Opinion ID: 597777
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: 2 The Company has operated a concrete pipe and manufacturing plant in Syracuse, New York for over forty years. For the past thirty years, there have been collective bargaining agreements between the Union and the Company covering production and maintenance employees at the plant. Before the most recent collective bargaining agreement expired at midnight, March 20, 1987, the parties negotiated for a new agreement for 21 hours in four sessions. 3 At the first meeting on March 10, company president Nicholas Melfi opened negotiations with a statement that included the following: [T]o survive in today's market we have got to be able to be competitive, and to be competitive wage rates and benefits must be lowered. These are our contract proposals which we [b]elieve are necessary to accomplish what I have said. Joint Exhibits (J.E.) at 190. The Company's proposal called for a 30% reduction in wages from a top rate of $9.41 to $6.50; a 50% reduction in vacations from four weeks to two weeks; a 50% reduction in its medical insurance premiums by requiring employees for the first time to pay half; and a 55% reduction in holidays from eleven to five. 4 The Union representative, George Prenatt, responded that Union policy on concessions was that, if the Company opened its books and showed a need, the Union would make concessions. Melfi flatly refused the request, stating our company was a privately-held company, in fact, family-owned, and it was strictly against company policy to give anyone our books. NLRB Hearing Transcript (Tr.) at 530-31, reprinted in J.E. at 734-35. 5 In subsequent negotiating sessions the Company and Union made minor progress on a number of issues such as the length of employees' probationary period, the length of time for grievance procedures, the length of time for schedule changes, Company provision of safety shoes, call-in penalties, funeral leave and vacation policy. During these meetings, the Union on several occasions renewed its request that the Company open its books. For example, at the third negotiating session, the Union's representative said, if the company wanted concessions, open your books, and if they show that you're losing money, we'll give you the concessions you need. Tr. 603, J.E. 807. The Company responded by reiterating that opening the books was against Company policy. 6 At the fourth and final negotiating session, the Union again asked to see the Company books, and its representative said that the Union would be willing to make concessions to share the pain if the Company proved it needed them. At that time, the Union modified its wage increase request from 4% per year to an increase of $.40 in the first year, $.35 in the second year, and $.30 in the third year, and withdrew its proposals to increase shift premiums. The Company withdrew its proposals to reduce show up pay and to delete meal money, and offered to bring holidays up to seven days, and to restore the employee dental plan if the employees agreed to pay 50% of the total medical insurance premium. 7 The Company announced that it had made its last, best offer. The Union responded with further proposals. The Company repeated that it had made its final offer, and urged the Union representatives to take the offer to its membership. The Union countered again with more proposals, regarding sick days, holidays, and decreasing its requested wage increase to $.30 per year. The Company merely reiterated that its best proposal was on the table. The Union responded by offering a one-year extension of the existing agreement, but the Company made no response. At 6:00 p.m. the Company broke off negotiations, six hours before the contract expired. The Union membership met the next day and voted unanimously to reject the Company's offer.
8 The Union filed a charge with the NLRB, alleging that the Company was unlawfully refusing to allow the Union to examine the Company's financial records and was engaging in unlawful surface bargaining in violation of section 8(a)(5) of the NLRA, 29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(5). Section 8(a)(5) states that it is an unfair labor practice (ULP) for an employer to refuse to bargain collectively with the representatives of his employees. Id. The Union and the Company entered into a Settlement Agreement, requiring the Company to make available appropriate financial records, but this Agreement was revoked after the Company refused to provide the Union with cost data. 9 Several months later, the Union filed an additional charge, alleging that the Company unlawfully refused to allow its striking employees to return to work after they had made an unconditional offer to return, in violation of section 8(a)(3) of the NLRA, which states that it is an ULP for an employer by discrimination in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization. Id. 10 On these consolidated complaints, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found: 1) the Company unlawfully refused to provide cost data; 2) the Company failed to bargain in good faith; 3) the Company's unfair labor practices had caused the strike; and 4) the Company discriminated against its employees on the basis of union membership by refusing to reinstate them after they unconditionally offered to return to work. 11 The NLRB reversed the ALJ in part, ruling that: 1) the Company had no obligation to provide financial data because the Company was merely claiming that it needed the concessions it demanded in order to be competitive, not that it was unable to pay more; 2) the Company had not failed to bargain in good faith; and 3) the strike was an economic rather than an unfair labor practice strike. The Board, however, held that the Company had unlawfully discriminated against employees based on union membership by failing to rehire the Union members as jobs became available after they unconditionally offered to return to work. The Union petitioned for review of the first three of these decisions; the Company sought review of the fourth.