Section 29(8)
LABOR DISPUTE, Controversy, Employer association, Expiration of
contract, Functionally integrated establishments, Lockout, Selective strike
CITE AS: Bedger v Brooks Lumber Co, No. 80-006100 AE, Wayne Circuit Court (April 8, 1981).
Appeal pending: No
Claimant: Norman A. Bedger
Employer: Brooks Lumber Co.
Docket No: B76 18613 56233
CIRCUIT COURT HOLDING: Employees who are locked out are disqualified where " ... the lockout was in direct response to the union's attempt to impact contract negotiations through the use of a selective-strike strategy."
FACTS: The employer belonged to an employer association. "The parties entered into labor contract negotiations which resulted in an impasse. At this time the union chose to strike only one of the association members, Erb Lumber. The association, pursuant to its by-laws, deemed the union action as a strike against all its members and therefore proceeded to lock-out all local 458 employees".
DECISION: The claimant is disqualified under Section 29(8) of the Act.
RATIONALE: "This issue was directly addressed by the Michigan Supreme Court in its reversal of the Court of Appeals decision in Smith decided February 3, 1981 S Ct DKT #62991."
"The Supreme Court said, (at p 6 of slip opinion):
We hold that a lockout is one form of a 'labor dispute' as that term is used in (S) 29(8). Furthermore, we find that (S) 29(8) exempts lockouts from the labor dispute disqualification only when the labor dispute occurs in functionally integrated establishments operated by the same employing unit.
Clearly these separately owned and operated businesses are not 'functionally integrated' establishments."
11/90
7, 14, d3:NA