Glover v. St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Co.

Background

Thirteen car-repair employees in Birmingham — eight Black men and five white men — sued their railroad employer and their union. They said they were qualified but kept in lower jobs while the railroad used “apprentices” and the union failed to promote or file grievances, all to avoid promoting Black workers. The suit sought money and an order stopping the discrimination. Lower courts dismissed the case for failure to use grievance procedures and administrative boards first.

Reasoning

The Court examined whether federal courts could hear the suit and whether the employees had to exhaust contractual grievance remedies. It explained that the Railroad Adjustment Board’s exclusive role applies only to disputes strictly between employees and carriers, and that when a union and employer are alleged to be acting together to block employees, the Board lacks authority to grant full relief. The Court held that requiring formal exhaustion would be pointless where employees allege union and company collusion and where pursuing remedies would be futile; repeated complaints to company and union officials sufficed here. The Court reversed the dismissal and sent the case back for trial.

Real world impact

The decision makes it possible for railroad workers to bring federal lawsuits against both unions and employers when they claim racial discrimination and when internal grievance systems are controlled by those same actors. It does not decide the merits of the discrimination claims — it only allows the case to proceed to trial.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Harlan concurred, agreeing with the judgment and adding that earlier circuit decisions support allowing courts to grant relief against employers who aid unfair union conduct.