McKinney ex rel. National Labor Relations Board v. Southern Bakeries, LLC

38 F. Supp. 3d 1019, 2014 WL 3973858, 200 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3368, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112851
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Arkansas
DecidedAugust 14, 2014
DocketCivil No. 4:14-cv-4037
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 38 F. Supp. 3d 1019 (McKinney ex rel. National Labor Relations Board v. Southern Bakeries, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McKinney ex rel. National Labor Relations Board v. Southern Bakeries, LLC, 38 F. Supp. 3d 1019, 2014 WL 3973858, 200 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3368, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112851 (W.D. Ark. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SUSAN O. HICKEY, District Judge.

Before the Court is Petition for 10(j) Injunctive Relief filed by M. Kathleen McKinney (“McKinney”), the Regional Director of Region 15 of the National Labor Relations Board. (ECF No. 1). Defendant Southern Bakeries, LLC (“Southern Bakeries”) has responded. (ECF No. 20). McKinney has replied. (ECF No. 23) Defendant Southern Bakeries has filed a surreply. (ECF No. 29). The Court finds the matter ripe for consideration.1

BACKGROUND

Southern Bakeries is a commercial bakery facility in Hope, Arkansas. In 2005, Southern Bakeries purchased the plant from Myer’s Bakeries, Inc. Southern Bakeries hired a majority of the former Meyer’s Bakeries employees and recognized the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, Local 111 (“the Union”) as the collective bargaining agent for its production and sanitation employees. The parties memorialized this relationship in several contracts, with the most recent agreement running from February 8, 2010, to February 8, 2012. The international union representative, Cesar Calderon, serviced the bargaining unit. In servicing the bargaining unit, Calderon handled grievances and bargaining.

On December 7, 2011, a Southern Bakeries employee filed a decertification petition with the National Labor Relations Board (“the Board”) seeking to oust the Union. In response to the petition, the Union filed allegations of unfair labor charges against Southern Bakeries with the Board and blocked the decertification election sought by the employees.

After the employee filed the petition, the Union increased visits to Southern Bakeries. The Collective Bargaining Agreement' between Southern Bakeries and the Union addressed the Union’s1 access to Southern Bakeries’s facility. Specifically, the Collective Bargaining Agreement provided that:

[Southern Bakeries] agrees that a duly authorized representative of the Union shall be granted permission to enter the production and sanitation departments for the purpose of seeing that the Agreement is being observed after giving the company preferably twelve (12) hours actual notice to the most senior [m]anagement [ojfficial, [p]lant [m]anager, and/or [h]uman [resources [mjanager of their intent to visit the facility. The Company in its sole discretion may accept a reduced notice period in the event of an urgent or emergency situation. The visit will be subject to the Union representative being accompanied by a [c]ompany [representative, except between designated employee break areas on the most direct route and provided that there will be no interference with the employee[s’] working time. Any entry to the [production and/or [sanitation [departments must be preapproved by the [p]lant [m]anager and a [c]ompany [representative must accompany the Union representative beyond the employee break area[s]. The Union [1025]*1025[representative agrees to limit the break room visitation to a Company designated break room area. The Union [representative must comply with all of the Company’s standard rules and regulations, including the Companies [n]on-disclosure Policy, which will require the Union [representative to sign a [n]on-[d]isclosure [ajgreement.

Calderon testified that before the first decertification petition, the Union freely met with the employees in the break area. He testified that Southern Bakeries only asked for advance notice of the visits and did not monitor the subject matter or frequency of the visits. Rick Ledbetter, the Company’s executive vice president and general manager, also testified that Southern Bakeries enjoyed a “level of trust” with the Union. However, after employee filed the first decertification petition, Calderon testified that the circumstances surrounding the Union’s visits changed.

For example, on March 20, 2012, Calderon stated that when he arrived at Southern Bakeries to visit with employees, Dan Banks (“Banks”), the Director of Manufacturing, met him and escorted him to the vending machine area in the break room. A small cubicle had been set up for Calderon to meet with employees within the break room. Calderon testified that Banks told him that employee complaints resulted in the implementation of a new procedure for meetings with employees. Banks told Calderon that he needed to identify who he wanted to meet and Banks would retrieve those employees for Calderon. Calderon refused to abide by this new procedure and insisted that Banks allow him to meet with employees freely. Banks denied him that access and threatened to call the police. Calderon left the facility after only a short meeting. After leaving the facility, Calderon learned that an employee had accused him of improper hugging. Calderon denied the allegation.2

A few days later, on March 23, 2012, Ledbetter wrote Calderon a letter banning him from the facility. The letter stated that Southern Bakeries had received another employee complaint concerning inappropriate conduct by Calderon and, in response to the complaint, Southern Bakeries sought to prohibit Calderon from accessing its property until an investigation had been completed. Southern Bakeries later reinstated Calderon’s access rights as part of an informal Board settlement agreement. Thereafter, on May 23, 2012, an employee filed a second decertification petition with the Board. A decertification election was scheduled for February 7, 2013.

On January 8, 2013, Calderon met with Ledbetter and other Southern Bakeries management employees at the plant. They discussed the installation of surveillance cameras in the break area. The cameras had been installed without notice or bargaining with the Union. Ledbetter explained that the cameras were installed to defer theft. Specifically, employees had complained about a stolen cell phone and stolen lunches. In response to the Union’s complaints, Ledbetter offered to cover the cameras whenever the Union visited.

On January 16, 2013, Ledbetter sent the Union a letter stating that Southern Bakeries had reason to believe that the Union had been visiting the facility to campaign and solicit support for the decertification election, which he thought were inconsistent with the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Ledbetter reiterated the policy for [1026]*1026Union visits to the facility. Specifically, Ledbetter stated that the Union could not access the premises without first informing Southern Bakeries of the issue it sought to investigate and the specific employees it planned to meet. Thereafter, when the Union requested access to the facility, Southern Bakeries frequently denied access because the Union’s request did not comply with the policy.

On January 17, 2013, Southern Bakeries posted a memorandum for employees. Southern Bakeries labeled the memorandum: “Answers to Employee Questions Dated January 16, 2013.” The memorandum contained the following statements:

The [U]nion appears to have plans to take our employees out on strike here in Hope, same as they did recently at Hostess, where over 18,000 jobs were lost and 33 bakeries and 500 retail outlets were closed. Perhaps that is why the International (Maryland) BCTGM representatives have come to Hope.
The [U]nion[’s] statement that [Southern Bakeries] is ‘gonna fire [H]ispanics (Latino employees) if they change their names simply makes us sad and is entirely false.

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Related

M. Kathleen McKinney v. Southern Bakeries, LLC
786 F.3d 1119 (Eighth Circuit, 2015)

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Bluebook (online)
38 F. Supp. 3d 1019, 2014 WL 3973858, 200 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3368, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112851, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mckinney-ex-rel-national-labor-relations-board-v-southern-bakeries-llc-arwd-2014.