Labor Law – Labor Management Relations Act – Linking “Employer Free Speech” to No-Solicitation Rule

During an organizational campaign the employer prohibited any dissemination of literature on company property and soliciting or campaigning on company time by employees while itself distributing within the plant non-threatening, anti-union literature. General Counsel for the NLRB contended that by this conduct the employer “interfered with, restrained or coerced” employees in their exercise of the right to self-organization. This contention was rejected by the NLRB, but on appeal was accepted by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, reversed, two justices dissenting. Even if an employer could commit an unfair labor practice by enforcing an otherwise valid no-solicitation rule while itself engaging in solicitation activities that would violate the rule if engaged in by employees, there is no basis in the record for such a finding here. NLRB v. United Steelworkers of America, CIO, 357 U.S. 357 (1958).