Employment Discrimination—NLRB Certification of Discriminatory Unions as Governmental Action—Bekins Moving & Storage Co., 211 N.L.R.B. No. 7, 86 L.R.R.M 1323 (1974)

A local labor union, an affiliate of the Teamsters Union, filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) pursuant to Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) seeking to represent the employees of a moving and storage company. At a preelection hearing conducted pursuant to Section 9(c)(1) of the NLRA, the employer argued that the union should be disqualified from seeking certification because it engaged in invidious discrimination against women and Spanish-speaking and Spanish-surnamed persons. The Board held that it will entertain the employer\u27s motion at a post-election hearing, and then only if the allegedly discriminatory union wins the election. Most significantly, the Board in dictum indicated that certification of a union known to engage in discriminatory practices would constitute governmental action in violation of the due process clause of the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution. Bekins Moving & Storage Co., 211 N.L.R.B. No. 7, 86 L.R.R.M. 1323 (1974)