Russell-Newman Mfg. Co., Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

370 F.2d 980, 64 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2268, 1967 U.S. App. LEXIS 7660
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 25, 1967
Docket22955_1
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 370 F.2d 980 (Russell-Newman Mfg. Co., Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board) 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
Russell-Newman Mfg. Co., Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, 370 F.2d 980, 64 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2268, 1967 U.S. App. LEXIS 7660 (5th Cir. 1967).

Opinions

COLEMAN, Circuit Judge:

The petitioner, Russell-Newman Manufacturing Company, Inc., seeks review of an order of the National Labor Relations Board dated July 6,1965, reported at 153 N.L.R.B. No. 105. The Board cross petitions for enforcement. The Board found that during a Union organizing campaign the company violated § 8(a) (1) of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 151 et seq., by threats of reprisal and by granting benefits during a Union organizing campaign. At this point, we deny enforcement and remand the case to the Board for further hearing consistently with the views herein expressed.

In May, 1964, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union, AFL-CIO, began organizing the employees at the company’s plants in Denton and Pilot Point, Texas, locations situated about eighteen miles apart. On May 29, 1964, company vice-president Martino addressed employees in the Denton plant. The Board, over-ruling the Trial Examiner, found this address to have been coercive, a matter which we shall discuss later.

The original charge in Case No. 1l6-CA-2116 was filed August 28, 1964. Another charge was filed September 21, 1964, and assigned Case No. 16-CA-2138. On October 23, 1964, an amended charge was filed in Case No. 16-CA-2116. On October 30, 1964, the Regional Director consolidated the cases and issued a complaint in which he alleged only the following violations against the company:

“Since on or about April 20, 1964, and continuing to date, Respondent has interfered with, restrained and coerced, and is interfering with, re[982]*982straining and coercing, its employees in the exercise of rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act by the following acts and conduct:
(a) On or about August 6, 1964, Respondent by its supervisor and agent Kenneth Griffith, orally threatened its employees at its Pilot Point plant with discharge if they became or remained members of the Union or gave any assistance or support to it.
(b) On or about May 29, 1964, Respondent by its officer and agent Frank Martino, orally warned its employees at the Denton plant that if the Union were selected by its employees as their collective bargaining representative that Respondent would layoff employees.
(c) On or about May 29, 1964, Respondent by its supervisor and agent, Opal Madewell, orally interrogated its employees' at its Denton plant concerning their union membership, activities and desires and the union membership, activities and desires of other of its employees.”

This consolidated Case, Number 16-CA-2116-2138, was set for hearing on Monday, February 8, 1965.

On the night of Thursday, February 4, the General Counsel sent a telegram to counsel for petitioner, first seen by him on February 5, giving notice that a motion would be filed seeking to amend the complaint by adding two further allegations of violations of § 8(a) (1).

The essence of the new charges was:

(1) on or about January 28,1965, [one week before the telegram was sent] the company granted its employees at its Pilot Point plant a general wage increase and other benefits or improvements and terms and conditions of employment if they refrained from becoming or remaining members of the union or giving any assistance or support to it, or in order to induce them to do so;

(2) on or about February 1, 1965, [three days before the telegram was sent] the company threatened to sell its Denton plant because its employees had selected the union as their collective bargaining representative and in order to discourage its employees from becoming or remaining members of the Union or giving any assistance or support to it.

On January 26, 1965, the Denton employees had balloted and had chosen to be represented by the Union. No demand had been made for union representation or an election at the Pilot Point plant, but the company was well aware of the efforts to organize its employees, going back to May, 1964. The five cent an hour wage increase to the Pilot Point plant employees was announced on January 28, two days after the election in Denton. The first of three “for sale” signs appeared on the Denton plant on January 31, five days after the election.

Reverting to the complaint of October 30, 1964, the Trial Examiner found for the company as to original paragraphs (a) and (c) and the Board affirmed. The Trial Examiner also found for the company as to paragraph (b), which charged that the address of Martino on May 29, 1964, was an oral warning to the Denton employees that if the Union were selected as their collective bargaining representative the company would lay off employees.

By a two to one vote, the Board reversed the Trial Examiner on this point, the majority saying that in the context of an organizational campaign, preceding a representation election, certain portions of the speech constituted a threat that if the employees selected a union the company would discontinue its make-work policies in slow seasons and would not manufacture goods until orders were received. We set out a full and complete copy of Martino’s speech as an appendix to this opinion and we agree with the Trial Examiner that “since no part [of the speech] violates the right of free speech, it would be difficult to find that the sum of all its parts constitutes threats or promises to the employees, or is coercive respecting their rights to support or not support the Union”.

[983]*983We think the Trial Examiner and the dissenting Board Member were right in holding that when one views the speech as a whole no violation is seen. We cannot see that the speech was a threat or a warning or reasonably subject to such an interpretation. The speech argues from the standpoint of what has allegedly occurred in other plants in the past. At no place did Martino propose to say what the company would do in the future.

We next consider what should have been done with reference to the new charges as to the wage increase at Pilot Point and the posting of the “for sale” signs at Denton.

We note that counsel for the petitioner had only two full days notice of these new charges and that these days were a Saturday and a Sunday. ' We further note that the amended complaint, bringing these additional charges, was not filed until the day of the hearing. What counsel did about this development may best be described in the words of the Trial Examiner, appearing in the Record as follows:

“Counsel for Respondent objected strenuously to proceeding to hearing on the allegations of the amended complaint, respecting the wage increase and the placing of “For Sale” signs on the building at the Denton plant. The ground for his motion for continuance, as the hearing opened, was that Respondent had been denied due process in being cailed upon to defend allegations with scarcely any notice, or time to prepare its defense. After full consultation between the Trial Examiner and all counsel, the motion for postponement was denied. As a result however of the discussion it was agreed that Respondent should submit as an ‘Offer of Proof’ the evidence it would introduce on these two issues if, as counsel contended, time had permitted proper prepaiation of the defense. The record was held open for this purpose only.

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Bluebook (online)
370 F.2d 980, 64 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2268, 1967 U.S. App. LEXIS 7660, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/russell-newman-mfg-co-inc-v-national-labor-relations-board-ca5-1967.