Iron Workers Lose Free Speech Challenge to Secondary Boycott Ban

The Ninth Circuit Oct. 28 upheld an NLRB order blocking California-based Iron Workers from encouraging employees of a neutral employer to strike or stop work to gain leverage over the principal employer the Iron Workers had a labor dispute with. It rejected free speech and other arguments against the order.

The union tactic, known as a secondary boycott, puts pressure on neutral employers to cease doing business with the primary employer, and is banned by Section 8(b)(4)(i)(B) of the National Labor Relations Act. Workers and unions may lawfully engage in...