TWENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT - National Labor Relations Board

Enforcement Litigation 175
c Strikes and Boycotts Prohibited by Section 8(b)(4)
In one group of cases under section 8(b) (4), the issue was whethet
a union's conduct amounted to an attempt to "induce or encout age"
work stoppages Several cases decided during the yeai presented the
question whether an employer against which a union was directing a
strike or picket line occupied the position of a "neutral" in the underlying
labor dispute so as to be entitled to protection under section
8(b) (4) (A) and (B) of the 1947 act Other cases concerned the
legality of picketing in "common situs" situations And one case
involved an alleged violation of section 8(b) (4) (C)
(1) Inducement or Encouragement of Work Stoppages
Section 8(b) (4), both before and after the 1959 amendments, forbids
unions to "induce or encourage" work stoppages for certain
objects In Korber Hats," the Fourth Circuit agreed with the Board
that the union engaged in proscribed inducement and encouragement
by picketing in front of the establishment of an eziployer which sold
at wholesale the products of a manufacturer with which the union
had a dispute. Rejecting the union's contention that the picketing
constituted an appeal to the wholesaler's customers not to buy the
products of the struck manufacturer, the court held that a refusal
by deliverymen to handle the wholesaler's goods "would be a natural
and reasonable result of the inducement and encouragement offered,"
and the fact that they did not refuse was not proof of the absence of
the invitation
However, in another case," the District of Columbia Circuit disapproved
the Board's finding that a union "induced" a work stoppage,
within the meaning of section 8(b) (4) , when a foreman, 5° who was
a member of the union, advised other union members on a construction
job that the employees of one of the other contractors on the job
were nonunion While the foreman's conduct may have been a reminder
to the other members of their duty under union rules not to
work with nonunion men, the court stated, it did not show that he
tried to induce a strike in light of the fact that he sought and followed
the advice of the union business agent, who told him to continue work
(2) Secondary Boycotts
(a) What constitutes a "neutral" employer
Section 8(b) (4) (A) of the 1947 act, as section 8 (b) (4) (B) of the
present act, proscribed the inducement of work stoppages only where
48 NLRB v United Hatters, Cap Millinery Workers Union, AFL—CIO, 286 F 2d 950
• United Brotherhood of Carpenter. (6 Joiners of America, AFL—CIO v NLRB (Endicott
Church), 286 F 2d 553
60 Compare with conduct of another foreman in this case discussed above, p 178