Albertsons Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Albertsons Inc. ("Albertsons"), a retail grocer, seeks review of a decision by the National Labor Relations Board ("Board"), in which the Board held that Albertsons committed an unfair labor practice against two unions when Albertsons allowed charitable groups to solicit on, in and around its property on various occasions, but denied non-employee union representatives the same right. The Board held that this practice violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA") in that Albertsons discriminated against the union solicitation. Albertsons contends that employers do not violate the NLRA by allowing charities to solicit on their property while denying the same right to unions under the circumstances present here. The Board, which cross petitions for enforcement of its order, contends on appeal that the authority relied on by Albertsons only applies in situations where the union is engaged in activity that would harm the employer, such as boycotting activity, and that one of the unions in the instant case was not engaged in such activity but rather in organizational activity. For the reasons that follow, we DENY enforcement of the Boards order and GRANT the petition for review by Albertsons.