Sierra Publishing Company D/B/A the Sacramento Union v. National Labor Relations Board

The Sierra Publishing Company d/b/a The Sacramento Union (“the Company”) petitions for reversal of a National Labor Relations Board Decision and Order holding that the Company violated § 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act when it discharged four employees for engaging in activity that the Board found protected by § 7 of the Act. The Board cross petitions for enforcement. The Company argues that the activity involved worker disloyalty and was unprotected, and that the Board's decision to the contrary is not supported by substantial evidence. We enforce the order.

FACTS

The Company publishes a daily newspaper, The Sacramento Union, in Sacramento, California. It competes with the other Sacramento daily, The Sacramento Bee. The Bee enjoys greater circulation, and its superior position appears to be widely known.

Northern California Newspaper Guild, Local 52, AFL-CIO (“the Guild”) represents the Company’s non-supervisory employees working in the editorial, display advertising, classified advertising, commercial sales, circulation, business office, switchboard, and maintenance departments. The Company and the Guild have had a collective bargaining relationship for more than…