Opinion ID: 356189
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Reliance on Employee Assertions

Text: 12 Both parties agree that although a union enjoys a rebuttable presumption of continued majority status, an employer lawfully may withdraw recognition from an incumbent union because of its asserted good faith doubt of the union's continuing majority status, if that doubt is reasonable and supported by objective considerations. See e. g., Terrell Machine Co. v. N. L. R. B., 427 F.2d 1088, 1090 (4th Cir. 1970), certiorari denied, 398 U.S. 929, 90 S.Ct. 1821, 26 L.Ed.2d 91; N. L. R. B. v. Little Rock Downtowner, Inc., 414 F.2d 1084, 1091 (8th Cir. 1969). Their primary disagreement in applying that principle to this case is over the question whether statements by a minority of unit employees to the effect that a majority want to be free of the Union are sufficient to justify the requisite good faith doubt. 13 Although the Company cites numerous cases allegedly proving that the Board or courts have found such employee assertions sufficient in the past, our reading of those cases is consistent with the Board's position on this appeal that assuming such evidence may be one basis upon which a reasonable doubt could rest, 3 in the absence of special circumstances it has not been held to be and should not be sufficient by itself. In nearly all the cases cited by the Company, the assertion that the majority disliked the incumbent union was accompanied by evidence of some identifiable acts by the majority (or at least by a substantial number of the non-complaining employees) that lent support to the assertion of dissatisfaction: failure to sign cards of the incumbent Union, 4 increasing refusals to authorize dues checkoffs, 5 sufficient signing of decertification petitions, 6 significant resignations from the union, 7 direct communication of dissatisfaction to the employer by a majority of unit employees, 8 or widespread refusals by the employees to participate in union activities. 9 14 This distinction based on a preference for objective, identifiable acts is not a technical one but rather is based on an interpretation of what is sufficient to form a reasonable doubt. First, the preference for some positive act by those whose anti-union sympathies are asserted reduces the likelihood that the minority of employees who make the assertions are mistaken or have misinterpreted statements by their colleagues. Cf. Retired Persons Pharmacy v. N. L. R. B., 519 F.2d 486, 490 (2d Cir. 1975); note 2 supra. Second, this distinction avoids allowing a few employees to undermine their union merely by making an assertion that is not easily verified by the employer. Our reference to this distinction is not meant to indicate that these objective acts necessarily are proof of loss of majority status or can constitute good faith doubt thereof, 10 nor is it meant to imply that establishing a good faith doubt requires actual proof that a majority of employees do not support the union; rather it means only that an employer cannot satisfy its burden of proof that the doubts were reasonable (see Retired Persons Pharmacy, supra at 489-490) by resting exclusively on such normally unreliable assertions. See N. L. R. B. v. Crimptex, Inc., 517 F.2d 501, 505 (1st Cir. 1975). 11 15 As the Company notes, this preference for identifiable acts in addition to employee assertions may not be absolute, and in appropriate cases employee assertions might be sufficient if accompanied by special indicia of reliability. Compare Houston Shopping News, 233 N.L.R.B. No. 24. That theory does not apply to these facts, however, because unlike Houston Shopping News, where the employees who asserted the sentiments of their silent colleagues told the Board of their long association with the employer and apparently with their colleagues, and also apparently offered detailed descriptions of individual conversations with their colleagues about the union, no such special indicia of reliability were found by the Board here or argued by the Company in this court. 16 In fact, the employees who made the assertions here did not even testify before the Board although they were present at the hearing, a fact from which the Administrative Law Judge properly drew an adverse inference as to the reliability of their assertions. 220 N.L.R.B. 303 at 307. The Company's argument that the Board did not call the employees either and thus the adverse inference should be drawn against the Board reflects a misunderstanding of the reasons for drawing adverse inferences. See generally International Union (UAW) v. N. L. R. B., 148 U.S.App.D.C. 305, 459 F.2d 1329 (1972). Of course in theory it often can be argued that the adverse inference could be drawn against either party, but, reasoning from the purposes of the inference, it is generally recognized that the inference is drawn against the party with the burden of persuasion on an issue (see McCormick on Evidence § 272 (2d ed. 1972)) or against the party who is relying on the statements of the uncalled witness. See generally id. § 272 and n. 36. The inference would work against the Company under either of those theories. Moreover, in this case the General Counsel argued and the ALJ agreed that the Company never met its burden of proving a reasonable doubt; therefore the likely inference from the fact that the Board did not call the employees is that the Board properly decided that no proof on its part was necessary on the issue. Thus the inference was correctly drawn against the Company, and that inference, coupled with the lack of any positive showing of the reliability of the assertions, distinguishes this case from Houston Shopping News and indicates why the normally unreliable assertions by the employees are an insufficient basis for a reasonable doubt on these facts. 17