Glomac Plastics, Inc. and Textile Workers Union of
America, AFL-CIO-CLC. n1
n1 We note that the name of the Union, Textile Workers
Union of America, AFL-CIO-CLC, has been changed to
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union of America,
AFL-CIO-CLC, and our records so reflect the name change.
See American Enka Company, a Division of Akzona
Incorporated, 231 NLRB 1335 (1977).
Case 3-CA-5274
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
234 N.L.R.B. 1309; 1978 NLRB LEXIS 198; 97 L.R.R.M. 1441;
1978-79 NLRB Dec. (CCH) P19,087; 234 NLRB No. 199
March 9, 1978
[**1]
DECISION AND ORDER
By Chairman Fanning and Members Jenkins and Truesdale
OPINION:
[*1309] On September 17, 1973, Administrative Law Judge Josephine H. Klein
issued the attached Decision in this proceeding. Thereafter, Respondent filed
exceptions and a supporting brief. On March 13, 1975, the Respondent filed a
letter memorandum on the applicability of N.L.R.B. v. J. Weingarten, Inc ., 420
U.S. 251 (1975), and International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Upper South
Department, AFL-CIO v. Quality Manufacturing Co ., 420 U.S. 276 (1975), to the
facts in this case.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations
Act, as amended, the National Labor Relations Board has delegated its authority
in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
The Board has considered the record and the attached Decision in light of the
Respondent's exceptions, brief, and letter memorandum and has decided to affirm
the rulings, findings, and conclusions n2 of the Administrative Law Judge; to
modify her remedy so that interest is computed as set forth in Florida Steel
Corporation, 231 NLRB 651 (1977); n3 and to adopt her recommended Order, as
modified herein. n4
n2 We do not adopt the Administrative Law Judge's comment with respect to the
obligations of employees who signed union membership cards during the
organizing
campaign to the extent that those comments can be construed as indicating that
employees who continued to maintain union membership on the effective date of a
maintenance-of-membership provision have any option not provided therein as to
whether to be bound by that provision.
n3 See, generally, Isis Plumbing & Heating Co ., 138 NLRB 716 (1962).
n4 The Administrative Law Judge found that Respondent's bad-faith bargaining
commenced some 9-1/2 months into the certification year. We agree with her
recommendation that the entire certification year begin anew upon Respondent's
recommencement of good-faith bargaining. Although the so-called Mar-Jac remedy
(136 NLRB 785, 787 (1962)) is typically designed to provide an aggrieved labor
organization with 1 year's time in which to negotiate a collective-bargaining
agreement, we do not believe the Board is powerless to order, under proper
circumstances, a complete renewal of a certification year, even in cases where
there has been good-faith bargaining in the prior certification year. Such a
position takes cognizance not only of the realities of collective-bargaining
negotiations as well as the realities of the effect of any bad-faith bargaining
in the prior year, but also, more importantly, of that policy embedded in the
Act which seeks to have the relationship between covered employees and their
employers determined by the bargaining process and then reduced to written
contract form. Noting the historically unsuccessful efforts of labor
organizations to come to such written agreement with this Respondent, and that
bad-faith bargaining can rarely, if ever, be said to simply "start" at a
particular moment, we believe proper circumstances exist in this case for
ordering a complete renewal of the entire certification year. Accordingly, we
adopt the recommendation to that effect made by the Administrative Law Judge.
We shall modify the Order to provide for extending the certification year for
another full year. [**2]
The Administrative Law Judge concluded, and we agree, that the Respondent
violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act on April 27, 1973, by refusing to permit
fellow employee and union negotiating committee member Dorothy Galetta to
accompany employee Nina DePalma in an interview with DePalma's supervisor,
Rodgers, and by disciplining DePalma for refusing to participate in the
interview without the presence of Galetta. The Administrative Law Judge, after
reviewing Board and court decisions, based her conclusion primarily on Quality
Mfg. Co ., 195 NLRB 197 (1972); Mobil Oil Corporation, 196 NLRB 1052 (1972);
and
J. Weingarten, Inc ., 202 NLRB 446 (1973), wherein a then majority of the Board
subscribed to the view that an employee has a right to representation in an
interview, whether the interview is strictly disciplinary or preliminarily
investigatory. Since the Administrative Law Judge issued her Decision in this
case, the Supreme Court has decided the issue in Weingarten, supra, and Quality
Manufacturing, supra . In Weingarten, the Court held that it is an 8(a)(1)
violation for an employer to deny an employee's request that a union
representative be present at [**3] an investigatory interview which the
employee reasonably fears may lead to disciplinary action. In the companion
case, Quality Manufacturing, the Court ruled that it also violates Section
8(a)(1) for an employer to discipline an employee for refusing to accede to the
employer's demand that such an interview be conducted in the absence of a union
representative or to discipline union agents because they seek to furnish
requested representation.
In each of these cases, the Court agreed that the action of an employee in
seeking to have a union representative present at an investigatory interview
"clearly falls within the literal wording of § 7." The Court held that the
employee is clearly seeking the "aid or protection" of the union representative
against a perceived threat to the employee's job security. The participation
of
the representative was viewed by the majority as safeguarding the interest of
not only the individual employee requesting assistance but also of all members
in the unit because the representative will exercise "vigilance to make certain
that the employer does not initiate or continue a practice of imposing
punishment unjustly," thus also assuring the other [**4] employees that they
are entitled to the same aid and protection.
[*1310] The Court reviewed approvingly the Board's decisions in Quality and
Mobil Oil Corp ., n5 wherein the Board ruled that the right arises only when
the
employee requests union representation and therefore the employee may waive the
right. The Board in those cases limited the right to those situations where
the
employee reasonably believes that disciplinary action will result from the
investigation; i.e., it does not apply to "run-of-the-mill shop-floor
conversations." The Board also held that the employer has no duty to proceed
with the interview once an employee has demanded union representation, need not
justify its refusal to permit union representation, and may go forward with an
investigation from other sources. Further, the employer is under no duty to
bargain with the union representative during an investigatory, as distinguished
from a disciplinary, interview, and may insist on hearing only the employee's
account of the matter being investigated. In the instant case, there is no
doubt that DePalma Demanded the presence of fellow employee Galetta, a member
of
the Union's negotiating committee, as a condition [**5] of reporting to
Supervisor Rodgers' office when ordered to do so.
n5 195 NLRB 197; 196 NLRB 1052.
The pertinent facts are: About 1 p.m. on April 27, 1973, Nina DePalma was
summoned to the office of William Rodgers, Respondent's plant manager and her
supervisor. On the way to the office, DePalma asked a fellow employee and union
negotiating committee member, Dorothy Galetta, to accompany her. After getting
permission from her supervisor, Galetta proceeded to Rodgers' office with
DePalma. At the office Rodgers asked Galetta what she was doing there.
DePalma
replied, saying the employees "had been told by a union representative not go
to
the office by ourselves unless we had a witness." Rodgers said, "Nina, you do
not have a union and we do not recognize a union." n6 He then left temporarily
and returned with Respondent's president, Mackessy. Mackessy ordered the two
employees to return to their work or punch out. They both returned to their
work.
n6 The Union was certified on June 23, 1972, and the parties were engaged in
collective bargaining at the time of this remark.
Within 10 munutes, Mackessy and Rodgers approached DePalma at her machine and
again asked her [**6] to report to the office. Mackessy said, "Nina, are you
going to be sensible and come into my office or are you going to punch out and
go home?" DePalma asked what the problem was, and Mackessy replied that he was
"not going to discuss any labor problems on the floor." He indicated that he
wanted to discuss her production cards, which had frequently contained errors.
DePalma Again refused to go to the office unless accompanied by a "witness" of
her own choosing, and accepted Respondent's alternative of checking out, which
she did about 3 p.m., 1 hour before the end of the shift.
There is no dispute that DePalma demanded the presence of fellow employee
Galetta, a member of the Union's negotiating committee, as a condition of
reporting to Rodgers' office when ordered to do so on April 27. Although
Respondent contends that the purpose of the interview was not "disciplinary,"
Rodgers conceded that "most of the times" he talked to DePalma in the office it
was "to reprimand her for one thing or another." Rodgers had previously given
her two written reprimands, one for errors in her production count, and
admitted
that on April 27 he intended to talk to her about her erroneous production
[**7]
counts and warn her that if her work did not improve "something more severe
would happen." DePalma's prior history included a denied wage increase based in
part on erroneous production cards. Thus, it is plain that her fear of
disciplinary action had a reasonable basis.
In N.L.R.B. v. J. Weingarten, Inc., supra, the Supreme Court held that it is
an 8(a)(1) violation for an employer to deny an employee's request that a union
representative be present at an investigatory interview which the employee
reasonably fears might result in disciplinary action. In the companion case,
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, Upper South Department, AFL-CIO
v.
Quality Manufacturing Co., supra, the Court ruled that it also violates Section
8(a)(1) for an employer to discipline an employee for refusing to accede to the
employer's demand that such an interview be conducted in the absence of a union
representative or to discipline union agents because they seek to furnish
requested representation.
Section 7 of the Act guarantees to employees the right to "engage in...
concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual
aid or protection." The Court [**8] majority in Weingarten agreed that the
action of an employee in seeking to have a union representative present at an
investigatory interview "clearly falls within the literal wording of § 7." The
employee, said the Court, is clearly seeking the "aid or protection" of a union
representative against a perceived threat to the employee's job security.
We do not draw a distinction between union-represented employees and
employees who have chosen union representation but have been deprived of the
benefits of that representation as a result of the employer's refusal to
bargain
in good faith with their designated representative. We agree with the
Administrative Law Judge that "Respondent, while appearing to bargain openly
and
in good faith, was actually [*1311] progressively determined not to reach
agreement...." n7 In refusing to bargain in good faith with the Union,
Respondent effectively foreclosed its employees from enjoying any of the
benefits of collective bargaining and in particular deprived them of the "aid
or
protection" of union representation.
n7 ALJD, sec. II, B,1,c.
