National Labor Relations Board v. Cjc Holdings, Inc.

97 F.3d 114, 153 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2580, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 27162
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedOctober 16, 1996
Docket95-60273
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 97 F.3d 114 (National Labor Relations Board v. Cjc Holdings, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Labor Relations Board v. Cjc Holdings, Inc., 97 F.3d 114, 153 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2580, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 27162 (5th Cir. 1996).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “the Board”) filed an Application for Enforcement of its December 16, 1994 order requiring Petitioner, CJC Holdings, Inc. (“CJC”) to provide the Union a seniority list and to bargain with the Union in good faith pursuant to the terms of the collective bargaining contract. CJC contends that the NLRB’s order is not supported by either the law or the evidence in the record as a whole and asks this Court to deny enforcement. After reviewing the record and the applicable law, we conclude that the petition for enforcement should be granted.

I. FACTS

CJC manufactures jewelry in Austin, Texas. The company has recognized Local 1751, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, AFL-CIO (the “Union”). The most recent contract between CJC and the Union was a five-year contract running from June 7,1989 to June 6,1994.

The contract permitted the Union to request a seniority list from the company every three months to find out about new employees and to update its records. By letter dated March 5, 1992, the union president requested from the company a seniority list of all employees, including their addresses, dates of hire, pay rates, and social security numbers. One reason for the Union’s request for employees’ addresses was that over 60 copies of its February 1992 newsletter had been returned by the post office because of incorrect addresses. The company refused to provide employee’s addresses, stating only that it was not obligated to do so.

The contract also provided for a renegotiation of wages for the final two years of the contract:

The wage rates to be paid from the first work day of the first pay period in June 1992 to June 6, 1994 ... are subject to negotiation if either party gives written notice ... at least sixty (60) days prior to the third anniversary (June 7,1992), of the effective date of the Agreement. If no agreement is made, or if impasse occurs, all terms of this Agreement shall remain unchanged.

On April 1, 1992, the Union business representative gave notice that the Union wished to exercise its option to reopen negotiation of wages under this provision. The company agreed to meet for this purpose, and the parties did so on June 1,1992.

*116 On June 11, 1992, CJC refused to negotiate further, claiming that the contract provision on mid-term wage negotiations required agreement on or before June 7,1992 to avoid continuation of the existing wage rates.

II. PROCEEDINGS AND DISPOSITION BELOW

In April and July 1992, the Union filed charges regarding the disputes discussed above. The Regional Director of the NLRB issued a consolidated complaint, and the matter was tried before an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) of the NLRB. On September 23,1993, the ALJ ruled that CJC had unlawfully refused to comply with the Union’s March 1992 request for employees’ addresses, and unlawfully refused to bargain with the Union regarding wages after June 7, 1992. The ALJ ordered CJC to provide the Union the seniority list requested, to bargain in good faith concerning the midterm wage increase and to post a notice to the employees concerning the ALJ’s rulings.

On December 16,1994, the Board affirmed the ALJ’s decision and adopted the ALJ’s proposed order. CJC did not seek review, and claims to have complied with the Board’s order. On May 8, 1995, the Board filed its Application for Enforcement with this Court. In response, CJC challenged the Board’s application for enforcement, as well as the basis for the Board’s decision.

III. ANALYSIS

1. Has the Order become moot?

CJC contends that the passage of time and its compliance with the Board’s Order have rendered the Order pointless and obsolete. Therefore, CJC contends, enforcement of the order cannot be said to effectuate the policies of the National Labor Relations Act, and the application for enforcement should be denied. This contention is meritless.

In N.L.R.B. v. Mexia Textile Mills, Inc., 389 U.S. 563, 567-68, 70 S.Ct. 826, 828-29, 94 L.Ed. 1067 (1950), the Supreme Court observed:

We think it plain from the eases that the employer’s compliance with an order of the Board does not render the cause moot, depriving the Board of its opportunity to secure enforcement from an appropriate court_ A Board order imposes a continuing obligation; and the Board is entitled to have the resumption of the unfair labor practice barred by an enforcement decree.

The Court reaffirmed this view in N.L.R.B. v. Raytheon Co., 398 U.S. 25, 90 S.Ct. 1547, 26 L.Ed.2d 21 (1970). Following Mexia Textile, this Court has observed that “The Board has discretion in asking the courts to enforce its orders. It is not compelled by statute to seek enforcement. Within a reasonable discretion, the Board is entitled to judicial enforcement of its orders even in cases where the offending parties have already complied with the orders.” N.L.R.B. v. The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc., 407 F.2d 387, 388 (5th Cir.1969).

Although in Raytheon, the Supreme Court noted that an enforcement proceeding could become moot if a party establishes that there is no reasonable expectation that the wrong will be repeated, the Court rejected application of that exception to the general rule, stating:

[T]his is not such a case. Nothing in the record here shows that the specific acts complained of have not been repeated or gives any assurance that they will not be repeated in the future.

398 U.S. at 27-28, 90 S.Ct. at 1549.

In the present case, there is no evidence that the unfair labor practices complained of will not be repeated in the future. Indeed, although CJC contends that it has complied with the Board’s order, a subsequent NLRB decision indicates that CJC’s relationship with the Union continues to be tainted by bad faith. CJC Holdings, Inc. and United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, Local 1751, Case 16-CA-16778-2 (Aug.1995), modified and aff'd, 320 NLRB No. 122, 1996 WL 142553 (1996). In addition, the Board’s review period in this case was a reasonable 14 months. Although CJC asserts that enforcement of the Board’s order would not effectuate any policies of the *117 Act, it falls short of demonstrating this contention.

2. Duty to provide employee addresses.

CJC contends that its refusal to provide the Union with a list of employees’ addresses could not violate the NLRA because the Union did not need the addresses for a purpose relevant to the Union’s proper performance of its duties.

Under the section 8(a)(5) duty to bargain, an employer has a duty “to provide information that is needed by the bargaining representative for the proper performance of its duties.”

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Bluebook (online)
97 F.3d 114, 153 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2580, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 27162, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-labor-relations-board-v-cjc-holdings-inc-ca5-1996.