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Batson v. Shiflett3/12/1992
ap, 463 U.S. at 509-11, 103 S.Ct. at 3182-83, 77 L.Ed.2d at 814-15; Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Carpenters, 436 U.S. 180, 197, 98 S.Ct. 1745, 1757, 56 L.Ed.2d 209, 225 (1978); Windfield, 890 F.2d at 768-69.
The petitioners rely on DeSantiago v. Laborers Intern. Union Local 1140, 914 F.2d 125 (8th Cir.1990) for the proposition that when there is no significant difference between allegations found by the NLRB to be unfair labor
practices and allegations contained in a subsequent state tort suit, the claims are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the NLRB and, therefore, preempted. Petitioners' reliance is misplaced; DeSantiago is distinguishable on its facts. There, the union members sued their local union in state court alleging intentional interference with their employment contracts, violation of their rights under the state "right to work" and "anti-blacklisting" laws, and violation of their rights under the union constitution. The union members argued that although they had already obtained redress against the local union in an NLRB proceeding, they should be allowed to press their claims in a judicial forum as well. The court found that the state claims were preempted because their charges were within the ambit of § 8 of the NLRA. The legal issues and the focus of the state proceedings were identical to those before the NLRB, and the claims were inextricably intertwined with the union constitution. Furthermore, the court noted that the plaintiffs already had obtained a remedy from the NLRB for the activities complained of in their state suit. In the case at bar, the focus of the state and the unfair labor practice proceedings were entirely different. Moreover, as both the Linn and Farmer Courts explained, the NLRB is powerless to fashion a remedy or award damages for these torts.
B.
The second type of labor law preemption is based on § 301 of the LMRA, which provides:
"Suits for violation of contracts between an employer and a labor organization representing employees in an industry affecting commerce . . . or between any such labor organizations, may be brought in any district court of the United States having jurisdiction of the parties . . . ."
29 U.S.C. § 185(a) (1988). Suits alleging a breach of a collective bargaining agreement are governed, not by state law, but by a special body of federal common law developed
under § 301. See Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills, 353 U.S. 448, 450-51, 77 S.Ct. 912, 914-15, 1 L.Ed.2d 972, 977-78 (1957) (Section 301 "authorizes federal courts to fashion a body of federal law for the enforcement of these collective bargaining agreements."). Petitioners contend that reference to the National Union's Constitution and By-laws in the state court proceeding was necessary to prove the truth or falsity of petitioners' statements that Shiflett illegally ratified the collective bargaining agreement. This is so, they reason, because the legality of Shiflett's execution of the agreement cannot be decided without analysis of the Constitution, which prohibits the Local from entering any collective bargaining agreement without the consent of the National Union. Thus, petitioners argue that § 301 preempts Shiflett's claims. We reject this contention on two grounds: (1) Shiflett amended his complaint to eliminate the accusation of "illegal contract ratification" as a basis for defamation; (2) even assuming that it was necessary for the state trial court to consult the National Union's Constitution and By-laws, Shiflett's claims were not substantially
dependent upon analysis of the terms of those documents.
First, the history of this litigation supports the finding
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