Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

Labor Law - Unincorporated Unions As Entities For The Purpose Of Being Made Parties Defendant, Rex B. Martin

Michigan Law Review

Union officials wrongfully discharged plaintiffs from the union. Plaintiffs, being unable to procure employment in a "closed-shop" trade, asked for a writ of mandamus to direct defendants, as representatives of the association, to reinstate plaintiffs and recompense them for damages suffered. Held, that a reinstatement order and a damage judgment against the union should be granted. Nissen v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, etc., (Iowa, 1941) 295 N. W. 858.

Labor Law-Reinstatement Of Sit-Down Strikers Not Formally Discharged By The Employer, Walter B. Connolly

Michigan Law Review

A one-day sit-down strike occurred in the employer's plant on March 16, 1937. A general strike was called on the following day and lasted until June 24, 1937. On March 25, 1937, the employer sent a notice to all employees including the "sit-downers" urging them to return to work. The National Labor Relations Board found the company guilty of various unfair labor practices, all of which occurred during the general strike, and ordered a reinstatement of all employees who were on strike March 23, 1937, with back pay and full seniority rights. Petitioner asserted that the men who engaged in …

Labor Law - Constitutional Law - National Labor Relations Act- Right Of Employer To Disparage Labor Unions And To Advise His Employees Against Joining Them, William C. Wetherbee

Michigan Law Review

In the spring of 1937 the respondent distributed anti-union literature to its employees. Some of the material specifically denied any design on the part of the employer to prevent the employees from joining a union, and none of the literature pretended to be more than the advice and opinions of the employer. Nevertheless, the unions were thoroughly condemned as rackets, controlled by Communists, which deprive the workingman of his economic freedom and force him to pay for the privilege of working. The National Labor Relations Board found that the distribution of this literature interfered with, restrained, and coerced the employees …

Labor Law - Existence Of Labor Dispute Under Norris-La Guardia Act - Relation Of Norris-La Guardia Act To Sherman Act, Philip W. Buchen

Michigan Law Review

Action was brought in a federal court to enjoin the Chicago local of the A. F. of L. Mille Wagon Drivers' Union from picketing and committing acts of violence in violation of the Sherman Act against retail stores that sold milk produced out of the state, processed by the plaintiff dairies and distributed by "vendors" belonging to the plaintiff C. I. O. union of dairy workers. "Vendors" were individuals owning their own trucks who purchased milk from the dairies and sold it to the retail stores, which charged prices lower than those charged for milk supplied by dairies employing the …

Labor Law -- Injunctions -- Permissible Objects Of Strikes -- Prevention Of Use Of Labor-Saving Devices, Reed T. Phalan

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a travelling grand opera troupe, used recordings for orchestral accompaniment. The American Federation of Musicians opposed use of mechanically reproduced music wherever orchestras could be hired, and, in support of such opposition, the stagehands' union forbade its members to work for plaintiff. As a result, since most of the theaters throughout the country were "closed shop" theaters, plaintiff's business was greatly restricted: Plaintiff brought an action for an injunction against the musician's union and the stagehands' union, and the lower court granted the injunction. Held, in a three-two decision, the stagehands' union had sufficient direct interest to act …

Labor Law - National Labor Relations Act - Necessity Of A Written Contract To Meet Requirement Of Good Faith Collective Bargaining, Rex B. Martin

Michigan Law Review

Having found that the petitioner, by refusing to sign an agreement reached with the union, was refusing to bargain collectively, the National Labor Relations Board ordered it to bargain by signing a written agreement. The Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit directed enforcement of the board's order. On certiorari to that court, held that the board's order should be enforced. H.J. Heinz Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, (U. S. 1941) 61 S. Ct. 320, affirming (C. C. A. 6th, 1940) 110 F. (2d) 843.

Labor Law-National Labor Relations Act-Elections - What Constitutes A Majority, Charles D. Johnson

Michigan Law Review

Three mills, all under the same management and represented by the same bargaining agents, were ordered by the National Labor Relations Board to desist from refusing to bargain with the Textile Workers' Organizing Committee. On application by the board to the court for a decree enforcing the order, the company claimed that the committee was not the lawful bargaining agency at the material dates. The T. W. O. C. had been certified by the board after an election in which a majority of the employees voted and a bare majority of these voted for the committee. In no instance were …

Jurisdiction Of Employee Suits Under The Fair Labor Standards Act, George W. Crockett Jr.

