Opinion ID: 544345
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Detroit

Text: 45 On December 24, 1983, the Detroit Local called a membership meeting. Rec. vol. II at 1411-12. During that meeting, a Union official informed the membership that the Union was filing an unfair labor practice charge against Facet arising out of the company's picketline contacts with striking employees. The official asked if anyone else had been approached on the picketline. The Union also instructed each Local to change its picket signs to denote the fact that unfair labor practice charges had been filed. Id. vol. IV at 3910. The Board held that these actions prolonged the strike, thus converting the Detroit strike to an unfair labor practice strike as of December 24. Facet Enter., slip op. at 9. 46 Merely because Facet committed an unfair labor practice by dealing directly with Detroit employees does not mean that such illegal conduct converted the dispute into an unfair labor practice strike. See Burkart Foam, 848 F.2d at 832 n. 6. Unlike the membership meeting at Madison Heights, there is insufficient evidence in the record that Facet's unfair labor practice strengthened the resolve of the Detroit employees or contributed to a strike vote at the membership meeting. The mere fact that striking employees were informed of Facet's unfair labor practice does not in itself establish that such practice prolonged or exacerbated the strike. Moreover, the use of picket signs denoting an unfair labor practice charge, while evidence of conversion, see id., it is not conclusive of the issue. Rather, to sustain a finding of conversion, there must be some evidence in the record that the Detroit employees reacted to information of Facet's direct dealing substantively in a fashion which aggravated or prolonged the strike. See Vulcan Hart Corp. v. NLRB, 718 F.2d 269, 276 (8th Cir.1983). Mere conjecture will not suffice. Because the record contains insufficient evidence of any concrete acts or affirmations by the Detroit employees in response to Facet's direct dealing which prolonged or intensified the strike, we must reject the Board's finding of conversion.