The degree to which an employer’s private property is protected during a labor dispute may be the subject of an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
A group called the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, which is based in Washington, is asking the higher court to review a 2021 decision made by the Supreme Court of Washington State addressing property destruction issues.
That decision in Glacier NW, Incorporated v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union 174 addressed itself to an incident during a work stoppage event at the Glacier Northwest company in Seattle.
According to the original litigation, concrete was purposely left in the Glacier company’s cement trucks previous to the work stoppage, prompting damage to the vehicles by allowing the concrete to harden in the mixing drums.
The Washington State Supreme Court subsequently ruled that the action was protected under the National Labor Relations Act, and thus prevented Glacier from recovering damages.
Now, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is filing an amicus brief with the federal higher court asking for a review of the Washington decision.
In filing the brief, the group is arguing that the Washington state court decision leaves employers without a remedy in cases where structures and machinery are purposely damage, while also encouraging the intentional destruction of such property.
The amicus brief also contends that the National Labor Relations Act was never intended to “immunize unions that intentionally destroy an employer’s property.”
The Teamsters’ Glacier strike lasted for around five months and was finally settled in April of this year.
It is not yet known if the U.S. Supreme Court will take up the case.
By Garry Boulard