Michigan Law Review

The statutory authority for employee suits under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is found in section 16(b). Suits under this section have been instituted in both state and federal courts. In practically every case the defendant has, by a motion to dismiss, challenged the jurisdiction of the court. The usual ground for the challenge in the state courts is that such suits seek to recover penalties incurred under a statute of the United States, and are, therefore, within the exclusive jurisdiction of the district courts of the United States. The jurisdiction of the federal district courts is generally …

Labor Law - The Apex Decision And Its Effect On The Application Of The Sherman Act To Activities Of Labor Unions, Philip W. Buchen

Michigan Law Review

Labor made a bold attempt in the case of Apex Hosiery Company v. Leader to procure a determination by the Supreme Court that labor organizations and their activities are exempt from the Sherman Act. The act, having survived this attack, presumably remains a potential weapon against labor unions. However, the Court by its decision has rejected a theory that the Sherman Act should be expanded on the principles of the Wagner Act decisions, has imposed a new restriction upon its application, and has opened the way for developments which will have substantially the effect of excluding labor unions from its …

Labor Law - Fair Labor Standards Act - Tips Not Considered Wages In Computing Statutory Minimum, Reed T. Phalan

Michigan Law Review

After the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act, defendant terminal company adopted the so-called "make up" plan towards its redcap station porters. Under the plan, tips received by redcaps could, as formerly, be retained by them; in addition the redcap would report to the defendant the amounts received in tips, and the defendant would make up the deficiency if the tips did not aggregate the minimum legal wage. After the plan had been in operation for a time, plaintiff, agent and representative of the redcaps, brought suit for the difference between the amounts paid by the defendant and the …

Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act - Right Of Prospective Bidder To Question Wage Determination Of Secretary Of Labor, David Loeb

Michigan Law Review

Complainants, small steel companies in eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland and Connecticut, brought this action to enjoin the secretary of labor and others from applying the provisions of the Public Contracts Act, as construed, to the iron and steel industry. It was contended that the secretary's wage determination was the result of an erroneous interpretation of the word "locality" as included in the act. The district court dismissed the complaint. Upon appeal the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia granted the injuction. On certiorari, held, reversed. The complainants have no standing in court to sue. Perkins v. Lukens Steel …

Fraudulent Conveyances - Right Of Creditor Whose Cause Of Action Accrued After The Debtor's Voluntary Conveyance, Reed T. Phalan

Michigan Law Review

On the morning following the accident in which plaintiff's husband was struck and fatally injured by an auto owned and driven by defendant John Manning, the latter conveyed to his sister, Anna, his undivided one-half interest in certain realty, thereby making himself insolvent. About two and one-half weeks later, plaintiff's husband died as a result of the accident, and plaintiff brought suit on behalf of herself and her daughter to recover damages for the wrongful death of her husband. Plaintiff recovered judgment, and then filed the present action to set aside the conveyance. The court so decreed, and defendants John …

Labor Law - Back Pay - Requirement Of Deduction For Reimbursement Of Governmental Relief Agencies, Rex B. Martin

Michigan Law Review

Having found that the petitioner, by discharging employees for union activities, had engaged in an unfair labor practice, the National Labor Relations Board ordered the employees' reinstatement with back pay, less monies received during the period of discharge for work performed upon federal, state, county, municipal or other work-relief projects, and the payment of this amount received to the appropriate fiscal agencies of the government or governments which. supplied the funds for the work-relief projects. The Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit directed enforcement of the board's order. On petition for a writ of certiorari to that court, …

Municipal Corporations - Labor Law - Conflict Of Municipal Ordinance With State Statute, Kenneth J. Nordstrom

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a member of a machinist's union, was indicted for violation of a city ordinance which prohibited peaceful picketing except by employees employed three months or more at a place of business and who had been so employed within sixty days of the commencement of the picketing. A state statute modeled on the Norris-LaGuardia Act authorized the giving of publicity of labor disputes and forbade the issuing of injunctions for designated types of labor controversies. Held, that the ordinance was void and that the defendant was entitled to picket peacefully a company which had never employed him, but which …

