McKinney v. Southern Bakeries, LLC, No. 14-3017 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseThe Director and the Board sought a preliminary injunction under section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA), as amended by the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, 29 U.S.C. 160(j), alleging that Southern Bakeries engaged in acts that violate the NLRA. The district court granted the injunction pending the Board’s final disposition of the unfair labor practices allegations. The injunction enjoins and restrains Southern Bakeries and all persons acting in concert with it from failing to recognize the Union and directs Southern Bakeries to allow the Union access to the facility in a manner consistent with past practice and to post copies of the district court’s order in English and Spanish. The court concluded that the district court erred in not first and fully considering whether this case presents a threat of irreparable harm “to the collective bargaining process or to other protected employee activities.” Because the Board did not clear the “relatively high hurdle” of demonstrating irreparable injury, the court need not address the other preliminary injunction factors. The court held that the Board’s normal adjudicatory process will not frustrate the remedial purpose of the Act in this case and therefore concluded that the district court abused its discretion in granting injunctive relief. The court vacated the injunction.
Court Description: Gritzner, Author, with Wollman and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Labor Law. The district court erred in entering a preliminary injunction under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 as the Board had not demonstrated irreparable injury and using the usual adjudicatory process would not frustrate the purpose of the Act.
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