Ralphs Grocery Company v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 8

Case Updates

The California Supreme Court held that while union members lack a right to picket on private property under state law, state law does protect the union's speech on the private walkway in front of the business.

NCLC urged the California Supreme Court to hold as unconstitutional two laws that made it virtually impossible for Ralphs Grocery to obtain injunctive relief against the local UFCW union for picketing on Ralphs' private property. The district court denied an injunction for the picketing, but the appeals court reversed, striking down two statutes that allow greater free speech rights related to labor disputes than to other matters. In its brief, NCLC argued that special treatment for labor picketing is unconstitutional content-based discrimination, and that California's Moscone Act should be construed to avoid such discrimination. This case could affect any California business with union organizing activity on its private property.