National Labor Relations Board v. Curtin Matheson Scientific, Inc.

494 U.S. 775, 110 S. Ct. 1542, 108 L. Ed. 2d 801, 1990 U.S. LEXIS 2020, 58 U.S.L.W. 4407, 133 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3049
CourtSupreme Court of the United States
DecidedApril 17, 1990
Docket88-1685
StatusPublished
Cited by301 cases

This text of 494 U.S. 775 (National Labor Relations Board v. Curtin Matheson Scientific, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of the United States primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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National Labor Relations Board v. Curtin Matheson Scientific, Inc., 494 U.S. 775, 110 S. Ct. 1542, 108 L. Ed. 2d 801, 1990 U.S. LEXIS 2020, 58 U.S.L.W. 4407, 133 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3049 (1990).

Opinions

Justice Marshall

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This case presents the question whether the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board), in evaluating an employer’s claim that it had a reasonable basis for doubting a union’s majority support, must presume that striker replacements oppose the union. We hold that the Board acted within its discretion in refusing to adopt a presumption of replacement opposition to the union and therefore reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals.

I

Upon certification by the NLRB as the exclusive bargaining agent for a unit of employees, a union enjoys an irrebutta[778]*778ble presumption of majority support for one year. Fall River Dyeing & Finishing Corp. v. NLRB, 482 U. S. 27, 37 (1987). During that time, an employer’s refusal to bargain with the union is per se an unfair labor practice under §§ 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(5) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 49 Stat. 452, as amended, 29 U. S. C. §§ 158(a)(1), 158(a)(5).1 See Celanese Corp. of America, 95 N. L. R. B. 664, 672 (1951); R. Gorman, Labor Law, Unionization and Collective Bargaining 109 (1976). After the first year, the presumption continues but is rebuttable. Fall River, supra, at 38. Under the Board’s longstanding approach, an employer may rebut that presumption by showing that, at the time of the refusal to bargain, either (1) the union did not in fact enjoy majority support, or (2) the employer had a “good-faith” doubt, founded on a sufficient objective basis, of the union’s majority support. Station KKHI, 284 N. L. R. B. 1339 (1987), enf’d, 891 F. 2d. 230 (CA9 1989). The question presented in this case is whether the Board must, in determining whether an employer has presented sufficient objective evidence of a good-faith doubt, presume that striker replacements oppose the union.2

[779]*779The Board has long presumed that new employees hired in nonstrike circumstances support the incumbent union in the same proportion as the employees they replace. See, e. g., National Plastic Products Co., 78 N. L. R. B. 699, 706 (1948). The Board’s approach to evaluating the union sentiments of employees hired to replace strikers, however, has not been so consistent. Initially, the Board appeared to assume that replacements did not support the union. See, e. g., Stoner Rubber Co., 123 N. L. R. B. 1440, 1444 (1959) (stating that it was not “unreasonable [for the employer] to assume that none of the . . . permanent replacements were union adherents”); Jackson Mfg. Co., 129 N. L. R. B. 460, 478 (1960) (stating that it was “most improbable” that replacements desired representation by the strikers’ union); Titan Metal Mfg. Co., 135 N. L. R. B. 196, 215 (1962) (finding that employer had “good cause to doubt the Union’s majority” because “no evidence that any of the replacements had authorized the Union to represent them” had been presented); S & M Mfg. Co., 172 N. L. R. B. 1008, 1009 (1968) (same).

A1974 decision, Peoples Gas System, Inc., 214 N. L. R. B. 944 (1974), rev’d and remanded on other grounds sub nom. [780]*780Teamsters Local Union 769 v. NLRB, 174 U. S. App. D. C. 310, 316, 532 F. 2d 1385, 1391 (1976), signalled a shift in the Board’s approach. The Board recognized that “it is of course possible that the replacements, who had chosen not to engage in the strike activity, might nevertheless have favored union representation.” 214 N. L. R. B., at 947. Still, the Board held that “it was not unreasonable for [the employer] to infer that the degree of union support among these employees who had chosen to ignore a Union-sponsored picket line might well be somewhat weaker than the support offered by those who had vigorously engaged in concerted activity on behalf on [sic] Union-sponsored objectives.” Ibid.

A year later, in Cutten Supermarket, 220 N. L. R. B. 507 (1975), the Board reversed course completely, stating that striker replacements, like new employees generally, are presumed to support the union in the same ratio as the strikers they replaced. Id., at 509. The Board’s initial adherence to this new approach, however, was equivocal. In Arkay Packaging Corp., 227 N. L. R. B. 397 (1976), review denied sub nom. New York Printing Pressmen & Offset Workers Union, No. 51 v. NLRB, 575 F. 2d 1045 (CA2 1978), the Board stated that “it would be wholly unwarranted and unrealistic to presume as a matter of law that, when hired, the replacements for the union employees who had gone out on strike favored representation by the Unions to the same extent as the strikers.” 227 N. L. R. B., at 397-398. See also Beacon Upholstery Co., 226 N. L. R. B. 1360, 1368 (1976) (distinguishing Cutten Supermarket on the ground that the strikers in Beacon Upholstery had been lawfully discharged, so there were no striking employees in the bargaining unit). Nevertheless, in Windham Community Memorial Hospital, 230 N. L. R. B. 1070 (1977), enf’d, 577 F. 2d 805 (CA2 1978), the Board explicitly reaffirmed Cutten Supermarket, stating that “[t]he general rule ... is that new employees, including striker replacements, are presumed to support the union in the same ratio as those whom they have replaced.” 230 [781]*781N. L. R. B., at 1070. The Board distinguished Arkay Packaging as a “limited exception” to this rule based on “the unique circumstance that the union had apparently abandoned the bargaining unit.” 230 N. L. R. B., at 1070. Finally, in 1980, the Board reiterated that the presumption that new employees support the union applies equally to striker replacements. Pennco, Inc., 250 N. L. R. B. 716, 717-718 (1980), enf’d, 684 F. 2d 340 (CA6), cert. denied, 459 U. S. 994 (1982).

In 1987, after several Courts of Appeals rejected the Board’s approach,3 the Board determined that no universal generalizations could be made about replacements’ union sentiments that would justify a presumption either of support for or of opposition to the union. Station KKHI, 284 N. L. R. B. 1339 (1987). On the one hand, the Board found that the prounion presumption lacked empirical foundation because “incumbent unions and strikers sometimes have shown hostility toward the permanent replacements,” and “replacements are typically aware of the union’s primary concern for the striker’s welfare, rather than that of the replacements.” Id., at 1344. On the other hand, the Board found that an antiunion presumption was “equally unsupportable” factually. Ibid. The Board observed that a striker replacement “may be forced to work for financial reasons, or may disapprove of the strike in question but still desire union representation and would support other union initiatives.” Ibid. Moreover, the Board found as a matter of policy that adoption of an antiunion presumption would “substantially impair the employees’ right to strike by adding to the risk of replacement the risk of loss of the bargaining representative as soon as replacements equal in number to the strikers are willing to cross the picket line. ” Ibid. See also Pennco, Inc., 250 N. L. R. B., at 717.

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494 U.S. 775, 110 S. Ct. 1542, 108 L. Ed. 2d 801, 1990 U.S. LEXIS 2020, 58 U.S.L.W. 4407, 133 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3049, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-labor-relations-board-v-curtin-matheson-scientific-inc-scotus-1990.