana.
Southern, Jackson, Michi-
gan).
J. A. McCarty Seed Company
(a local seed and grain com-
pany).
Evansville Water Works De-
partment.
F. W. Cook Brewing Company
(a local brewery).
Indiana State Highway Com-
mission.
Construction of seed storage 62, 000
silos-presumably in Evans-
ville, Indiana.
Extension of water mains and 149,000-
construction of booster pump-
ing plant.
Plant remodeling------------- 40, 000
Construction of 2 Highway Cost not
Bridges, with Federal aid, shown
Total ------------------------------------------------- 4,509,000
At the time of the instant hearing, the Bucyrus project , out of which the
present proceedings arose, had not been completed . The record does not disclose
the extent of performance of the other contracts listed.
Bucyrus-Erie Company is a Delaware corporation having its principal office
in South Milwaukee , Wisconsin , and operating several plants in different parts.
of the United States. Among these is the Evansville , Indiana, plant herein in-
volved at which Bucyrus manufactures excavating equipment . In the operation.
UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 423
of the Evansville plant Bucyrus purchased, during the past year, raw materials
valued in excess of $1,000,000, of which more than 50 percent was received from
sources outside the State of Indiana. During the same period Bucyrus shipped
over 50 percent of the products of the Evansville plant to points outside the State
of Indiana. The dollar value of these shipments is not disclosed in the record,
but is alleged in the complaint, and admitted in the answer, to be substantial'
At the threshold of the proceedings, the Respondents assert that the Board is
without jurisdiction for the reason that no question of commerce is involved.
Thus, the Respondents contend the following: (1) that there is no evidence that
the construction of the addition to Bucyrus' plant would affect interstate com-
merce; (2) that if Ryan's activities affect commerce because they involve the
operations of Bucyrus ( whose engagement in commerce is not contested ), Ryan's
and Bucyrus' activities become joint and hence do not involve a secondary boy-
cott. (See Douds v. Metropolitan Federation of Architects etc., 75 F. Supp:
672, 21 LRRM 2256; D. C. S. D. N. Y. 1948) ; and (3) that any materials pur-
chased by Ryan had come to rest and their interstate movement had ended.
As to the Respondents' first point: It is unnecessary to decide here whether
an interference with a purely local aspect of an enterprise whose other activities
affect commerce, constitutes an interference with commerce. It is sufficient to
observe that obstruction to the erection by Ryan of the addition to Bucyrus'
plant would halt the inflow into Indiana of substantial materials and supplies
moving in the stream of commerce and destined for use on the Bucyrus project.
Such an effect is within the remedial reach of the statute.
It is equally unnecessary to decide at the threshold of the proceedings the
correctness of the Respondents' second assertion. The determination as to.
whether the arrangement between Bucyrus and Ryan constituted so joint an
enterprise as to permit the Respondents to invoke against Ryan any defenses
which they could raise against Bucyrus, involves, not the question as to whether
the Respondents' conduct affects commerce, but whether it is prohibited by
Section 8.
The Respondents' third point requires the assumption of a fact not established
by the evidence, namely, that all the out-of-State materials required by Ryan
for the Bucyrus project have already been purchased, transported to Indiana,
and delivered to Ryan. Since that is not necessarily the fact, the assertion must
fall. Whether the contention is equally invalid for other reasons need not be
determined.
Interference with the erection of the addition to the Bucyrus plant would
affect the ability of Bucyrus to transact business in commerce. That it would
be an interference only with an expansion of those transactions does not seem
controlling. The Act seeks to eliminate obstruction to "the full production of
articles and commodities for commerce," in order "to promote the full flow of com-
merce," (Section 1 (b) ; emphasis supplied.) In my judgment, the protec-
tions of the Act were intended to be as applicable to the creation or extension
of commerce as to transactions and facilities already in existence. That the
cause of the interference may be an instrumentality not itself engaged in com-
merce would not seem to affect that conclusion. Thus, whether or not a labor
organization could be in commerce (a question not necessary to decide) is not
determinative of the question as to whether it could obstruct commerce. While
3 The Board has found Bucyrus to be engaged in commerce at other of its plants. As
to the South Milwaukee plant see 54 N. L. R. B. 862; as to the Erie , Pennsylvania,
plant see 4] N. L. R. B. 939.
424 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR . RELATIONS BOARD'
the nature of the means utilized to effect the obstruction is relevant to determine
whether-because of the remoteness of connection between the means and the
anticipated result-interference exists, the question is one of degree. What-
ever the conclusion, it is to be determined by the relation between the means and
the result, and not by the morphology of the instruments through.which the
result is sought. Thus, the fact that Ryan, if selected as a medium for effect-
ing interference with commerce, is engaged in the construction, and not the
manufacturing industry, is not a conclusive factor.
Moreover, the business of Ryan himself, apart from the relationship of his
customers to commerce, seems to me to constitute, or at the least substantially
to effect, commerce. The purchase. of over $900,000 of interstate materials an-
nually is not de minimis. In addition, Ryan's construction work is not con-
fined to Indiana, although his headquarters are there. In the case of N. L. R. B.
v. Austin, 165.F: 2d 592, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals found the Wagner
Act applicable to the business of designing and constructing buildings. There
the main office of the employer was located in Chicago, where the blueprints
were drawn and purchases authorized, although the actual construction work
was done in other states. The Court in that case said:
In this case it is obvious that interstate commerce could be affected by
industrial strife in the Chicago office. Any interference due to unfair labor
practice in the transmission of the blueprints in interstate commerce neces-
sarily would retard construction and would disrupt the, flow of building ma-
terials traveling in interstate commerce. This would constitute sufficient
cause to bring respondent within the Act, because "Interstate communica-
tion of a business nature, whatever the means of such communication, is
interstate commerce regulable by Congress under the Constitution." Asso-
ciated Press v. National Labor Relations Board, 301 U. S. 103, 128.
