National Labor Relations Board v. Tanner Motor Livery, Ltd.

The National Labor Relations Board seeks enforcement of an order which is based upon a finding that Tanner Motor Livery, Ltd. has violated the National Labor Relations Act as amended. The specific charge is that Tanner discharged two of its employees “because they engaged in concerted activities for the purpose of persuading * * * [Tanner] to abandon its racially discriminatory hiring practices and its maintenance of a racially segregated working force.” The Board’s decision is reported at 148 NLRB No. 137 .

The Board found that Tanner violated section 8(a) (1), 29 U.S.C. § 158 (a) (1), which makes it an unfair labor practice to interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed to them in section 7 ( 29 U.S.C. § 157 ). That section guarantees to employees “the right * * * to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection * * The trial examiner found that the two employees did engage in concerted activities for the purposes stated in the complaint and that they were discharged for that reason. However, he concluded that their activities were not protected by section 7 of the Act,…