Ap Electrical, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 19, 1990

297 N.L.R.B. 919 (N.L.R.B. 1990)

AP ELECTRICAL, INC 919
AP Electrical, Inc. and Local 654, International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Cases 4-
CA-18113-1 and 4-CA-18113-2
March 19, 1990
DECISION AND ORDER
BY CHAIRMAN STEPHENS AND MEMBERS
CRACRAFT AND DEVANEY
Upon charges filed by the Union June 2, 1989,1
the General Counsel of the National Labor Rela-
tions Board issued a consolidated complaint against
AP Electrical, Inc , the Respondent, alleging that it
has violated Section 8(a)(3) and (1) of the National
Labor Relations Act Although properly served
copies of the charges and complaint 2 the Respond-
ent has failed to file an answer
On January 2, 1990, the General Counsel filed a
Motion for Summary Judgment On January 9,
1990, the Board issued an order transferring the
proceeding to the Board and a Notice to Show
Cause why the motion should not be granted The
Respondent filed no response The allegations in
the motion are therefore undisputed
The National Labor Relations Board has delegat-
ed its authority in this proceeding to a three-
member panel
,
Ruling on Motion for Summary Judgment
Section 102 20 of' the Board's Rules and Regula-
tions provides that the allegations in the complaint
shall be deemed admitted if an answer is not filed
within 14 days from service of the complaint,
unless good cause is shown The complaint states
that unless an answer is filed within 14 days of
service, "all of the allegations in the Consolidated
Complaint shall be deemed to be admitted to be
true and may be so found by the Board"
In the absence of good cause being shown for
the failure to file' a timely answer, we grant the
General Counsel's Motion for Summary Judgment
On the entire record, the Board makes the fol-
lowing
FINDINGS OF FACT
1 JURISDICTION
The Respondent, a Pennsylvania corporation, is
and at all material times has been engaged in the
1 Unless otherwise noted, all dates are in 1989
2 The Respondent appointed an attorney to be its exclusive agent for
service of complaints and other papers However, the Motion for Sum-
mary Judgment contains the uncontradicted allegation that counsel for
the General Counsel was Informed by the attorney about October 17 that
he Intended to withdraw from the case (By letter dated December 15,
the attorney informed the Regional Director that he had ceased on Octo-
ber 20 to represent the Respondent ) The complaint, which Issued on Oc-
tober 24, was served on the Respondent's president by certified mall
construction business as an electrical contractor
with its main office located in West Chester, Penn-
sylvania, where in the past year, in the course and
conduct of its business operations just described, it
received more than $50,000 for performing services
outside Pennsylvania We find that the Respondent
is an employer engaged in commerce within the
meaning of Section 2(2), (6), and (7) of the Act and
that the ,Union is a labor organization within the
meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act
II ALLEGED UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
About April 5, the Respondent, through its su-
pervisor and agent Ed Devlm, threatened employ-
ed with termination if they attended a union meet-
ing About mid-April, the Respondent, acting
through its supervisor and agent Steve Stelzer, told
an employee that he thought the employee was dis-
charged because the employee attended a union
meeting About mid-April, the Respondent, acting
again through Stelzer, informed an employee that
the Respondent's president had said that the em-
ployee was fired because he attended a union meet-
ing and was a union organizer By each of the acts
described in this paragraph, the Respondent has
interfered with, restrained, and coerced, and is
interfering with, restraining, and coercing, employ-
ees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Sec-
tion 7 of the Act, and thereby has been engaged in
unfair labor practices within the meaning of Sec-
tion 8(a)(1) of the Act 3
About April 6, the Respondent, acting through
its supervisor and agent Paul Brockton, discharged
its employee Steve Sop, and at all times since then
has failed and refused, and continues to fail and
refuse, to reinstate Steve Sop to his former job or
to a substantially equivalent position of employ-
ment About April 7, the Respondent, acting
through Stelzer, discharged its employee Michael
Tobin, and at all times since then has failed and re-
fused, and continues to fail and refuse, to reinstate
Michael Tobin to his former job or to a substantial-
ly equivalent position of employment The Re-
spondent engaged in, and is engaging in, the con-
duct descnbed in this paragraph because Sop and
Tobin were active on behalf of the Union By the
acts and conduct described in this paragraph, the
Respondent has discriminated, and is discriminat-
ing, in regard to the hire or tenure or terms or con-
ditions of employment of its employees, thereby
discouraging . membership in a labor organization,
3 The complaint also alleges an unlawful statement to an employee by
"Steve Smith" No such person, however, is alleged to be a supervisor or
agent of the Respondent In any event, even if the remark were found to
be unlawful, It would be cumulative of other 8(a)(1) violations found and