Constitutional Law - Labor Law - Peaceful Picketing Guaranteed By Due Process Clause Of Fourteenth Amendment, Eugene T. Kinder

Michigan Law Review

In the recent Thornhill and Carlson decisions the Supreme Court of the United States declared an Alabama statute and a California county ordinance prohibiting all picketing, peaceful or otherwise, unconstitutional on the ground that such broad legislation deprived employees and union members of their right of free speech, guaranteed by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. In holding that employees and workers have a constitutional right to publicize the facts of a labor dispute, the Court was but taking another step in its recent crusade for the preservation of civil liberties. …

Scope Of The Business: The Borrowed Servant Problem, Talbot Smith

Michigan Law Review

If your client wants to erect an office building he may be advised of the cost within narrow limits. The necessary expenditure will be X dollars plus Y lives or limbs. If his talents take the turn of bridge construction similar computations may be made. To carry forward to completion either of these projects he must use materials of various kinds, and he must use men. The expenditure of the human, animate, material is as inevitable as the expenditure of the inanimate. With increased care and skill the curve of expenditure of the human material will approach the asymptote of …

Labor Law - Picketing To Compel Breach Of A Statutory Duty - Conflict Between Norris-Laguardia Act And National Labor Relations Act, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Petitioners, a corporate employer and an A. F. of L. union whose membership included all the company's active employees, brought suit in a federal court against a C. I. O. union, whose membership included two of petitioner's employees on strike, to enjoin respondents' picketing. The purpose of the picketing was to coerce the employer and employees to violate the agreement entered into with the petitioner union as exclusive bargaining agency and to cause the employer to rescind its recognition of that union. The trial court granted an injunction against all picketing on findings that the agreement between the employer and …

Railroads - Damages Under Employers' Liability Act - Use Of Annuity Payments Under Railroad Retirement Act In Mitigation Of Damages, William H. Klein

Michigan Law Review

A recent decision raised the question of the right of a railroad defendant, against whom suit had been brought under the Federal Employers' Liability Act of I908, to plead in mitigation of damages plaintiff's eligibility for an annuity under section z(3) of the Railroad Retirement Act of I937. The court, holding that plaintiff was not eligible for an annuity under the provisions of the Retirement Act, found it unnecessary to pass on the issue. It is proposed in this comment to suggest and analyze the more important arguments on which the solution of the problem, left undecided by that decision, …

The State Legislatures And Unionism: A Survey Of State Legislation Relating To Problems Of Unionization And Collective Bargaining, Russell A. Smith, William J. Delancey

Michigan Law Review

'There ought to be a law!" So declared labor and its friends in the early days of the New Deal, and the Wagner Act and "little" Wagner acts (the "labor relations acts") were the legislative response. Now, some five years later, with Utopia in labor relations not yet at hand, the hue and cry goes up for still more law, both state and federal. In part this is the typical American reaction to particular irritations and assumes with the usual naiveté that there is a single legislative specific for every isolated ailment. In part it is the equally typical reaction …

Master And Servant -The Filling Station Operator As An Independent Contractor, William F. Andersen

Michigan Law Review

Under the press of modern concepts of responsibility of business units it becomes necessary to re-examine the relation between the corner filling station and the big oil company that uses it as a means of getting its products before the consuming public. The factual situation is usually this: the operator may own the station, or may lease it from the oil company; the oil company invariably owns the equipment, such as gas pumps, tanks, and tank trucks, which it leases to the operator; by a sales contract the operator binds himself to sell only the petroleum products of the oil …

Labor Law - Collective Agreements- Validity After Change Of Union Affiliation By Employees, William F. Andersen

Michigan Law Review

Among the problems raised in magnified form by the AFL-CIO schism is the determination of rights and duties under a collective agreement when there is a change in affiliation of the members of the union which negotiated the agreement. Suppose that union A, as sole bargaining representative for the employees in the particular unit, has negotiated an agreement with the employer, that thereafter a majority of union A shift their allegiance to union B. Does the agreement continue to canter rights upon employees who have changed their affiliation? Upon the employees who have not changed their affiliation? This …

Proceedings Of The Second Annual Law Institute - Vol Ii, University Of Michigan Law School

Event Materials

Proceedings of the Second Annual Law Institute Vol II

Held at the University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday June 20-22, 1940

The Test Of The Employment Relation, Gerald M. Stevens

Michigan Law Review

Labor's status is the subject of what seems to be an interminable war, with campaigns in the courts, on picket lines, in conference rooms, and in legislative halls. The prominence of these battles increases, if anything, the obscurity in which a closely related conflict is being worked out. For as long as there are important distinctions to be made on the basis of whether an employment relation exists, there is fairly certain to be at least some argument over the existence of that relation.

