Servair, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, National Labor Relations Board v. Servair, Inc.

Servair petitions this court under 29 U.S.C. § 160 (f) to set aside an order of the National Labor Relations Board finding that Servair violated § 8 of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 158 , by discharging 19 employees. Servair contests the Board’s refusal to defer to an earlier arbitration decision in Servair’s favor. The Board found that the strike had been in response to the illegal discharge of a fellow-employee and was therefore protected activity despite the “no-strike” clause in the collective bargaining agreement. See Mas- tro Plastics Corp. v. Labor Board, 350 U.S. 270 , 76 S.Ct. 349 , 100 L.Ed. 309 (1956). The Board cross-petitions for enforcement of its order that these employees be reinstated with back pay.

I. Facts

Servair furnishes ground services to airlines with routes passing through Anchorage, Alaska. In 1976, while Servair’s employees were represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (Machinists), the Teamsters Union began an organizing campaign at Servair, and in 1977 the Teamsters filed a representation petition with the Board.

During the election campaign Servair management repeatedly attempted to influence…