## Facts

- Actors’ Equity Association (Equity) is a labor union that bargains for stage actors; its agreements commonly included union-security clauses requiring employers to hire only union members.
- Equity maintained a dual dues schedule based on citizenship and residency status.
- U.S. and Canadian citizens and permanent residents paid dues equal to 3% of stage income, capped at $400 per year.
- Nonresident alien members paid dues equal to 5% of stage income, with no annual cap.
- Yul Brynner, a Swiss citizen and French resident performing in the United States, was subject to the nonresident alien schedule and paid substantially more than the capped amount he would have paid as a citizen or permanent resident.
- Brynner filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging the dues system unlawfully discriminated against nonresident aliens.
- An Administrative Law Judge found violations of NLRA §§ 8(b)(1)(A) and 8(b)(2), and the NLRB affirmed.
- The NLRB ordered Equity to cease and desist and to repay overcharges dating back to April 6, 1976; the NLRB and Brynner sought enforcement in the Second Circuit.

## Issues

1. Whether Equity’s alienage-based, nonuniform dues schedule, without reasonable justification, constituted an unfair labor practice under NLRA §§ 8(b)(1)(A) and 8(b)(2).
2. Whether Brynner was an “employee” protected by the NLRA or a “supervisor” excluded from coverage.
3. Whether the charge and remedy were barred by the six-month limitations period in NLRA § 10(b).

## Decision

- The Second Circuit granted enforcement of the NLRB’s order in full.
- The court upheld the Board’s finding that assessing higher, uncapped dues against nonresident alien members without a reasonable basis violated NLRA §§ 8(b)(1)(A) and 8(b)(2).
- The court agreed Brynner was an employee, not a supervisor, for NLRA purposes.
- The court rejected Equity’s § 10(b) limitations defense, treating the discriminatory dues policy as a continuing unfair labor practice.
- The court approved the remedy requiring Equity to stop the practice and repay overcharges from April 6, 1976.

## Legal Principles

- A union may not impose nonuniform dues on a subset of members in a manner that is arbitrary or discriminatory; absent a reasonable justification, such nonuniformity can violate NLRA §§ 8(b)(1)(A) and 8(b)(2), particularly in a union-security setting.
- “Supervisor” status under the NLRA turns on statutory authority over other employees (e.g., hiring, firing, discipline) exercised in the employer’s interest; prominence or artistic influence alone does not establish supervisory status.
- A discriminatory dues policy may constitute a continuing unfair labor practice; § 10(b) does not bar proceedings where applications of the policy occurred within the six-month period before the charge.
- The NLRB has broad remedial authority to order cessation of unlawful practices and repayment of unlawfully collected dues reasonably tied to the violation.

## Conclusion

The Second Circuit enforced the NLRB’s order against Equity, holding that an alienage-based, nonresident-alien dues schedule with substantially higher, uncapped payments lacked reasonable justification and violated the NLRA; it further held that Brynner was a covered employee and that the claim was timely because the discriminatory dues practice was continuing, making repayment of overcharges an appropriate remedy.


Nat’l Lab. Rels. Bd. v. Actors’ Equity Ass’n, 644 F.2d 939 (2d Cir. 1981)