Local 1547, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Local 959, International Brotherhood of Teamsters

This is an action upon a “no-raid” agreement between rival labor unions. The district court, in a proceeding under § 301 of the Labor-Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185 1 denied both damages and injunctive relief, on the ground that enforcement of the no-raid agreement would conflict with a decision of the National Labor Relations Board.

Local 1547 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and Local 959 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen, and Helpers of America (Teamsters) agreed in 1968 that neither union would organize or represent employees “in any situation where an established collective-bargaining relationship exists with the other union”. 2

The IBEW was the recognized bargaining representative for approximately 250 employees of ITT Arctic Services, Inc. (White Alice Communications System). In 1972, the collective-bargaining agreement between IBEW and White Alice Communications was to expire. In anticipation of this expiration, the Teamsters filed a petition under § 9 of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U. S.C. § 159, with the NLRB for certification as the representative of the White Alice…