Court Rejects Injunction to Halt Bargaining by Samsung's Cross-Company Union... Will the Vote Gain Momentum?

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[Financial News] Employees in Samsung Electronics' Device eXperience Division (DX Division) filed an injunction seeking to stop bargaining between Samsung Electronics and the company's largest union, the Enterprise-level labor union, but the court blocked the request on the 26th. As voting on the tentative agreement between management and the Enterprise-level labor union is set to conclude on the 27th, attention is turning to whether the union's deal will gain momentum.
On the 26th, Civil Division 31 of the Suwon District Court, presided over by Judge Shin Woo-jung, rejected an injunction request filed by the 'Samsung Electronics Workers' Rights Restoration Legal Response Coalition,' a group of five Samsung Electronics DX Division members, against the Enterprise-level labor union, seeking to suspend wage and collective bargaining for 2026.
The group filed the injunction on the 15th, arguing that the decision-making process of the Enterprise-level labor union, which is centered on the semiconductor division, the Samsung Electronics Device Solutions Division, and holds bargaining rights in labor-management negotiations, was flawed. Samsung Electronics has multiple labor unions, and the other unions sought the injunction against the Enterprise-level labor union, which had secured a majority and negotiated with management as the representative union, citing procedural defects and other issues.
They pointed out that the notice for the general meeting, which should have been issued seven days in advance, was instead given only one day before. They also argued that the union leadership violated its rules by replacing the bargaining proposal with the results of an 'online form survey' conducted by the Enterprise-level labor union from Nov. 7 to 13 last year without a general meeting vote, citing a lack of time. In addition, they said the three-step procedure set out in the memorandum of understanding for the joint bargaining committee was skipped, excluding demands to improve the DX Division's unique working conditions from the options.
However, the court did not accept their arguments. It ruled that it could not be said that the union had failed to go through a process to confirm the views of its members when finalizing the bargaining proposal.
The court explained, "Around Nov. 6 last year, the Enterprise-level labor union selected 20 agenda items through its steering committee and then conducted an online survey asking members to choose five items," adding, "Based on the results, it submitted its own bargaining proposal and is understood to have finalized it through a meeting of the joint bargaining committee."
The court also found that the union's failure to hold a general meeting or a meeting of the Assembly of Delegates while finalizing the bargaining proposal did not justify halting the bargaining process itself. It said this was a matter of legal responsibility, such as damages claims or dismissal of representatives, rather than an issue separate from the bargaining process itself.
It also rejected the claim that the proposal reflected only the demands of the DS division and failed to reflect the interests of other union members. The court said the petitioners had not sufficiently shown that there was a serious defect in the substance of the proposal.
The court cited several reasons, including that the bargaining proposal was finalized after consultation among the labor unions participating in the joint bargaining committee, and that the petitioners failed to show that a different proposal would have been adopted even if a vote had been held by the Assembly of Delegates, given that most members of the Enterprise-level labor union belong to the DS division.
The court added, "On the 20th, the Enterprise-level labor union and management reached a tentative agreement, and a vote by all union members on the agreement is currently under way," and said, "Regardless of whether the defects alleged by the petitioners exist, there is ample room to view the collective bargaining process in this case as already concluded."
The Enterprise-level labor union at Samsung Electronics is voting on the tentative agreement on the day. Since the court found no irregularities in the process by which the union reached the agreement, the ruling is expected to have a major impact on the vote. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics Labor Union Donghaeng said it filed an injunction with the Suwon District Court on the day to suspend the vote on whether to approve the tentative agreement.
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theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter