National Labor Relations Board v. Fleetwood Trailer Co.
Headline: Labor ruling reverses appeals court and finds employer committed unfair labor practice by hiring replacements instead of reinstating striking workers, requiring employers to show legitimate business reasons before denying rehiring.
Holding:
- Makes it harder for employers to deny rehiring without substantial business reasons.
- Protects striking workers’ right to reinstatement while jobs are unfilled.
- Shifts burden to employers to justify hiring replacements during production cutbacks.
Summary
Background
Respondent is a manufacturer of mobile homes that employed about 110 people. After contract talks broke down, about half of the workforce struck on August 6. The union ended the strike on August 18 and asked that the strikers be rehired. Six strikers applied for reinstatement on August 20 but were turned away because no jobs were available. Between October 8 and 16 the company hired six new workers for jobs the strikers could have done. The six were later reinstated between November 2 and December 14. The National Labor Relations Board found the employer guilty of an unfair labor practice for hiring others instead of returning the strikers, and the Court of Appeals refused to enforce the Board’s order, prompting Supreme Court review.
Reasoning
The Court addressed whether the strikers’ right to their jobs should be judged at the moment they first applied for work. The Court held that strikers remain employees until they obtain other regular, substantially equivalent work, so the right to reinstatement continues while production is ramped up. An employer who refuses reinstatement must prove “legitimate and substantial business justifications,” and the burden of proof is on the employer. Because the record showed the company intended to resume full production and did not show such justification, the Court reversed the appeals court and vacated its judgment.
Real world impact
The ruling protects striking workers from being pushed out by employers who temporarily cut production and later hire outsiders. Employers who hire replacements risk Board findings of unfair practice unless they prove substantial business reasons. The case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion, so the Board’s order may still be enforced on remand.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice Harlan, joined by Justice Stewart, agreed with the outcome but emphasized a simpler rule: a striker remains an employee while his job is unfilled and thus has rehiring preference over new applicants.
Opinions in this case:
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