Labor Law – NLRA – “Ally” Doctrine

With the purpose of compelling Roy Construction Co. to stop buying supplies from Roy Lumber Co., a non-union supplier which the union had been unsuccessfully trying to organize, the union called a strike of the employees of Roy Construction. While the two employers were distinct corporate entities, all of the stock in both was owned by the five Roy brothers, and the two boards of directors were largely identical. The two businesses were parts of a family partnership venture and were engaged in related businesses with Roy Lumber supplying Roy Construction’s millwork. The NLRB issued a complaint against the striking union for engaging in an unfair labor practice in violation of section 8 (b) (4) (A) of the National Labor Relations Act. On hearing by the NLRB, held, complaint dismissed. The union’s effort to induce Roy Construction to cease doing business with Roy Lumber was not an illegal secondary boycott because the common ownership and control and the interrelation of the two businesses make the two employers “allies.” Carpenters Union (J.G. Roy & Sons Co.), 118 N.L.R.B. No. 24, 40 L.R.R.M. 1171 (1957).