The Boeing Company v. The National Labor Relations Board, and Local 286-W, International Union of Operating Engineers, Afl-Cio, Intervenor

This case, involving a challenge to a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) interpretation of the recognition clause in a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Boeing Company (the Company) and Local 286-W, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO (the Union), is before the court on the Company’s petition for review of a Decision and Order of the Board issued on July 8, 1977, 230 N.L.R.B.--, and on the Board’s cross-application for enforcement of its Order. Because we agree with the Company that the Board’s questioned interpretation has the effect of extending a standard “Recognition Clause” into an unbargained-for “Jurisdictional Clause,” we grant the relief sought by the Company and deny enforcement of the Board’s Order.

The Company is a major manufacturer of hydrofoils, which are produced at its Seattle, Washington plant. The process of piecing together the hydrofoil requires sheets of aluminum to be cut, fitted together, and then “tack” welded to hold them in place, pending the final welding. In an effort to produce hydrofoils more efficiently, the Company decided to train a number of “cutters and fitters,” represented by the International Association…