SCOTUS: The NLRA did not preempt an employer’s tort claims alleging that the union intentionally destroyed the company’s property during a labor dispute. Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters (US Supreme Ct 06/01/2023) [PDF]

Glacier Northwest delivers concrete to customers using ready-mix trucks with rotating drums that prevent the concrete from hardening during transit. The drivers union called for a work stoppage on a morning it knew the company was in the midst of mixing substantial amounts of concrete, loading batches into ready-mix trucks, and making deliveries. The union directed drivers to ignore instructions to finish deliv­eries in progress. At least 16 drivers who had already set out for de­liveries returned with fully loaded trucks. By initiating emergency maneuvers to offload the concrete, Glacier prevented significant dam­age to its trucks, but all the concrete mixed that day hardened and became useless.

The company sued the union for damages in state court, claiming that the Union intentionally destroyed the company’s concrete and that this conduct amounted to common-law conversion and trespass to chattels. The Washington Supreme Court held that the matter was preempted by the National Labor Relations Act, but the US Supreme Court reversed (8-1), allowing the state-court lawsuit to move forward.