## Facts

- The United Auto Workers of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (UAW‑CIO) became the first collective-bargaining representative for employees of the Glenn L. Martin Company, a large aircraft manufacturer.
- In negotiating a collective-bargaining agreement, the union proposed four seniority-related provisions aimed at protecting union representatives in the workplace.
- Proposed provisions (a), (b), and (c) would have given union officers, committeemen, and stewards greater seniority than all other plant employees in their respective departments for as long as they held office.
- Proposed provision (d) would have barred the company from transferring union stewards and committeemen to a lower-paid job before transferring employees with less seniority.
- The union asserted these provisions were needed to maintain stable union leadership and to prevent discriminatory treatment, alleging that the company had transferred employees between departments based on union membership.
- The company denied it had discriminated against union employees and opposed all four proposals.
- The company argued the requested preferences lacked economic justification and, because the union represented less than half of the approximately 25,000 employees in the bargaining unit, the preferences would likely cause dissatisfaction among nonunion employees.
- The competing proposals and arguments were submitted to a panel of the National War Labor Board for review and resolution in a directive order reported at 19 War Lab. Rep. 263 (1944).

## Issues

1. Whether the National War Labor Board should require the company to accept contract provisions granting union officers, committeemen, and stewards priority seniority over all other employees in their departments during their terms.
2. Whether the Board should require a contract provision limiting transfers to lower-paid jobs for union stewards and committeemen ahead of less-senior employees.
3. How the Board should balance asserted needs to protect union representation against the effects of preferential seniority on other employees in a large bargaining unit.

## Decision

- The National War Labor Board issued a directive order resolving the dispute over the union’s proposed seniority provisions for union officials, reported at 19 War Lab. Rep. 263 (1944).
- Publicly accessible sources confirm the subject of the dispute (union “super-seniority” and transfer protections) and the parties’ competing positions, but do not provide the directive order’s complete operative terms or a full statement of the Board’s reasoning.

## Legal Principles

- “Seniority” provisions in a collective-bargaining agreement can govern retention, layoff priority, and transfer order, and disputes may arise when proposed clauses give union representatives priority over other employees.
- In evaluating proposed “super-seniority” for union officials, a decisionmaker may consider asserted needs to protect union administration and prevent retaliation, as well as fairness and workforce relations where the union does not represent all employees.
- A claim that management actions (such as department transfers) were tied to union activity raises questions about protections for union representatives and limits on employer discretion.
- When the full text of a War Labor Reports decision is not available, a case brief should state only what can be verified from reliable public summaries: the parties, the contested proposals, the forum, and the general nature of the directive order.

## Conclusion

Matter of Glenn L. Martin Co. concerned a wartime bargaining dispute in which the UAW‑CIO sought contract clauses giving union officers, committeemen, and stewards priority seniority and protection from adverse transfers, while the company opposed the proposals as unjustified and unfair to the larger workforce; the National War Labor Board reviewed the competing positions and issued a directive order reported at 19 War Lab. Rep. 263 (1944), though the complete order and reasoning are not fully available in open sources.


Matter of Glenn L. Martin Co., 19 War Lab. Rep. 263 (1944)