Opinion ID: 1542293
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Interference with Rights of Employees.

Text: Espionage. The Board found that by espionage upon the union activities of the shed workers employed by the Association's members, the Association and its members named as respondents interfered with, restrained, and coerced such employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed by Section 7 of the Act [29 U.S.C. A. § 157]. Based on that finding, the Board by paragraph 4 of its order, required the Association, when acting for itself or as agent or in the interest of any of its members, the other respondents, and their respective officers, agents, successors and assigns, to cease and desist from maintaining surveillance or employing any manner of espionage for the purpose of ascertaining or investigating the activities of United or any of the employees. Respondent contends that paragraph 4 of the order cannot be enforced because there was no evidence that the employees knew of the surveillance, and unless they did have such knowledge, the surveillance could not have had any effect on the exercise of rights by employees. The Board makes no reply to this contention other than to assert generally that espionage constitutes interference, restraint, and coercion. While it has been said, generally, that espionage by the employer is a violation of the statute (Ohio Power Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, 6 Cir., 115 F.2d 839; Atlas Underwear Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, 6 Cir., 116 F.2d 1020), only one case has been called to our attention which discusses the particular question raised by respondents, and in that one, it was not decided. Montgomery Ward & Co. v. National Labor R. Board, 8 Cir., 115 F.2d 700. National Labor Relations Board v. National Motor B. Co., 9 Cir., 105 F.2d 652, 657, is not in point. That case disclosed no finding that the surveillance did interfere with, restrain or coerce the employees in the exercise of their rights, whereas here there was such a finding. Can there be interference, restraint or coercion in the absence of knowledge thereof by the employees? In the absence of anything indicating a contrary meaning, we think the dictionary meanings of interfere, restrain and coerce must be accepted. Casual examination of the dictionary discloses that a person may be interfered with, restrained or coerced without knowing it. We therefore hold that the contention of respondents does not prevent enforcement of paragraph 4. Interference Generally. The Board found that respondents interfered with, restrained and coerced the employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed them by § 7 of the act by (a) publishing the advertisement of August 28, 1936; (b) publishing and posting the notice of September 1, 1936; (c) the boycott of Tracy; and (d) causing discrimination in reinstatement and employment after the strike. Based on these findings, the Board, by paragraph 5 of its order, required the Association when acting for itself, or as agent or in the interest of any of its members, each of the other respondents, and their respective officers, agents, successors, and assigns to cease and desist from in any other manner interfering with, restraining, or coercing their employees and the employees of members of the    Association    in the exercise of the right to self-organization, to form labor organizations, to join or assist United    successor    to    Union    or any other labor organization, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purposes of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, as guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act. The acts designated (a), (b), and (c) above were all found by the Board to constitute an interference with the union's efforts to bargain collectively. It is therefore unnecessary to consider all three of them since if one of them is sustained, it would support the same order that all together would. We therefore will state the opposing arguments regarding (b) only. The notice of September 1, 1936, seems inoffensive in and of itself. However, the Board found that the attempt to obtain security as an attempt either to provoke a strike or to impair the prestige and bargaining position of the Union. It reached that conclusion on the following reasoning: there was no need for the Association or its members to obtain contracts, because the Union had assured the Association that work would continue after September 1, 1936, even if no agreement had been reached; the Association could easily anticipate that the terms would be objectionable to the Union because it had already rejected such terms; the conclusion of individual contracts would naturally weaken the position of the Union in any further bargaining for a collective agreement, because the Association would already have the security afforded by existing agreements; and the Association could therefore reasonably anticipate that the notice would either provoke a strike or make the Union lose face with its members. The conclusion of the Board is not unreasonable. We think reasonable men might differ as to the effect of the publication and position of the notice, and therefore the Board's finding is conclusive. Gunning v. Cooley, supra, 281 U.S. at page 94, 50 S.Ct. 231, 74 L.Ed. 720. Respondents contend that since the collective agreement had expired, they had the right to fix the terms of employment by unilateral action. Labor Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp., 301 U.S. 1, 45, 57 S.Ct. 615, 81 L.Ed. 893, 108 A.L.R. 1352. The act prohibits interference with, restraint and coercion of the employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in § 7. § 8(1). Interference, restraint and coercion are not acts themselves but are descriptive and are the result of acts. Whatever acts may have the effect of interference, restraint and coercion are included in those terms, and are therefore prohibited. Thus they include a great number of acts which, normally, could be validly done, but when they interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights, they are prohibited by the act. Here although respondents normally had the right to fix the terms of employment by unilateral action, they could not exercise such right to interfere with, restrain or coerce the employees. National Labor Relations Board v. Superior Tanning Co., 7 Cir., 117 F.2d 881, 890. No contention is made that respondents action in publishing the notice was an exercise of the right of free speech. On that question, we express no opinion. Since the interference was an interference with the efforts of the Union to bargain collectively only, as the Board found, modification of paragraph 5, is required by National Labor Relations Board v. Express Publishing Company, March 3, 1941, 61 S.Ct. 693, 700, 85 L.Ed. 930. That case is exactly in point and the precise language of the modification there, may be used here. The other act of respondents which the Board found to be interference, restraint and coercion of the employees, and which is designated as (d) above, was the act of causing discrimination in hire and tenure of employment of employees on account of their union activities. Since the finding is not challenged, the only question remaining for consideration is the kind of order which the Board has power to make based on such finding. In Labor Board v. Express Publishing Company, supra, the court said that the act does not give the Board an authority, which courts cannot rightly exercise, to enjoin violations of all the provisions of the statute merely because the violation of one has been found. To justify an order restraining other violations it must appear that they bear some resemblance to that which the employer has committed or that danger of their commission in the future is to be anticipated from the course of his conduct in the past.    We think paragraph 5 of the order should go no further than to order the parties therein to cease and desist from in any manner interfering with the efforts of United to bargain collectively with such parties, and from in any manner discriminating, or causing other employers to discriminate, against any individual on account of union activities, in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment.