## Facts

- Republic Aviation Corporation operated a large aircraft manufacturing plant in New York and maintained a broad rule: “Soliciting of any type cannot be permitted in the factory or offices.”
- During union organizing activity, an employee solicited union membership by distributing application cards to coworkers during lunch periods (nonworking time) and was discharged after warnings under the rule.
- Three employees were discharged for wearing UAW-CIO “union steward” buttons after management requested removal, asserting the buttons could imply employer recognition and conflict with neutrality and an existing grievance system.
- In a companion dispute decided together, another employer enforced a general “no-distribution” rule to bar employees from distributing union literature on their own time on company-owned parking lots adjacent to the plant.
- The NLRB found these actions interfered with employees’ § 7 rights and constituted unfair labor practices under § 8(1) and § 8(3), ordered rescission of the solicitation restriction as applied to nonworking time, and ordered reinstatement with back pay.
- A court of appeals enforced the Board’s order against Republic; the Supreme Court granted review and decided the consolidated matters together.

## Issues

1. Whether enforcing a blanket no-solicitation rule to prohibit union solicitation on employees’ nonworking time on company property, and discharging an employee for violating that rule, constituted unfair labor practices under NLRA § 8(1) and § 8(3).
2. Whether discharging employees for wearing union “shop steward” buttons, when no bargaining representative had been designated, violated § 8(1) and § 8(3).
3. Whether the NLRB may apply presumptions and burden allocation treating restrictions on employees’ on-premises union activity during nonworking time as invalid absent “special circumstances” tied to production or discipline.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed enforcement of the NLRB’s order against Republic and held the Board justified in finding unfair labor practices.
- The Court approved the Board’s presumption that a rule forbidding union solicitation by employees on company property outside working hours is invalid unless the employer shows special circumstances making the rule necessary to maintain production or discipline.
- The Court held that discharge for violating such an invalid rule is discriminatory under § 8(3) because it discourages union membership, even if the rule is facially neutral and impartially enforced.
- The Court sustained the Board’s conclusion that wearing union steward buttons is protected activity absent special circumstances; concerns about implied recognition were insufficient on the facts presented.
- In the consolidated dispute, the Court likewise sustained the Board’s conclusion that enforcing a general no-distribution rule to bar employees’ distribution of union literature on their own time on company parking lots violated the Act.

## Legal Principles

- Employer rules prohibiting union solicitation on employees’ nonworking time on company property are presumptively unlawful; the employer bears the burden to show special circumstances necessary to maintain production or discipline.
- Disciplining or discharging employees for union solicitation conducted on nonworking time under an invalid rule violates § 8(1) and constitutes discrimination under § 8(3) because it tends to discourage union membership, regardless of facial neutrality.
- Employees generally have a protected right under § 7 to wear union insignia at work, including steward buttons, absent special circumstances justifying restriction.
- A general ban on distribution of union literature during nonworking time in areas such as employer-owned parking lots is presumptively unlawful absent special circumstances.
- Courts must defer to the NLRB’s reasonable inferences from proven facts regarding the effect of workplace rules on employees’ § 7 rights.

## Conclusion

The Court upheld the NLRB’s approach that blanket employer restrictions on employees’ union solicitation, distribution, and insignia during nonworking time are presumptively invalid, and that disciplining employees under such restrictions constitutes unfair labor practices unless the employer proves special circumstances tied to production or discipline.


Republic Aviation Corp. v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd., 324 U.S. 793 (1945)