would not affect the Order We therefore do not pass on this allegation
297 NLRB No 152
920 DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and thus has been engagir g in unfair labor prac
tices within the meaning of Section 8(a)(3) and (1)
of the Act
CONCLUSION OF LAW
By the acts and conduct described in section II,
above, the Respondent has engaged in unfair labor
practices affecting commerce within the meaning
of Section 8(a)(1) and (3) and Section 2(6) and (7)
of the Act
REMEDY
Having found that the Respondent has engaged
in certain unfair labor practices, we shall order it
to cease and desist and to take certain affirmative
action designed to effectuate the policies of the
Act We shall order the Respondent to offer to re-
instate Steve Sop and Michael Tobin and to make
them whole for any loss of earnings and other ben-
efits resulting from their discharges, in the manner
prescnbed in F W Woolworth Co, 90 NLRB 289
(1950), with interest to be computed in the manner
prescnbed in New Horizons for the Retarded, 283
NLRB 1173 (1987) We shall also order the Re-
spondent to remove from its files all references to
the unlawful discharges, and to inform Sop and
Tobin that it has done so and that their discharges
will not be used against them in any way
ORDER
The National Labor Relations Board orders that
the Respondent, AP Electrical, Inc. West Chester,
Pennsylvania, its officers, agents, successors, and
assigns, shall
1 Cease and desist from
(a) Threatening employees with termination if
they attend a union meeting
(b) Telling employees that they have been fired
because they attended a union meeting or because
they were union organizers
(c) Discharging and failing and refusing to rein
state employees because of their activities on behalf
of the Union
(d) In any like or related manner mterfenng
with, restraining, or coercing employees in the ex-
ercise of the rights guaranteed them by Section 7
of the Act
2 Take the following affirmative action neces-
sary to effectuate the policies of the Act
(a) Offer Steve Sop and Michael Tobin immedi-
ate and full reinstatement to their former jobs or, if
those jobs no longer exist, to substantially equiva-
lent positions, without prejudice to their semonty
or any other rights or pnvileges previously en-
joyed, and make them whole for any loss of earn-
ings and other benefits suffered as a result of the
discrimination against them, in the manner set forth
in the remedy section of this decision
(b) Remove from its files any references to the
unlawful discharges, and notify each of the em-
ployees in wntmg that it has done so and that his
discharge will not be used against him in any way
(c) Preserve and, on request, make available to
the Board or its agents for examination and copy
mg, all payroll records, social secunty payment
records, timecards, personnel records and reports,
and all other records necessary to analyze the
amount of backpay due under the terms of this
Order
(d) Post at its facility in West Chester, Pennsyl-
vania, copies of the attached notice marked "Ap-
pendix "4 Copies of the notice, on forms provided
by the Regional Director for Region 4, after being
signed by the Respondent's authonzed representa-
tive, shall be posted by the Respondent immediate-
ly upon receipt and maintained for 60 consecutive
days in conspicuous places including all places
where notices to employees are customarily posted
Reasonable steps shall be taken by the Respondent
to ensure that the notices are not altered, defaced,
or covered by any other material
(e) Notify the Regional Director in wntmg
within 20 days from the date of this Order what
steps the Respondent has taken to comply
4 If this Order is enforced by a judgment of a United States court of
appeals the words in the notice reading Posted by Order of the Nation
al Labor Relations Board shall read Posted Pursuant to a Judgment of
the United States Court of Appeals Enforcing an Order of the National
Labor Relations Board
APPENDIX
NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
An Agency of the United States Government
The National Labor Relations Board has found
that we violated the National Labor Relations Act
and has ordered us to post and abide by this notice
WE WILL NOT threaten employees with termina-
tion for attending a union meeting
WE WILL NOT tell employees that they were
fired because they attended union meetings or were
union organizers
WE WILL NOT discharge and fail and refuse to
reinstate employees because of their union activi-
ties
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner
interfere with, restrain, or coerce you in the exer-
AP ELECTRICAL INC 921
cise of the rights guaranteed you by Section 7 of
the Act
WE WILL offer Steve Sop and Michael Tobin
immediate and full reinstatement to their former
jobs or, if those jobs no longer exist, to substantial
ly equivalent positions, without prejudice to their
semonty or any other nghts or privileges previous-
ly enjoyed, and WE WILL make them whole for
any loss of earnings and other benefits resulting
from their discharges, less any net interim earnings,
plus mterest
WE WILL notify each of them that we have re
moved from our files any reference to his dis
charge and that the discharge will not be used
against him in any way
AP ELECTRICAL, INC