Constitutional Law- State Regulation Of Hours Of Labor - Police Power And Due Process, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A South Carolina statute prohibited labor of employees in enumerated manufacturing and mercantile establishments for more than fifty-six hours per week or more than twelve hours in any one day. Plaintiffs were druggists who brought suit to restrain the commissioner of labor from enforcing the statute. A temporary restraining order was issued and the commissioner of labor appealed. Held, the statute was unconstitutional as in violation of the due process and equal protection clauses in both state and federal constitutions. Gasque, Inc. v. Nates, (S. C. 1939) 2 S. E. (2d) 36.

Labor Law - National Labor Relations Act - Employee Misconduct As Barring Relief, John C. Griffin

Michigan Law Review

The problem to be considered in this comment is the extent to which employees will, as a consequence of wrongful action on their part, be denied benefits secured to them by the National Labor Relations Act. Inherently, the discussion must also include the examination of another fundamental issue; viz., what is the proper relation between the National Labor Relations Board and the courts on this problem? The substantive question may arise either where the employer seeks to justify a discharge of the worker because of alleged misconduct, or where the misconduct is sought to be used as an estoppel against …

Labor Law - National Labor Relations Act - Jurisdiction Of The National Labor Relations Board, John C. Griffin

Michigan Law Review

Respondent, employing about sixty persons, was the sole owner of a garment-tailoring concern in New Jersey. His only business was with the Lee Company, a New York firm, that sold finished goods. There was no financial affiliation between them. The Lee Company purchased the cloth and caused it to be delivered to respondent. Respondent tailored it and delivered the finished product to a representative of the Lee Company at respondent's plant. This representative sent it back to New York in Lee Company trucks. Title to the cloth remained throughout in the Lee Company. Held, Justices McReynolds and Butler dissenting, …

Labor Law - National Labor Relations Board - Remand Without Decision After Order To Enforce Is Filed In Circuit Court Of Appeals, Robert E. Sipes

Michigan Law Review

The National Labor Relations Board filed its petition in the circuit court of appeals January 7, 1938, seeking enforcement of its order against petitioner, Ford Motor Company. Petitioner filed its answer and asked that the order be set aside. On May 2, 1938, the board moved to withdraw its petition without prejudice. On May 4, 1938, petitioner filed its petition asking the court to review and set aside the board's order. The board moved that the case be remanded to it for further proceedings. The court entered an order remanding the proceedings to the board for the purpose of setting …

Legal Institute, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A legal institute for practicing lawyers will be held at the Law School of the University of Michigan on June 22 to 24. The student dormitories in the classic Law Quadrangle will be open to those attending the Institute. Subjects to be discussed will include Taxation, Labor Law, and Wills and Trusts. Members of the law faculty and several practicing lawyers specializing in the topics to be considered will be the lecturers.

Regulation Of Labor Unions And Labor Disputes In France, Rudolf B. Sobernheim, V. Henry Rothschild 2nd

Michigan Law Review

In a study of British labor, Andre Philip contrasted what he termed "le Trade Unionisme'' of England with les syndicats professionels of France. So foreign did he deem the British concept of trade unionism to his French readers that, in speaking of British trade unions, he preferred not to use the French term.

Administrative Law - Labor Law - Federal Courts - Equity - Propriety Of Interrogatories Directed To The Members Of The National Labor Relations Board, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The National Labor Relations Board brought a proceeding under section 10 of the National Labor Relations Act for the enforcement of an order to cease certain unfair labor practices, its petition stating that the board had considered the case before it and upon all the testimony and evidence made its findings of fact and issued its order. The answer alleged that the board did not consider the evidence but referred it to others for suggested findings of fact, and that with no opportunity to respondent to know of or criticize the suggestions they were adopted by the board without further …