There is nothing in the legislative history of the Labor-Management Rela-
tions Act suggesting that it was the intent of Congress to contract substantially
the scope of the Board's jurisdiction under the Wagner Act. On the contrary,
the legislative history, though concededly sparse, indicates that Congress specifi-
cally intended that the Labor-Management Relations Act be applied to the
construction industry. (See, for example, 93 Congressional Record, 3329-30,
3534.) The Board, moreover, has asserted jurisdiction over construction ac-
tivity. Starrett Bros., 77 N. L. R. B. 275; Brown and Root, et al., 77 N. L. It. B.
1136.
It is found that Bucyrus and Ryan are each engaged in commerce. It is fur-
ther found that interference with or restraint upon Ryan's activities, either alone
or in connection with the Bucyrus project, would substantially affect commerce.
II. THE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, and Local 813
thereof, are labor organizations affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Or-
ganizations and admitting to membership employees of Bucyrus.
III. THE ALLEGED UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
The facts upon which the complaint is based are not substantially disputed.
Early in April 1948 Ryan undertook a contract to build a major addition to
Bucyrus' plant at Evansville. Actual construction work was begun by Ryan
later in the month and continued without interruption until early August, when
it was halted by the labor dispute hereinafter described.
UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 425
. The new building is contiguous to the existing plant. Both are on a plot of
ground containing some 35 acres which Bucyrus has enclosed with a wire fence.
At the time Ryan began work there were some six or eight gates through this
fence. Only one, however (which is referred to in the record as the main gate)
was used for the entrance of employees. The remaining gates were used for
special purposes, such as railway spurs or the admittance of other materials. A
large slough, impassable in bad weather, separated the construction site from
the plant and the main gate. In order to have access to the construction site,
Ryan cut a hole in the fence in front of the site, some 500 feet from the main
gate and beyond the slough. In this hole Ryan installed a gate, 23, feet wide,
supplied by Bucyrus. Ryan then proceeded to fill the slough. Ryan and Bucyrus
agreed that Ryan employees and suppliers would use only the new gate (called
the Ryan gate) and that Bucyrus employees would continue to use the main
gate. Ryan had 60 to 65 employees working on the project.
In June 1947 Respondent Local 813 was certified as the bargaining representa-
tive of Bucyrus' employees. On the night of July 30, 1948, these employees went
on strike. So far as the record discloses this was an economic and lawful strike.
There is no contention by the Respondents that it was caused by unfair labor
practices. Pickets were then placed at the various entrances to the plant.'
Ryan's employees are members of American Federation of Labor building
trades unions, which have collective bargaining contracts with Ryan. There
was no labor dispute between Ryan and his employees.
On the morning of August 2, 1948, when Ryan's employees came to work pickets
were patrolling in front of the Ryan gate, carrying the following signs :
On strike for security and decent wages.
No contract, no shovel.
On strike.
We vets didn't fight for low wages. On strike till we win.
We want a signed contract Bucyrus-Erie members of Local 813.
Ryan's nonsupervisory employees refused to cross this picket line: The same
thing happened on August 3 and 4, after which Ryan's employees ceased to report
for work. Ryan's construction activities at the site consequently came to a
complete stop on August 2. They remained so until August 26, 1948, at which
time the General Counsel secured an injunction in the United States District
Court, Southern District of Indiana, Evansville Division, prohibiting the Re-
spondents from picketing the Ryan gate. The pickets were then withdrawn. On
September 9, 1948, the Respondents abandoned the strike against Bucyrus and
withdrew their pickets from the remaining gates. There is thus no labor dispute
existing at the present time.
No demand was ever made on Ryan by the Respondents. At the time of these
events Ryan was engaged on other projects, four of them. in Evansville. None
of these projects was picketed by the Respondents.
.Although, after the filling of the slough, the Ryan gate afforded access to the
entire plant area, no Bucyrus employee, so far as the record discloses, ever used,
or attempted to use, it to enter the plant.
2 It is not altogether clear from the evidence whether pickets were placed at the
Ryan gate at the same time as at the other gates. Jean W. Rowley , chairman of Local
313's Welfare Committee , testified that the entire plant was picketed , beginning about 11
p. in. on July 30. Ryan employees and officials testified that they first met pickets at the
Ryan gate on the morning of August 2. There is no necessary conflict in this testimony.
July 30 was a F]lday , August 2 Monday . Ryan presumably did not work on Saturday
or Sunday.
426 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The testimony of Jean W. Rowley, chairman of the Respondents' Welfare
Committee, as to the purpose of the picketing of the Ryan gate was as follows :
Well, the Ryan_ gate was an entrance to the plant site and we had a, picket
there to inform anyone who entered that we were on, strike because of
Bucyrus being unfair to our union.
Conclusions
The Respondents deny the commission of any labor practice within the meaning
of the statute, and, in the alternative, argue that if the Act is interpreted so as
to stamp any of their conduct illegal, it is unconstitutional. For the reasons
stated by the Board in Matter of Rite-Form Corset Company, Inc., 75 N. L. R. B.
