Opinion ID: 5904
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence of Outside Deliveries

Text: 3 April 1, 1988 is the relevant date in this case both because Cal-Maine employees voted in favor of the union on March 30, 1988, and because Cal-Maine claims that it discontinued procuring eggs from outside sources on April 1, 1988. 4 A detailed discussion of all of the evidence may be found in the ALJ's two opinions, which are attached to the NLRB's published order. See Cal-Maine Farms, Inc., 307 NLRB No. 66, 1992 WL 101249, 1992 NLRB LEXIS 609 (April 30, 1992). Two of the General Counsel's witnesses testified that they observed distinctive types of dollies5 and shipping stickers on the dollies which indicated that outside eggs were received after April 1, 1988, the date that Cal-Maine claims that such shipments ceased. Employees Daisy Bishop and Virginia Foster testified that they saw dollies and stickers on dollies from other Cal-Maine plants arrive at the packing plant in December 1988 and January and March 1989. In addition, employee Larry Bishop testified that he saw a tractor-trailer arrive with a shipment of unprocessed outside eggs at the packing plant in early 1989. The ALJ credited these three witnesses' testimony. Cal-Maine has challenged these three employees' testimony on various grounds. With respect to the two employees who claimed to have seen dollies and stickers from outside sources, Cal-Maine argues that the presence of dollies and stickers from other locations may be explained: According to Cal-Maine's witnesses at the administrative hearing, Cal-Maine regularly intermingles empty dollies from its various plants; furthermore, many of the stickers from other Cal-Maine plants allegedly were left on such intermingled dollies from previous shipments and did not indicate that egg shipments actually came to the Edwards plant from other Cal-Maine facilities after April 1, 1988. Although the ALJ appeared to agree that empty dollies may have been intermingled, the ALJ discredited CalMaine's explanation for the allegedly out-dated stickers by finding, based on competent evidence, that Cal-Maine had a policy of removing out-dated stickers and that the presence of the stickers on more than one occasion was not adequately explained by Cal-Maine's claim that the stickers were simply left on the dollies inadvertently. As for Larry Bishop's testimony about the truck, the ALJ noted that, based on undisputed testimony, an eighteen-wheeler truck would not ordinarily be used to move eggs within Cal-Maine's Edwards plant and that such vehicles were used only to make outside deliveries, such as those that regularly occurred befo re April 1, 1988. One of Cal-Maine's managers attempted to explain the presence of the truck by claiming that on one occasion eggs had been moved within the Edwards complex via an eighteen-wheeler. The ALJ discredited that witness' explanation on the grounds that the same witness had previously claimed that eighteen-wheelers were not used to move eggs 5 Dollies are devices used by Cal-Maine to transport eggs. produced within the Edwards complex and only remembered the alleged single instance in order to rebut Larry Bishop's testimony. The NLRB affirmed the ALJ's findings. Our review o f the relevant testimony leaves us in agreement with the NLRB. Although this evidence, by itself, would not establish that Cal-Maine regularly procured outside eggs, it is probative evidence that may be considered along with other evidence, discussed infra.