Opinion ID: 3210755
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Solicitation of Grievances

Text: Section 8(a)(1) of the Act prohibits an employer from interfering with, restraining, or coercing its employees in the exercise of protected concerted activities. 29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1); see also id. § 157. To establish a violation, “it need only be shown that under the circumstances existing, [the employer’s conduct] may reasonably tend to coerce or intimidate employees in the exercise of rights protected under the Act.” Hedstrom Co. v. NLRB, 629 F.2d 305, 314 (3d Cir. 1980) (en banc) (internal quotation marks omitted). An employer violates Section 8(a)(1) by expressly or impliedly 32 promising to remedy employee grievances if they reject the Union. Id. In this case, the Board credited employee testimony that, after the union petition was filed, Hutchens and Illis told employees they would try to “fix” things. The Board made particular mention that management transferred Heedles and eliminated the proposed scheduling changes which had created employee unrest, that it eliminated one of Tyler’s job duties after she complained her job was “overwhelming,” and that it made garbage bags available in response to Stubbs’s complaint. Substantial evidence supports those findings. Though some of the grievances, when viewed in isolation, may be quite minor, the Board’s findings collectively support the conclusion that Somerset solicited employees’ grievances, promised to fix them, and, in some cases, did fix them during the election campaign, all in violation of § 8(a)(1) of the NLRA.