The Union was certified in June 1972; bargaining ensued but in April 1973
Respondent deliberately engaged [**9] in bargaining tactics which the
Administrative Law Judge found were "calculated to prevent final agreement,"
apparently in the hope that a successful decertification petition would be
filed. There can be no doubt that Respondent, at the time of DePalma's request
for union representation, had concluded that as far it was concerned the Union
was no longer recognized as the employees' representative. Rodgers,
Respondent's plant manager, made this clear when he told DePalma, "Nina, you do
not have a union and we do not recognize a union." In the Employer's view it
was
clear that its bargaining tactics had had the desired effect; i.e., the
employees' selection of union representation had been rendered a nullity. In
this context of bad-faith bargaining designed to oust the Union, an employee
more so than ever should not be denied the benefit of a vital Section 7 right.
The national labor policy of encouraging good-faith collective bargaining
would be undermined if an employer were to be allowed to defeat its employees'
right to have a representative present by engaging in unlawful bad-faith
bargaining which the employer could then rely on the assert that no recognized
union representative [**10] exists. To permit the Respondent's own misconduct
thus to reduce or eliminate the employee's right to have a union representative
present is to allow the Respondent's unlawful action to determine the reach and
applicability of Section 7 rights. We cannot reward the wrongdoer for conduct
which violated Section 8(a)(5) of the Act.
We conclude that Section 7 rights are enjoyed by all employees and are in no
wise dependent on union representation for their implementation. The Court's
Weingarten and Quality decisions are clearly grounded on Section 7 of the Act
which guarantees employees rights and guarantees, in particular the right of
employees "to engage in... concerted activities for... other mutual aid or
protection." We do not believe the Court's decisions command us to interpret
Section 7 in a manner which is clearly restrictive of its broad scope or does
violence to its purposes.
On the contrary, we believe that Justices Powell and Stewart correctly
analyzed the scope of the Court's decision in Weingarten when they stated (420
U.S. at 270, fn. 1.):
While the Court speaks only of the right to insist on the presence of a union
representative, it must be assumed [**11] that the § 7 right today
recognized,
affording employees the right to act "in concert" in employer interviews, also
exists in the absence of a recognized union. Cf. N.L.R.B. v. Washington
Aluminum Co ., 370 U.S. 9 (1962).
It is significant that the Court's majority did not comment on the
dissenters' logical assumption of the scope of their decision. But we need not
rely on the dissenters' view of the Scope of Weingarten . Our own reading of
Weingarten and Quality persuades us that the Court's primary concern was with
the right of employees to have some measure of protection against unjust
employer practices, particularly those that threaten job security.These
employee
concerns obtain whether or not the employees are represented by a union.
Indeed, these concerns are more compelling where the employees are without
union
representation as a result of their employer's misconduct. The absence of
union
representation in such circumstances does not operate to deprive employees of
these rights which they enjoy by virtue of the plain mandate in Section 7.
Accordingly, we find, in agreement with the Administrative Law Judge, the
Respondent violated Section 8(a)(1) [**12] by refusing to permit Dorothy
Galetta to accompany Nina DePalma at an interview in the office of Respondent's
management and by disciplining DePalma for refusing to participate in the
interview without the presence of Galetta.
ORDER
Pursuant to Section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended,
the National Labor Relations Board adopts as its Order the recommended Order of
the Administrative Law Judge, as modified below, and hereby orders that the
Respondent, Glomac Plastics, Inc., Syracuse, New York, its officers, agents,
successors, and assigns, shall take the action set forth in the said
recommended
Order, as so modified:
Substitute the following for paragraph 2(a):
"(a) Bargain collectively in good faith concerning wages, hours, and other
terms and conditions of employment with Amalgamated Clothing and Textile
Workers
Union of America, AFL-CIO-CLC, as the exclusive representative of all
production
and maintenance employees, employed by the Respondent at its 432 North Franklin
Street, Syracuse, New [*1312] York, plant, excluding all office clerical
employees, casual employees, professional employees, guards and supervisors as
defined in the Act. Regard the Union as exclusive [**13] agent as if the
initial year of certification has been extended for an additional year from the
commencement of bargaining pursuant hereto."
ALJ:
Josephine H. Klein
ALJ-DECISION:
DECISION
Josephine H. Klein, Administrative Law Judge: Pursuant to a charge filed on
April 25, 1973, n1 and amended charges filed on May 2 and 6, by Textile Workers
Union of America, AFL-CIO-CLC (the Union), against Glomac Plastics, Inc.
(Respondent), a complaint was issued on June 8, alleging that since January 26
Respondent has refused to bargain collectively with the Union, the certified
representative of Respondent's production and maintenance employees, in
violation of Section 8(a)(5) of the Act; n2 discriminated against employee Nina
DePalma on April 27 because of her union and/or other concerted activities, in
violation of Section 8(a)(3) and (1); and engaged in unlawful surveillance and
other acts of interference with its employees' Section 7 rights in violation of
Section 8(a)(1).
n1 Except where otherwise indicated, all dates herein are in 1973.
n2 National Labor Relations Act, as amended (61 Stat. 136, 73 Stat. 519, 29
U.S.C. § 151, et seq. ).
Pursuant to due notice, a hearing was held before me in [**14] Syracuse, New
York, on July 11 and 12. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be
heard, to present oral and written evidence, and to examine and cross-examine
witnesses. The parties waived oral argument.Since the hearing, a brief has
been
filed on behalf of the General Counsel.
Upon the entire record, together with careful observation of the witnesses
and consideration of the brief, I make the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
The complaint alleges, the answer, as amended, admits, and I find that:
1. Respondent, a New York corporation, with its place of business in
Syracuse, New York, is engaged in the manufacture and sale of plastic products.
During the past year, Respondent, in the course and conduct of its business
operations, manufactured and sold products valued in excess of $50,000, of
which
products valued in excess of $50,000 were shipped from its Syracuse, New York,
plant directly to points in States other than New York. Respondent is now and
has been at all times material herein an employer engaged in commerce within
the
meaning of Section 2(2), (6), and (7) of the Act.
2. The Union is now and has been at all times material herein [**15] a
labor organization within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
II. THE UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
A. The Facts
1. The background
At some time unspecified, but apparently in the 1960's, the United Mine
Workers had been certified as the collective-bargaining representative of
Respondent's production and maintenance employees. According to the testimony
of Daniel J. Mackessy, Respondent's president since the organization of the
Company about 11 years ago, Respondent "had the Mine Workers in there for three
years." Negotiations with that union lasted "[approximately] a year," during
which "there was more than one" strike. However, according to Mackessy, no
contract was reached. In Mackessy's words, "the thing just died a natural
death" which the Mine Workers' business agent died during the negotiations.
In April 1970 the Textile Workers, the present Charging Party, commenced an
organizational drive. Union Business Manager Donald J. Lamb and International
Representative Edward A. Sherman, Jr., were in charge then, as they are now.
When the Union's demand for recognition was not met, a strike ensued, lasting
for some 6 to 9 months. Additionally, a charge and complaint [**16] were
filed
alleging violations by Respondent of Section 8(a)(1) and (5) of the Act. After
a hearing in March 1971, that complaint was dismissed by Trial Examiner Knapp,
affirmed by the Board. (Case 3- CA-4113, 194 NLRB 406.) n3 It was there found,
inter alia, that the Union did not represent an uncoerced majority because of
the participation of supervisory personnel in solicitation for the Union.
Additionally, or alternatively, the Board held that Respondent did not violate
Section 8(a)(5) by insisting upon an election to establish the Union's
majority.
Early in the 1970 strike Respondent sought an injunction against the Union's
picketing from a state court, n4 which "issued an order laying down certain
rules to govern the conduct of the picketing." 194 NLRB at 408, fn. 16. The
evidence at the present hearing suggests that the court "order" was an
agreement
of the parties as to rules governing the picketing.
n3 Although not requested to do so at the present hearing, I am here taking
official notice of prior Board action in complaint proceedings involving
Respondent.
n4 Trial Examiner Knapp identified the issuing court as the "New York Supreme
Court." At the present hearing, Mackessy spoke of it as a "City Court." [**17]
Upon another charge filed in December 1971 a complaint was issued against
Respondent and a hearing held on March 21, 1972. Trial Examiner Silberman
found
that Respondent had violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act by threatening
employees
with delay or possible denial of contemplated wage increases because an unfair
labor practice charge had been filed against Respondent. He further found,
however, that the General Counsel had not proven an allegation that Respondent
had unlawfully prohibited employee Nina DePalma from soliciting for the Union.
No exceptions were filed and the Trial Examiner's Decision was thereupon
adopted
by the Board. (Case 3-CA-4715, Board's Order dated June 2, 1972.)
On May 31, 1972, the Union filed a charge alleging that DePalma had been
discriminatorily denied a wage increase [*1313] in violation of Section
8(a)(1), (3), and (4). Administrative Law Judge Saunders found that alleged
violation, but, on exceptions, the Board reversed and dismissed the complaint.
(Case 3- CA-4881, 201 NLRB 450 (1973).)
Pursuant to a Board-conducted election, the Union was certified on June 23,
1972. Contract negotiations then ensued, with the first meeting held on August
9, 1972. [**18] After the ninth meeting, on November 13, 1972, the Union
filed
a refusal-to-bargain charge. This was dismissed by the Regional Director and
his action was affirmed by the General Counsel on appeal.
The original charge in the present case, alleging refusal to bargain, was
filed on April 25, after the 13th negotiating session. Two subsequent meetings
were held, on May 7 and 29. On June 6 the Union filed a second amended charge,
n5 alleging, in addition to Respondent's refusal to bargain, its discriminatory
discharge of DePalma on April 26. n6
n5 The first amended charge, filed on May 4, alleged discriminatory discharge
of two other employees. This allegation, however, was not included in the
complaint.
n6 Actually, as the complaint and the evidence disclose, DePalma was not
discharged but, rather, briefly suspended.
2. The bargaining
Until the time of the present hearing, 15 bargaining sessions had been held.
