Opinion ID: 407565
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: patco's violation of the ban on federal employee strikes

Text: 123 On the merits of this case, PATCO presents the court with two questions for review. The first question, which is addressed in this Part III., is whether the FLRA's finding that PATCO called, participated in, and condoned a strike is supported by substantial evidence. The second question, which is addressed infra in Part IV., is whether the FLRA properly exercised its discretion under the Act in revoking the exclusive recognition status of PATCO.
124 Section 7123(c) of the Civil Service Reform Act declares that (t)he findings of the Authority with respect to questions of fact, if supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole, shall be conclusive. 5 U.S.C. § 7123(c) (Supp. IV 1980). This language is identical to that governing judicial review of the decisions of the National Labor Relations Board, see 29 U.S.C. § 160(e) (1976), and Congress clearly intended the scope of review of FLRA factual findings to be identical to that of NLRB findings. 60 Thus, although this is one of the first occasions that this court has had to apply the substantial evidence rule in connection with disputed findings in an unfair labor practice hearing before the FLRA, the scope of our review is well-settled. See, e.g., Universal Camera Corp. v. NLRB, 340 U.S. 474, 71 S.Ct. 456, 95 L.Ed. 456 (1951); UAW v. NLRB, 392 F.2d 801, 805 (D.C.Cir.1967), cert. denied, 392 U.S. 906, 88 S.Ct. 2058, 20 L.Ed.2d 1364 (1968). The judicial function is merely to review the substantiality of the evidence underlying the agency decision, not to displace the (agency's) choice between two fairly conflicting views. That test of substantiality is met when the record before the court does not preclude( ) the (agency's) decision from being justified by a fair estimate of the worth of the testimony of the witnesses or its informed judgment on matters within its special competence or both. Universal Camera, 340 U.S. at 488, 490, 71 S.Ct. at 464, 465.
125 In this case it fully appears that the record before the FLRA provided a rational justification for its finding that PATCO call(ed), or participate(d) in, a strike, an unfair labor practice prohibited by 5 U.S.C. § 7116(b)(7)(A) (Supp. IV 1980). 61 As described above, the record contained evidence of simultaneous picketing by striking air traffic controllers at five separate FAA facilities. In each case the picketers carried signs indicating that they were on strike and that they belonged to a particular PATCO Local. In several cases FAA officials, viewing photographs taken during the strike, identified individual picketers as air traffic controllers (including certain PATCO Local officers); many of the persons identified were controllers who were scheduled for work at the times when the photographs were taken. In addition, FAA records also established massive absenteeism on August 3 and thereafter by air traffic controllers nationwide. 126 PATCO objects to the adequacy of this evidence, contending that it establishes only that strikes were conducted by certain PATCO Local unions, while the Respondent before the FLRA was the PATCO National union. Whatever weight PATCO's contention might otherwise have is seriously diminished by the evidence of the simultaneous picketing at numerous work locations and by the evidence of the nationwide scope of absenteeism by controllers on and after August 3. However the evidence is interpreted, it certainly cannot be characterized as a wildcat strike on the part of one of (PATCO's) Locals. PATCO Reply Brief at 12. The weight of PATCO's contention is even further diminished by the fact that the PATCO National union was the exclusive bargaining agent for all bargaining unit members. For several months prior to August 3, the PATCO National union, and not the Locals, had engaged in collective bargaining with the FAA for a national agreement. The FLRA was entitled to draw a reasonable inference from the national bargaining unit and from the nationwide picketing and absenteeism-viz., that the PATCO National union, and not merely a collection of PATCO Locals, was on strike. 62 127 Moreover, the FAA introduced into evidence two videotapes of PATCO National union President Robert Poli making statements regarding the strike at news conferences. 63 In the first videotape, Poli is recorded as announcing that the strike would begin on the morning of August 3 if no satisfactory settlement proposal was reached and if tallying of a strike vote revealed the necessary support. PATCO notes that this statement was not an actual strike call, but at most a prediction or a suggestion of conditions precedent to a strike. While what PATCO notes is indeed true, the statement nonetheless carries significant weight in light of the fact that Poli's predicted time of the strike exactly coincided with the extensive picketing and massive absenteeism. In the second videotape, Poli was recorded as making the simple statement: The question is will the strike continue. The answer is yes. PATCO again contends that the statement is no more than a prediction-a speculation about future events. PATCO Brief at 22-23. While the characterization given Poli's statement by PATCO is not totally inaccurate, it does not undercut the FLRA's finding. Poli's acknowledgement of the strike and his quite certain prediction that it would continue negate any attempt by PATCO to disassociate the PATCO National union from the widespread and simultaneous strike activity by PATCO members nationwide. 128 In these circumstances-simultaneous and widespread absenteeism by union members, picketing announcing various union locals as being on strike, and accurate statements by the union president that a strike would take place under certain conditions and then that that strike would continue-we have no difficulty concluding that the FLRA's finding was supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole. Our conclusion is made more certain by the total absence of record evidence offered by PATCO in refutation. Thus, we affirm the FLRA's finding that PATCO call(ed), or participate(d) in, a strike in violation of 5 U.S.C. § 7116(b)(7)(A) (Supp. IV 1980).
129 PATCO also objects to the conclusion of the FLRA that PATCO committed a separate unfair practice of condoning a strike by failing to take action to prevent or stop such activity, a violation of 5 U.S.C. § 7116(b)(7)(B) (Supp. IV 1980). 64 After finding that the evidence presented was sufficient to establish the prima facie existence of a strike, Chief A.L.J. Fenton ruled that the burden shifted to PATCO to produce evidence showing that it had taken some action to prevent or to stop the strike. 65 PATCO offered no such evidence. 130 PATCO does not now object to the legal principle followed by Judge Fenton regarding the shifting of the burden; instead, PATCO contends that there was insufficient evidence to shift the burden in this case. PATCO argues that the FLRA General Counsel failed to prove that the PATCO National union was aware of the strike at any time during which it could have taken action to stop it; hence, it argues that the General Counsel failed to establish that National union had any obligation under section 7116(b)(7)(B) to attempt to stop the strike. 66 131 Given our affirmance of the unfair labor practice finding under section 7116(b)(7)(A), it necessarily follows that the FLRA could conclude that the PATCO National union was aware of the strike and, as a consequence, had a statutory obligation to attempt to stop the strike activity. In addition, we believe that the FLRA was fully justified in taking official notice of proceedings in the District Court for the District of Columbia. During the early morning of August 3, 1981, the District Court issued a restraining order against the PATCO strike. During the evening of that same day, the District Court found both the PATCO National union and its President, Robert Poli, in civil contempt for violation of the restraining order. United States v. Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, 107 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3210 (D.D.C.1981). In these circumstances, PATCO certainly cannot claim lack of knowledge of the strike. On these bases, and because PATCO offered no evidence to indicate that it even attempted to end the strike, we also affirm the FLRA's unfair labor practice finding under 5 U.S.C. § 7116(b)(7)(B) (Supp. IV 1980). 67 132