NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

VII. PRINCIPLES ESTABLISHED 109
fiscal year ending June 30, 1936, the Board considered 11 such cases,
in 3 of which it dismissed the complaints to the extent that they
contained charges arising under section 8 (2). During the following
fiscal year, the Board considered 12 cases involving charges under
section 8 (2) in 1 of which the charge was dismissed. During the
past fiscal year, the Board rendered decisions in 94 cases involving
such charges, in 4 of which the charges were dismissed. Significant
is the number of such cases in which the Board has issued consent
orders, that is orders issued with the consent of the parties and on
the basis of stipulations to which they agreed. During each of the
first 2 years of the Board's existence, only one such consent order
was issued. Of the 94 orders involving charges under section 8 (2)
which were issued during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938, however,
21 were consent orders.
Section 8 (2) of the act declares that it shall be an unfair labor
practice for an employer "to dominate or interfere with the formation
or administration of any labor organization or contribute financial
or other support to it.' 12 Section 7 of the act guarantees to employees
"the right to self-organization" and "to bargain collectively
through representatives of their own choosing." Section 8 (2) is
clearly intended to protect this right by proscribing any form of
employer participation in the formation or administration of a labor
organization of employees.
The term "labor organization," as used in section 8 (2) is defined in
section 2 (5), to mean "any organization of any kind, or any agency
or employee representation committee or plan, in which employees
participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part,
of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes,
wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work."
Organizations which have been involved in cases arising under section
8 (2) vary greatly in type and characteristics. The organization may
be complex in structure and engage in a wide range of activities including
collective bargaining, the conduct of social affairs, the administration
of sick benefits, and other forms of insurance. 14 . Again
it may not function except to prevent an outside union from being
established among the employees of a particular plant.' :1 No matter
how many activities the organization engages in or what form the
organization takes, however, if it exists in part for the purpose of
dealing with the employer concerning grievances, labor disputes, and
the other matters above specified, it is a labor organization within the
u A proviso to this section reads as follows: "Provided, that subject to rules and regulations
made and published by the Board pursuant to section 6 (a), an employer shall not
be prohibited from permitting emplo yees to confer with him during working hours without
loss of time or pay." To date the Board has found it neither necessary nor expedient to
Issue an y rules or regulations on this point. During the past year none of the cases decided
by the Board has involved this proviso. But see Matter of International Harvester Company
and Local Union No. 57, International Union, United Automobile Workers of America,
2 N. L. R. B. 310.
"See. for example, Matter of American Potash cf Chemical Corporation and Borax cE
Potash Workers' Union No. 20181. 3 N. L. R. B. 140.
u In Matter of American Manufacturing Concern and Local No. 6, Organized Furniture
Workers, 7 N. L. R. B. 753. the organization involved never adopted a name, nor did it
request the respondent to bargain collectively. After holding two meetings it became completely
inactive. The only motion passed was one providing that all those present at the
meeting resign from the outside union. See also Matter of A. S. Abell Compan y, a Corporation.
and International Printing and Pressmen/8 Union, Baltimore Branch. Baltimore
Web Pressmen's Union. No. 81. 5 N. L. R. B. 644. order modified and enforced sub nom.
National Labor Relations Board v. A. S. Abell Company, 97 F. (2d) 951 (C. C. A. 4th, 1938).
Matter of Union Die Casting Company, Ltd., a corporation; Udieo Collecting 13"arnaininal
Union and international Union United Automobile Workers of America, Local No. 188,
7 N. L. R. B. 848.