California Supreme Court Reverses Court Of Appeal; Declares State Labor Picketing Laws Constitutional In 6-1 Decision

Executive Summary: In a case that will significantly strengthen labor's hand regarding picketing activities in the state, the California Supreme Court reversed a Court of Appeals decision that had declared unconstitutional two state laws restricting the ability of employers to enjoin conduct on their property if the conduct relates to a labor dispute. Specifically, the Supreme Court found that California's Moscone Act (Code of Civil Procedure Section 527.3) and California Labor Code Section 1138.1 are constitutional even though they: 1) favor speech related to a labor dispute over other forms of speech, and 2) favor such "labor speech" over the private property rights of employers. The Court further found that the two statutes in question are consistent with the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Ralphs Grocery Co. v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 8, Case No. S185544 (December 27, 2012).

Background

Ralphs Grocery Company owns and operates warehouse grocery stores under the name "Foods Co." One such store is located in a retail development in Sacramento called College Square, which also contains restaurants and other stores. The College Square Foods Co. store has only one entrance for customers. A paved walkway approximately 15 feet wide extends outward from the building's south side, where the customer entrance is located, to a driving lane that separates the walkway from the store's parking lot, which also serves customers of other retail establishments within College Square. When the Foods Co. store opened in 2007, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 8 began picketing the store, advising customers that employees were not represented by a union. Picketing and handbilling took place on the store's entrance walkway. Ralphs issued regulations in January 2008 seeking to prohibit "speech activities" within 20 feet of its entrance and to prohibit all such activities during certain hours and for a week before certain designated holidays. Ralphs sought injunctive relief to restrict union picketing consistent with its speech activity regulations.

California has two separate statutes that provide preferential treatment to "labor speech" and picketing related to labor disputes. The Moscone Act states that conduct relating to a labor dispute - such as peaceful picketing - is legal and cannot be enjoined, provided that such conduct does not involve a "breach of the peace, disorderly...