Gwen Seaquist

NLRB v. Lechmere: Union quest for access

Union attempts to organize nonemployee places of business have traditionally placed employers and union members at odds. In 1992, the United States Supreme Court ended a longstanding rule that the rights of these parties should be balanced in order to determine whether the union’s right to access or the employer’s property right predominated. As it now stands, the rule is that nonemployee union members have no right of access to an employer’s private property unless extreme special circumstances exist, such as isolated work locations where employees have no access to union information. The Supreme Court’s ruling is one that significantly curtails union solicitation. This paper discusses the development of this rule.