Unions May be Liable for Damages Employers Suffer As a Result of a Strike.
Employers may be happy to know that unions can be held liable for damages employers suffer as a result of a strike. The U.S. Supreme Court has recently held that the federal law that protects a union’s right to strike (the National Labor Relations Act or “NLRA”), does not prevent a union from being held liable under state tort law for economic damages as a result of the strike.
In Glacier Northwest Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union No. 174, Glacier’s truck drivers showed up to work in the morning acting as if it “business as usual,” which prompted Glacier to mix and load the wet concrete into the trucks for delivery. Prior to delivery of the wet concrete, discussions regarding a collective-bargaining agreement stalled and the truck drivers’ union requested that all truck drivers cease delivery of the wet concrete. The union specifically directed the truck drivers to ignore Glacier’s request that the truck drivers finish all pending deliveries. In response, some truck drivers parked their trucks and left the cement drums spinning to prevent the concrete from immediately hardening, while others simply parked their trucks and walked away.
To prevent damage to their trucks, Glacier was forced to quickly make arrangements to offload the mixed concrete in a safe manner. All the mixed concrete left in the spinning drums was dumped and not able to be delivered. Glacier sued the union for the damages it suffered, namely the unsaleable concrete left in the drums. The Union argued that the NLRA protects the right to strike, protects the truck drivers’ actions, and even prevents the State from holding the Union liable for the damages that Glacier suffered as a result of the strike.
The United States Supreme Court disagreed and made clear that the right to strike under the NLRA is NOT absolute. In fact, “the NLRA does not shield strikers who fail to take ‘reasonable precautions’ to protect their employer’s property from foreseeable, aggravated, and imminent danger due to the sudden cessation of work.” The NLRA right to strike is limited by the employees’ duty to protect their employer’s property.
The Supreme Court made clear that although risk of spoilage is a foreseeable risk for all employers in the business of selling perishable goods, this case is different. That is because concrete is “highly perishable” and that the concrete must be delivered within a specified period of time because, even if the truck drum spins, the concrete will eventually harden (which renders it unsaleable). By coming to work and accepting the wet concrete for delivery, the truck drivers “prompted the creation of the perishable product.” Thereafter, the truck drivers stopped working only after the concrete was mixed and loaded into their trucks, which caused the waste of the mixed concrete and the potential damage to Glacier’s trucks. Clearly, the union and the truck drivers went out of their way to cause Glacier to suffer damages. This is no ordinary spoilage from stoppage of work.
The courts are clear that employers are not at the mercy of striking unionized employees. Rather, there are dire consequences for unions who intentionally cause employers to suffer damages during strikes.