At each of these meetings the Union was represented by Lamb and/or Sherman,
together with a negotiating committee of four employees. At all the meetings,
Respondent was represented by George Sullivan, Esq., accompanied by his
associate, Kevin M. Reilly, Esq., [**19] and Mackessy. Sullivan, who also
represented Respondent at the present hearing, was Respondent's chief spokesman
in the negotiations. The decisions cited above disclose that Reilly represented
Respondent in the prior proceedings.
From the beginning of the negotiations it was agreed by the parties that no
agreements reached on specific items were to be considered "final" until
agreement had been reached on a total contract. It would serve no useful
purpose to review the course of the negotiations, since it is undisputed that
the area of disagreement was eventually narrowed down to two items, namely,
wages and "union security" with the related checkoff of union dues.It is
primarily Respondent's conduct with regard to these two items which is alleged
as violative of Section 8(a)(5) of the Act.
a. Union Security and Checkoff
The Union originally requested a standard 30-day union-security and
dues-checkoff provision. Sullivan, on behalf of Respondent, objected to having
employees required to join the Union and pay dues, and to Respondent's being
required to fire employees who refused to join. In its initial contract
proposal, on August 9, 1972, Respondent proposed the following [**20]
maintenance-of-membership and duescollection provisions:
MAINTENANCE OF MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Employees in the bargaining unit covered by this Agreement who
are presently members of the Union, and any employee in the bargaining unit
covered by this Agreement who may hereafter become a member of the Union during
the terms of this Agreement, shall maintain the membership in good standing as
to the payment of initiation fees, assessments and dues as a condition of
employment during the term of this Agreement.
The Company shall not be obligated to discharge any employee who is a member
of the Union and who shall have failed to maintain his Union membership by the
payment of his dues, assessments or initiation fees until the expiration of
thirty (30) days after written notification by the Union to the Company that
said employee is not in good standing, during which period said employee shall
be given an opportunity to reinstate himself as a member of the Union in good
standing.
COLLECTION OF DUES
Section 2. The Union agrees that it and its members will not solicit dues
during working hours. The Company will provide a special place for the
Treasurer to collect dues before or after [**21] working hours or during the
noon hour.
The Union rejected Respondent's proposal.
On September 13, 1972, the Union offered a modified provision, substituting
for an express requirement that employees be discharged for nonmembership in
the
Union a provision that "Employees shall maintain good standing in the Union...
and shall be disqualified from employment for so long as they do not comply."
Then, on October 4, 1972, the Union offered a modified agency-shop proposal, as
follows:
Each employee who has become a member of the Union, or has become a member as
of
this dated Agreement, or thereafter, shall maintain his membership as a
condition of employment. An employee who does not comply with these
requirements, shall pay the equivalent in dues, to the Union financial office,
by check, with a statement for same, on each pay week of each month or
subsequent payday as a condition of employment.
This was coupled with a more flexible checkoff provision than the Union's
original demand.
Throughout this time Respondent adhered to its original
maintenance-of-membership proposal. Lamb, on the other hand, said that he
would
be "the laughing stock of the International" if he agreed [**22] to a
contract
without some form of union-security and checkoff provisions. Thereupon
Sullivan
suggested, as a face-saving gesture for Lamb, that the relevant provisions be
omitted from the contract and that, instead, Respondent would execute a
separate
commitment, or "letter of intent," providing for maintenance of membership.
Under date of March 5, 1973, Respondent reduced this suggestion to writing, in
the form of a letter signed by Mackessy setting forth the
maintenance-of-membership and dues-collection provisions contained in
Respondent's original contract proposal. At the next meeting, [*1314] on
March 30, the Union rejected this proposal. At this time the Union, having
presented its economic demands about 2 months previously, pressed Respondent
for
its wage proposal. As set forth below, the Company thereupon offered a 1-year
contract with a 5 percent increase, to be distributed on a "merit" basis.
Under date of April 4, Sullivan wrote to the Union ostensibly "revising"
Respondent's proposal for a maintenance-of-membership commitment. The
"revision" was actually a withdrawal, with Respondent now offering only to
provide a place for the collection of dues on nonworking time. Thereafter
[**23] Respondent refused to reinstate its offer of a
maintenance-of-membership
provision when the Union offered to accept with a 6-percent across-the-board
wage increase.
Mackessy testified that he was responsible for Respondent's change of
position, based on a growing doubt that the Union still represented a majority
of the unit employees. He attributed this doubt to three factors.
First, Mackessy testified that some employees had informed him that, although
they had signed union cards n7 and had voted for the Union, they did not want
to join the Union or pay dues. Mackessy testified that some of the employees
made such statements "right after the election," which was held on June 15,
1972, but the number increased in the spring of 1973. He estimated the number
of employees who spoke to him in that vein in the spring as from 10 to 15, out
of the 100 to 120 in the bargaining unit. He testified that the last of these
employees had spoken to him possibly 3 or 4 days before he instructed Sullivan
to withdraw the maintenance-of-membership proposal. Mackessy refused at the
hearing to identify any of the employees who he said had communicated to him
their reluctance to join the Union [**24] or pay union dues. n8 He purported
to base his refusal to identify the employees on a fear that they would be
subjected to "reprisals." When questioned as to the basis of any such fear, he
said: "Well, we've had a bomb threat at the plant. The employees said they've
been threatened." He did not specify the date of the alleged "bomb threat" and
provided to reason for believing that it was related to the Union. Further, he
testified that, although it allegedly occurred at 4:30 a.m., on the third
shift,
no action was taken and it was not reported to the police until "the next day."
The plant was neither evacuated nor searched by Respondent or the police.
Mackessy conceded that he did not take the threat seriously. n9
n7 In Case 3- CA-4113, 194 NLRB 406 at 407, the union cards are described as
indicating that "the signing employee accepted membership in the Union and
designated it his bargaining representative." There is no evidence that
Respondent knew the precise nature of the cards.
n8 Upon Mackessy's refusal to identify the allegedly complaining employees,
the General Counsel moved to strike all Mackessy's testimony on this subject.
I
denied the motion to strike, but stated for the record that I should take the
refusal into cinsideration in appraising the evidence as a whole.
n9 Mackessy's testimony was:
WITNESS: We got a call. They called the plant about, oh, 4:30 in the
morning.
JUDGE KLEIN: Who's they?
WITNESS: A woman's voice. And a girl called me from the plant. She said she
answered the phone, and she said she got a call that you better get everybody
out of here, someone planted a bomb.
JUDGE KLEIN: Did you report this to the police?
WITNESS: I reported it to the police the next day.
JUDGE KLEIN: What did the police do about it?
WITNESS: They just told me to generally... to just keep the security measures
up, keep the building we lighted, try to keep the windows...
JUDGE KLEIN: They didn't come around and inspect?
WITNESS: No, they didn't...
JUDGE KLEIN: What did you do in between 4:30 in the morning and the next day,
with a bomb threat?
WITNESS: Nothing. What could I do?...
JUDGE KLEIN: Did you go back to the plant?
WITNESS: The police came in and told us I've had these before years ago and
they said they could never search a place like this, it's so complicated.
JUDGE KLEIN: Did you take this bomb threat seriously?
WITNESS: Oh, No.
JUDGE KLEIN: But you take it seriously now, so that you refused to answer
questions as a hearing?
WITNESS: I wouldn't want to implicate innocent people. [**25]
The only other basis Mackessy claimed for his professed fear that employees
might be subject to "reprisals" by the Union was an alleged incident involving
employee Sharon Richardson. Mackessy testified that, on May 3, William C.
Saunders, a supervisor, told him that Richardson had told Saunders that "a man
grabbed her arm when she was coming to work the other day." Mackessy testified
that "to get the story firsthand," they called Richardson into the office,
where
she said that "some fellow grabbed her by the arm, prevented her from coming to
work." Mackessy showed her some pictures and "she picked out Mr. Sherman's."
Mackessy informed her that Respondent could do nothing because Sherman was not
an employee. At Richardson's request, however, Mackessy called the police. In
the presence of Mackessy, Rodgers, and Saunders, a police officer took
Richardson's story. He then told her that she could go to the police office if
she want to file a formal complaint. Mackess testified that he did not know if
there had been a followup. Rodgers was not examined about this matter.
Neither
Richardson nor Saunders testified. Sherman unequivocally denied the conduct
attributed to him.
It [**26] may also be noted that the supposed defectors from the Union
apparently did not fear union "reprisals." Mackessy testified that they told
him
of their antiunion sentiments while at work, declining his suggestion that they
withdraw to the privacy of his office. (See fn. 10, infra .)
The second factor Mackessy listed as creating a doubt as to the Union's
continuing majority support was the relatively small number of employees who
joined three 1-day strikers which it was stipulated that the Union called on
April 23 and May 1 and 7. He referred to attendance records which presumably
would reflect the lack of support for the strike, but none was produced. He
testified that Plant Manager William R. Rodgers and Saunders had examined the
attendance records and reported that attendance on the days of the strike was
close to normal, with attendance on May 7 even better than usual. Although
Rodgers testified at the hearing, he was not examined as to this matter.
Saunders did not testify. Because Mackessy obviously equated striking with
picketing, his estimates as to the number of employees who participated in the
strike are of no value.
[*1315] In any event, whether relatively low employee [**27] participation
in the strikes would warrant legitimate doubt as to the Union's majority, it
could not possibly explain Mackessy's action in the present case since the
first
of the strikes occurred on April 23, whereas the letter withdrawing the
maintenance-of-membership proposal was sent on April 4. Since Mackessy
testified affirmatively that the lack of employee support for the strikes was
the major, if not sole, basis for his doubt of the Union's majority, n10 I
totally discredit his testimony as to his reason for withdrawing the
maintenance-of-membership proposal.
n10 On direct examination he testified as follows:
Well, after the election which is approximately a year ago, things were going
kind of smooth but it... but in the last, I'd say four or five months, the
employees, when I'd go through the shop and as Nina [DePalma] has related,
they'd stop me and quite a number of them said, "I'd like to talk to you." And
I
said, "Do you want to come in the office?" They may have a personal problem and
it's our practice not to get into discussions on the floor. And they'd say,
"No, I just want to tell you this, that I signed the card I want you to know,
but I don't want to join the union and I don't want to pay dues."
