Electrical Workers, Local 48 (Oregon-Columbia Chapter of NECA)

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 23, 2004

342 N.L.R.B. 101 (N.L.R.B. 2004)

ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA)
342 NLRB No. 10
101
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local 48, AFL–CIO (Oregon-Columbia Chapter
of National Electrical Contractors Association)
and Paul Footlick and Dennis S. Coey and Pat-
rick Mulcahy and Richard S. Smith and Brad
Twigger and Terry Taylor and William Perry.
Cases 36–CB–1798–1, 36–CB–1947, 36–CB–
1840–1, 36–CB–1798–2, 36–CB–1798–3, 36–CB–
1798–4, 36–CB–1798–5, 36–CB–1859, 36–CB–
1798–6, and 36–CB–1853
June 23, 2004
DECISION AND ORDER
BY CHAIRMAN BATTISTA AND MEMBERS SCHAUMBER
AND WALSH
On April 21, 2000, Administrative Law Judge Mary
Miller Cracraft issued the attached decision. The Gen-
eral Counsel filed exceptions and a supporting brief, and
the Respondent filed an answering brief.
The National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
The Board has considered the decision and the record
in light of the exceptions and briefs and has decided to
affirm the judge’s rulings, findings, and conclusions only
to the extent consistent with this Decision and Order.
From October 1992 to May 1994 (the relevant period),
dozens of employees were dispatched out of order from a
Portland, Oregon hiring hall operated by International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 48, AFL–CIO
(Local 48 or the Union). Some of these improper dis-
patches were knowing and deliberate; others resulted
from negligent disregard of established hiring hall rules.
Among the deliberately irregular dispatches, some were
handed out in connection with Local 48’s salting pro-
gram. The complaint alleged violations of Section
8(b)(1)(A) of the Act for all of these deviations from the
Union’s hiring hall rules.1 The judge dismissed these
allegations. The General Counsel excepts. For the rea-
sons explained below, we reverse.
I. FACTS
A. Dispatch Rules Governing Local 48’s Hiring Hall
Local 48 operates an exclusive hiring hall for jour-
neyman and apprentice electricians. The rules governing
this operation are contained in the collective-bargaining
agreement, as amended from time to time, between Local

