Background
Zak Shimose filed a pro se action in the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii against the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 142, the National Labor Relations Board, and the United States. He alleged that the union violated its duty of fair representation and the First Amendment. He also challenged the National Labor Relations Board General Counsel’s decision not to file a labor complaint against the union and questioned the General Counsel’s authority following a previous unlawful discharge.
The court’s reasoning
The Ninth Circuit reviewed the district court’s dismissal de novo. The appellate court found the district court properly dismissed the duty of fair representation claims because the second amended complaint lacked facts showing arbitrary, discriminatory, or bad faith conduct. Regarding the First Amendment challenge, the court noted that a union as a private party is not bound by the First Amendment unless it acts in concert with the state. The court also affirmed the dismissal of the challenge to the General Counsel’s decision, citing that such decisions are not subject to judicial review. The court further held that the plaintiff failed to allege a due process exception to this jurisdictional rule and that the General Counsel had the authority to act despite previous discharge claims.
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces the high bar for proving a union’s breach of the duty of fair representation and clarifies that private unions generally do not trigger First Amendment liability absent state action. It also confirms the limited scope of judicial review over the National Labor Relations Board General Counsel’s discretion to decline filing complaints.