Columbus, OH – On Tuesday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Glacier Northwest v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, urging the court to make it clear that the destruction of property is never a “protected activity” in labor disputes.  

“By denying Glacier Northwest any legal recourse for the destruction of its property during a labor dispute, the Washington Supreme Court is encouraging the use of vandalism and sabotage as a labor tactic,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute. “The Buckeye Institute urges the high court to make it clear that criminal acts and property destruction are not protected under the National Labor Relations Act.”

In its merit brief, The Buckeye Institute argues that the U.S. Supreme Court can avoid a constitutional conflict by overruling the Washington Supreme Court’s overly broad reading of the National Labor Relations Act and clarifying that property destruction is never a “protected activity” in labor disputes.  

The case involves a labor dispute where workers at a concrete company, apparently attempting to cause significant property damage, waited until cement had been “batched” and loaded into mixing trucks before staging a work stoppage. Glacier Northwest was forced to dump the concrete to save its trucks from being destroyed by the hardening cement, causing significant property damage and product loss. 

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UPDATE: On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Glacier Northwest, writing, “By reporting for duty and pretending as if they would deliver the concrete, the drivers prompted the creation of the perishable product. Then, they waited to walk off the job until the concrete was mixed and poured in the trucks. In so doing, they not only destroyed the concrete but also put Glacier’s trucks in harm’s way.”