United Parcel Service, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit · 1996 · Labor Law

Labor LawNLRA jurisdictionRLA coverageagency referralNLRARLANLRBNMB

Facts

UPS, Inc., the trucking component of United Parcel Services of America, had been regulated under the NLRA since 1947. Its affiliate, UPS, Co., began air-freight operations in 1988 and was expressly determined in 1990 to be an RLA carrier, but UPS, Inc. still carried more than 90 percent of all UPSA packages exclusively on the ground. In 1993, while defending an NLRA proceeding and after previously admitting NLRB authority, UPS, Inc. challenged the NLRB's jurisdiction and asked the Board to refer the matter to the NMB. The NLRB refused referral, finding no material change in UPS, Inc.'s operations and concluding that UPS, Inc. did not principally serve its RLA affiliate and therefore remained an NLRA carrier.

Issue

Whether the NLRB was required or acted arbitrarily in refusing to refer to the NMB the question whether UPS, Inc. was covered by the RLA, and whether the NLRB correctly determined that UPS, Inc. remained subject to the NLRA. More specifically, the case asked whether UPS, Inc.'s relationship with its RLA air-freight affiliate brought the trucking operation within the RLA despite the trucking service exception.

Rule

There is no statutory requirement that the NLRB submit an NLRA-versus-RLA jurisdictional question to the NMB before deciding its own jurisdiction, and the Board does not act arbitrarily by declining referral where the matter is already resolved or clear, especially absent a material change in the employer's circumstances or where the employer has long acknowledged NLRB jurisdiction. A commonly owned trucking service falls outside the RLA under the trucking service exception unless the relevant precedent showing derivative RLA jurisdiction is met, including that the trucker principally serves the affiliated RLA carrier, is an integral part of that affiliate, and provides services essential to the affiliate's operations.

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

Prairie Route Logistics, based in Omaha, has been regulated by the NLRB for decades as a ground-delivery employer. Its parent company recently acquired SkyBridge Air Cargo, an RLA-covered air carrier, and Prairie Route now argues in an unfair labor practice case that the Board must first send the jurisdictional question to the National Mediation Board even though Prairie Route's operations have not materially changed.

How should a court most likely rule on Prairie Route's claim that the NLRB was required to refer the matter to the NMB before deciding its own jurisdiction?

Explanation. The majority held that there is no statutory requirement that the NLRB submit every NLRA-versus-RLA jurisdictional question to the NMB before acting. It rejected the argument that doctrines limiting when courts act before agencies create a mandatory hierarchy among agencies. So the Board may decide its own jurisdiction without referral. (Derived from United Parcel Service, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board (n.d.).)