Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Opinion by Judge STAGG; Dissent by Judge TASHIMA.

Union sought to compel railroad, by threat of picketing, to enter into agreement whereby railroad would be bound to subcontract' only with employers who had existing collective-bargaining relationships with union. Railroad resisted, filed an unfair labor practices charge with the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), and filed suit in the Western District of Washington, seeking to preliminarily and permanently enjoin union under the federal antitrust laws, 15 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., and the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. § 151 et seq. (“RLA”). After a hearing, the district court granted the preliminary injunction, and the union appealed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292 (a)(1). We affirm.

/. BACKGROUND

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (“Burlington Northern”) is an interstate rail common carrier with operations in 28 states. Burlington Northern operates two major intermodal facilities in the Seattle, Washington area: the Puget Sound Hub or “South Seattle” hub, which handles domestic traffic, and the Seattle International Gateway or SIG, which handles international traffic. A combined average of 1,200 intermodal…

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent. I disagree with the majority’s holding that the dispute between BNSF and Local 174 was not a labor dispute within the meaning of the Norris-LaGuardia Act (“NLGA”), thus rendering its anti-injunction provisions inapplicable. I also disagree that this record supports the issuance of a preliminary injunction under the Clayton Act. I would hold that a dispute between an employer and its subcontractor’s employees involving the issue of whether those employees would have any work at all is a labor dispute under the broad contours of the NLGA; thus, that its anti-injunction provisions apply.

I.

The majority argues that there was not a labor dispute between BNSF and Local 174 because these parties are not in an employer-employee relationship. Maj. op. at 911-12. The majority reasons that since Local 174 never had an intent to establish a collective bargaining relationship with BNSF, the dispute between the parties did not involve or grow out of a labor dispute. Maj. op. at 911. I cannot agree.

The majority relies primarily on Columbia River Packers Ass’n v. Hinton, 315 U.S. 143 , 62 S.Ct. 520 , 86 L.Ed. 750 (1942), and Jacksonville Bulk Terminals,…