Chemical Workers Local 6-18 (Wisconsin Gas)

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 21, 1988

290 N.L.R.B. 1155 (N.L.R.B. 1988)

CHEMICAL WORKERS LOCAL 6-18 (WISCONSIN GAS)
Local No. 6-18, Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers
International Union, AFL-CIO-CLC and Wis-
consin Gas Company. Case 30-CE-23
September 21, 1988
DECISION AND ORDER
BY CHAIRMAN STEPHENS AND MEMBERS
JOHANSEN AND CRACRAFT
On a charge filed by the Employer on June 16,
1987 , the General Counsel of the National Labor
Relations Board issued a complaint against Local
No 6-18 , Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers
International Union, AFL -CIO-CLC, the Re-
spondent, alleging that it had violated Section 8(e)
of the National Labor Relations Act by entering
into and maintaining an illegal "union signatory"
clause in its collective-bargaining agreement with
the Employer The Respondent admitted the factu-
al allegations contained in the complaint while de-
nying the unlawfulness of the allegations
Thereafter, the General Counsel filed with the
Board in Washington, D C, a Motion for Summary
Judgment On January 20, 1988 , 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 a re-
sponse
The National Labor Relations Board has delegat-
ed its authority in this proceeding to a three-
member panel
On the entire record , the Board makes the fol-
lowing
Ruling on the Motion for Summary Judgment
We will grant the General Counsel 's Motion for
Summary Judgment for the reasons stated below
FINDINGS OF FACT
I JURISDICTION
The Employer, a corporation with an office and
place of business in Milwaukee , Wisconsin, is a
public utility furnishing natural gas services with
annual gross revenues in excess of $250,000, and
with annual purchases of products, goods, and ma-
terials valued in excess of $50,000, which it re-
ceived at its facility directly from points located
outside the State of Wisconsin
We find that the Employer is an employer en-
gaged in commerce within the meaning of Section
2(2), (6), and (7) of the Act We further find that
the Respondent is a labor organization within the
meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act
II ALLEGED UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE
1155
The following facts are undisputed The Re-
spondent and the Employer have had a collective-
bargaining relationship for approximately 30 years
The most recent agreement is effective for the
period June 1 , 1986, through May 31, 1989 Article
2, section 7, paragraph (d) states
Whenever the Company shall contract work
normally performed by employees in the Pro-
duction and Maintenance Units, the work so
contracted shall be done by Union labor
On March 9, 1987, the Respondent filed and com-
menced processing its grievance number 3 -87-9 al-
leging a violation of the specified clause of the
labor agreement The grievance specifically stated
On 3/9/87 you violated 6-18 contract by
hiring non-umon contractor for locating We
want this stopped immediately and for all
hours worked by the contractor we want our
locator payed [sic] 1 - 1/2 times there [sic]
wages
The General Counsel alleges that the specified
clause is violative of Section 8(e) of the National
Labor Relations Act on its face , and that the Re-
spondent 's filing of the pertinent grievance reaf-
firmed this illegal clause within the 10(b) period
The Respondent alleges that the specified clause is
a lawful work-preservation clause that will be dem-
onstrated by an examination of all the surrounding
circumstances during an evidentiary hearing
Section 8(e) of the National Labor Relations Act
states in pertinent part
It shall be an unfair labor practice for any
labor organization and any employer to enter
into any contract or agreement, express or im-
plied, whereby such employer ceases or re-
frains or agrees to cease doing business
with any other person , and any contract or
agreement entered into heretofore or hereafter
containing such an agreement shall be to such
extent unenforceable and void
The Board has routinely interpreted this section
so as not to ban contracts that are intended to pre-
serve, for the employees within the bargaining unit,
work that they have traditionally performed 1 Nev-
ertheless , we agree with the General Counsel that
the clause at issue here is facially invalid It clearly
does more than protect or preserve traditional bar-