So I took this with a grain of salt because I said, "Well, you had a union
vote, we abide by the court and that's it. You've got a union now." But then
the last two strikes when there was 12 people out and 8 people out, that
presented a different picture and I said that there is some truth to this
statement that these people are making because a lot of times they'll tell me
one thing and do the opposite. I'm not that naive. But I know how many people
are out by the attendance records. So I said, "Well, there's more or less the
handwriting on the wall."
Q. (By Mr. Sullivan) Well, thereafter did you instruct me to do a certain
thing in relation to....
A. Yes, I contacted you and I said, "I'm afraid we'll have to change our
position. We can no longer offer the Union this signed agreement or agency
shop
or whatever else you may call it. We just can't fire people because they don't
want to join the union under any circumstances...." [**28]
The third factor that Mackessy mentioned as creating doubt of the Union's
majority was the substantial turnover of employees within the unit. Without
providing any details, he said that Respondent had had "maybe 200" new
employees
"since the first of the year." His testimony continued:
... And a lot of the new people coming in were asking questions and we told
them that there's a union here now and they should see their business agent.
But as time grew on, it became evident of what their wishes were and that's
what
prompted the letter.
From "shop conversation with the employees and talking to [his] department
heads," Mackessy "had a feeling" that the employees did not want the Union.
But, as previously stated, Mackessy testified that only 10 to 15 employees
spoke to him about the matter in the spring of 1973. He did not identify the
"department heads" with whom he said he had talked and none of them testified.
He gave no details as to his conversations with them. Accordingly, there is no
credible evidence that "new" employees were generally antiunion or that
original
union supporters had generally been replaced.
b. Wages
At the outset of negotiations the parties [**29] agreed that economic
matters would be left to the end of the negotiations. However, on January 26
the
Union presented its detailed and somewhat elaborate economic demands, which
were
repeated in writing under date of February 7. Respondent received these
demands
reluctantly, since there were still outstanding unresolved noneconomic matters.
However, on March 30 Respondent counterproposed a 1-year contract with an
additional holiday and a 5-1/2-percent wage increase to be distributed among
the
unit employees on a merit basis. n11 On April 17 the Union countered with a
request for a 6-percent across-the-board increase, which was summarily denied
by
Respondent. The Union then suggested that the matter be referred to binding
arbitration, but Respondent rejected this suggestion.
n11 Sullivan first stated the offer as a 2-year contract, with an increase of
5-1/2 percent each year, in addition to the extra holiday. Mackessy, however,
immediatly protested and, after a caucus, the offer was changed, Sullivan
apparently having misunderstood Mackessy's position.
The General Counsel contends that Respondent unlawfully refused to provide
the Union with information as to the identity [**30] of the employees who
would
receive merit increases under Respondent's proposal. The evidence relevant to
this contention will be summarized.
The Union repeatedly asked Respondent's representatives to identify the
employees who would receive merit increases. Respondent, however, maintained
that it would not and/or could not provide this information. According to
Lamb,
Sullivan said that "this would be and arbitrary distribution by the Company to
the employees who they thought deserved it and it would be based upon
attendance
and performance." Sherman testified that Sullivan said no list of employees to
receive raises could be provided "until after the contract was signed." The
distribution of the raise would not be grievable.
Mackessy, on the other hadn, maintained that, while it was true that
individual wage increases or the denial thereof would not be subject to
bargaining or to the grievance procedure, he contemplated some sort of
objective
"point" system, under which employees would be evaluated. Such evaluations
would be made anonymously, by using timeclock numbers, to avoid the possibility
of favoritism. When asked about the proposed point system at the hearing,
Mackessy [**31] was characteristically vague. Although he indicated that he
had explained the so-called point system to the union representatives in the
course of the negotiations, he later said that they "didn't go into depth with
the union because the union rejected it" and Respondent's representatives did
not explain to the Union the role that seniority would play in the evaluations.
Lamb denied that a "point system" was discussed at all.n12 Neither Sullivan,
Respondent's chief negotiator, nor Reilly, his [*1316] associate, who had
attended and maintained notes of the negotiating sessions, appeared as a
witness. n13
n12 See Case 3- CA-4881, 201 NLRB 450, 451 (1973):
The Respondent's president, Daniel Mackessy, explained that in late 1971 he
asked three or four of his supervisors to compile a list of employees, by clock
numbers, who were entitled to a wage increase, and said that the selections
were
to be based on past performances, ability to follow instructions, absence of
warnings and violations of rules, and their absenteeism and tardiness was also
to be considered. He said that out of 80 employees working in the plant about
23 percent received wage increases. The Respondent then introduced various
production cards showing the different pieces produced by employees during
certain periods of time....
It does not appear that any reference was made to the 1971 increases in the
course of the present negotiations.
n13 Sullivan repeatedly attempted, in effect, to give testimony in the form
of leading questions put to witnesses. Since Sullivan was obviously in the
best
position to provide reliable testimony concerning the crucial facts, it would
have been advisable for him to appear as a witness, with Respondent represented
by other counsel at the hearing. ABA Code of Professional Responsibility ,
cannon 5, EC 5-9, EC 5-10, DR 5-101(B), DR 5-102. [**32]
Without contradiction, Lamb quoted Sullivan as having expressly disclaimed
inability to pay as Respondent's reason for rejecting the Union's final demand
for a 6-percent across-the-board increase. Yet in the course of negotiations
Respondent asserted that even the 5-1/2 percent it had offered was so
burdensome
as possibly to result in the layoff of half the employees.
Lamb and Sherman both quoted Mackessy as having said that Respondent had lost
two customers because he had entered bids on contracts at prices including the
contemplated 5-1/2-percent increase. Mackessy testified that he had said only
that he had lost two contracts, rather than two customers. He testified that
he
had increased by 5-1/2 percent the prices he bid for the production of two
parts
for the Carrier Corporation and, as a result, he lost out to Erie County
Plastics, a competitor. When asked why he had added 5-1/2 percent of the total
price rather than merely 5-1/2 percent of the labor cost component, Mackessy
said he had done so to prevent his competitors' being able to figure out his
hourly rate. He did not further explain. In any event, hourly wage rates
apparently are not totally secret, since Mackessy [**33] was able to testify
concerning those of Erie County Plastics. Further, Mackessy revealed that had
been given the opportunity to meet the competitor's bids, but he declined,
since
they were 8 percent lower than Respondent's.n14 Thus he would not have been the
low bidder even without the 5-1/2-percent additions. According to Mackessy,
although Respondent makes some 200 bids per week, the two Carrier bids were the
only ones on which he had added the 5-1/2 percent, but they amounted to some §
100,000, or possibly 10 percent of Respondent's "total volume."
n14 This testimony is essentially inconsistent with Mackessy's prior refusal
to testify concerning the competitive bids on the ground of a vaguely defined
legal requirement of confidentiality as to information he had obtained from
"private sources."
Cross-examination of Mackessy further elicited information that Carrier
Corporation had previously complained of Respondent's poor production of one of
the two parts involved. n15 According to Mackessy, Erie County Plastics is
also
now experiencing difficulty in production of that part.
n15 See also Case 3- CA-4881, 201 NLRB 450, supra at 451, where it is stated
that Mackessy testified that "the Company lost its number one customer --
Carrier Corporation" in part, at least, as a result of lost production because
DePalma had broken an expensive mold in February 1971. [**34]
On the basis of Mackessy's demeanor, together with the vagueness and
inconsistencies in his testimony and his refusal to answer some questions for
unpersuasive reasons, I find him a generally unreliable witness and discredit
his uncorroborated testimony whenever it conflicts with other evidence.
Specifically in connection with the wage negotiations, I discredit his
testimony
that Respondent's representatives, either he or Sullivan, presented a detailed
"point system" for determining the distribution of the proposed 5-1/2-percent
merit wage increase.
3. Surveillance
The complaint alleges that Respondent engaged in unlawful surveillance of its
employees' activities by photographing the pickets during each of the three
1-day strikes, conducted on April 23 and May 1 and 7. There is no dispute that
Mackessy and Rodgers (and possibly another company representative) openly and
repeatedly photographed pickets from distances ranging from 3 to about 12 feet.
With the possible exception of two incidents, the uncontradicted evidence
establishes that the pickets did not trespass on Respondent's property and did
not engage in mass picketing, violence, injury to person or property or any
[**35] other unlawful conduct.
The first possible exception to the Union's pattern of completely lawful
picketing is the Sharon Richardson incident, discussed above. First it should
be noted that, as Mackessy testified, he first learned of this alleged incident
on May 6, after Respondent had photographed the pickets during the first two
strikes, on April 23 and May 1. Second, for the reasons heretofore set forth,
I
have discredited the purely hearsay evidence of the incident. Finally, even if
the hearsay were to be credited, there is no suggestion that any picketing
employees engaged in misconduct. The evidence concerned only Union
Representative Sherman, while Respondent admittedly photographed picketing
employees.
The other possible exception to the peaceful and orderly picketing occurred
on April 23, during the first 1-day strike. Sherman testified that at or about
10:30 or 11 a.m. that day a delivery truck drove up. Seeing the picket line,
the driver alighted and went into the plant to telephone his employer for
instructions. He emerged a short time later and said he had been directed to
make the delivery and intended forthwith to drive into the plant grounds. The
pickets [**36] announced that they would continue walking. When the truck
started to back into the plant driveway, the pickets sat down on the roadway.
At that point Sherman arrived on the scene and ordered the pickets to get up,
which they did immediately. They resumed their walking and the truckdriver
said
he would not try to enter at that time. About 5 minutes later the police
arrived, presumably having been summoned by Respondent. Sherman assured the
police that the pickets would obey the law. The pickets then stood aside; the
truck proceeded into the plant grounds; and the police departed. According to
Sherman, the truck delivery was delayed about half an hour in all. There is no
suggestion that any such conduct by the strikers was repeated. And at no time
did Respondent refer to this incident in justification of its photographic
activities.
Mackessy maintained that he had had photographs taken on the advice of
Respondent's auditors, the police, a manufacturers' association, and a
publication of the Textile Workers Union.
