National Labor Relations Board v. Deutsch Company, Deutsch Company v. National Labor Relations Board

This is a petition for enforcement of an order of the National Labor Relations Board issued against the respondent company on September 14, 1957. The NLRB had jurisdiction in this matter because respondent engages in interstate commerce in the manufacture of aircraft parts and components. This Court has jurisdiction of the petition for enforcement under § 10(e) and (f) of the National Labor Relations Act.

The Board’s order here rests on its finding that respondent, in violation of § 8(a) (1) and (5) of the Act, refused to bargain with the union duly certified by the Board as the representative of employees of respondent in a single two-plant unit found by the Board to be appropriate. Denying the charge of unlawfully refusing to bargain, the company raises these principal defenses: (1) that the Board abused its discretion in finding a single two-plant unit rather than separate plant units to be appropriate; (2) that the election proceedings conducted by the Board were irregular; (3) that a private election conducted at one of the plants subsequent to respondent’s refusal to bargain in the unit certified by the Board showed that a majority of the employees at that plant did not…