Opinion ID: 712067
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Kinney's alleged hallmark violations.

Text: 58 We consider in detail the two hallmark violations that arguably constitute exceptional misconduct under Gissel. 59 a. The threat to close the warehouse. The NLRB found that supervisor Dave McClure, in a one-on-one conversation, told employee Donald Bush that if the union won the election, the warehouse might be shut down. To make this finding, the NLRB had to credit the hearsay testimony of employee Donny Richards, who claims to have overheard the McClure-Bush conversation in the busy warehouse from a distance of 15 to 20 feet. Kinney challenges this finding and argues that it was not supported by substantial evidence. We need not rule on that objection because we hold that the statements found to have been made do not constitute an unfair labor practice. 60 An employer is entitled to tell its employees what it believes will be the likely economic consequences of unionization, even if these consequences include the possibility of plant closure: 61 [The employer] may ... make a prediction as to the precise effects he believes unionization will have on his company. In such a case, however, the prediction must be carefully phrased on the basis of objective fact to convey an employer's belief as to demonstrably probable consequences beyond his control or to convey a management decision already arrived at to close the plant in case of unionization. If there is any implication that an employer may or may not take action solely on his own initiative for reasons unrelated to economic necessities and known only to him, the statement is no longer a reasonable prediction based on available facts but a threat of retaliation based on misrepresentation and coercion, and as such without the protection of the First Amendment. 62 Gissel, 395 U.S. at 618, 89 S.Ct. at 1942 (citations omitted). 63 Kinney had decided, McClure allegedly told Woods, that it might be cheaper to replace the warehouse functions with an outside trucking firm if the warehouse employees formed a union. Such a statement is the type of reasonable prediction based on economic necessities envisioned by Gissel. Kinney had the right to spell out the possible economic consequences of unionization; and Kinney's employees, who could hardly rely on the union for a neutral view, had a profound interest in receiving that information. The labor laws do not suppress one side of the debate. The NLRB therefore erred in finding that the McClure-Bush conversation constituted a violation of Sec. 8(a)(1). 64 b. The threatened discharges. The other arguably hallmark violation committed by Kinney involved Cognetti's threat to fire Les McClure and Otis Woods unless they gave active support to management in the election. Kinney does not dispute that a threat to discharge an employee because of the employee's union activities constitutes a violation of Sec. 8(a)(1), see Gordon, 792 F.2d at 32, but Kinney does challenge the NLRB's factual finding: first, on the ground that the ALJ denied Kinney an adequate opportunity to cross-examine employee Woods and therefore should not have considered this testimony in rendering his findings; and, second, on the ground that the detrimental effect of any threat was alleviated by subsequent guarantees of job safety. 65 The NLRB credited testimony to the following effect: Cognetti spoke one-on-one with both Woods and Les McClure on November 13, accused them of aiding the union, ordered them to call an employee meeting to discourage their co-workers from voting for the union, and threatened both with discharge if they did not comply with his orders. A. at 102-08. 66 Kinney contends that the NLRB's findings should be disregarded because the NLRB curtailed Woods' testimony and limited Kinney's opportunity to cross-examine him. Woods had signed an affidavit in November 1991 concerning the threat of discharge. Between the November 1991 election and the June 1992 NLRB hearing, Woods was promoted to supervisor. At the ALJ hearing, Woods became hesitant when he was called upon to give testimony that might hurt Kinney. Recognizing that Woods' new role put him in a delicate position, the ALJ allowed the union to submit the November 1991 affidavit, and relied upon this affidavit in making findings of fact. Kinney argues that the ALJ essentially cut off Woods' testimony in such a manner so as to preclude Kinney from effectively cross-examining him. This challenge is meritless. Although the ALJ evidently accepted Woods' affidavit in lieu of his direct testimony, at no point did the ALJ prevent Kinney from cross-examining Woods concerning the substance of his November 13 meeting with Cognetti. Kinney simply elected not to do so. The NLRB did not err in relying on Woods' testimony and affidavit. 67 The union also sponsored testimony from several employees who attended a meeting on November 14, at which Woods and Les McClure told the gathering about the threats of discharge. Kinney contends that these threats (or rumors of threats, as Kinney claims) were effectively repudiated by subsequent management actions. According to Cognetti's testimony, he gave a speech on November 19 in which he pledged that nobody would be fired whatever the outcome of the election. A. at 475. This testimony was uncontradicted, but the NLRB specifically refused to credit it. The NLRB did find, however, that Cognetti sent a letter to all warehouse employees on November 19 which guarantee[d] that, as long as ... the ... employees who were the principal union organizers perform their job in a reasonably satisfactory manner, the Company will continue their employment as warehouse employees of this Company and will not take any steps to cause termination of the employment relationship. A. at 589. According to the letter, this assurance was effective only if the union lost the election. 68 In the past the NLRB has acknowledged that an employer can effectively repudiate unlawful conduct if the repudiation is timely, unambiguous, specific in nature to the coercive conduct and free from other proscribed illegal conduct. Passavant Memorial Area Hospital, 237 N.L.R.B. 138, 138, 1978 WL 7798 (1978) (citations and internal quotations omitted); see also Wilson Trophy Co. v. NLRB, 989 F.2d 1502, 1511 (8th Cir.1993). The NLRB found that the November 19 letter was an ineffective repudiation: 69 The November 19 document would have been taken by employees as the best evidence of Cognetti's intentions. Yet, it did not address the predictable concerns generated by his conduct of November 13, which he had not previously recanted, retracted, denied or even addressed in any prior communication with the work force as a whole or individually. The limited assurance that union supporters would be spared if the Union were defeated, in this context, by negative implication, reenforced the likelihood, in the eyes of employees, that the Respondent would take retaliatory action if the Union were designated. Accordingly, the November 19 message was drafted in terms likely to perpetuate and give continuing validity to the previously communicated threat that McClure and other union supporters were endangered by the possibility of a union victory. 70 A. at 109-10. The NLRB thus reads Cognetti's letter with a jaundiced eye. The letter disclaims any intent to retaliate in the event of a union defeat. It therefore responds to the fear that pro-union employees may become vulnerable to reprisal without union protection. But the NLRB reads this specific assurance as a negative pregnant that reinforces the original threat. However, because our inquiry is restricted to the question of whether the NLRB's findings are supported by substantial evidence, we accept the finding that Kinney engaged in the unfair labor practice of an unrepudiated threatened discharge. 71