Opinion ID: 511651
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Were Stor-Rite's Actions Retaliatory?

Text: 26 The question of whether Martin's actions constituted protected, concerted activity need not be decided, because we conclude that Stor-Rite did not act with the motive of retaliating against any concerted activity in which Martin might have engaged. 27 The NLRB panel grounded its finding of a retaliatory motive on three factors: (1) supervisor Jaques's implementation of the plan by reducing powder line employees' hours by more than was strictly necessary, (2) Jaques's comment to Martin that he fucked up by going to Human Rights, and (3) Jaques's later comment to Martin that he had made his bed and was going to have to lie in it. Stor-Rite contends that the Board erroneously isolated Jaques's acts and statements from their proper context. Stor-Rite argues that the Board therefore found a retaliatory motive when, in fact, the record clearly demonstrates that Jaques merely acted to implement O'Brien's directive and that Jaques's comments simply point out that the ultimate result of Martin's efforts was a loss of work for everyone in his department. After reviewing the entire record, we conclude that Stor-Rite is correct when it argues that the Board's finding of a retaliatory motive was clearly erroneous. We hold that the NLRB's finding that Jaques acted in response to a retaliatory motive toward Martin overturning the ALJ's finding is not supported by substantial evidence. 28 This court has firmly held that the inference of unlawful motive is not to be lightly drawn, and must be based upon substantial evidence in the record and not on conjecture. G & H Products, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 714 F.2d 1397, 1401 (7th Cir.1983). Moreover, [t]he expressing of any views, argument, or opinion ... shall not constitute or be evidence of an unfair labor practice ... if such expression contains no threat of reprisal or force or promise of benefits. 29 U.S.C. Sec. 158(c). As a result, we have reversed findings of anti-union motivation based on isolated comments by a single supervisory employee, when little other evidence of improper motivation was found. See, e.g., Stokely-Van Camp, 722 F.2d at 1329-31; Roper Corp. v. N.L.R.B., 712 F.2d 306, 311 (7th Cir.1983). We must therefore examine the evidence in its appropriate context and not in isolation. 29 Initially, the Board, in finding a retaliatory motive, relied heavily on Stor-Rite's reduction of powder line workers' hours to less than twenty hours per week, rather than just under forty hours per week. We hold that the NLRB reached its conclusion by erroneously and selectively restricting its analysis to employment figures for a single month, rather than viewing the evidence regarding the respective time period in question. By focusing exclusively on the month of July (the month in which powder line workers' hours reached their lowest level during the entire period at issue), the Board exacerbated and exaggerated the severity of the reduction in hours. Stor-Rite offered uncontested evidence that the low July totals were caused substantially by a reduction in its powder coating work demands from other firms. In fact, the powder line was closed entirely for one week during July. Moreover, the Board's opinion for some unknown reason disregards Stor-Rite employment records that show that powder line workers averaged over thirty hours per week in March 1985, the month immediately following Martin's filing of his complaint. If Stor-Rite acted with retaliatory intent, then why did it delay the full impact of its retaliation until months later? The Board's decision is silent on this matter and offers no explanation. Moreover, powder line workers' hours rebounded after July and returned to the twenty-five to thirty hours per week range. On review of the record as a whole, it is difficult to escape the well reasoned and fully documented conclusion of the ALJ who had the opportunity to view and weigh the testimony of the respective witnesses, as well as of the dissenting Board panelist. In his opinion, Stor-Rite merely put in place a procedure designed to ensure that it would not thenceforth ever find itself in a position of needing to ask powder line employees to work 40 hours a week or more. This procedure resulted in much less work for powder line employees in July, but in earlier months it simply fulfilled the goal of keeping the employees' weekly hours below 40. Based on our review of the record, we find this view most compelling and hold that the Board's opinion exaggerates the degree and reason to which Stor-Rite reduced the hours of powder line employees. 30 The Board's finding that Jaques (and therefore Stor-Rite) bore a retaliatory motive was further based on the isolated statements of one supervisory employee. As we have emphasized in the past, however, the Act was not intended to stifle an employer's right to communicate its opinion in a noncoercive manner to its employees. 