Last year, we took a look at the case of Helmsley-Spear, Inc. v. Fishman . In that dispute, union protesters situated themselves outside the Empire State Building and over the course of some 18 days engaged in a noisy protest or, as the New York County Supreme Court phrased it, a "banging racket."
In order to draw attention to their cause, union organizers encouraged protesters to resort to "striking, pounding, beating, drumming, or banging" upon "plastic or metal containers, buckets, drums or cans."
While that ruckus was underway, sound-meter readings were taken and the group's cacophony measured as high as 95 decibels, compared to usual ambient noise levels of 74 to 80 decibels.
Since exposure to these elevated noise levels is known to cause physical and psychological harm, the New York County Supreme Court suppressed the "racketeers," and enjoined them from further "racketeering." On appeal, the Appellate Division, First Department, reversed.
Here's what the AD1 concluded:
This action to restrain conduct of loud drumming to publicize defendant union's handbilling activities is preempted by federal labor law .... Indeed, the complained-of conduct has already been the subject of a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board recognizing defendants' right to engage in such activities.
Decisions issued by the United States Supreme Court, (our nation's highest court), and other appellate precedent, have held that state and local laws may not override federal labor laws or the constitutional right of union members to engage in "peaceful" picketing or boycotting.
Interestingly, under current law, the threshold for what is "peaceful" is quite high and is not considered to have been crossed unless the participants resort to violence or intimidation.
So, for now, stressing people out, or merely driving them "crazy," doesn't cut it.
For a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Helmsley-Spear, Inc. v. Fishman
To view our prior blog post on this topic, please use this link: July 31, 2006