The National Labor Relations Board found that a union committed an unfair labor practice by repeatedly blocking ingress and egress to a hotel for periods of one to four minutes. The opinion provides details about the union’s picketing efforts as a part of an organizing campaign. The blockage occurred during at least ten separate occasions over the course of more than a month. The Board adopted the ALJ’s decision holding that the picketers’ actions of standing in front of vehicles for minutes at a time, many driven by hotel valets, attempting to enter and/or exit the hotel violated Section 8(b)(1)(A) of the National Labor Relations Act.
As the dissent notes, this decision is significant because there were no allegations of violence and because the blockage lasted such short periods of time. Regardless, the Board determined that the union’s repeated, intentional blockage of drivers, including employees, would reasonably tend to coerce or intimidate employees in the exercise of their Section 7 rights.
Although injunctive relief was not sought in this situation, the NLRB’s decision in Unite Here! Local 5 (Acqua-Aston Hospitality, LLC) provides management with support for prompt relief in similar circumstances. Contact Husch Blackwell’s Labor and Employment team with any questions or to discuss options for responding to union activity in your business.