29 U.S.C. Sec. 158(c); Stokely-Van Camp, 722 F.2d at 1329-31; G & H Products, 714 F.2d at 1400-01; Roper, 712 F.2d at 311; N.L.R.B. v. Cutting, Inc., 701 F.2d 659, 665-66 (7th Cir.1983). It is therefore crucial that an employer's statements be examined in their proper context. G & H Products, 714 F.2d at 1401; Cutting, 701 F.2d at 665. Moreover, isolated and ambiguous statements by a single supervisory employee do not rise to the level of substantial evidence of improper motive in the absence of other evidence of anti-union animus. Stokely-Van Camp, 722 F.2d at 1329-30; Roper, 712 F.2d at 311. We must therefore examine Jaques's statements to Martin in the context in which they were made. 31 Initially, on the morning after Martin had gone to the Department of Human Rights, Jaques told Martin that he had fucked up by doing so. However, Jaques made the statement after Martin's complaint had brought Jaques's practice of assigning extra work to the attention of Stor-Rite's management, who then directed Jaques to end the practice. Jaques, of course, had been assigning the extra work only as a personal favor to the workers and realized that the practice would be discontinued if management discovered it. Jaques's comment thus referred to the obvious result of Martin's complaint (the end of the extra work assignments for all employees), and did not communicate any sort of threat. Without doubt, an employer may honestly comment on the effects of an employee's concerted activity. Roper, 712 F.2d at 311. In context, Jaques's comment meant only that Martin's complaint brought an end to the extra work. In addition, we find it significant that Jaques did nothing to try to prevent Martin from filing his complaint; in fact, Jaques explicitly encouraged Martin to do what you have to do. Comments made after concerted activity has taken place are inherently less coercive than those which precede concerted activity. Furthermore, Jaques's clearly noncoercive attitude prior to Martin's action strips the subsequent statement of any latent coercive effect. See Stokely-Van Camp, 722 F.2d at 1330; Roper, 712 F.2d at 311. Our review of the record convinces us that Jaques's first comment to Martin was nothing more than an after-the-fact comment on the result of Martin's complaint. The statement was devoid of coercive impact. 32 We view Jaques's second comment similarly. In April 1985, after Stor-Rite management had ordered the reduction in powder line workers' hours, Martin approached Jaques to ask whether he could work more hours. Referring to the impact of Martin's complaint, Jaques replied, [Y]ou made your bed, you're going to have to lie in it. Like Jaques's first comment, this statement was made after Martin's concerted activity took place and referred honestly to the ultimate result of Martin's complaint--the directive that Jaques conform his work assignments to company policy. Once again, the setting in which the comment was made indicates no coercive intent or effect. Stokely-Van Camp, 722 F.2d at 1329-31; Roper, 712 F.2d at 311. 33 The Board's findings of retaliatory intent on the part of supervisor Jaques also conflict with an implied credibility finding by the ALJ. The ALJ, however, did not comment explicitly on Jaques's credibility or his motive in enacting O'Brien's directive. However, Jaques testified extensively regarding how and why he reduced the hours of the powder line workers. According to Jaques, the total reduction in powder line employees' hours was the result of three changes that occurred from early 1985 onward: (1) additional hiring and reduction in maintenance assignments as necessary to comply with company policy, (2) improved efficiency of the powder line, and (3) a loss of powder coating contract business in July 1985. Of course, when the ALJ heard Jaques's testimony, the ALJ was well aware that any impermissible motive of Jaques could be attributed to Stor-Rite; the law is quite clear on that point. See, e.g., Graves Trucking, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 692 F.2d 470, 472-74 (7th Cir.1982); N.L.R.B. v. Berger Transfer & Storage Co., 678 F.2d 679, 688-89 (7th Cir.1982). Therefore, when the ALJ found that Stor-Rite lacked any impermissible, retaliatory motive, he found that Jaques also lacked any such motive, a fortiori. To reach this conclusion, the ALJ obviously had to rely on Jaques's testimony regarding the reasons for the reduction in the workers' hours. And, in reversing the ALJ, the Board rejected the ALJ's implied credibility determination without justification or explanation. Universal Camera requires that the ALJ's opportunity to view and weigh the witnesses' testimony first-hand must be accorded appropriate respect. Universal Camera, 340 U.S. at 496-97, 71 S.Ct. at 468-69; Stokely-Van Camp, 722 F.2d at 1328-29; Kopack, 668 F.2d 950-54. We decline to allow the Board to escape the impact of Universal Camera merely because the ALJ made the credibility determination at issue sub silentio. 34 In summary, the Board conceded that Stor-Rite acted within its rights when it reduced its powder line workers' hours to ensure that they would not be considered full time production and maintenance employees under the agreement between Stor-Rite and the union. Then, by isolating two comments by supervisor Jaques and focusing on Stor-Rite's labor figures for a single month, the Board found an unfair labor practice in the manner in which Stor-Rite accomplished its concededly permissible policy. To do so, the NLRB ignored important evidence regarding the context of Stor-Rite's words and deeds and also overturned the ALJ's implicit credibility determination concerning a pivotal witness, Jaques. Under these circumstances, viewing the record as a whole including the evidence opposing the Board's decision, the evidence supporting the Board's findings cannot be deemed substantial. We hold that the evidence in the record is insufficient to support the Board's finding that Stor-Rite acted with a retaliatory motive. 35 ENFORCEMENT DENIED.