174, the constitutionality of the statute will be assumed. The function of the
Examiner is to ascertain the intent of Congress as expressed in the Act and to
apply it to the established facts.'
The General Counsel contends that the Respondents (1) violated Section 8 (b)
(4) (A) by striking, and by inducing and encouraging the employees of Ryan to
strike. or concertedly refuse to perform services' for Ryan, in order to compel
Ryan to cease doing business with Bucyrus;' and (2) in violation of Section 8
(b) (1) (A) restrained and coerced the employees of Ryan and prevented the
performance of their duties by (a) picketing and mass picketing, (b) locking the
gate used by those employees and (c) threats of reprisal, promises of benefit,
orders, and intimidations.'
It seems clear at the outset, and it is found, that the only purpose of the
Respondents' strike against Bucyrus was to compel Bucyrus to capitulate to the
Respondents' demands. The Respondents engaged in no other strike. The evi-
dence will not support the logically improbable inference that the purpose of
the Bucyrus strike was to compel Ryan to cease doing business with Bucyrus.
It is therefore found that the allegation of the complaint that the Respondents
engaged in a strike in violation of Section 8 (b) (4) (A) is not sustained. That,
of course, is not dispositive of the whole issue, since the complaint also alleges
that the Respondents induced and encouraged employees of Ryan.
3 In the Rite-Form Corset Company case the Board said that questions as tothe constitu-
tionality of the statute "will be left to the Courts. In the absence of any court decision
to the contrary , the Board assumes that the Act as amended does not violate any provision
of the Constitution of the United States."
4 Section 8 (b) (4) (A) makes it an unfair labor practice for a labor organization or its
agents
. . . to engage in, or to induce or encourage the employees of any employer to en
gage in, a strike or a concerted refusal in the course of their employment to use,
manufacture , process, transport , or otherwise handle or work on any goods, articles,
materials , or commodities or to perform any services where an object thereof is :
(A) forcing or requiring any employer or self-employed person to join any labor
or employer organization or any employer or other person to cease using , selling,
handling, transporting, or otherwise dealing in the products of any other producer,
processor , or manufacturer , or to cease doing business with any other person. . . .
6 Section 8 (b) (1) (A) : "It shall be an unfair labor practice for a labor organization or
its agents-(l) to restrain or coerce (A) employees in the exercise of the rights guar-
anteed in Section 7. . . .
Section 7 : "Employees shall have the right to self-organization , to form, join , or assist
labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing,
and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or
other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all
of such activities. . . .
UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 427
The General Counsel offers alternative theories in support of his position.
The basic contention is that the Respondents' purpose in picketing the Ryan gate
was to induce Ryan's employees to cease working for Ryan in order to compel
Ryan to cease doing business with Bucyrus. This the Respondents. deny. Their
contention is that the purpose was to publicize their dispute with Bucyrus. We
turn, however, first to the question as to whether the Respondents induced or
encouraged Ryan's employees.
As to this the General Counsel asserts, first, that the picketing, even if peaceful,
was not protected speech, but a "verbal act" and constituted prohibited induce-
ment and encouragement. Alternatively, the General Counsel contends that the
picketing was unlawful because it constituted mass picketing, and was otherwise
coercive. The Respondents assert that the picketing was (1) speech; (2) peace-
ful; and (3) protected by Section 8 (c) of the statute."
A. Of peaceful picketing and Section 8 (e)
1
The General Counsel's primary argument is that picketing is neither speech
nor an expression of view, argument, or opinion. That peaceful picketing in a
labor dispute is a phase of the exercise of speech, however, is settled constitu-
tional doctrine. Thornhill v. Alabama, 310 U. S. 88; Carlson v. California.
310 U. S. 106; Bakery Drivers v. Wohl, 315 U. S. 769.
In the Thornhill case the Supreme Court said :
... the dissemination of information concerning the facts of a labor
dispute must be regarded as within that area of free discussion that is
guaranteed by the Constitution.
In the Carlson case the Court stated that,
publicizing the facts of a labor dispute in a peaceful way through appro-
priate means, whether by pamphlet, by word of mouth or by banner, must
now be regarded as within that liberty of communication which is secured
to every person by the Fourteenth Amendment against abridgment by a
state.
In Milk Wagon Drivers v. Meadowmoor, 312 U. S. 287, 293, the Court said:
"Peaceful picketing is the workingman's means of communication." In Ameri-
can Federation of Labor v. Swing, 312 U. S. 321, 323, it held "the constitutional.
guarantee of freedom of discussion infringed by . ...forbidding resort to
peaceful persuasion through picketing merely because there is no immediate
employer-employee status." In Carpenters and Joiners v. Ritters Cafe, 315 U. S.
722, 725, it found that "The constitutional right to communicate peaceably to the
public the facts of a legitimate dispute is not lost merely . because . . . the
communication takes the form of picketing."
Though speech comprehends the communication of other phenomena than
ideas, and therefore may be a term of broader content than the phrase "expres-
sion of view, argument or opinion," it seems clear that the phrase is included
"Section 8 (c) : "The expressing of any views, argument, or opinion, or the dissemina-
tion thereof, whether in written, printed, graphic, or visual form, shall not constitute
or be evidence of an unfair labor practice under any of the provisions of this Act, if
such exuressinn contains no threat of reprisal or force or promise of benefit,"
428 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
in the term. And it embraces more than the bare concept of academic and
disinterested narration. "Free trade in ideas means free trade in the oppor-
tunity to persuade to action, not merely to describe facts." Thomas v. Collins,
323 U. S. 516, 537. That Section 8 (c) was intended to comprehend speech in
its broadest content seems evident from the legislative history of the statute.
