Opinion ID: 293978
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Restraint and Coercion of Employees

Text: 19 The allegations of the conduct of Nurse Miller and of the Ayers are sufficient to support the finding of the commission of an unfair labor practice within the meaning of 8(a)(1) of the Act. The main thrust of the Company in this proceeding is that the trial examiner erred in crediting virtually all of the pro-union testimony of the witnesses while crediting none of that which tended to support the arguments of the Company. Indeed, the trial examiner prefaced his findings with the following statement as to the Company's witnesses, Mr. and Mrs. Ayers and Nurse Miller: 'Their respective demeanors impressed me unfavorably, and I do not credit their testimony unless corroborated by otherwise credited testimony.' 20 Relying largely on the testimony discredited by the trial examiner, the Company argues that the employees who signed withdrawal letters came to Nurse Miller to do so and were not coerced; that there was no surveillance since the employees asked permission to go to the Union breakfast and were not asked nor did they in fact report anything back; that the Ayers had long considered a catering service, which suggestion employee Henderson translated into anti-union threats; and that the recollections of employee King must be discredited since she was no longer employed by the Company at the time she alleges that certain statements were made to her. 21 The short answer to the Company's contentions here is that the Board found to the contrary and its findings are supported by the record. The findings of the Board must be upheld if supported by substantial evidence viewing the record as a whole. Universal Camera Corp. v. National Labor Relations Bd., 340 U.S. 474, 487-488, 71 S.Ct. 456, 95 L.Ed. 456 (1951). This court cannot displace the Board's choice between two fairly conflicting views, even though this court would justifiably have made a different choice had the matter been before it de nova. National Labor Relations Board v. Walton Mfg. Co., 369 U.S. 404, 405, 82 S.Ct. 853, 7 L.Ed.2d 829 (1962) (citing Universal Camera, 340 U.S. at 488, 71 S.Ct. 456); N.L.R.B. v. Custom Chair Manufacturing Co., 422 F.2d 1300, 1301 (9th Cir. 1970). This deference extends as well to the inferences reasonably drawn by the Board, even though this court might have drawn different ones. N.L.R.B. v. United States Railway Equipment Co., 424 F.2d 86, 89 (7th Cir. 1970). 22 On the credibility question, this court may decline to follow an examiner's crediting or discrediting of testimony in 'a proper case,' N.L.R.B. v. Luisi Truck Lines, 384 F.2d 842, 846 (9th Cir. 1967); N.L.R.B. v. Elias Brothers Big Boy, Inc., 327 F.2d 421, 426 (6th Cir. 1964), but the examiner's findings as to credibility should not be disturbed unless 'a clear preponderance of all the relevant evidence convinces that they are incorrect.' Luisi Truck Lines, 384 F.2d at 846. The examiner need not accept as true statements made by the respondent's own witnesses, even if uncontradicted, National Labor Relations Bd. v. Howell Chevrolet Co., 204 F.2d 79, 86 (9th Cir. 1953), aff'd, 346 U.S. 482, 74 S.Ct. 214, 98 L.Ed. 215 (1953), and the examiner is entitled to make such a determination solely on the basis of his evaluation of the witnesses' demeanors. National Labor Relations Bd. v. Radcliffe, 211 F.2d 309, 315n.6 (9th Cir. 1954). 23 Relying on the testimony credited by the examiner and adopted by the Board, it is clear that it supports a showing of unfair labor practices under the applicable case law. Thus, e.g., coercive investigation constitutes an unfair labor practice. Santa Fe Drilling v. N.L.R.B., 416 F.2d 725, 728 (9th Cir. 1969); N.L.R.B. v. Quick Shop Markets, Inc., 416 F.2d 601, 604-605 (7th Cir. 1969). For a discussion of guiding factors to determine whether questioning is coercive, see N.L.R.B. v. Varo, Inc., 425 F.2d 293, 298 (5th Cir. 1970). 24 Likewise, it is an unfair labor practice to threaten reprisal for union support or promise benefits for anti-union activity. Santa Fe Drilling, supra, 316 F.2d at 729; Luisi Truck Lines, supra, 384 F.2d at 845. The threats in question need not be explicit if the language used by the employer or his representative can reasonably be construed as threatening. Colonial Corporation v. N.L.R.B., 427 F.2d 302, 305-306 (6th Cir. 1970). No proof of an anti-union motive need be found if the employer's discriminatory conduct is inherently destructive of important employee rights. N.L.R.B. v. Great Dane Trailers, 388 U.S. 26, 34, 87 S.Ct. 1792, 18 L.Ed.2d 1027 (1967).