Opinion ID: 185443
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Unionization Effort

Text: 6 In December 1995, DFC hired Debra Beck as a driver. Shortly thereafter, Beck contacted the Local 876 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (Union) about organizing a campaign for representation. Over the next several months, Beck, her cook Michelle Benkert, and a handful of other DFC employees distributed union authorization cards and encouraged DFC members to sign them. 7 In June 1996, George learned of problems among his employees. Around that time, DFC's sales manager, William Tofilski, questioned Beck about union activities. Over the next month, Tofilski had several conversations with DFC employees in which he disparaged union organizational efforts, asked who had signed authorization cards, and implied that George would retaliate in some form were the employees to unionize because DFC could not afford to meet likely union demands. Douglas Foods Corp., 330 NLRB No. 124, slip op. at 7-9 (Mar. 13, 2000). Tofilski recounted that in the 1970s, when DFC was first unionized, George sold off routes to prevent unionization, and suggested George would do so again. 8 By July 3, the Union had nineteen signed authorization cards and filed a petition with the NLRB seeking to represent the employees of Douglas Foods/J&K Foods. The Union sought recognition from DFC, but DFC refused. At a subsequent NLRB representation hearing, DFC informed the Union that the unionization efforts would not forestall its plans to sell the twelve hot trucks and routes. In response to this and Tofilski's prior remarks, the Union filed unfair labor practice charges against DFC. 9 On July 22, before the complaints were filed, DFC agreed to an election covering all DFC hourly and lease drivers, cooks, mechanics, maintenance and store employees. Prior to the election, George held several mandatory-attendance meetings with DFC drivers. At one meeting, George explained that lease operators would have a problem maintaining their relationship with DFC should the company unionize. Douglas Foods, 330 NLRB No. 124, slip op. at 11. Prior to the election George also met with a cook, Ebtisam Kassouma, said he would raise her salary, and encouraged her to vote against union representation. 10 The election was held on August 23. Sixteen employees voted against the Union, twelve voted in favor with two challenged ballots. The Union also lost the election at JK Foods, 11-1. Id. at 12. Upon learning of the results, two DFC employees who had actively supported the Union quit, and the Union filed an additional unfair labor practice charge against DFC and requested that the NLRB issue a bargaining order. 11 Shortly after the election, George resumed his efforts to sell DFC hot trucks and routes. According to DFC, George was now willing to sell trucks and routes individually or in small groups, rather than in large groups or as a whole (as he had done with the cold trucks). In September, George announced that Tofilski and Mary Jo Merollis, Tofilski's sister and a prior DFC employee, had each agreed to purchase three hot trucks and routes. George informed his employees that this did not threaten their jobs, and that they would likely be retained as were the cold truck workers when they were sold to JK Food Service. Id. Although the announcement was made in late September, Tofilski and George did not sign the formal papers (dated October 21, 1996) until January 1997. Under the agreement, DFC financed the truck purchases and Tofilski was required to make weekly payments and sign a security agreement. He also had to guarantee that he would purchase 75 percent of his food from DFC. So long as Tofilski's trucks were operated in accordance with DFC guidelines, DFC agreed not to compete with his new business along its routes. Merollis executed similar agreements with DFC on January 31, 1997, but was later excused from the supply agreement. 12 In early October, DFC revised its time clock policy after it was fined by the Department of Labor for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. Id. at 5. That month, on two separate occasions, Michelle Benkert punched out late in violation of the policy. Benkert received a warning after the first violation. After the second she was fired. DFC cited the time clock violations and other performance issues about which she also had been warned. Benkert and the NLRB claim that the time clock violations were a pretext for firing her due to her union activity. 13 On November 22, Pam Cummins, an independent operator of a cold truck route purchased in 1995, purchased the hot truck and hot truck route driven by Debra Beck. DFC financed the purchase in much the same manner as the prior hot truck sales, though Cummins was required to purchase food exclusively from DFC. That day, George informed Beck that the truck and route had been sold and that she would be laid off. George did not inform her that JK Food Service was advertising for catering route operators. Id. at 14, 16. Cummins hired a new driver for the truck and retained the cook who worked with Beck. Cummins returned the truck and route in February 1997 because she was unable to make a profit on it, but DFC then resold it to another route operator. By mid-1997, DFC had sold all of its hot trucks and routes and was completely out of the retail catering business. Most of the trucks were sold to present route drivers with financing arrangements and supply agreements similar, but not identical, to those adopted by Tofilski and Cummins.