California Court Overturns Union Picket Sign Ruling

In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco recently overturned picketing restrictions imposed in 2005 by a company that manages shopping centers in Sacramento and Santa Cruz.

The court ruled specifically that California shopping malls can’t prohibit union members from carrying picket signs, standing on sidewalks, or picketing during peak holiday season.

The decision follows a California Supreme Court ruling late last year that held that unions, under state law, have the right to hand out literature in malls that asks shoppers to boycott stores.

The case arose from members of the Carpenter’s Union protesting the use of non-union contractors at the Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento in 1999 and the Capitola Mall in Santa Cruz in 2000. During both protests, police arrested union members who handed out leaflets and picketed without permission.

After receiving complaints from union members, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), ruled in 2005 that the malls could not ban protests that targeted shopping centers and individual stores, but upheld the property managers’ bans on picket signs, on picketing on the sidewalks, and on demonstrating during the holiday season.

Source: SFGate.com