Opinion ID: 770652
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Distribution of union literature in the check-in area

Text: 15 The first incident involved the distribution of a union newspaper in the check-in area. The check-in area is an area where drivers congregate before 8:30 a.m., at which time they attend a morning meeting in another location before proceeding to their trucks to begin deliveries. Drivers often come to this area before the 8:30 a.m. meeting - sometimes arriving as much as an hour early. During this time, the ALJ found the check-in area to be a place where drivers are free to talk, read newspapersand magazines, or stand around until their assigned driving time. See JA at 777. She therefore held that the check-in area was a non-work or at the most a mixed area. 16 If an area is a work area, UPS may prohibit the distribution of union literature. See Stoddard-Quick Manufacturing Co. v. International Woodworkers of America, 138 N.L.R.B. 615 (1962). If it is a non-work area and the union literature is dispersed during non-working time, UPS may not stop the distribution. See Eastex, Inc. v. NLRB, 437 U.S. 556, 570-72, 57 L.Ed.2d 428 (1978) (holding that employees have the right to distribute union literature in non-work areas of the employer's premises during non-working periods and employers may not interfere with this right except to the extent necessary to maintain production or discipline); Republic Aviation Corp. v. NLRB, 324 U.S. 793, 801-05, 89 L.Ed. 1372 (1945) (same). If the area is a mixed area, meaning that, while some people may use the area for work, most of the employees use it for non-work purposes - such as a lunch area or a break area - UPS still may not prohibit the distribution of union literature. See Rockingham Sleeper, Inc., 188 N.L.R.B. 698 (1971); Oak Apparel, Inc., 218 N.L.R.B. 701 (1975); Transon Lines, 235 N.L.R.B. 1163 (1978), aff'd in relevant part, 599 F.2d 719 (5th Cir. 1979). 17 The ALJ found that the check-in area was a non-work area, or at the most a mixed area, based on the testimony she found the most persuasive: testimony that drivers do not work in the area between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., but merely congregate there before the day's shift. While there was testimony that supervisors may occasionally give instructions to a driver before his start time, the ALJ found this was the exception to normal practice. The ALJ found, moreover, that, even if such conversations occasionally occur, UPS does not compensate drivers for these brief interchanges with their supervisors, since the drivers are not actually on the clock until 8:30 a.m. The ALJ found that even if supervisors and other classes of employees work in this area before or after this one hour period, and even if supervisors may choose to engage in uncompensated conversations with drivers during this period, such activities would, at the most, turn the area into a mixed area. Because the area was a non-work or mixed area between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., the ALJ found that UPS violated § 8(a)(1) of the NLRA by enforcing its non-distribution rule in the area during this time. The NLRB affirmed this decision. 18 UPS contends that the determination that the area was a non-work or mixed work area was erroneous. Because it assails the ALJ's finding of facts, we review this argument under the substantial evidence test. Cleveland Real Estate Partners v. NLRB, 95 F.3d 457, 462 (6th Cir. 1996); Emery Realty, Inc. v. NLRB, 863 F.2d 1259, 1263 (6th Cir. 1988). We must uphold the ALJ's findings of fact if substantial evidence exists in the record when viewed as a whole, to support them. See Universal Camera, 340 U.S. at 488. The ALJ's credibility considerations, moreover, should not be disturbed. NLRB v. Baja's Place, 733 F.2d 416, 421 (6th Cir. 1984); Roadway Express, Inc., 831 F.2d 1285, 1289 (6th Cir. 1987). 19 In her opinion, the ALJ detailed her factual findings and explained in fair detail why she countenanced the testimony of some witnesses and rejected that of others in coming to her determination. The ALJ's determination that the area was a non-work, or at the most a mixed area, is supported by substantial evidence in the record, namely the testimony of several witnesses. UPS provides a litany of work that is supposedly done in this area, but the ALJ discounted this evidence as irrelevant to the time between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., or found that it was not credible,or found that it was only enough to bring the area to mixed status. Thus, the ALJ's factual findings and credibility determinations should be affirmed. 20 UPS also contends that other NLRB cases have held that a work area cannot be designated a mixed area just because non-working employees happen to be there. See UARCO, Inc., 286 N.L.R.B. 55, 68-69 (1987) (holding that aisle where Hyster vehicles travel on a regular basis was a work area even when non-working employees were there); Vapor Corporation, 242 N.L.R.B. 776, 790 (1979) (holding that a room where forklifts entered regularly was a work area even when filled primarily with employees waiting to clock out); Timken Co., 236 N.L.R.B. 757, 764 (1978) (holding that hallway with regular cart and tow-motor traffic was a work area even when non-working employees were there). The facts in those cases differ substantially from the facts at issue here, however. Those cases dealt with areas still retaining the characteristics of a work area but where non-working employees happened to be found, not areas transformed into lounge or break areas during certain times of the day. 21 Here, the check-in area transformed into a congregation point for the drivers to drink coffee, read magazines and newspapers, and converse before their morning shift. This activity is different from distributing papers to employees waiting to clock-out in the five minutes before the shift change, where many other employees present are still working, and where a forklift could enter at any time. See Vapor Corporation, 242 N.L.R.B. at 790. It also differs from employees distributing material in a hallway used for cart and tow-motor traffic that was not specifically set aside for non-work related functions or activities. See Timken Co., 236 N.L.R.B. at 764. The NLRB's determination that this is a non-work area, thus, is not in conflict with the findings in these earlier cases. 22 UPS next argues that, even if the check-in area is a mixed work area, the NLRB still may not force UPS to allow distribution of union literature there. UPS contends that, to prohibit distribution in a mixed area, it need only show that other areas exist in the building where UPS allows distribution of union literature. UPS asserts that, because employees may pass out union literature in the employee locker room and in the break room, it may make the check-in area a non-distribution area, no matter how the room is characterized. 23 UPS attempts to glean this argument from Rockingham Sleepwear, Inc., 188 N.L.R.B. 698 (1971), and Transon Lines, 235 N.L.R.B. 1163 (1978). There, in finding that employers may not enforce non-distribution rules in mixed use areas, the NLRB noted that no other non-work area on the premises existed where those employees could distribute union literature. UPS contends that these cases stand for the proposition that the absence of other areas of distribution is a precondition to a right of distribution in mixed areas. UPS reads too much into Rockingham and Transon Lines. While these cases do state in their factual findings that there were no non-work areas on the employers' premises, that fact was not essential to the outcome. Indeed, the NLRB has expressly found that a company may not prohibit the distribution of union literature in a mixed-use area, even though other non-work areas existed in the building, including a driver's lounge and a washroom. See Arkansas Best Freight System, Inc., 257 N.L.R.B. 420, 424 (1981). And, in Oak Apparel, Inc., 218 N.L.R.B. 701, the NLRB did not even mention a lack of alternate non-work areas, much less precondition its holding regarding the right of distribution in mixed use areas on thatfact. The availability of alternatives for employee communication, moreover, does not generally affect an employee's right to distribute literature. See, e.g., Roadway Express, Inc. v. NLRB, 831 F.2d 1285, 1290 (6th Cir. 1987) (ability to freely distribute literature does not alter employee's right to post union literature on employer bulletin boards) 1 . 24 For these reasons, we find no basis to disturb the ALJ's determination that the check-in area was a mixed-use area or to disagree with the conclusion that UPS committed an unfair labor practice by prohibiting the distribution of union literature in that area. 25