He said that the auditors had recommended that he have "before and after"
pictures to support charging off as an [*1317] expense for tax purposes any
damage that might [**37] be done to the plant by the pickets. Apparently such
advice had allegedly been given in connection with the Textile Workers' 1970
strike, although Mackessy revealed that he had also taken pictures during the
earlier strikes conducted by the Mine Workers.
He said that in 1970 and continuing "right up to this date" the "Police
Department asked [him] to take photographs of these individuals that came from
out of town." So far as appears, Lamb and Sherman were the only out-of-towners
involved, yet photographs were taken of picketing employees. Indeed, on direct
examination Mackessy testified, inter alia , that he "took pictures to identify
the employees."
He originally testified that in 1973 the manufacturers' association "was
getting reports and there was a compilation of data that wherever this Textile
Workers Union was operating within there was forms of some building damage or
personal property damage." He later recanted, saying: "I think in all fairness,
I think that statement [that there is always property damage where the Textile
Workers Union is present] may have originated with me."
On cross-examination, Mackessy produced a pamphlet he relied on to support
his prior [**38] testimony that the Textile Workers Union itself recommended
taking pictures. The pamphlet turned out to be an issue of the "American
Textile
Reporter," an industry trade journal.
Mackessy conceded that, when he and Rodgers took photographs of the pickets,
he had no intention of instituting any proceedings before the Board. Although
Respondent called the police several times, it does not appear that it intended
to, or had any reasonable grounds to, institute any judicial action.
Apparently
Mackessy considered the picture-taking as a precautionary measure, saying: "It
seemed like the pictures served a good record and served us well in the past
and
I never had an objection from anybody having their picture taken unless they
had
something to hide." Mackessy took numerous pictures because, "since the
Polaroid
Camera came in, everybody was taking pictures."
4. The DePalma matter
DePalma has been employed by Respondent as a machine operator since sometime
in 1969. She has been an openly ardent supporter of the Union since its
original appearance on the scene in 1970. n16 She is frank and outspoken and
given to displaying a type of taunting humor, which Respondent has indulged
with
[**39] good grace. As appears from the prior Board decisions and the present
record, she has had a stormy career as an employee. She has been reprimanded
and disciplined frequently. In October 1971 she was reprimanded for having
solicited for the Union during worktime. In April she was denied a wage
increase because of deficiencies in her work. n17
n16 In Case 3-CA-4715, supra , Trial Examiner Silberman said: "Mrs. DePalma
is passionately involved in the organizing campaign being conducted among
Respondent's employees."
In Case 3- CA-4881, 201 NLRB at 452, Administrative Law Judge Saunders said:
"There is no question that DePalma has been extensively involved in the
prolonged organizing campaign among Respondent's employees and, admittedly, the
Company had knowledge of her active and continual involvement."
n17 This was the Board's finding, reversing the Administrative Law Judge's
holding that DePalma had been discriminatorily denied the wage increase in
violation of Sec. 8(a)(1), (3), and (4) of the Act.
Rodgers, who has been with Respondent as plant manager for about a year and a
half, testified that before April 27 he had called DePalma into the office
around 10 times.He [**40] conceded that, except for new employees whom he
wants
to meet, employees are called into the office only to be given a disciplinary
layoff, a written reprimand, or an oral warning of possible formal discipline
unless some deficiency is rectified. DePalma estimated that during her
employment she had been called into the office 20 times, the most recent being
2
weeks before the event here involved. Rodgers testified that he had given
DePalma two written warnings: one for refusal to obey his orders, the other for
failure to follow her group leader's instructions. n18 In February she had
received a disciplinary layoff of 3 days for insubordination in refusing to go
to the office when called in.
n18 In 201 NLRB 450 at 451, it is said: "Mackessy testified [that]... usually
a third warning slip results in discharge." Similarly, in Case 3- CA-4113, 194
NLRB 406, supra at fn. 22, it is said: "Any employee who received three warning
slips (see G.C. Exh. 20) was subject to automatic discharge."
On April 27, at or about 1 p.m., DePalma was asked to report to Rodgers'
office. She thereupon went to the assembly department and asked employee
Dorothy Galetta, a fellow member of the [**41] Union's negotiating committee,
to accompany her. After getting permission from her supervisor, Galetta
proceeded to Rodgers' office with DePalma. Upon their arrival, Rodgers asked
Galetta what she was doing there. DePalma replied, saying the employees "had
been told by a union representative not to go into the office by ourselves
unless we had a witness." At that point Rodgers said: "Nina, you do not have a
union and we do not recognize a union." He then left temporarily and returned
with Mackessy. Mackessy ordered the two employees to return to their work or
punch out. They both returned to their work.
Within 5 or 10 minutes, Mackessy and Rodgers approached DePalma at her
machine and again asked her to report to the office. Mackessy said: "Nina, are
you going to be sensible and come into my office or are you going to punch out
and go home?" DePalma asked what the problem was, and Mackessy replied that the
was "not going to disucss any labor problems on the floor." He indicated that
he
wanted to discuss her production cards, which frequently contained errors.
Again refusing to go to the office unless accompanied by a "witness" of her own
choosing, DePalma took the alternative [**42] of checking out, which she did
at
or about 3 p.m., 1 hour before the end of the shift.
About half an hour later, Galetta was called to the office of Saunders, her
suprevisor. According to Galetta's uncontradicted testimony, Saunders said
that
in the future, in order to receive permission to go to the office, she would
have to state her reasons and the supervisors would decide whether to grant
permission. He added that she "could not go for any union purposes."
On the next workday, Rodgers and DePalma's group leader spoke to her at her
work station. Rodgers informed her that she had made a mistake on her
production card [*1318] and that "[count] is very important." According to
DePalma, Redgers then told her to sure of accurate counts in the future "and
let's forget what happened in the past and go on from there." That was
apparently the end of the matter. However, it appears that in April 1972
erroneous production cards were stated as a substantial part of the reason
DePalma was denied a wage increase. (201 NLRB 450 at 451.) Errors in her
production cards, and verbal reprimands therefor, had been the subject of
flippant notes she appended to some of her cards. Respondent did not [**43]
resent her humor.
Testifying as to the April 27, 1973, incident Rodgers did not contradict
DePalma and Galetta in any substantial respect. However, it was his position
that calling DePalma into the office was essentially routine and not a "
disciplinary" matter. He testified first that he called an average of three or
four employees per day into the office to discuss various work problems. He
later raised this figure to an average of 10 to 12 employees called into the
office each day.
Rodgers testified specifically that April 27 was the first time that DePalma
had brought anybody with her when she was called into the office and that she
had come alone a few weeks earlier, when he spoke to her about her "attendance
performance." However, in case 3-CA-4715, it is disclosed that on October 21,
1971, DePalma objected to meeting alone with Company officials [and so], with
Mackessy's permission, she was accompanied by another employee" when she
reported to the office as directed. While the event there involved occurred
before Rodgers' tenure began, Mackessy was involved in both the October 1971
and
April 1973 incidents.
B. Discussions and Conclusions
1. Refusal to bargain [**44]
a. Union security
The complaint alleges, inter alia , that on April 4, 1973, Respondent
"withdrew from an agreement previously arrived at with the Union." The
reference
obviously is to the maintenance-of-membership provision. The record is clear,
however, that the Union had rejected Respondent's proposal of a
maintenance-of-membership provision and no agreement had thus been reached
before Respondent withdrew its proposal. Additionally, from the outset it had
been mutually understood that no tentative agreements on any specific items
were
to be considered binding until agreement was reached on an entire contract.
Since the matter of wages was still open on April 48 there could not have been
any binding agreement on the maintenance-of-membership provision at that time.
Thus the General Counsel had failed to establish the allegation that Respondent
unlawfully withdrew agreement on any issue.
The complaint further alleges, however, that Respondent "negotiated with the
Union in bad faith with no intention of entering into any final or bidning
collective-bargaining agreement." As previously stated, by April 4 agreement
had
been reached on all portions of the contract except [**45] for wages and the
union-security checkoff provisions. It is the General Counsel's position that
Respondent's withdrawal of its offer of a maintenance-of-membership provision
was intended as a stalling tactic, designed to keep negotiations going until
the
end of the certification year, in June, at which point a decertification
petition could be filed. While withdrawal of an offer previously made does not
in itself necessarily violate the statutory obligation to bargain, it may be a
significant fact indicating bad faith. See, e.g., Texas Coca-Cola Bottling Co
., 146 NLRB 420, 430 (1964) [enfd. 365 F.2d 321 (C.A. 5, 1966)]; Shovel Supply
Company, Inc ., 162 NLRB 460, 473 (1966), and cases there cited. Thus
Respondent's withdrawal of its proposal of a maintenance-of-membership
provision
and its refusal to reinstate such offer are material in appraising Respondent's
good or bad faith in the negotiations.
It has been held that, although it is unlawful for an employer to withdraw
recognition of and discontinue negotiations with a union because of doubt as to
its continuing majority within the certification year, it is not unlawful for
the employer to withdraw an offer of a [**46] unionshop provision because of
such doubt within the certification year. S & L Co., of Billings , 159 NLRB
903
(1966). It is reasonable for an employer to resist compelling employees to join
a union, upon penalty of discharge, when he has reasonable cause to believe
that
a majority of the employees disapprove and may soon want to exercise their
right
to be rid of the union. See Furr's Cafeteria, Inc ., 179 NLRB 240 (1969), in
which a panel majority held that an employer did not violate the Act by
adamantly insisting upon a short-term contract when, shortly after the
certification, it acquired a good-faith doubt as to the Union's majority. In
both S & L and Furr's Cafeteria the employers offered maintenance-of-membership
clauses despite their doubts as to the unions' majorities.
Thus, while an employer generally may not refuse to recognize and bargain
with a union within the year following its certification, regardless of his
doubt concerning its continued favor among the employees, he may reasonably
refuse to participate in keeping employees tied to such union if he entertains
a
reasonable doubt as to its continued majority. However, to the extent that an
employer [**47] seeks to justify its bargaining positions by asserting such a
doubt, presumably his good faith can be tested by the appropriateness of his
positions to the asserted end.
