Opinion ID: 320302
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Charges Against Suburban

Text: 4 UTU has represented Suburban's employees for approximately 30 yesrs. 4 In July 1971, UTU requested that bargaining for the terms of a new contract commence as the then current agreement was due to expire on September 14, 1971. In late August, Suburban employee Daniel Rava was elected chairman of UTU's bargaining committee, which also included employees Peterson and Bowman. Although not officially members of the committee, Gerald McPhillips, a UTU international representative, and Austin Zechman, a UTU vice president, assisted the committee in its deliberations. Suburban was represented by Morris Lipschitz, officer, director and sole owner of Suburban, Lee Jacobs and Sidney Kuchin, the two other Suburban officers, and Ronnie Kohn, Suburban's office manager. 5 After a series of bargaining sessions, the parties reached accord on September 13 on a three-year agreement. On September 14 a ratification meeting was held at which the employees decisively rejected the proposed contract by a vote of 49 to 3, apparently because of its three-year term. Following this meeting, the UTU committeemen agreed to bargain for a shorter, two-year contract term. However, at the next bargaining session on September 24, Suburban insisted upon a three-year contract, but offered to increase its initial wage offer. The subsequent ratification meeting, attended by about 30 Suburban employees, broke up in chaos when the term of the contract was announced and no ratification vote was taken. After the meeting, McPhillips met with Rava and Peterson, and they all agreed that they had not had a fair opportunity to present the package to the men and that they should meet with Suburban again. 6 As early as July 1971, Rava and, at some time during that summer, several other employees, had become interested in the possibility of changing union representation from UTU to the Teamsters. Between July and September, Rava called the Teamsters on several occasions to explore avenues of having the Teamsters represent the Suburban employees. In early September, he and employee Manga met with Martin McDermott, a Teamsters international representative, at the Teamsters' premises. McDermott agreed to check to see if there was a 'no raid pact' with the UTU but warned that the Teamsters could be of no help until the contract expired. Thereafter, Rava called the Teamsters several times and was told by McDermott that there was not a 'no raid pact' between the Teamsters and UTU. 7 On the morning of September 15, Rava requested that Peterson meet him at the Teamsters' premises, where they discussed with McDermott ways in which a change in union representation could be effected. During this meeting, McDermott gave Rava a decertification petition and some Teamsters' membership cards, which Rava placed in the trunk of his car. Later that day, Peterson informed McPhillips of the meeting with McDermott. McPhillips then advised UTU vice-president Kenneth Moore of Rava's contacts with the Teamsters, and Moore requested that McPhillips obtain further information before having Rava removed from his union office. 8 On September 26, Rava gave the decertification petition and Teamsters' authorization cards to Manga, who proceeded to solicit signatures. After obtaining signatures of more than 30% Of Suburban's employees, Manga filed the petition for decertifying UTU on September 29, and the Teamsters filed a representation petition the same day. Suburban received the petitions on October 2. 9 On September 28, Suburban officials and the UTU bargaining committee met again and agreed that it would be useless to hold another membership meeting. The mediator suggested that a petition be drawn up and that members of the committee speak to each employee, and if a majority signed the petition, then the committee could sign the contract. Rava opposed the petition and suggested instead a mail ballot, which was finally agreed upon. That night, however, while Peterson was in a meeting with Zechman at the latter's home, Moore called Zechman and told him that Rava was collaborating with the Teamsters and that he was taking steps to have Rava removed as chairman of the wage committee. Zechman began to suspect that Rava's suggestion of the mail ballot was designed to cause further delay and, therefore, he and Peterson decided to proceed with a petition. 10 The contract ratification petition was drawn up and circulated on October 1 by Peterson and another UTU official, Tom Alexander, and was returned to Zechman on October 2 with 51 signatures (out of the 61 employees constituting the unit of drivers). McPhillips contacted Suburban president Lipschitz and told him that the committee believed they had a majority and were prepared to sign a renewal agreement. The signatures on the petition were checked against the payroll forms and were found to be valid. Lipschitz agreed to sign the contract when he returned from a trip to California, and on October 14 the contract was executed. 11 On the evening of October 26, a meeting was held at the Teamsters' hall and a group of Suburban employees voted to strike, apparently to protest both the discharge of two workers because of an unrelated accident and the execution of the contract with UTU. The next day, and for a few days thereafter, a number of Suburban employees went out on strike and began picketing the company's premises, with signs reading 'Employees of Suburban Transit on Strike Unfair Labor Practices Local Teamsters Union No. 701.' The number of employees who picketed is disputed, estimates ranging from 25 to 46. At most only 17 employees worked on the first day of the strike. On October 29, Suburban wrote 34 letters to striking employees, stating that they would be suspended if they did not report for work on November 2. On November 1, Suburban obtained a temporary restraining order from the Superior Court of New Jersey. While most of the employees returned to work on November 2, 19 did not. Following an investigation conducted by Suburban, all but two of the 19 strikers were discharged. 12 The Board's conclusion that Suburban violated 8(a)(1), (2), and (3) of the Act was based primarily on its finding that the decertification petition filed by Manga and the representation petition filed by the Teamsters (supported by authorization cards) raised a real question concerning representation and that, therefore, Suburban's execution of a new contract with UTU, containing a union security provision, when Suburban had knowledge of those petitions, was an unfair labor practice under the doctrine of Midwest Piping & Supply Co., 63 N.L.R.B. 1060 (1945). 5 The Board recognized that this finding conflicts with our decision in NLRB v. Swift & Co., 294 F.2d 285 (3d Cir. 1961), where this court held that the mere filing of a representation petition by a competing union does not create a real question of representation so as to prevent an employer from entering into an agreement with the previously certified union, but the Board felt constrained to follow its own law on this point. We, in turn, are constrained to follow Swift and, therefore, hold that the Board's determination that a real question of representation existed at the time of the renewal agreement between Suburban and UTU is not supported by substantial evidence. See also NLRB v. Peter Paul, Inc., 467 F.2d 700, 702 (9th Cir. 1972); NLRB v. Midtown Service Co., 425 F.2d 665, 669 (2d Cir. 1970); NLRB v. North Electric Co., 296 F.2d 137, 139-140 (6th Cir. 1961); St. Louis Independent Packing Co. v. NLRB, 291 F.2d 700, 704 (7th Cir. 1961). 6 13 As to the discharge of the 19 striking employees, the Board's finding of a violation of 8(a)(1) and (3) of the Act was based upon the premise that the strike was protected activity, despite the possible applicability of a no-strike clause in the bargaining agreement, because the Board found it was called, at least in part, to protest an unfair labor practice-- i.e., the execution of the new agreement between Suburban and UTU. Since we have held that the evidence does not support the Board's finding that this agreement constituted an unfair labor practice, its conclusion that the discharge of the strikers violated 8(a)(1) and (3) must also be set aside and the case must be remanded to the Board for a determination as to whether the strike was protected activity in light of Article 13 of the bargaining agreement. 7 Cf. Gateway Coal Co. v. United Mine Workers, 414 U.S. 368, 94 S.Ct. 629, 38 L.Ed.2d 583 (1974). 14