National Labor Relations Board v. International Longshoremen's Ass'n

447 U.S. 490, 100 S. Ct. 2305, 65 L. Ed. 2d 289, 1980 U.S. LEXIS 41, 104 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2552
Supreme Court of the United States·Decided June 20, 1980·No. 79-1082·Published·Cited by 104 cases

Opinions

[493]*493Me. Justice Marshall

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This case presents the question whether provisions of the collective-bargaining agreement between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and employer organizations in the shipping industry which were adopted in response to the technological innovation of containerized shipping are a lawful work preservation agreement. The National Labor Relations Board held that the provisions did not preserve traditional work opportunities for employees represented by the union, but sought instead to acquire work they had not previously performed; therefore, it concluded that the provisions violated § 8 (e) of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U. S. C. § 158 (e), and union action to enforce them violated § 8 (b)(4)(B) of the Act, 29 U. S. C. § 158 (b)(4)(B). International Longshoremen’s Assn. (Dolphin Forwarding, Inc.), 236 N. L. R. B. 525 (1978); International Longshoremen’s Assn. (Associated Transport, Inc.), 231 N. L. R. B. 351 (1977). A divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined to enforce the Board’s orders. 198 U. S. App. D. C. 157, 613 F. 2d 890 (1979). We granted certiorari, 444 U. S. 1042 (1980), to resolve a conflict among the Circuits on this important question of federal labor law.1

I

This controversy arises out of the collective-bargaining response of the ILA and the east coast shipping industry to [494]*494containerization, a technological innovation which has had such a profound effect on that industry that it has frequently been termed “the container revolution.” 2 In the words of one observer, “containerization may be said to constitute the single most important innovation in ocean transport since, the steamship displaced the schooner.” 3

A

Containers are large, reusable metal receptacles, ranging in length from 20 to 40 feet and capable of carrying upwards of 30,000 pounds of freight, which can be moved on and off an ocean vessel unopened. Container ships are specially designed and constructed to carry the containers, which are affixed to the hold. A container can also be attached to a truck chassis and transported intact to and from the pier like a conventional trailer.

The use of containers is substantially more economical than traditional methods of handling ocean-borne cargo.4 Because cargo does not have to be handled and repacked as it moves from the warehouse by truck to the dock, into the vessel, then from the vessel to the dock and by truck or rail to its destination, the costs of handling are significantly reduced. Expenses of separate export packaging, storage, losses from pilferage and breakage, and costs of insurance and processing cargo documents may also be decreased. Perhaps most sig[495]*495nificantly, a container ship can be loaded or unloaded in a fraction of the time required for a conventional ship.5 As a result, the unprofitable in-port time of each ship is reduced, and a smaller number of ships are needed to carry a given volume of cargo.6

Before the introduction of container ships, and as is still the case with conventional vessels, trucks delivered loose, or break-bulk, cargo to the head of the pier. The cargo was then transferred piece by piece from the truck’s tailgate to the ship by longshoremen employed by steamship or ste-vedoring companies. The longshoremen checked the cargo, sorted it, placed it on pallets and moved it by forklift to the side of the ship, and lifted it by means of a sling or hook into the ship’s hold.7 The process was reversed for cargo taken off incoming ships. With the advent of containers, the amount of on-pier work involved in cargo handling has been drastically reduced, since the cargo need not be loaded and unloaded piece by piece. The amount of work available for longshoremen has been further reduced by the shipping companies’ practice of making their containers available to ship[496]*496pers and consolidators8 for loading and unloading away from the pier.

Containerization, then, was a technological advance of great importance to the shipping industry which at the same time threatened the jobs of longshoremen by dramatically increasing their productivity.9 As one might expect, the subject has been a hotly disputed topic of collective bargaining between the union and the employers.10 We are concerned with the results of that collective-bargaining process as it affects the shipping industry in the Ports of New York, Baltimore, and Hampton Roads, 'Va.

B

It is necessary, in discussing the collective-bargaining agreements here at issue, to define certain industry terms of art [497]*497pertaining to containerized cargo. Loading cargo into a container is called “stuffing”; unloading cargo from a container is called “stripping.” Containers holding goods beneficially-owned by one shipper or consignee are called full shippers’ loads (FSL). Containers holding goods belonging to more than one shipper or consignee are called consolidated container loads. Such cargo is also called “less than trailer load” (LTL) or “less than container load” (LCL) cargo.

The first collective-bargaining agreement to contain a provision dealing with containerized shipping was the 1959 agreement between ILA and the New York Shipping Association (NYSA). At that time, containerization was in its infancy.11 The provision in the 1959 agreement was prompted by a dispute over the use of Dravo containers, boxes eight cubic feet in size. See International Longshoremen’s Assn. (Consolidated Express, Inc.), 221 N. L. R. B. 956, 957 (1975), enf’d, 537 F. 2d 706 (CA2 1976), cert. denied, 429 U. S. 1041 (1977). The agreement recognized the right of NYSA members “to use any and all type [sic] of containers without restriction or stripping by the union.” 221 N. L. R. B., at 957. In return, NYSA agreed to contribute royalty payments on “containers which are loaded or unloaded away from the pier by non-ILA labor.” Ibid. The agreement also provided:

“Any work performed in connection with the loading and discharging of containers for employer members of NYSA which is performed in the Port of Greater New York whether on piers or terminals controlled by them, [498]*498or whether through direct contracting out, shall be performed by ILA labor at longshore rates.” Ibid.

After the 1959 agreement was reached, the development of container shipping accelerated. In 1967, ILA demanded in collective-bargaining negotiations that longshoremen stuff and strip all containers crossing the piers.

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National Labor Relations Board v. International Longshoremen's Ass'n, 447 U.S. 490, 100 S. Ct. 2305, 65 L. Ed. 2d 289, 1980 U.S. LEXIS 41, 104 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2552 (1980).

447 U.S. 490 (National Labor Relations Board v. International Longshoremen's Ass'n) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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