

After reviewing the legislative history of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, 61 Stat. The Board thought, however, that any possible conflict was 'unsupported conjecture' since the buyers' 'discretion and latitude for independent action must take place within the confines of the general directions which the Employer has established' and that 'any possible temptation to allow sympathy for sister unions to influence such decisions could effectively be controlled by the Employer.' 190 N.L.R.B., at 431.


In essence, the company argued that buyers would be more receptive to bids from union contractors and would also influence 'make or buy' decisions in favor of 'make,' thus creating additional work for sister unions in the plant. The Board then rejected the company's alternative contention that representation should be denied because the buyers' authority to commit the company's credit, select vendors, and negotiate purchase prices would create a potential conflict of interest between the buyers as union members and the company. 550 (1970), the Board first stated that even though the company's buyers might be 'managerial employees,' 2 they were nevertheless covered by the Act and entitled to its protections. Relying on its recent decision in North Arkansas Electric Cooperative, Inc., 185 N.L.R.B. On May 20, 1971, the Board issued its decision holding that the company's buyers constituted an appropriate unit for purposes of collective bargaining and directing an election.

Justice POWELL delivered the opinion of the Court.Īfter the representation hearing, the Regional Director transferred the case to the Board. 294.Ĥ75 F.2d 485, affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. wholesale, and retail units, and the wide variety of buyers' duties, depending on the company or industry, any generalized standard would have no more than marginal utility, and the NLRB thus has reason to proceed with caution and develop its standards in a case-by-case manner with attention to the specific character of the buyers' authority and duties in each company. (b) In view of the large number of buyers employed in manufacturing. (a) The NLRB is not precluded from announcing new principles in an adjudicative proceedings, and the choice between rulemaking and adjudication initially lies within the NLRB's discretion. The NLRB is not required to proceed by rulemaking, rather than by adjudication in determining whether buyers or some types of buyers are 'managerial employees.' Pp. This is unmistakably indicated by the NLRB's early decisions, the purpose and legislative history of the Taft-Hartley amendments to the NLRA in 1947, the NLRB's subsequent construction of the Act for more than two decades, and the decisions of the courts of appeals. Congress intended to exclude from the protections of the NLRA all employees properly classified as 'managerial,' not just those in positions susceptible to conflicts of interest in labor relations.
#Textron following stack ranking for employees free#
The Court of Appeals denied enforcement on the grounds that (1) it was not certain that the NLRB's decision rested on a factual determination that the buyers were not true 'managerial employees' rather than on a new, and in the court's view, erroneous holding that the NLRB was free to regard all managerial employees as covered by the Act unless their duties met the conflict-of-interest touchstone, and (2) in view of its previous contrary decisions, the NLRB was required to proceed by rulemaking rather than by adjudication in determining whether buyers are 'managerial employees.' Held:ġ. The company refused to bargain, however, and was found guilty of an unfair labor practice and ordered to bargain. Subsequently the buyers voted for the union, and the NLRB certified it as their exclusive bargaining representative. The NLRB stated that even though the buyers might be 'managerial employees' they were nevertheless covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in the absence of any showing that union organization of the buyers would create a conflict of interest in labor relations. On a petition by a labor union for a representation election, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that the buyers employed by respondent company constituted an appropriate collective-bargaining unit and directed an election.
