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Id
353
Title
National Labor Relations Board v. Champion Laboratories, Inc.
Date
24/10/1996
Country
UNITED STATES (North and Central America)
Adjudication body
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case number
99 F.3d 223 (1996)
Main themes
Workplace relations and contracts 4
Type of expression
7
Decision direction
Expands expression
Outcome note
No violation of the National Labor Relations Act.
Link to analysis
Summary
During a union election, while two union-supporting employees were handing out handbills at a plant entrance, another employee joked that if the Union came in they'd all have to learn Spanish. This was referring to the Company claiming that unionised suppliers were being pressurised to shift operations to Mexico. A supervisor then commented “I hope you guys are ready to pack up and move to Mexico.” The court held that the supervisor’s comment was not an implied threat of plant closure, and that the company had not engaged in unfair labour practices.