Summary of NLRB Decisions for Week of June 27 - July 1, 2022
The Summary of NLRB Decisions is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for the opinions of the NLRB. Inquiries should be directed to the Office of the Executive Secretary at 202‑273‑1940.
Summarized Board Decisions
Hospital Menonita de Guayama, Inc. (12-CA-214830, et al.; 371 NLRB No. 108) Guayama, PR, June 28, 2022.
The Board unanimously adopted the Administrative Law Judge’s conclusions that the Respondent, a successor employer, violated Section 8(a)(5) and (1) by failing to bargain initial collective-bargaining agreements in good faith with the union that represented five bargaining units at the predecessor employer, by unilaterally paying employees a bonus without bargaining with the Union, and by failing to respond to the Union’s request for information relating to two of the five bargaining units.
A Board majority consisting of Chairman McFerran and Member Wilcox adopted the judge’s conclusions that the Respondent violated Section 8(a)(5) and (1) by withdrawing recognition from all five bargaining units, by making unilateral changes both during and after withdrawing recognition, and by failing to respond to the Union’s request for information as to the remaining three bargaining units, and adopted the judge’s recommended special remedies.
Dissenting in part, Member Ring would overrule the successor bar rule in UGL-UNICCO Service Co., 357 NLRB 801 (2011) and would remand the claims in which he does not join the majority to the judge to determine whether the withdrawals of recognition were supported by untainted evidence of employees’ loss of support for the Union.
Charges filed by Unidad Laboral de Enfermeras (Os) y Empleados de la Salud. Administrative Law Judge Ira Sandron issued his decision on May 30, 2019. Chairman McFerran and Members Ring and Wilcox participated.
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Packers Sanitation Services, Inc., LTD. (16-RC-294032; 371 NLRB No. 111) Fort Worth, TX, June 28, 2022.
The Board denied the Employer’s Request for Review of the Regional Director’s determination to convert the agreed-upon manual election to a mail-ballot election as it raised no substantial issues warranting review.
Petitioner—United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 540, AFL–CIO, CLC. Chairman McFerran and Members Ring and Prouty participated.
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American Postal Workers Union of Louisiana (United States Postal Service) (15-CB-241267, et al.; 371 NLRB No. 47) Baldwin, LA, June 30, 2022. Errata to Decision and Order issued January 14, 2022. Errata Amended Decision.
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Amerinox Processing, Inc. (04-CA-268380, et al.; 371 NLRB No. 105) Camden, NJ, July 1, 2022. Errata to Decision and Order issued June 3, 2022. Errata Amended Decision.
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American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc. (01-CA-263985; 371 NLRB No. 106) New Haven, CT, July 1, 2022. Errata to Decision and Order issued June 10, 2022. Errata Amended Decision.
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Unpublished Board Decisions in Representation and Unfair Labor Practice Cases
R Cases
Safeway, Inc. (19-RC-285965, et al.) King City, OR, June 29, 2022. The Board denied Safeway, Inc. and Albertsons LLC’s Request for Review of the Regional Director’s Decision and Direction of Elections as it raised no substantial issues warranting review. Petitioner—United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 555. Chairman McFerran and Members Ring and Prouty participated.
Siren Retail Corp., d/b/a Starbucks (19-RC-290608) Seattle, WA, June 29, 2022. The Board denied the Employer’s Request for Review of the Regional Director’s Decision on Objections and Certification of Representative as it raised no substantial issues warranting review. The Board also denied the Petitioner’s request for the Board to issue a formal reprimand of the Employer and to order the payment of litigation costs. Petitioner—Workers United a/w Service Employees International Union. Chairman McFerran and Members Kaplan and Wilcox participated.
Packers Sanitation Services, Inc., LTD. (16-RC-294333) Waco, TX, June 29, 2022. Citing Packers Sanitation Services, Inc., 371 NLRB No. 111 (2022), the Board denied the Employer’s Request for Review of the Regional Director’s determination to convert the agreed-upon manual election to a mail-ballot election as it raised no substantial issues warranting review. Petitioner—United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 540. Chairman McFerran and Members Ring and Prouty participated.
Blue School (02-RC-278139) New York, NY, June 29, 2022. The Board denied the Employer’s Request for Review of the Regional Director’s Decision on Objection and Certification of Representative as it raised no substantial issues warranting review. Petitioner—Local 2110, Technical, Office & Professional Union, UAW, AFL-CIO. Chairman McFerran and Members Kaplan and Ring participated.
C Cases
Biomedical Applications of Puerto Rico, Inc., d/b/a Fresenius Kidney Care Naranjito (12-CA-281235) Naranjito, PR, June 27, 2022. No exceptions having been filed to the May 13, 2022 decision of Administrative Law Judge Geoffrey Carter’s finding that the Respondent had engaged in certain unfair labor practices, the Board adopted the judge’s findings and conclusions, and ordered the Respondent to take the action set forth in the judge’s recommended Order. Charge filed by Unidad Laboral de Enfermeras (OS) y Empleados de la Salud.
Variety Restaurant Group, LLC, d/b/a Tudor’s Biscuit World of Elkview (09-CA-288570, et al.) Elkview, WV, June 28, 2022. The Board denied the Respondent’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, finding that the Respondent failed to establish that there were no genuine issues of material fact warranting a hearing and that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Charges filed by United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, CLC (UFCW), Local 400. Chairman McFerran and Members Ring and Prouty participated.
United States Postal Service (16-CA-247178, et al.) Galveston, TX, June 30, 2022. In this case alleging Section 8(a)(5) and (1) violations, the Board approved a formal settlement stipulation between the Respondent, the Charging Parties, and the General Counsel, and specified actions the Respondent must take to comply with the Act. Charges filed by National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 23, and American Postal Workers Union, Houston Area Local 185, a/w American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO. Chairman McFerran and Members Ring and Prouty participated
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Appellate Court Decisions
NBCUniversal Media, LLC, Board Case No. 02-CA-262640 (reported at 371 NLRB No. 5) (D.C. Cir. decided July 1, 2022).
The Court in an unpublished judgment enforced the Board’s order remedying the Employer’s unilateral rescission of merit-pay increases. Specifically, the Board (Chairman McFerran and Members Kaplan and Ring) found that NBC violated Section 8(a)(5) and (1) by unilaterally rescinding the increases several months after its News Digital editorial employees voted in December 2019 to be represented by the NewsGuild of New York, Local 31003, TNG/CWA. The wage rollback was undertaken without the Union’s consent and at the time that the parties were preparing to negotiate their first contract. In finding NBC’s conduct unlawful, the Board rejected its past-practice and waiver defenses.
On review, without hearing oral argument, the Court agreed that neither defense was persuasive. On the past-practice defense, NBC contended that the wage rollback was consistent with its longstanding practice of exercising discretion to grant, or not, merit increases. Rejecting that argument, the Court explained that even if the employees knew their Employer had the discretion to grant wage increases, “they would not have expected NBC to take back their raises months after awarding them—especially when NBC had never before done so.” On the waiver defense, the Court held that the Union’s consent to NBC implementing its wage-increase program in the usual course of business, did not constitute a bargaining waiver, given that the “usual course of business did not include rescinding raises.”
The Court’s judgment is here.
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Administrative Law Judge Decisions
Bebo’s and Kathy’s Café (16-CA-280782; JD-39-22) Pilot Point, TX. Administrative Law Judge Michael A. Rosas issued his decision on June 28, 2022. Charge filed by an individual.
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