Oil Workers' International Union

An NLRB case involving the expansion of the area of compulsory bargainable issues. The company had unilaterally promulgated a Stock Purchase Plan and had refused to bargain with the union over it, claiming that is not encompassed by the terms "wages" or "other conditions of employment" within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act, but is merely an incentive to employees voluntarily to invest in company stock.

Upon charges of unfair labor practices filed by the Union the General Counsel of the NLRB by the Regional Direcotr for the Twenty-First Region (Los Angeles) issued a complaint on November 16, 1953 against the Company. In February, 1954 all parties entered into a stipulation which set forth an agreed statement of facts and executed a Motion to Transfer Proceeding to the Board, in which the parties waived their right to a hearing and the issuance of an Intermediate Report, etc. The Board then heard oral arguement on July 22, 1954. A decision in favor of the Union was handed down on October I8, 1954 stating that stock purchase plans were a bargainable issue, not a managerial prerogative; because, according to its interpretation, "wages" comprehends all emoluments of value which may accrue to employees because of their employment relationship.

The Company then appealed to the District of Columbia - Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the decision of the NLRB, and finally to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied certiorari.

From the guide to the Richfield Oil Corporation and the Oil Workers' International Union. Files, 1954-1955., (Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University.)