International Union of Operating Engineer Local 501 v. National Labor Relations Board, No. 18-71124 (9th Cir. 2020)
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Casino slot technicians are not "guards" under section 9(b)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act. Under the Act the NLRB, cannot certify a union to represent "guards," as the term is used in the statute, if that union also represents non-guard employees.
The Ninth Circuit held that the slot technicians' duties differed in fundamental respects from those of the surveillance technicians in Bellagio, LLC v. NLRB, 863 F.3d 839 (D.C. Cir. 2017). Therefore, the panel denied Station GVR's petition for review of the NLRB's decision certifying the union as the slot technicians' bargaining representative, based on the NLRB's determination that the slot technicians are not guards. The panel granted the NLRB's cross-application to enforce its order requiring GVR to bargain with the union.
The panel denied the union's petition for review of the NLRB's decision not to order an affirmative remedy requiring GVR to provide the union with certain information that it had requested in a letter to the company. The panel held that the union was not a "person aggrieved" and thus did not have standing to bring its petition. In this case, the Board granted it all of the relief that it had specifically sought in the charge form and complaint.
Court Description: Labor Law. The panel denied Station GVR Acquisition, LLC, and International Union of Operating Engineers Local 501, AFL- CIO’s petitions for review, and granted the National Labor Relations Board’s cross-application for enforcement of the Board’s order holding that slot technicians were not “guards” under section 9(b)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). Station GVR owned and operated a hotel and casino in Henderson, Nevada, and it employed slot technicians whose primary responsibilities included installing, repairing, and maintaining gaming machines. The Union filed a petition with the Board to represent GVR’s slot technicians. The Board certified Local 501 as the slot technicians’ bargaining representative, concluding that the slot technicians were not guards. When GVR refused to recognize and bargain with the Union, the Board found that GVR engaged in unfair labor * The Honorable Eugene E. Siler, United States Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, sitting by designation. 4 IUOE LOCAL 501 V. NLRB practices within the meaning of the Act and ordered various remedies. The Act prohibits a union from representing a guard unit if it also represents non-guard employees. Because it was undisputed that the Union represented non-guard employees at the casino, the panel’s inquiry focused on whether a slot technician was employed as a guard. The panel agreed with the Board’s determination that the casino’s slot technicians were not guards under the statute. The panel held that the slot technicians’ duties differed in fundamental respects from those of the surveillance technicians in Bellagio, LLC v. NLRB, 863 F.3d 839 (D.C. Cir. 2017). The panel rejected GVR’s argument that the slot technicians were guards because they enforced GVR’s rules and policies against GVR’s guests and other employees. The Union sought review of the Board’s decision not to impose an affirmative remedy ordering GVR to provide certain information that it had previously requested. The panel held that the Union did not have standing to bring this petition because the Board granted it all of the relief that it had specifically sought in the charge and complaint, and therefore, the Union was not a “person aggrieved” within the meaning of 29 U.S.C. § 160(f).
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