In the present case Mackessy maintained that he withdrew his offer of a
maintenance-of-membership clause because, in view of his asserted doubt as to
continuing majority, he would no longer commit Respondent to discharging any
employees for not maintaining their union membership. His position in this
regard does not withstand analysis.
The ability of the employees to rid themselves of the Union would not be
affected by the existence of a maintenance-of-membership clause, since it is
well-established Board law that a union may not, even under a union-security
provision, affect an employee's employment because of his sponsorship of a
decertification petition. International Molders' and Allied Workers Union,
Local No. 125 (Blackhawk Tanning Co., Inc .), 178 NLRB 208 (1969); Tri-Rivers
Marine Engineers Union (United States Steel Corporation ), 189 NLRB 838 (1971);
Local Union No. 953, Textile Workers Union (Visinet Mill, Bemis Company, Inc.
),
[*1319] 189 NLRB 598, 604 (1971). And even though, as previously [**48]
observed, the union cards here used may have included an acceptance of union
membership, the signing of such cards during the organizing campaign would not
subject the signers to the rigors of a contractual maintenance-of-membership
provision subsequently adopted unless they were willing to be so bound.
International Brotherhood of Operative Potters, AFL-CIO (Macomb Pottery Company
), 171 NLRB 565 (1968); Fort Smith Outerwear, Inc., et al ., 205 NLRB 592, 593,
fn. 3 (1973).
While it may be reasonable for an employer to resist compelling unwilling
employees to join a union, it is quite a different matter to participate in
requiring those who voluntarily join to maintain their membership so long as
the
union serves as the collective-bargaining representative. Cf. S & L Co., of
Billings, supra . Respondent apparently took cognizance of this distinction
when, while rejecting the Union's demand for a union-security shop, it
originally offered a maintenance-of-membership provision. However, in deciding
to withdraw the proposal, Mackessy ignored the distinction, telling Sullivan
that Respondent "just can't fire people because they don't want to join the
union under any [**49] circumstances." This position is indistinguishable
from
that taken by Respondent at the beginning of the negotiations, when it offered
a maintenance-of-membership clause as a counterproposal to the Union's request
for a union-security provision. A good-faith doubt as the Union's continuing
majority could not rationally explain withdrawal of the
maintenance-of-membership proposal, under which union membership would be
required only of those people who voluntarily chose it.
In any event, I discredit Mackessy's claim of such good-faith doubt. Without
reviewing the detailed reasons for this credibility resolution, it is perhaps
sufficient to point to Mackessy's insistence that he relied primarily on the
apparent lack of employee support for the three strikes (principally the second
and third), all of which occurred a considerable length of time after
Respondent
withdrew its maintenance-of-membership proposal. Further, the employees'
failure to support a strike does not in itself "necessarily indicate that they
have repudiated the striking union as their bargaining representative." Palmer
Asbestos & Rubber Corporation , 160 NLRB 723, 730 (1966); Frick Co ., 175 NLRB
233, fn. [**50] 1 (1969), enfd. 423 F.2d 1327 (C.A. 3, 1970); McCready &
Sons, Inc ., 195 NLRB 28, fn. 1 (1972). Nor does employee turnover in the
bargaining unit by itself justify a doubt of continuing majority. Kentucky
News, Incorporated , 165 NLRB 777, 778 (1967). Similarly, "undetailed rumors
from unidentified sources that unrest and dissatisfaction existed" are
insufficient. Terrell Machine Company , 173 NLRB 1480, 1481-82 (1969).
Mackessy's demeanor, together with Respondent's failure to provide
corroborative or specific evidence and the demonstrated falsity of his
declaration of motivation, satisfies me "not only that the witness' testimony
is
not true, but that the truth is the opposite of his story." Dyer v. MacDougall
,
201 F.2d 265, 269 (C.A. 2), quoted with approval in N.L.R.B. v. Walton
Manufacturing Co., et al ., 369 U.S. 404, 408 (1962).
While the withdrawal of an offer which the Union had rejected would not, in
itself, warrant a conclusion of bad faith, the picture entirely changed when
Mackessy volunteered a patently false explanation. The explanation for
Respondent's change of heart in April which comes to mind most readily is the
hope of decertification [**51] after end of the certification year in June.
Mackessy's denial of such motivation was unimpressive. When asked if he had
ever discussed a decertification petition, he replied, unresponsively: "We've
never filed a decertification certificate." When pressed further to state
whether a decertification petition had ever been discussed, he replied: "With
somebody else maybe, with the employees they've discussed it amongst
themselves,
but I have no knowledge of it and I've never discussed it." He volunteered that
Respondent had not filed a certification petition in the past when it "had the
Mine Workers in there for three years." While Respondent has not previously
been
found guilty of refusal to bargain in good faith, some 6 years of employee
unionization and several strikes without ever reaching a contract suggest, at
best, unusually hard bargaining and, more realistically, raise a suspicion of
determination not to agree, which casts light on Respondent's present conduct.
On all the evidence (and the lack of evidence provided by Respondent), I find
that the April 4 withdrawal of Respondent's proposal of a
maintenance-of-membership clause was designed to prevent consummation of an
agreement [**52] before the end of the certification year.
b. Wages
The complaint alleges that Respondent violated Section 8(a)(5) by refusing to
give the Union information concerning the identity of the employees who would
receive wage increases and the amount of individual raises under Respondent's
proposal of a 5-1/2-percent increase to be distributed on a merit basis.
Respondent contends that, as it told the Union during negotiations, it was
unable to provide such information at the time, since the answers would depend
on claculations to be made under a point system. Respondent apparently also
contends that computing and providing such information would be futile, since
the Union would not accept the merit principle.
It has been held that an employer does not necessarily manifest bad faith by
insisting upon a system of merit increases. See, e.g., Technology Instrument
Corporation , 187 NLRB 830, 841 (1971); Schweigers, Inc ., 185 NLRB 420,
423-424
(1970), modified 453 F.2d 255 (C.A. 8, 1971). However, a wage increase offer
may be such as to negative good faith when, for example, as in the present
case,
it would leave to the employer virtually complete control as to who would
[**53]
receive increases. See, e.g., Southwestern Porcelain Steel Corporation , 134
NLRB 1733, 1744 (1961), enfd. 317 F.2d 527 (C.A. 10, 1963):
In view of the record as a whole I am of the opinion and find that
notwithstanding this offer, Respondent had no intention of entering into a
contract with the Union and did not bargain in good faith as required by the
Act. Respondent undoubtedly was fully cognizant of the untenable position the
Union would be in if it were to accept an offer resulting in a wage increase to
only about half of the employees. Accordingly it could [*1320] make the
offer
with reasonable assurance that it could not and would not be accepted....
Similarly, in the present case it would appear on the face of it that the Union
could not reasonably be expected to have employee support for wage increases
without any prior indication of how much, if any, increase individual employees
would receive. This conclusion is perhaps strengthened by the fact that only
23
percent of the employees had benefited from a merit increase granted in 1972.
201 NLRB 450 at 451.
That the Union was repeatedly asking for a list of proposed individual
increases clearly indicates that it had [**54] not irreversibly rejected
Respondent's proposal in principle. Respondent could hardly expect the Union
to
reverse its position and accept the merit principle as the sole basis for wage
increases without knowing how the principle would be applied.
It is reasonable to assume that if the Respondent had been seriously
attempting to reach agreement with the Union it would have made the effort to
compile the list demanded by the Union. In this connection it bears emphasis
that the Union repeated its request when the only issues open were the
maintenance-of-membership and wage issues, and the Union had offered to accept
Respondent's original maintenance-of-membership proposal if coupled with a
6-percent across-the-board wage increase. Thus computation of the actual
individual increases could hardly be called premature, particularly since it
was
"in late 1971" that Mackessy had asked his supervisors to prepare a list for
wage increases granted in April 1972. 201 NLRB 450 at 451. As has been said
"preparation for discussion or its lack" is a significant factor in determining
the good faith of a party to bargaining. N.L.R.B. v. W. R. Hall , 341 F.2d 359,
362 (C.A. 10, 1965). If, [**55] as Mackessy indicated, Respondent had a
"point system" in effect, there is no apparent reason why he could not have met
the Union's request.
Not only did Respondent fail to present the requested list of proposed
individual wage increases, but, as I have previously found, it failed even to
provide details as to an alleged objective point system to be used. Manifestly
the Union could not intelligently or reasonably appraise Respondent's proposal
without that information.
c. Conclusion as to Section 8(a)(5)
On the record as a whole, I find and conclude that Respondent, while
appearing to bargain openly and in good faith, was actually progressively
determined not to reach agreement within the certification year. Its wage
proposal, coupled with failure to provide the Union with the facts necessary
for
informed consideration of that proposal, and withdrawal of its porposal for a
maintenance-of-membership clause about 2-1/2 months before the end of the
certification year appear clearly calculated to prevent final agreement. See
N.L.R.B. v. Arkansas Rice Growers Cooperative Association , 395 F.2d 745 (C.A.
8, 1968). As said in N.L.R.B. v. Herman Sausage Co., Inc [**56] ., 275 F.2d
229, 232 (C.A. 5, 1960), "bad faith is prohibited though done with
sophistication and finesse."
The complaint alleges refusal to bargain since January 26, 1973. It was on
that date that the Union presented its original economic demands. In my
opinion
the evidence is insufficient to establish Respondent's bad faith at that time.
While the bad faith may have commenced much earlier, the first hard evidence
thereof came on April 4.
2. Surveillance
That Respondent openly took pictures of peaceful picketing by employees
during each of the three 1-day strikes is undisputed. The evidence heretofore
summarized establishes that the photography was not occasioned by any mass
picketing, violence, or other unlawful conduct. Mackessy indicated that he had
taken pictures and had Rogers take pictures as a routine, sound practice,
presumably to have a "record" in the event there might be some misconduct and
Respondent should later decide to institute some form of legal action.Mackessy
openly stated that one of the reasos for the picture taking was to identify the
employees who picketed. Although he did not expressly so testifiy, he
apparently sought to justify an anticipatory [**57] fear of misconduct by
intimating that there had been some during the earlier strike, which Lamb and
Sherman had directed at a time when an unspecified number of present employees
had also been in its employ.
