Of Labor Relations . . .

Lechmere owns and operates a retail store in a shopping plaza in Connecticut. There are thirteen smaller stores between Lechmere's store and the parking lot, which is owned by Lechmere. In June 1987, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union AFL-CIO (Union), attempted to organize Lechmere's 200 employees, noe of whom belonged to a union. After a full-page advertisement in a local newspaper drew little response, nonemployee union organizers entered Lechmere's parking lot and began placing handbills on windshields of cars parked in the employee section of the parking lot. Lechmere's manager informed the organizers that Lechmere prohibited solicitation or handbill distribution of any kind on the property and asked them to leave. They did so, and Lechmere personnel removed the handbills. The union organizers renewed their handbilling effort in the parking lot on several subsequent occasions, but each time they were asked to leave the handbills were removed. The Union filed a grievance with the NLRB. The NLRB ruled in favor of the union and ordered Lechmere to allow handbilling in the parking lot. The court of appeals affirmed. Lechmere appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In its appeal the U. S. Supreme Court held that under the facts of the case, Lechmere could prohibit nonemployee union organizers from distributing leaflets to employees in the store's parking lot, effectively reversing previous decisions. In making their decision, the Supreme Court cited the general rule that an employer cannot be compelled to allow distribution of union literature by nonemployee union organizers on its property. The Court noted, however, that an exception applies if the employees would otherwise live and work beyond the reach of reasonable union efforts to communicate with them. The Supreme Court held that this exception did not apply in this case. The Court cited the fact that the employees lived in a metropolitan area and that the union could advertise in the media and could stand on the public area adjoining Lechmere's parking lot to inform the employees of the union's organizational effort. The Court concluded that access to employees, not success in winning them over, is the critical issue.

Generally, employers do not have to allow nonemployee union organizers to solicit on their property if the union can reach the employees in other ways, such as through media.