International Typographical Union v. National Labor Relations Board
Headline: Union contract fight split: Court reverses enforcement of union-law incorporation clause but affirms lower-court outcome on foreman-hiring dispute after an evenly divided vote, keeping strike ruling intact.
Holding:
- Prevents enforcement of a clause folding the union’s internal rules into workplace contracts.
- Leaves lower-court ruling on the foreman-hiring dispute in place because the Court was evenly divided.
- Affirms that some strike demands can be treated as unlawful under the Taft–Hartley amendments.
Summary
Background
The dispute began in 1956 between two union locals and two newspapers: Local 165 with the Worcester Telegram and Local 38 with the Haverhill Gazette. The unions demanded two contract clauses. One required the composing-room foreman to be a union member, give him hiring authority, and barred the union from disciplining him when he followed written publisher instructions. The other said the parent union’s General Laws would govern relations unless they conflicted with state or federal law. Negotiations deadlocked and the unions struck. The employers filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board and hearings followed.
Reasoning
The Board found the contract demands and the supporting strikes violated the National Labor Relations Act as amended by the Taft–Hartley Act. It concluded the demands were a refusal to bargain, that striking to force the clauses tried to make employers favor union members, and that the foreman strike improperly restrained employers’ choice of grievance representatives. The Court of Appeals enforced the Board’s order. The Supreme Court, citing its separate decision in a companion case, reversed the portion tied to the union-law incorporation clause. On the foreman-hiring issue the Justices were evenly divided, so the lower-court judgment on that phase was left in place and affirmed.
Real world impact
The ruling removes the Board’s enforcement of the clause that would have folded the union’s internal rules into contracts. The Board’s findings that the union’s bargaining demands and strikes could be unlawful remain effective for the foreman clause because the court split left the lower ruling standing. The decision affects the two newspapers, the local unions, and employer hiring and grievance procedures. Justice Frankfurter did not participate in the case.
Dissents or concurrances
Justices Clark and Whittaker dissented, aligning with the Court of Appeals’ reasoning, while Justice Harlan, joined by Justice Stewart, wrote a short concurrence joining earlier opinions.
Opinions in this case:
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