National Labor Relations Board v. Burnup and Sims, Inc.
United States Supreme Court
379 U.S. 21 (1964)
- Written by Patricia Peters, JD
Facts
Davis and Harmon, two employees at Burnup and Sims, Inc. (Burnup) (plaintiff), were attempting to organize Burnup employees. Another employee, Pate, told Burnup’s superintendent that Davis and Harmon expressed willingness to use dynamite if they could not get the necessary union authorizations. Based on this information, Burnup fired Davis and Harmon. Davis and Harmon brought an unfair-labor-practice (ULP) proceeding against Burnup with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) (defendant). The NLRB determined that Davis and Harmon had not made the threats, and it stated that Burnup’s good-faith belief in the threat was not a defense under the NLRA. It therefore found that Burnup had violated §§ 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which prohibit employers from interfering with employees’ § 7 right to self-organization. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, however, found that Burnup’s good-faith belief in the threat was enough to render the firings lawful. Thus, it refused to reinstate Davis and Harmon. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Douglas, J.)
Concurrence/Dissent (Harlan, J.)
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