By Jyoti Jha
The Supreme Court in the United States was subjected to another setback on
Thursday regarding organized labor. This is by making it easier for employees to
sue over strikes that result in property destruction.
The ruling has been supported by a concrete organization in the state of
Washington that sued the union acting for the truck drivers conducting themselves
in an organized strike.
The decisions of 8-1 overturned the lower court ruling that stated a suit filed by
Glacier Northwest Inc. that sells and delivers ready-made concrete to the local
affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has been barred by US law from the
National Labor Relations Act.
Glacier Northwest Inc. filed a lawsuit in Washington Court accusing the union of
intentionally destroying property during a strike in 2017.
A group of truck drivers went on a strike during their trucks being equipped with
concrete mix. Even so, the drivers kept rolling their concrete drums to prevent
them from hardening.
But, the organization had to discard the new concrete, which resulted in financial
loss. The Washington State Court in 2021 provided a judgment that ruled the
organization’s claims barred by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) statute.
This stated that the organization’s substantial loss had been secondary to a strike.
This meant the aspect had been protected under federal labor law.
The judgment drafted by Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett said the labor
union’s actions destroyed the concrete. The justice also claimed that the strike
“Posed a risk of foreseeable, aggravated and imminent harm to Glacier’s trucks”
“Because the union took affirmative steps in endangering Glacier’s property rather than reasonable precautions to resolve the risk,”
added Barrett.
However, Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote a 27-page dissent that
stated,
“the ruling will confuse the lower courts.”
This is regarding the preemption under the National Labor Relations Act that
should apply in future cases, along with risking the aspect of the right to strike.
The Supreme Court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, restrained labor unions’
power within its ruling each year.
The lawyer representing Glacier stated in the ruling that the long-standing federal
legal principle does not protect labor unions from tort liability regarding intentional
damage to employer’s assets.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ general president Sean O’Brien
commented that the Supreme Court has
“once again voted in the favor of corporations rather than the working people.”
The union of Teamsters has claimed that the strike has not only been protected by
the federal labor court, but the loss of concrete has not satisfied lower courts from
overriding the federal preemption.
The Supreme Court has found that unions can be sued in State courts to threaten or
harmful conduct.
The union stated that this narrow exemption should be expanded for property
damage claims brought in state courts.
President Joe Biden’s governance has been noted to urge justices to reverse the
lower court’s decision, allowing Glacier Northwest’s lawsuit to continue.
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