Thus, the conference report of the House Managers (80th Congress, 1st Session,
House of Representatives, Report No. 510, p. 45) said in explanation of Section
8 (c) :
Both the House bill and the Senate amendment contained provisions de-
signed to protect the right of both employers and labor organizations to free
speech. The conference agreement adopts the, provisions of the House bill
in this respect with one change [not material here] derived from the Senate
amendment. . . . The purpose of [the change referred to] is to protect the
right of free speech when what the employer says or writes is not of a
threatening nature or does not promise a prohibited favorable discrimina-
tion. [Italics supplied.]
.Earlier the House Committee on Education and Labor, in reporting out H. R.
3020, the bill which passed the House, had said: (80th Congress, 1•st Session,
House of Representatives , Report No. 245, p. 33.)
This [.clause] guarantees free speech to employers , to employees, and to
unions. [ Italics supplied.]
The Report of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare (80th Con-
gress, 1st Session, Senate Report No. 105, p. 23 ) and the congressional debates, also
make it evident that Congress sought in the statute to protect speech in all the
broad ramifications of that term and not merely a portion of truncation of the
privilege.
It is to be assumed, in the absence of evidence of a contrary intention (of
which there is none ) that the definition of speech adopted by Congress was the
definition already judicially established . The Senate Committee Report, in fact,
specifically adverted to the Supreme Court decisions . The Committee Report
said : ( p.23)
Another amendment to this section would insure both to employers and
labor organizations full freedom to express their views to employees on labor
matters, so long as they refrain from threats of violence, intimations of eco-
nomic reprisal , or offers of benefit. • The Supreme Court in Thomas v. Collins,
(323 U. S. 516) held, contrary to some earlier decisions of the Labor Board,
that the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech on either side in labor
controversies and approved the doctrine of the American Tube Bending Case
(134 F. 2d 993). The Board has placed a limited construction upon those
decisions .... The Committee believes [the Board's construction] to be too
restrictive ... .
Picketing thus being, as the Supreme Court has said, speech, it is to be deemed
within the protection of Section 8 (c), unless: (1) Congress intended Section
8 (c) to be inapplicable to unions, or (2) inapplicable to Section 8 (b) (4) (A).
As to the first possibility, one not to be lightly found, not only is there no legisla-
tive expression of such an intent; the evidence is to the contrary. Section 8 (c)
specifically protects expression "under any provision of this Act." As has been
seen, House Report No. 245, House Report No. 510 and Senate Report No. 105, all
stated that the provision is applicable to labor organizations as well as to em-
ployers. Senator Taft, Chairman of the Senate Committee, said on the floor that
UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 429
0
"the provision regarding free speech applies both to employer and employee." (93
Cong. Rec. 4141.)' Illustrative of Congressional purpose to apply the protection
uniformly is the revision of Section 8 (b) (2) in conference. That section orig-
inally forbade attempts by unions to "persuade or attempt to persuade" an em-
ployer to discriminate against employees. The Conference Committee deleted the
quoted phrase and substituted to "cause or attempt to cause." Senator Taft
-explained that this change had been made because "the House Conferees objected
on the ground that [the original language] seemed inconsistent with the provisions
guaranteeing all parties freedom of expression." (93 Cong. We. 6600.)
It is therefore found that Section 8 (c) protects speech, and is applicable
to labor organizations as well as employers ; further, that it is to be presumed
that Congress adopted the. definition of speech established by the Supreme
Court; and finally, that since picketing. under that definition is a phase of
speech, picketing which does not contain any threat of reprisal or force or
promise of benefit is protected by the statute. Whether Section 8 (c) is appli
cable to Section 8 (b) (4) (A) is discussed at a later point.
2
In any event, whether properly classifiable as speech or not, peaceful picket-
ing-though indeed possessing other characteristics as well8-appears to be an
expression of view, argument or opinion. Its aim is to -enlist support and
allies, otherwise neutrals, who can bring pressure of one kind or another to bear
on the person being picketed. The purpose is effected by exposing the controversy
and what are conceived to be its elements to public view. These characteristics
would seem to bring picketing within the literal language of Section 8 (c). At
this point, however, it is the General Counsel's position that picketing is
inherently coercive, and that it is to be classified, not as speech or argument,
but as a "signal," .a "verbal act," a "direction," or an "order."
With respect to the General Counsel's first point, however, it is to be observed
that, in the absence of force, threats, intimidation, bribery or fraud, the argu-
ment of the picket line must of necessity be purely persuasive and enlistment
in its cause wholly voluntary. The Restatement of the Law of Torts Vol.
IV, p. 144, puts it thusly:
Enlistment of public support is, indeed, one object of the primary privilege,
safeguarded by the guaranty of free speech, of informing the public of the
existence of the labor dispute. This Section [799] states one method of
enlisting public support, that is, fair persuasion . . . and several types
of support that may be so enlisted. The 'support is a form of economic
pressure on the employer but the pressure results from fair persuasion of
the third persons. They are not subjected to any pressure other than that
of argument, exhortation, and entreaty by pickets or otherwise.
Where the picketing is otherwise than peaceful, however, as where it con-
tains threats, it loses its constitutional protection, as does all speech. Milk
Wagon Drivers v. Meadowmoor, 312 U. S. 287; N. L. R. B. v. Virginia Electric &
7 References- to the Congressional Record are to the daily record, and not the bound
volumes.
e See, for example, the concurring opinion of Mr. Justice Douglas in the WON case,
315 U. S. 769, 776, where, while holding it to be protected by the First Amendment,
he observed that "Picketing by an organized group is more than free speech, since it
involves the patrol of a particular locality and since the very presence of a picket line
may induce action of one kind or another, quite irrespective of the ideas which are
being disseminated."