The Board has frequently held that, absent unusual circumstances, it
constitutes unlawful surveillance of protected concerted activities for an
employer to photograph his employees' peaceful picketing. R. D. Goss, Inc .,
203
NLRB 1173 (1973); Puritana Manufacturing Corporation , 159 NLRB 518, 519, fn. 2
(1966). On the other hand, it is permissible for an employer to photograph
unlawful conduct on a picket line for the sincere purpose of securing evidence
for use in an injunction action. See, e.g., Stark Ceramics, Inc., 155 NLRB
1258, 1269 (1965), enfd. 375 F.2d 202 (C.A. 6, 1967); Hilton Mobile Homes ,
155
NLRB 873, 874 (1965), enfd. in part 387 F.2d 7 (C.A. 8, 1967). However, it is
insufficient for an employer merely to claim that pictures were taken for use
in
litigation when they are not actually used for such purpose. N.L.R.B. v.
Rybold
Heater Company , 408 F.2d 888, 891 (C.A. 6, 1969), enfg. 165 NLRB 331, 333-335
(1967). And pictures of lawful, [**58] peaceful picketing cannot be so
justified. Radio Industries, Inc ., 101 NLRB 912, 914, 925 (1952).
It has recently been held that "the apparent photographing of outside union
organizers and an employee, which was observed by one employee" was too
isolated
an occurrence to warrant a finding of a Section 8(a)(1) violation. Summit
Nursing and Convalescent Home, Inc ., 204 NLRB 70, fn. 1 (1973). On the other
hand, repeated photographing of peaceful picketing by employees is inherently
coercive. Russell Sportswear Corp ., 197 NLRB 1116 (1972), enforcement denied
on other grounds § 3 LRRM 2225, 71 LC P13,667 (C.A. 6, 1973). Manifestly it is
difficult, if not impossible, to construct any precise formula for determining
the circumstances under which an employer would have a legitimate reason for
taking pictures of picket activity by his employees.
But it has been held that purely "anticipatory" photographing of peaceful
picketing "in the event something 'might' happen does not justify Respondent's
conduct [*1321] when balanced against the tendency of that conduct to
interfere with the employees' right to engage in concerted activity." Flambeau
Plastics Corporation, 167 NLRB [**59] 735, 743 (1967), enfd. 401 F.2d 128,
136
(C.A. 7, 1968), cert. denied 393 U.S. 1019 (1969). This ruling appears to fit
the present case precisely.
Accordingly, I find that, as alleged, by photographing the picketing on April
23 and May 1 and 7. Respondent engaged in unlawful surveillance in violation
of
Section 8(a)(1).
3. The DePalma incident
As set forth above, there is no dispute that DePalma demanded the presence
of fellow employee Glaletta, a member of the Union's negotiating committee, as
a
condition of reporting to Rodgers' office when ordered to do so on April 27.
Although Respondent contends that the purpose of the interview was not "
disciplinary." Rodgers conceded that "most of the times" be talked to DePalma
in
the office it was "to reprimand her for one thing or another", that he had
previously given her two written reprimands, one for errors in her production
count; and that on April 27 he intended to talk to her about her erroneous
production counts and warn her that if her work did not improve "something more
severe would happen." To say that such an anticipated interview would not be "
disciplinary" makes a mockery of words. And certainly DePalma's prior history,
[**60] which included being denied a wage increase in part at least because of
erroneous production cards, would lead her reasonably to fear that she was in
danger of disciplinary action.
The nature and extent of an employee's statutory right, if any, to be
represented in interviews with management is currently the subject of
considerable legal controversy. A majority of the present Board members
(Chairman Miller and Members Fanning and Jenkins) subscribe to the view that
the
employee has a right to such representation in any interview, whether strictly
"
disciplinary" or merely preliminarily investigatory. Quality Mfg. Co., 195 NLRB
197 (1972); Mobil Oil Corporation, 196 NLRB 1052 (1972); J. Weingarten, Inc.,
202 NLRB 446 (1973); New York Telephone Company, 203 NLRB 1153 (1973); National
Can Corporation, 200 NLRB 1116 (1972).Member Penello holds that the statutory
right to representation extends only to strictly disciplinary interviews and
does not cover preliminary investigatory interviews. National Can Corp., supra;
J. Weingarten, Inc., supra . Member Kennedy, however, believes that there is no
statutorily protected right in an employee to have representation [**61] at
interviews with management; in his view, any such right can arise only through
contract. Mobil Oil Corporation, supra; J. Weingarten, Inc., supra . The
courts
which have passed on the question to date have rejected the Board's majority
view in favor of Member Kennedy's position. N.L.R.B. v. Quality Mfg. Co., 481
F.2d 1018 (C.A. 4); Mobil Oil Corp. v. N.L.R.B., 482 F.2d 842 (C.A. 7). J.
Weingarten, Inc. is now pending in the Fifth Circuit on the Board's petition
for
enforcement (No. 73-1891). n19 [ 485 F.2d 1135, reversed and remanded 420 U.S.
251 (1975).] Whatever the ultimate resolution of the issue, presumably by
decision of the Supreme Court, I am now bound by the Board's Decisions cited
above. Iowa Beef Packers, Inc., 144 NLRB 615, 616 (1963), enfd. in part 331
F.2d 176 (C.A. 8, 1964).
n19 The cases here cited were all decided under Sec. 8(a)(1) of the Act. It
would serve no useful purpose to discuss related decisions in which the Board
has held that denial of union representation in employee interviews with
management may violate Sec. 8(a)(5). See, e.g., Western Electric Company,
Hawthorne Works, 198 NLRB 623 (1972). The Board's Decisions in such cases have
also fared badly in the courts. See Analysis, 83 LRRM 49. [**62]
While the Board Decisions clearly establish the existence of some statutory
right for a employee to be represented in any interview with management which
might, or which the employee reasonably fears might, lead to eventual
disciplinary or other action affecting employment security, the precise nature
of such right is not clear. All the cases cited speak generally in terms of
the
right to "union representation," or to representation by the employee's
"statutory representative." So far as appears, in all those cases there were
collective-bargaining agreements under which presumably union representatives
were recognized for "grievance" purposes. In none of them was any question
raised concerning the authority of the particular union representatives chosen
to represent or appear with the employee.
Although Respondent did not present oral argument or file a brief in the
present case, counsel's examination of witnesses suggests that Respondent
maintains that DePalma could not insist on Galetta's presence since Galetta was
not a proper "union representative." To support this contention, Respondent's
counsel examined Galetta as follows:
Q. (By Mr. Sullivan)... Now, are you [**63] a steward in the union?
A. I'm a member of the negotiating team.
Q. And no stewards have been elected or officers?
A. To my knowledge I was just voted in as a member of the regotiating team.
member of the negotiating team.
Q. And to your knowledge the company has not been informed as to any
designated representatives, on the premises, of the employees?
A. Well, I would say they are advised because we have to ask permission to
leave to go to negotiating meetings, so they had been advised to that extent.
Q. Other than the fact that you're on the negotiating team, you have no
other assigned duties then, I take it?
A. I know of none, no other assigned duties but my job.
In this connection, it is intersting to note that the Case 3- CA-4881, 201 NLRB
450 at 451, it is stated that "in the spring of 1971 [DePalma] was elected
union
steward for the employees on the first shift." There is no evidence in the
present record concerning DePalma's current status. However, according to the
uncontradicted testimony of both Galetta and DePalma, Respondent made it clear
that, in the absence of a collective-bargaining agreement, it [*1322] would
not recognize any "union representative" [**64] for employees. n20
n20 When informed that Galetta was appearing as a "union representative," or
"witness," Rodgers said: "Nina, you do not have a union and we do not recognize
a union."
Administrative Law Judge von Rohr has apparently accepted Respondent's
present position that an employee's right in situations like the present is
limited to representation by a person previously identified to the employer as
an authorized representative of the union. ( First National Bank of New Smprna
Beach, 204 NLRB 127, 135 (1973).) However, that ruling was never reviewed by
the
Board, but rather was simply adopted pro forma, in the absence of exceptions.
(204 NLRB 127.) Accordingly, I do not consider it as binding precedent. For
reasons hereafter set forth, I respectfully disagree with Judge von Rohr's
Decision.
The Board has made it unequivocally clear that its rulings are not based on
or designed to vindicate the union's status as bargaining representative, but
rather the employees' right to engage in concerted activity.For example, in
Quality Manufacturing Company, supra, 195 NLRB at 198, the Board said:
After reflection, we have concluded that it is a serious violation [**65] of
an employee's individual right to be represented by his union if he can only
request or insist on such representation under penalty of disciplinary action.
And while the employer's denial of such a request may not derogate the
bargaining rights of the union, in violation of Section 8(a)(5), in the case of
a purely investigatory interview, this is not to say either: (a) that the
employer may discipline the employee for demanding representation; or (b) that
the employer may insist, by threatening to discipline the employee's
representative, that the interview be held without his presence.
As to the first question, the violation seems to us clear and unequivocal.
The underlying considerations were explicated in Mobil Oil Corporation as
follows (196 NLRB 1052):
An employee's right to union representation upon request is based on Section
7 of the Act which guarantees the right of employees to act in concert for
"mutual aid and protection." The denial of this right has a reasonable tendency
to interfere with, restrain, and coerce employees in violation of Section
8(a)(1) of the Act. Thus, it is a serious violation of the employee's
individual right to engage in concerted activity [**66] by seeking the
assistance of his statutory representative of the employer denies the
employee's
request and compels the employee to appear unassisted at an interview which
might put his job security in jeopardy. Such a dilution of the employee's
right
to act collectively to protect his job interests is, in our view, unwarranted
interference with his right to insist on concerted protection, rather than
individual self-protection, against possible adverse employer action.
[Emphasis
supplied.]
