Opinion ID: 1503025
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Transfer of Clyde Acock.

Text: On August 3, 1937, Clyde Acock, a machinist, was transferred from the Northeast power plant to the Baltimore Avenue plant. The Board found this transfer to be a discrimination against him because of his labor activities. The Board ordered an immediate transfer to his former position in the Northeast plant, without prejudice to his seniority and other rights and privileges. For sixteen years, Acock had been with the company. Apparently, he had been a satisfactory workman. During this time he had been stationed at the Northeast power plant, except for a time in 1922, when he worked on installation of some heaters at the Baltimore plant (but not on boilers). He was competent to work on boiler making but had never done so. He had been active in labor organization work at the Northeast plant at various times for several years. He had been warned by several of his superiors that such activities of the men might get them into trouble and that he was being watched. He was the leader of opposition to the Association in so far as the power plant employees were concerned; in organization of the Independent Union of Power Workers, which was in June and July, 1937; and in organization of the local I. B. F. W., which succeeded the Independent upon its disbanding about August 2, 1937. On August 3, 1937, he was transferred to the Baltimore Avenue power house  quite removed from the Northeast powerhouse, which is the principal power plant of petitioner. The Baltimore powerhouse is used for heating purposes. The boilers at Baltimore were old and much in need of rehabilitation. The work to be done there was boilermaker's work. At Northeast, Acock had been doing general repair maintenance work as a machinist with no labor work. At Baltimore, he did all kinds of work, labor work; mostly boiler work. He had never done boiler work before although capable of doing so. His rate of pay was the same but there was no overtime opportunity as there was at Northeast. His seniority rights were not affected but chances of promotion were, apparently, not so great. It was his understanding when he went to the Baltimore plant that the detail was temporary. On December 1, 1937, he was instructed to start punching the clock at the Baltimore plant, which he construes as meaning a permanent transfer. The company contends the transfer is temporary but the work is not yet finished. He was yet there when his testimony was taken (January 11, 1938) and he thought then that the end of the work was not in sight. The National Labor Relations Act gives the Board no supervisory powers over the conduct of a business by its own management. However, the Act does place upon every interstate business the restraint that, in the conduct of its business, it shall refrain from doing anything with the purpose and having the effect of interfering with the entire freedom of its employees in labor organization matters. Such purpose and effect may take various forms  such as discharge. As to Acock, this transfer would naturally interfere with his opportunities to pursue his activities affecting the employees in relation to the local union, by removing him from contact with the larger body of the members and eligible employees. Whatever the effect, petitioner would have full right to transfer him to any work it wanted him to do unless the purpose of such transfer be such character of interference or be by way of discipline for his labor attitude or activities. Therefore, the real inquiry here is whether the transfer was simply for work purposes or whether the purpose or one purpose was so to interfere or so to discipline. Considering that there is no evidence that there were not other qualified men who could have been so transferred; that Acock had never done this sort of work before; that he was a long time employee with unblemished work record; that the change was to his disadvantage; that his prominence in labor activities among the powerhouse workers was known to petitioner; and that his removal from the Northeast plant, where the largest body of such workers were, was at a critical formative stage of powerhouse workers labor affairs, we cannot say that there was no substantial basis for the conclusion of the Board that the purpose  at least one purpose  of the transfer was to affect and interfere with labor activities. The issue here is not that a contrary conclusion might not reasonably have been reached but whether there was substantial evidence to support the conclusion reached and the order made thereon by the Board. We think there was such evidence.