National Labor Relations Board v. Servette, Inc.

Servette, Inc. (defendant) distributed specialty merchandise to supermarket chains. Local 848 of the Wholesale Delivery Drivers and Salesmen’s Union (the union) called a strike of Servette’s drivers. During the strike, the union’s representatives asked supermarket managers to discontinue handling Servette merchandise to support the strike. The representatives warned that they would distribute handbills asking the public not to buy named items in front of stores that refused to cooperate, but they actually distributed handbills only in a few instances. Servette filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) (plaintiff) charging the union with unfair labor practices (ULPs). Servette alleged the union’s conduct violated National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) provisions that prohibited inducing individuals to engage in a secondary strike against an employer and conduct that threatened, coerced, or restrained any person. The trial examiner found no ULP had occurred because the supermarket managers were authorized to decide whether to continue doing business with Servette despite the threats and hand billing. The NLRB adopted that finding, concluding that contacting supermarket managers did not amount to inducing “individuals” and that even if the union had threatened, coerced, or restrained someone, the publicity proviso that explicitly excepted handbilling protected its conduct. The court of appeals set aside the NLRB’s order, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.