It thus appears that the right involved is not dependent upon the existence
of a union as the collective-bargaining representative. Under the rationale of
Quality Mfg. Co. and Mobil, DePalma would have had the right to refuse to
attend
the interview in Rodgers' office without the presence of a fellow employee even
if there were no union on the scene whatsoever. That only DePalma was in
jeopardy does not present her enlisting a fellow employee's support; it is
protected concerted activity when employees join together to protest employer
action against an individual. N.L.R.B. v. Peter Cailler Kohler Swiss
Chocolates
Company, Inc., 130 F.2d 503, 505-506 (C.A. 2, 1942). [**67] As I see the
matter, DePalma was, in the words of Mobil, asserting her "right to insist on
concerted protection, rather than individual self-protection, against possible
adverse employer action." It is undoubtedly recognition of this right which led
Mackessy to permit DePalma to have a fellow employee present when she was
interviewed by management on October 21, 1971, before the Union had been
certified. (Case 3-CA-4715.) n21
n21 Since DePalma was acting pursuant to instructions or advice given by the
Union's managers and there was no relevant contractual provision or
understanding between the Union and Respondent, it is unnecessary in the
present
case to consider what limitations might be placed on the Quality Mfg. and Mobil
Oil rule by Sec. 9(a) of the Act or by a contract. Cf. Western Electric
Company, 198 NLRB 623 (1972), Chairman Miller's concurring opinion; Western
Addition Company Organization v. N.L.R.B., 485 F.2d 917 (C.A.D.C., 1973).
For the foregoing reasons, I find and conclude that, as alleged in the
complaint, Respondent violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act on April 27 by
refusing to permit Galetta to accompany DePalma in an interview [**68] with
Rodgers and by disciplining DePalma for refusing to participate in the
interview
without the presence of Galetta. n22
n22 As did the Board in Quality Mfg. Co., supra, 195 NLRB at 199, fn. 8, I
refrain from determining whether, as the complaint alleges, the discipline of
DePalma also violated Sec. 8(a)(1), since such a determination would not affect
the remedy.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. Since April 4, 1973, Respondent has violated Section 8(a)(5) of the Act
by failing to bargain in good faith with the Union as the exclusive bargaining
representative of its employees in the following appropriate bargaining unit:
All production and maintenance employees employed by the Respondent at its 432
North Franklin Street, Syracuse, New York, plant, excluding all office clerical
employees, casual employees, professional employees, guards and supervisors as
defined in the Act.
2. By photographing the picketing of Respondent's plant on April 23 and May
1 and 7, 1973, Respondent has engaged in unlawful surveillance and thus has
committed unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8(a)(1) of the
Act.
3. By refusing to permit Dorothy Galetta to accompany Nina DePalma as [**69]
an interview in the office of Respondent's management representative on April
27, 1973, and by disciplining DePalma for refusing to participate in such
interview without the presence of Galetta, Respondent has engaged in unfair
labor practices within the meaning of Section 8(a)(1) of the Act.
4. The foregoing unfair labor practices affect commerce within the meaning
of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
[*1323] THE REMEDY
Having found that Respondent has engaged in unfair labor practices, I shall
recommend that Respondent be ordered to cease and desist therefrom and take
affirmative action of the type customarily ordered in such cases.
Because the evidence indicates that Respondent has been bargaining in had
faith in the hope that a successful decertification petition will be
forthcoming
at the end of the certification year, I shall recommend that the certification
year be extended through 1 year after Respondent commences to bargain in good
faith. Big Three Industries, Inc., 201 NLRB 700 (1973).I shall also recommend
that Respondent be required to meet the Union's requests for relevant
information reasonably necessary for contract negotiations.
Having found that Nina DePalma [**70] was unlawfully disciplined on April
27, 1973, I shall recommend that Respondent be ordered to expunge all reference
to the incident from its records and to compensate her for any loss of pay she
suffered as a result of such discrimination, such compensation to include
interest at the rate of 6 percent per annum in accordance with Isis Plumbing &
Heating Co., 138 NLRB 716 (1962).
I shall also recommend that Respondent be required to destroy all
photographic evidence it obtained by its unlawful surveillance.
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, conclusions of law, and the
entire record in this proceeding, and pursuant to Section 10(c) of the Act, I
hereby issue the following recommended:
ORDER n23
n23 In the event no exceptions are filed as provided by Sec. 102.46 of the
Rules and Regulations of the National Labor Relations Board, the findings,
conclusions, and recommended Order herein shall, as provided in Sec. 102.48 of
the Rules and Regulations, be adopted by the Board and become its findings,
conclusions, and Order, and all objections thereto shall be deemed waived for
all purposes.
The Respondent, Glomac Plastics, Inc., Syracuse, New York, its officers,
[**71] agents, successors, and assigns, shall:
1. Cease and desist from:
(a) Refusing to bargain collectively in good faith concerning wages, hours,
and other terms and conditions of employment with Textile Workers Union of
America, AFL-CIO-CLC, as the exclusive representative of all production and
maintenance employees employed by the Respondent at its 432 North Franklin
Street, Syracuse, New York, plant, excluding all office clerical employees,
casual employees, professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in
the Act.
(b) Refusing to furnish the aforesaid Union, upon request, information
concerning the specific individual wage increases which would be granted under
Respondent's contract proposal and concerning the precise method of determining
such increases, as well as any other information relevant and material to the
bargaining between the parties.
(c) Engaging in unlawful surveillance of its employees' protected concerted
activities by photographing such activities.
(d) Requiring, by threats of discipline or otherwise, that any employee take
part in an interview or meeting with any supervisor or representative of
Respondent without the presence of an employee [**72] representative if such
representation has been requested by the employee and if the employee has
reasonable grounds to believe that the matters to be discussed may result in
subjecting the employee to disciplinary action.
(e) Disciplining any employee for refusing to take part without
representation in any interview or meeting where the employee has reasonable
grounds to believe that the matters to be discussed may result in the
employee's
being the subject of disciplinary action.
(f) In any like or related manner interfering with, restraining or coercing
employees in the exercise of their right to engage in, or to refrain from
engaging in, any or all of the activities specified in Section 7 of the Act,
except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring
membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment, as authorized
in Section 8(a)(3) of the Act, as modified by the Labor-Management Reporting
and
Disclosure Act of 1959.
2. Take the following affirmative action designed to effectuate the policies
of the Act:
(a) Bargain collectively in good faith concerning wages, hours, and other
terms and conditions of employment with Textile Workers [**73] Union of
America, AFL-CIO-CLC, as the exclusive representative of all production and
maintenance employees employed by the Respondent at its 432 North Franklin
Street, Syracuse, New York, plant, excluding all office clerical employees,
casual employees, professional employees, guards and supervisors as defined in
the Act.
(b) Furnish the aforesaid Union, on request, information concerning the
specific individual wage increases which would be granted under Respondent's
contract proposal and concerning the precise method of determining such
increases, as well as all other information relevant and material to the
bargaining between the parties.
(c) Expunge from its records all reference to any disciplinary or other
action taken with respect to Nina DePalma or Dorothy Galetta related to
DePalma's attempt to have Galetta accompany her at an interview with management
representatives on April 27, 1973.
(d) Destroy all photographs and copies thereof (including both negatives and
positives) taken by or on behalf of Respondent of picketing of Respondent's
plant on April 23 and May 1 and 7, 1973.
(e) Compensate Nina DePalma for any pay she lost by reason of her leaving
work early on April [**74] 27, 1973, said compensation to include interest at
the rate of 6 percent per annum.
(f) Post at its facility in Syracuse, New York, copies of the attached notice
marked "Appendix." n24 Copies of said notice, on forms provided by the Regional
Director for Region 3, after being duly signed by Respondent's representative,
[*1324] shall be posted by Respondent immediately upon receipt thereof, and be
maintained by it for 60 consecutive days thereafter, in conspicuous places,
including all places where notices to employees are customarily posted.
Reasonable steps shall be taken to insure that said notices are not altered,
defaced, or covered by any other material.
n24 In the event that this Order is enforced by a Judgment of a United States
Court of Appeals, the words in the notice reading "Posted by Order of the
National Labor Relations Board" shall read "Posted Pursuant to a Judgment of
the
United States Court of Appeals Enforcing an Order of the National Labor
Relations Board."
(g) Notify the Regional Director for Region 3, in writing, within 20 days
from the date of this Order, what steps the Respondent has taken to comply
herewith.
APPENDIX
NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER [**75] OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
An Agency of the United States Government
After a hearing in which all parties had the chance to give evidence, it has
been decided that we, Glomac Plastics, Inc., have violated the National Labor
Relations Act and we have been ordered to post this notice. We intend to abide
by the following:
WE WILL, in good faith, bargain collectively with Textile Workers Union of
America, AFL-CIO-CLC, as the exclusive representative of all production and
maintenance employees employed by us at our 423 North Franklin Street,
Syracuse,
New York, plant, excluding all office clerical employees, casual employees,
professional employees, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act. Regard
the Union as exclusive agent as if the initial year of certification has been
extended for an additional year from the commencement of bargaining pursuant
hereto.
WE WILL, upon request, furnish to the Union all information relevant and
material to the bargaining between us.
WE WILL compensate Nina DePalma for any pay the lost because she refused to
be interviewed by a management representative on April 27, 1973, without an
employee or union representative being present. [**76]
WE WILL expunge from our records any and all reference to the incident on
April 27, 1973, in which we refused to permit Dorothy Galetta to accompany Nina
DePalma in an interview requested by Plant Manager William H. Rodgers.
WE WILL destroy all photographs (and copies and negatives hereof) that we
took of picket activities at our plant on April 23 and May 1 and 7, 1973.
WE WILL NOT, by photographing or otherwise, engage in surveillance of the
peaceful picketing or other protected concerted activities of our employees.
WE WILL NOT require any employee to take part in an interview or meeting
where the employee has reasonable grounds to believe that the matter or matters
to be discussed may result in the employee's being the subject of disciplinary
action and where we have refused that employee's request to be represented at
such meeting by a union or other employee representative.
All our employees are free to become or remain or refrain from becoming or
remaining members of the Textile Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO-CLC, or any
other labor organization, except to the extent that this right may be affected
by an agreement in conformity with Section 8(a)(3) of the National [**77]
Labor
Relations Act, as amended.
GLOMAC PLASTICS, INC.