430 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD'
Power Company, 314 U. S. 469. In such a context, where the effect of the speech
is one of compulsion, rather than persuasion, it is sometimes referred to as a
verbal act, a signal, a direction, or an order. Although such terms are on
occasion also applied to speech which can have no element of coercion (that is,
argument directed at persons over whom the speaker has no weapon or control,
economic or physical), peaceful speech (that is, speech unaccompanied by
threats or economic control over the hearer), however it be characterized, can
necessarily have no more than persuasive effect. The characterizations are apt
to be misleading. Where the hearer is under the control of the utterer, or is
.otherwise intimidated, a direction, order, or signal will produce an involitional
abeyance. Where control or intimidation is absent, however, directions or orders
are meaningless, since they cannot compel obedience. The gist of the distinction
lies in whether the response is likely to be voluntary or likely to be involitional.
This, in turn, is dependent upon whether the utterance is accompanied by con-
trol. If it is, the response is attributable to the control, and not the utterance;
If the speech has vice, it is only because it is a cloak for compulsion.' Peaceful
picketing, therefore, in the absence of physical threat or economic control, is a
technique of persuasion. That it is also "activity in the nature of a parade
or procession engaged in as part of a boycott" 10 does not change the fundamental
purpose of the technique, namely, enlistment of support; or the method of its
achievement-exposure of the controversy to public view. It is free trade
in ideas and opportunity to persuade to action that is protected. (Thomas V.
Collins, supra.) So long as the means used are reasonably adapted to that end,
their dress is as irrelevant as the distinction between the written and the spoken
word. To "dub a fowl a fish" (Teller, opus cited, p. 204) does not prove that it
cannot fly. To call picketing a "direction," "order," "signal," or "verbal act"
does not help to determine whether it is persuasive, and hence protected speech ;
or is instead a compulsive activity, and therefore unprotected. The terms may
express the result but they do not assist in arriving at it."
3
Even noncompulsive speech may, of course, be subject to restriction where
it presents a clear and present public danger. Thomas v. Collins, 323 U. S. 516,
530. It would be strange if the perpetrator of grave and unlawful abuses endan-
gering paramount interests should be within reach of the law but its procurer
beyond it. It may thus be that noncompulsive persuasion designed to produce,
0 To illustrate : A, an employer, "orders" B, an employee of C, another employer, not
to join a union. There is no threat of physical force ; no connection is shown as between
A and C ; and A is in no apparent position to retaliate in case of refusal. A has com-
mitted no unfair labor practice. Springfield Woolen Hills, 41 N. L. R. B. 921. The same
"order" given by C to B would be an unfair labor practice. The distinction is in the
power to effect.- reprisals.
10 Teller, 56 Harvard Law Review, 180, 202.
11 The above inquiry as to whether the terms are compulsive or noncompulsive in nature
is, of course, quite different, and is to be distinguished, from the question whether they,
or any speech, may constitute notice and evidence of a course of action which is itself
illegal. The latter question was answered in the affirmative in Gompers v. Buck's Stove
and Range Ce., 221 U. S. 418. Peaceful picketing is without doubt a notice. That is
one of its functions. Whether it is an 8 (b) (4) (A) violation, or evidence thereof, is
discussed in the next section.
UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 43.1
,or to enlist allies in the prosecution of, a boycott could constitutionally be
.restrained. Gompers v. Buck's Stove and Range Co., 221 U. S. 418.12 But it
seems plain that Congress has not authorized any such result in the present
:statute.
There are several reasons for this conclusion: (1) Section 8 (c) specifically
-declares that expressions of view, argument or opinion shall be protected "under
.any of the provisions of this Act." (2) Speech is constitutionally, as well as
statutorily, protected under other sections of the Act. If,.however, because of
clear and present danger, speech designed to secure a boycott would not neces-
sarily be constitutionally protected, to decline to apply Section 8 (c) to Section
18 (b) (4) would be to hold it inapplicable to virtually the only portion of the
.Act whose construction it could substantially affect. (3) During the course of
-explaining certain sections of the statute, Senator Taft, in response to the
question whether a union which appealed to the public not to buy goods of a
nonunion manufacturer was violating the law, said that it was not, for the reason
that the conduct was merely persuasion. (93 Cong. Rec. A. 3579, July 8, 1947.)
It seems significant that the chairman of the Senate Committee chose to ascribe
protection to the fact that the technique employed was persuasive, and not to the
more obvious fact that the conduct was not inducement or encouragement of
employees in the course of their employment to render services. (4) The con-
clusion that Congress did not reserve Section 8 (c) solely for the protection of
speech directed to achieving approved ends, but made it generally applicable
to all noncoercive speech, whatever its object, finds further support in the
legislative changes made in the language of Section 8 (b) (2). This revision,
discussed heretofore (p. 428), legitimizes union persuasion designed to achieve
.employer discrimination against employees, despite the fact that the resultant
discrimination is unlawful. The omission to make similar provision for'Section
8 (b) (4) (A) cannot be ascribed to purposeful approval of persuasion when
-directed to provoking discrimination, but disapproval when directed to provoking
a boycott. There is no indication that Congress deemed the social interest in
the prevention of discrimination of less importance than that involved in pre-
venting boycotts. Moreover, Senator Taft, in stating the reason for revision of
Section 8 (b) (2), namely, that as it stood it was "inconsistent with the pro-
visions guaranteeing all parties freedom of expression," does not distinguish
8 (b) (4) (A). Had there been intent to differentiate the two sections, it would
surely have been stated, if not elsewhere, in the detailed and carefully prepared
Conference Report of the House Managers.