gaining-unit work for bargaining-unit employees It
' Painters Orange Belt District Council 48 (Maloney Specialties), 276
NLRB 1372, 1387 (1985), Mine Workers (Bituminous Coal), 144 NLRB
228, 234 (1963)
290 NLRB No 148
1156 DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
does not prohibit the Employer from subcontract-
mg work that its own employees perform And it
does not limit such subcontracting to employers
who, regardless of their bargaining relationship
with unions, pay their employees wages and fringe
benefits commensurate with those of the Respond-
ent's labor agreement Rather the clause permits
subcontracting, but only to those employers who
have labor agreements with unions It therefore
evinces neither a valid work preservation nor a
valid union standards requirement objective In-
stead, the clause precludes the Employer from
doing business with any other employer who does
not have a labor agreement with a union It is,
therefore, a classic union-signatory clause and
clearly contravenes Section 8(e) 2
We also agree with the General Counsel that the
Respondent's filing of the grievance pursuant to
the illegal clause constitutes entering into the un-
lawful provision within the 10(b) period 8
Because the language of the clause itself reveals
an object other than work preservation, we con-
clude, contrary to the Repsondent' s contention,
that there is no need for a hearing and that the
General Counsel is entitled to judgment as a matter
of law Accordingly, we grant the General Coun-
sel's Motion for Summary Judgment
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1 Wisconsin Gas Company is an employer en-
gaged in commerce within the meaning of Section
2(6) and (7) of the Act
2 Respondent Local No 6-18, Oil, Chemical
and Atomic Workers International Union, AFL-
CIO-CLC, is a labor organization within the mean-
ing of Section 2(5) of the Act
3 Article 2, section 7, paragraph (d) of the col-
lective-bargaimng agreement between the Respond-
ent and the Employer violates Section 8(e) of the
Act
4 By filing and commencing to process a griev-
ance pursuant to article 2, section 7, paragraph (d)
of the collective-bargaining agreement, Respondent
entered into an agreement in violation of Section
8(e) of the Act
5 The above unfair labor practice is an unfair
labor practice affecting commerce and the free
flow of commerce within the meaning of Section
2(6) and (7) of the Act
'Machinists Local 9 (St Louis Automotive), 134 NLRB 1354, 1358
(1961), enfd 315 F 2d 33 (D C Cir 1962)
s Mine Workers Local 2428 (Garland Coal), 258 NLRB 56, 58 (1981),
enfd 727 F 2d 954 (10th Cir 1984)
ORDER
The Respondent, Local No 6-18, 011, Chemical
and Atomic Workers International Union, AFL-
CIO-CLC, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, its officers,
agents, and representatives, shall
1 Cease and desist from
(a) Maintaining , enforcing, or giving effect to ar-
ticle 2, section 7, paragraph (d) of the 1986-1989
labor agreement
(b) In any like or related manner violating Sec-
tion 8(e) of the Act
2 Take the following affirmative action neces-
sary to effectuate the policies of the Act
(a) Post at its business office and meeting halls
copies of the attached notice marked "Appendix "4
Copies of the notice, on forms provided by the Re-
gional Director for Region 30, after being signed
by the Respondent's authorized representative,
shall be posted by the Respondent immediately
upon receipt and maintained for 60 consecutive
days in conspicuous places including all places
where notices to members 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
(b) Furnish the Regional Director for Region 30
sufficient signed copies of the attached notice that
the Regional Director may furnish to Wisconsin
Gas Company for posting, should the Company be
willing, in places where notices to employees are
customarily posted
(c) Notify the Regional Director in writing
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 AND MEMBERS
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 maintain, enforce, or give effect
to article 2, section 7, paragraph (d) of our 1986-
1989 labor agreement with Wisconsin Gas Compa-
ny
CHEMICAL WORKERS LOCAL 6-18 (WISCONSIN GAS) 1157
WE WILL NOT in any like or related matter vio-
late Section 8(e) of the Act
LOCAL No 6-18 , OIL, CHEMICAL
AND ATOMIC WORKERS INTERNA-
TIONAL UNION, AFL-CIO-CLC