Inc. v. NLRB Lechmere

In view of the petitioner's ban on members of non-employee unions from organizing their activities on private corporate property, the firm was sued by the union. The union's suit charged Lechmere with "unfair labor practice" and maintained its ban violated provisions of the National Labor Relations Act. Consequently, the National Labor Relations Board joined the union as a co-respondent. The suit was initially presented to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) who held that the petitioner should not ban union organizers from the parking zone. The ALJ also ruled Lechmere should make a public proclamation that representatives of the union would be permitted to distribute their literature to employees and that they would not be limited to access to parking areas. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) accepted and approved the recommended order of the ALJ. Lechmere appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which affirmed the board's ruling. Again, the petitioner appealed to the higher, U.S. Supreme Court and was granted a hearing on certiorari.

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) stipulates that "employees shall have right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations." Further, section 8 recognizes the illegality of an employer engaging in "unfair labor practice . . . to interfere with, restraint, or coerce employees in the exercise of rights guaranteed in (section) 7." These two sections of the NLRA were the legal statutes on which the respondent (the National Labor Relations Board) presented arguments against the petitioner when the case came before the Supreme Court.