12 Gregory, in "Labor and the Law," 1946, p. 139, in discussing the opinion of the
Supreme Court in the Gompers case, said that the Court concluded that
. .. the mere presence of speech in effecting this boycott did not immunize the
APL's otherwise illegal conduct under any constitutional doctrine for the protection
of free speech. Apparently the Court perceived little difference between using speech
and communication for the purpose of conducting an illegal boycott and for the pur-
pose of perpetrating libel or fraud and deceit. One who libels another may not plead
in defense that he has committed this tort through the medium of speech. It is hard
to see how else it could be committed. Under this view, the constitutional guarantee
of free speech is reserved for the expression of opinions or statements not in them-
selves unlawful and not used to implement practices which are unlawful under any
recognized common-law or statutory categories of tort of crime.
432 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Nowhere in the legislative history have I been able to find definite suggestion
that Section 2 (b) (4) (A) is to be read without reference to Section 8 (c).
On the contrary the latter clause specifically asserts its applicability to all
sections of the Act . The plain language of a statute is not to be limited without
clear indication of a contrary purpose.
The use of the phrase "induce or encourage" in Section 8 (b) (4) (A) does
not necessarily indicate an intent to outlaw persuasion accomplished by the
expression of views. Inducement or encouragement may be achieved by other
means and techniques than peaceful speech. It was no doubt these other tech-
niques that Congress had in mind . To read Section 8 (c) into Section 8 (b)
(4) (A) is not, therefore , to read the phrase "induce or encourage " out of the
statute, but merely to give it illustrative meaning.
It is therefore my opinion that Section 8 (b) (4) (A) is to be read in conjunc-
tion with Section 8 (c). It follows that, in the absence of threats of reprisal or
force or promise of benefits , speech is not to be considered as evidence of viola-
tion of 8 (b) (4) (A). Since picketing in a labor dispute had been defined at the
time of the legislation as speech, it is to be presumed, for the reasons heretofore
stated, that Congress adopted that definition in Section 8 (c). It is further con-
cluded that peaceful picketing is the expression of view, argument or opinion.
It is therefore found that the mere act of peacefully picketing, regardless of its
purpose, neither constitutes a violation of Section 8 (b) (4) (A ) nor may it be
used as evidence thereof.
4
All of Ryan's employees belonged to American Federation of Labor trade
unions. So far as the record discloses , none were members of the respondent
unions or employed at occupations subject to their jurisdiction, or affiliated with
organizations of which the Respondents were affiliates. Consequently, the Re-
spondents had no control over Ryan 's employees in the way of union discipline ;
or in any wise, so far as the record shows. Under such circumstances, a peaceful
picket line established by the Respondents would not ipso facto contain any ap-
parent threat of reprisal or cognizable promise of benefit for Ryan 's employees.
(Compare, in this respect, Wadsworth Building Company, Inc. and Klassen and
Hodgson, Inc., 81 N. L. It. B. 802. It is found, contrary to the contention of the
General Counsel, that picketing does not per se contain an implicit threat of re-
prisal or promise of benefit within the meaning of Section 8 (c).
The statute does not, as was explained in the Senate debates ( 93 Cong. Rec.
7683), distinguish between types of boycotts; but outlaws them all. Section 8
(c), similarly sweeping , does not distinguish between speech on the basis of its
purpose, or , as has the Supreme Court in determining the extent of constitutional
protection, with regard to whether or not it is within the economic area of the
dispute. See Carpenters v. Bitter's Cafe, 315 U. S. 722; Bakery Drivers v. Wohi,
315 U . S. 769. It is therefore unnecessary to determine whether; as the General
Counsel has asserted , the picketing here occurred outside the legitimate industrial
boundary of the controversy and is for that reason, in accordance with the decision
of the Ritter Cafe case, not entitled to protection.
B. As to whether the picketing was peaceful ; "mass picketing"
The General Counsel's alternative position is that the picketing contained ex-
press threats of reprisal , promises of benefit , and was mass picketing. If the
UNITED ELECTRICAL , RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 433
position is sustained the picketing is removed from the protective operation of
Section 8 ( c) and may be utilized as evidence of violation of the statute. It has
been found that picketing does not per se contain a threat of reprisal or cognizable
promise of benefit.
There is no evidence that the Respondents or any of the pickets made any
promises of benefit . No promise appears on any of the signs carried before the
gate, or can be inferred from the fact of picketing alone. This allegation of the
complaint is found not to be sustained . We turn then to the allegation of mass
picketing.
Although it seems clear from the legislative history that "mass picketing" was
made an unfair labor practice by the statute 11 the term is not roundly defined in
the legislation . So far as I have been able to discover , the only illustrative defini-
tions given by the Congress are contained in statements by Chairman Hartley of
the House Labor Committee , and Senator Taft. While the matter is not free from
doubt, their comments appear to equate mass picketing with force and violence."
In the only case involving mass picketing as a violation of Section 8 (b) (1)
(A) to have, up to this time , come before the Board , the mass picketing involved
forcible restraint and other acts of violence . Sunset Line and Twine Company,
79 N. L . R. B. 1487.
In the instant case it is conceded that there was no violence or overt threats.
