Mushroom Transportation Co. v. NLRB

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · 1964 · Labor Law

Labor LawSection 7 concerted activityNLRASection 7concerted activitiesmutual aid or protectiongroup actionemployee conversations

Facts

Mushroom used regular drivers and also kept a union-supplied list of part-time "extras" to be hired when regular drivers were unavailable. Shortly after December 15, 1961, the company's president directed that Keeler, an extra driver, be removed from that list because he had heard rumors that Keeler was reporting ICC violations and telling drivers they were not getting what they were entitled to under the union contract. The evidence showed that Keeler often talked with other employees about holiday pay, vacations, and the company's assignment of trips to drivers of other companies rather than its own regular drivers. The Board found these discussions related to employees' legitimate interests, but the record showed no evidence that the conversations involved efforts to initiate or promote group action.

Issue

Whether Keeler's conversations with fellow employees about workplace rights and contract-related matters constituted protected concerted activity for mutual aid or protection under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. More specifically, the question was whether employee talk unconnected to contemplated or induced group action falls within Section 7.

Rule

A conversation may qualify as concerted activity even if it involves only a speaker and a listener, but only if it is engaged in with the object of initiating, inducing, or preparing for group action, or if it has some relation to group action in the interest of employees. Mere talk is protected only when it looks toward group action; if it only advises an individual about his own situation or amounts to mere griping, it is individual rather than concerted activity.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

At a warehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Elena Park tells coworker Jonah Mills that the company has probably shorted his overtime pay. She explains how Jonah can file his own complaint with payroll and says nothing about involving other workers, the union, or acting together.

If the employer fires Elena because it hears she has been "stirring people up," was Elena most likely engaged in protected concerted activity?

Explanation. Under the majority rule, a conversation can be concerted even if it involves only a speaker and a listener, but only if it is aimed at initiating, inducing, or preparing for group action, or otherwise relates to group action in employees' interest. Here, Elena merely advised Jonah about his individual options. That is individual activity, not concerted activity, and the employer's hostility to it does not by itself create Section 7 protection.