Machinists Local 1327, International Ass'n of Machinist & Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO, District Lodge 115 v. National Labor Relations Board

The question presented is whether a labor organization reasonably restricts the right to resign union membership when it imposes a fine under its constitution on a member who quits the union during a strike to resume working for the struck employer. 1 Because the restriction at issue comports with both national labor policy and the test set out in Scofield v. NLRB, 394 U.S. 423 , 89 S.Ct. 1154 , 22 L.Ed.2d 385 (1969), we refuse to enforce the order of the National Labor Relations Board.

BACKGROUND

This case comes before us a second time. The parties do not dispute the facts, which we first outlined in NLRB v. Machinists Local 1327 (Machinists I), 608 F.2d 1219 (9th Cir.1979). The facts show that shortly before calling an economic strike against the employer, the union reminded all members about the following rule in the union’s constitution:

Eight months after the strike began, three of the intervenor employees, Viola Lapinski, Hilda Hall, and Polmyra Gomes, submitted their resignations to the union, crossed the picket line, and returned to work. Later, the union imposed court-collectible fines on each employee for violating the rule. The employees responded by complaining that…