A161 BSMH 3143 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING CLASS EXERCISE 1

CLASS GROUP: SMALL GROUP:

DATE:
Can the Union Post a List of Nonmembers?
What Happened
The inking of their bargaining agreement with the Calfedon Corporation
brought mingled feelings of satisfaction and anger to leaders and activists in
the union local. They are satisfied with gains in wages and working
conditions, but they were resentful of the nonunion employees who had
likewise benefited from the pact. (The bargaining agreement contained no
requirement that employees be members of the union as a condition of
employment.)
The unionists showed their hostility to the nonjoiners by using the company
bulletin boards to post the names of 54 nonunion hourly workers.
Even before the targeted employees could voice their complaints, Calfedon
officials ordered the local to remove the lists pronto! The unionists
grudgingly obeyed the ukase and immediately struck back with the
grievance demanding the right to restore the sheets the bulletin boards.
Following the heated exchange during the grievance steps, both sides
repaired to arbitration, where a union leader exhorted:
1. We were exercising our constitutionally guaranteed rights of free
speech when we posted those lists.
2. We have a right to let Calfedon employees know which of their coworkers are enjoying the fruits of the union battle for better working
conditions without any expense to themselves.
Management retorted:

Our bargaining agreement does not require employees to join the

union.
The union act constituted a blacklisting of nonjoiners and was
designed to coerce and harass them unlawfully into joining the union.
We have an obligation to maintain order in the plant. The lists would
create hostility and strife at the workplace.
Questions

1. List, evaluate, and prioritize all the legal and/or constitutional issues
you can identify in this particular case.
2. Does the union have the right to post this list of nonmembers? Explain
your decision.