Nor was the picketing conducted in such a way as to prevent entry into the
Ryan area by the use of restraint or force, affirmative or passive . Ryan's super-
visors and vehicles passed through the picket line at will . All witnesses for the
General Counsel testified that they could have gone through the line had they
13 See, for example , House Report No. 245 on H . R. 3020 , p. 44; House Conference Re-
port No. 510, pp . 38, 42 ; 93 Cong . Rec. 1885, 4560.
14 Chairman Hartley said:
This bill also outlaws mass picketing and other forms of violence designed to prevent
individuals from entering or leaving a place of business , and if you need any good
reason for voting for that provision of the bill , all you have to do is to read the testi-
mony of the Allis -Chalmers strike , of the mass picketing there, where there was blood-
shed and violence . Also the mass picketing out in Hollywood , which has gone on
intermittently for a period of over 2 years over a jurisdictional strike, where once
again heads have been bashed in, bones broken, and all that sort of thing; and all
you have to do to see what takes place is to see the press pictures of the demonstra-
tions in the present telephone strike. Now, I would like to ask anyone of you here
present, how you would like to attempt to go to work through a mass picket line such
as I have exhibited by picture here in my hand . This provision barring mass picketing
by the use of force and violence in the conduct of a strike is based on this premise:
We do not want to interfere with the legitimate right to strike , but the committee
holds that here is an equally fundamental right, and that is that any person has the
right to go to work if he wants to work , and that he have the right free from any
molestation on the part of anyone , be it a union or anyone else. ( 93 Cong. Rec.
3534.)
Senator Taft said in explaining what conduct was prohibited by Section 8 (b) (1)
I think , when we get to the case of unions , there might be the actually violent act of
forcibly , by mass picketing , preventing a man from working . . . . Let us take the
case of mass picketing , which absolutely prevents all the office force from going into
the office of a plant . That would be a restraint and coercion against those employees,
an interference with their right to work . (93 Cong. Rec. 4562.)
At a later point Senator Taft further stated :
The Board may say [to unions], "you can persuade them ; [ employees ] you can
put up signs ; you can conduct any form of propaganda you want to in order to per-
suade them, but you cannot , by threat of force or threat of economic reprisal , prevent
them from exercising their right to work ." As I see it , that is the effect of Section 8
(b) (1). (93 Cong . Rec. 4562.)
434 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
wished to . The following testimony of Albert Griepenstroh , one of Ryan's car-
penters, . who testified for the General Counsel , is illustrative and typical :
Q. Did any of the other pickets tell you that you can't go through the line?
A. Well, he [the picket ] did say, if we went through we had to go through
the picket line, that is right.
Q. But he said you were free to go through if you wanted to go through
the picket line?
A. That is right.
The Court : As a good union man, you would not go through the picket line?
The Witness : That is right 15
When the first Ryan employees reported for work on the morning of August 2,
3, and 4, there were only 3 to 5 pickets at the gate , walking in a circle before it.
As 8 o'clock , the starting hour, approached , the number of pickets increased,
sometimes to a dozen , sometimes to as many as 20. After the Ryan employees
left, the number of pickets was reduced to about 4 . As has been seen, however,
the pickets did not attempt to prevent entrance through the gate; indeed they
specifically informed Ryan's men that they were free to pass through if they
desired. Moreover , the evidence discloses that employees could enter by going
around the picket line . It is apparent , both from the physical facts-and from
.the testimony of Ryan's employees , that the reason for their failure to enter the
plant area was not the size of the picket line , nor the manner in which the
picketing was carried on, but the reluctance of the construction men to enter
through a picketed entrance . 16 Ryan ' s employees refused to cross even when
there were only 3 to 5 pickets in front of the 23 -foot wide entrance , walking
in a circle . Absent any overt or implicit threats, of which there were none here,
Such a picket line can scarcely be characterized as an impediment to anyone
desiring to enter the plant area . The increase in numbers thereafter brought
with it no change in the actions or attitudes of the pickets, or in the atmosphere
at the gate . It is evident , not only from the testimony substantially to that
effect, but from the circumstances as well that the failure of any of Ryan's
employees to enter the gate was the result of their voluntary choice, and not
the result of any restraint , expressed or implicit , in the picketing.
In the absence of restraint or threat of force it cannot be said that picketing,
even if in unusual numbers , is "mass picketing" or coercive , or otherwise a
violation of Section 8 (b) (1) (A).
15 The quoted testimony is from the transcript of the injunction proceeding , which was
stipulated as part of the record in the instant case.
Earlier in his testimony , Griepenstroh said that on one occasion a picket had told him
that he "would not let a stray dog in." The significance of that statement is not clear.
That it was not to be taken literally , or as an expression of a determination to restrain en-
trance , is evident both from Griepenstroh ' s subsequent testimony , quoted above , and from
the absence of evidence that any threats or overt attempts to prevent entrance were made
at any time.
16 Clyde Birdsong , president of the Evansville Building and Construction Trades Council,
A. F. of L ., a witness for the General Counsel, testified as follows :
Q. Sir , is the A. F. of L. supporting this strike of the U. E . at Bucyrus-Erie?
A. Well, of course , we are not affiliated ; therefore , we don 't have any part in it.
The A . F. of L . takes the position they won 't cross a picket line even though it is , a
different affiliation.
UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 435
C. The "gate locking" episode
There remains for discussion the "gate locking" incident. Up to August 3,
the Ryan gate was kept unlocked. On the morning of August 3, the second
day of the picketing, however, when Morris Beauchamp, Ryan's superintendent,
came to work at about 7: 30 a. in. he found two locks on the gate. Beauchamp
asked the pickets who had locked the gate. They responded that they thought
that possibly Beauchamp had. The pickets then produced keys and unlocked
the gate. On the following morning the incident was repeated. Beauchamp
asked the pickets for the key. One of them said that if he thought that Ryan
would not try to work he "could possibly find" the key. The picket thereupon
produced the key and unlocked the gate. There were no further repetitions
of the occurrence, Thereafter Beauchamp installed his own lock on the
entrance.
The evidence does not establish who locked the gate. I would infer, however,
that since they were in possession of the key, one of the pickets placed the
locks on the gate or arranged for it to be done. Regardless of whether the
actual closing of the locks was done by the picket or at his direction, or instead
was done without his knowledge, I would nevertheless find the unidentified
picket responsible for the locking of the gate. This conclusion is based upon
the principle that, having contrived a situation in which it could be foreseen
that someone might snap the lock, the picket must accept responsibility for
such a consequence.
Undoubtedly the establishment of any kind of barrier that would substantially
impede entrance through the gate would be a restraint. Compare the Aguirre
incident cited in the Board's decision in the case of Sunset Line and Twine
Company, 79 N. L. R. B. 1487, where the Board said that the "interposition of
passive force to prevent employees from going to work is, we believe, a form of
restraint proscribed by Section 8 (b) (1) (A)." The Sunset case is, to be true,
somewhat distinguishable from the instant situation. In the Aguirre incident
the pickets lay down in front of automobiles attempting to enter the plant
gate, providing the drivers with the choice of inflicting injury or of turning
back. It thus involved the application of force against a person, with all the
accompanying provocation to reprisals in kind and resultant breaches of the
peace. While such is not the case here, it would seem that the principle of
restraint would be as applicable to the situation where entrance is prevented
by the establishment of inanimate barriers, as by animate ones.
In view of the promptness with which the pickets produced the key and un-
locked the gate, however, it seems evident that the incident does not reflect
a determination to prevent entrance. It has more of the aspect of picket line
horseplay than of sinister purpose. It would seem akin to the situation where
an object is placed before an entrance and is removed upon request; or like
that of a picket whose position blocks entrance, but who steps aside when he is
asked to. The incident was of an isolated character ; it happened only twice,
on the first 2 days of the picketing, and was not repeated thereafter. I con-
clude that, under the circumstances, it is too insubstantial to warrant a finding
of violation of Section 8 (b) (1) (A). In any event, whether a violation of
8 (b) (1) (A) or not, the incident contained no threat of reprisal or force
or promise of benefit-such as to taint with illegality the otherwise lawful
picketing.
857829-50-vol. 85-29
436 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD: -
It is found, on the basis of the above conclusions, that the only substantial
acts committed by the Respondents with respect to the Ryan gate consisted of
peaceful picketing protected by Section 8 (c) and, consequently, that the Re-
spondents have not engaged in illegal conduct. It is therefore unnecessary to
consider either the question as to the Respondents' purpose or objective in picket-
ing the Ryan gate, or the question as to responsibility of either or both Respond-
ents for occurrences on the picket line. It will consequently be recommended
that the complaint be dismissed in its entirety.
CONCLUSIONS of LAW
1. United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, and Local 813
thereof, Respondents herein, are labor organizations within the meaning of
Section 2 (5) of the Act.
2. Ryan Construction Corporation is engaged in commerce within the mean-
Ing of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
3. The Respondents have not engaged in unfair labor practices within the
meaning of Section 8 (b) (4) (A) or Section 8 (b) (1) (A) of the Act.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, and
upon the entire record in the case, it is recommended that the complaint be
dismissed in its entirety.
As provided in Section 203.46 of the Rules and Regulations of the National
Labor Relations Board-Series 5, as amended August 18, 1948 any party may,
within twenty (20) days from the date of service of the order transferring the
case to the Board, pursuant to Section 203.45 of said Rules and Regulations, file
with the Board, Rochambeau Building, Washington 25, D. C., an original and.six
copies of a statement in writing setting forth such exceptions to the Interme-
diate Report and Recommended Order or to any other part of the record of
proceeding (including rulings upon all motions or objections) as he relies upon,
together with the original and six copies of a brief in support thereof; and
any party may, within the same period, file an original and six copies of a brief
in support of the Intermediate Report and Recommended Order. Immediately
upon the filing of such statement of exceptions and/or briefs, the party filing the
same shall serve a copy thereof upon each of the other parties. Statements of
exceptions and briefs shall designate by precise citation the portions of the
record relied upon and shall be legibly printed or mimeographed, and if mimeo-
graphed shall be double spaced. Proof of service on the other parties of all
papers filed with the Board shall be promptly made as required by Section
203.85. As further provided in said Section 203.46 should any party desire per-
mission to argue orally before the Board, request therefor must be made in
writing to the Board within ten (10) days from the date of service of the order
transferring the case to the board.
In the event no Statement of Exceptions is filed as provided by the aforesaid
Rules and Regulations, the findings, conclusions, recommendations, and recom-
mended order herein contained shall, as provided in Section 203.48 of said Rules
and Regulations, be adopted by the Board and become its findings, conclusions,
and order, and all objections thereto shall be deemed waived for all purposes.
Dated at Washington, D. C., this 24th day of November 1.948.
CHARLES W.SCHNEIDF.R,
Trial Examiner.