Opinion ID: 335280
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Discharge of Rossi and Burns

Text: 13 The Board further found that the Company violated Sections 8(a)(3) and (1) of the Act by discharging Rossi and Burns. With respect to Rossi, the Board argues that he was the prime instigator of the UE movement at the plant, that this became known to Company officers just prior to their terminating him, and that the abruptness and mid-week timing of the discharge, in the context of the other unfair labor practices, indicate the Company's anti-union motivation underlying the discharge. With respect to Burns, the Board admits that his union activity was minimal, 6 but contends that the Company discharged him to give an aura of legitimacy to Rossi's discharge. 7 14 The critical element in employee discharge cases is the intent of the employer to discourage union activity. N.L.R.B. v. Brown, 380 U.S. 278, 286-7, 85 S.Ct. 980, 985, 13 L.Ed.2d 839, 846 (1965). When the record establishes a prima facie case that the employer engaged in discriminatory conduct which could have adversely affected employee rights to some extent, the burden is upon the employer to establish that he was motivated by legitimate objectives since proof of motivation is most accessible to him. N.L.R.B. v. Great Dane Trailers, Inc., 388 U.S. 26, 34, 87 S.Ct. 1792, 1798, 18 L.Ed.2d 1027, 1035 (1967). 15 The Company sought to justify the discharges on the ground that a reduction in work force was necessary because of lack of available work, and Rossi and Burns were chosen for indefinite layoff because they were the least senior male employees, they had poor work records, and they either could not perform jobs other than window assembling, or did so only with complaining. The factual basis for each of these points is disputed by the parties, but we do not propose to examine those arguments in detail here. The linchpin of the Company's argument, as we understand it, is that the work force had to be reduced. While there is evidence in the record that indicates that a major contract was being completed at the time of the discharges, the record also reveals that the Company began hiring within 10 days after the discharges, and within 90 days had hired 21 new employees. That fact has never been adequately explained. In view of these facts and other evidence in the record, we find no basis for disturbing the Board's decision on the discharges.