Retail Store Employees Union, Local 428, Retail Clerks International v. National Labor Relations Board

The National Labor Relations Board denied the union’s claim that management was guilty of an unfair labor practice in refusing to bargain with Local 428, Retail Store Employees, and the union has petitioned for review. The Board decision, 211 N.L.R.B. No. 85, is reported at 86 L.R.R.M. 1441 (1974). We affirm.

Management’s refusal to bargain without a Board-conducted election to establish the union’s majority status occurred when a small independent union with which a county association of druggists formerly had bargained merged with Local 428, an affiliate of Retail Clerks International Association, AFL-CIO. The management association took the position that the merger so altered the character of the union that the association’s 40 independent drug-store owners ceased to be bound by the association’s prior recognition of the independent union when its current contract expired. The union took the position that little more than a change of name had occurred, and that another election would be a useless gesture. (A clear majority of the affected employees had favored the merger.)

After hearings, an administrative law judge found a continuity of representation, and declared…