1 The complaint alleged a number of other 8(b)(1)(A) violations as
well, some of which the judge found and some of which she dismissed.
There are no exceptions to any of the judge’s findings concerning these
other allegations. Thus, absent exceptions, we adopt the judge’s find-
ings in secs. II,B,4, 5, 6, II,C, D, and E of her decision.
48 and the Oregon-Columbia Chapter of the National
Electrical Contractors Association, a multiemployer as-
sociation. Included in these rules are the various re-
quirements for registering in one of four groups, or
“books.” Taken together, these four books comprise the
out-of-work list, or OWL, from which job referrals are
made. Within each book, applicants are listed by sign-in
date, with the most recent sign-ins at the bottom of the
book. Although a few of the alleged irregularities in this
case concern dispatches from book 2, most involve dis-
patches from the highest-ranking book, book 1.
To register on book 2, an applicant must have 4 or
more years’ experience in the trade and must have passed
a journeyman inside wireman’s exam or been certified as
a journeyman inside wireman by an inside joint appren-
ticeship and training committee. Eligibility for book 1
requires the foregoing, and more. A book 1 registrant
must reside within the geographical jurisdiction of Local
48. Before June 17, 1993, book 1 listing also required
that an applicant have been employed at least 1 year out
of the previous 4 by signatory contractors. As a short-
hand, we will call this the “signatory 1 out of 4” rule.
Beginning June 17, 1993, the signatory 1 out of 4 rule
was replaced by a rule requiring employment at least 1
year out of the previous 4 within Local 48’s geographical
jurisdiction, regardless of whether the employers worked
for were signatory contractors.
The cardinal rule of the Union’s hiring hall is first in,
first out. Thus, a referral must be offered first to the
highest-listed registrant present in the hall—typically a
registrant on book 1. The only exceptions to this rule are
for age balancing (not relevant here) and for jobs requir-
ing special skills. As to the latter, when a contractor
calls for someone with a certain skill, the referral must be
offered to the highest-listed applicant present in the hall
who possesses the requested skill. Except to fill a fore-
man position, the dispatch rules do not permit Local 48
to refer applicants requested by name.
Two other hiring hall rules bear on the alleged dis-
patching violations in this case: the biannual re-sign rule
and the short-call rule. The biannual re-sign rule pro-
vides that everyone listed on the OWL must sign in at the
hall twice a year, in February and August, on pain of
being dropped from the OWL. During the relevant pe-
riod, the short-call rule provided that a registrant who
was dispatched to a job that, through no fault of his own,
lasted 40 hours or less would preserve his predispatch
position on the OWL. Put differently, if a job lasted
longer than 40 hours, the person dispatched to that job
was supposed to roll to the bottom of his book when he
signed back in after the job had ended. In November
1994, the short-call period was lengthened from 40 hours
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 102
to 30 days. However, since no evidence was introduced
concerning dispatches postdating May 16, 1994, for pre-
sent purposes the applicable short-call rule is the 40-hour
rule.
B. The Documentary Evidence
In reviewing the evidence supporting our findings
herein, we will have occasion to refer to four principal
kinds of documents contained in the record: the daily
sign-in report (DSR), the daily dispatch report (DDR),
the already mentioned out-of-work list, and the member
master inquire (MMI). Some explanation of these
documents will help orient the reader to the dispatching
irregularities at issue here.
The Daily Sign-In Report: As its name suggests, the
daily sign-in report for any given day lists, or should list,
everyone who signed in that day. A few of the DSRs in
the record are handwritten originals from the hiring hall,
but most of them are typed counterparts prepared from
the originals by a Local 48 secretary. “Signing in” on the
DSR must be distinguished from “initialing” the OWL.
An applicant signs in to signify his availability for work,
such as after his previous employment has ended. Under
certain circumstances, an applicant could properly re-
ceive a dispatch the very day he signs in. More typically,
however, the newly signed-in applicant is not entitled to
an immediate dispatch. Therefore, his name appears on
the next day’s OWL at the bottom of the highest-ranking
book for which the applicant is eligible, and next to his
name is printed his sign-in date. When the applicant
comes to the hiring hall on that day and successive days,
he initials the OWL next to his name to signify his pres-
ence in the hall and availability for dispatch.
An applicant also signs in to comply with a February
or August re-sign requirement. When he does so, the
applicant is issued a re-sign “slip” evidencing that he has
met his biannual re-sign duty; and his name will appear
on that day’s DSR, typically with a handwritten notation
indicating “re-sign.” Confusingly, successive OWLs
frequently substitute the most recent biannual re-sign
date for the applicant’s last sign-in date. DSRs are there-
fore crucial for determining actual sign-in dates and, cor-
respondingly, an applicant’s proper position on the
OWL.
The Daily Dispatch Report: The daily dispatch report
is just what the name says: a list of everyone dispatched
on a given day. Dispatches are also evidenced in other
ways. The name of the contractor to which an applicant
was dispatched is generally written next to that individ-
ual’s name on the OWL. Also, the dispatched applicant
is given an introduction slip, and he may also sign an
authorization for withholding of union dues. In some
instances, the record contains an introduction slip and a
dues withholding authorization uncorroborated by a
DDR entry. Where that is the case, the logical inference
is that the dispatch has been handled “off the books.”
The Out-of-Work List: The OWL for any given day
should list all applicants who have signed in (as docu-
mented on earlier DSRs), have met all intervening bian-
nual re-sign obligations (again documented on prior
DSRs), and are currently unemployed by a signatory
contractor. Because of the short-call rule, the OWL will
also list persons very recently dispatched. As explained
above, an employee signing in after a short call preserves
his previous OWL position. Thus, to avoid needless de-
letion and reinsertion of names, Local 48 keeps appli-
cants listed on the OWL for a time after they have been
dispatched. The record contains OWLs for almost but
not quite all days the hall was open for business during
the relevant period. According to Gerald Bruce, Local
48 business manager beginning in 1996, no hard copy
OWL was generated on days when all available jobs had
already been “passed,” or rejected.
The Member Master Inquire: Local 48 keeps an MMI
for every Local 48 member, as well as for “travelers”—
i.e., members of other IBEW locals who have traveled
into Local 48’s geographical jurisdiction and signed in at
its hiring hall. The MMI contains a wealth of informa-
tion, including, as relevant here, a chronological listing
of the jobs the individual in question has worked, the
contractors worked for, and the starting and ending dates
of each employment. This information makes it possible
to determine whether particular book 1 registrants had
met the signatory 1 out of 4 requirement for registering
on book 1. The MMI also may indicate the date on
which an individual either completed his apprentice
training or passed the journeyman inside wireman’s
exam, one or the other of which is also prerequisite to
Book 1 registration.
C. Deliberate Departures from the Hiring Hall Rules
Category 1: Local 48 maintained a “salting” program
during the relevant period. Salting is a practice in which
union members take jobs with nonunion employers in
order to organize their employees.2 There is no dispute
that Local 48 intentionally gave preferential dispatching
treatment to persons who served as salts. There is also
no dispute that Local 48 extended similar treatment to
so-called peppers.3 According to Edward Barnes, busi-
ness manager of Local 48 from 1992 to 1995, a “pepper”

2 Little Rock Electrical Contractors, 336 NLRB 146, 150 (2001),
enfd. mem. 171 LRRM 3215 (4th Cir. 2002).
3 The following is a nonexhaustive list of individuals who received
preferential dispatching treatment as salts or peppers: Patrick Ander-
son, Dennis Yandle, Clyde Eng, Howard Green, Paul Starr, Ray Jones,
and Mike Bateman.
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 103
is somebody “that’s working for a nonunion shop that’s
helping the Union organize” that shop. Put differently, a
pepper is a newly organized employee of a nonsignatory
employer who remains with that employer for a time to
engage in organizing.
The judge found that Local 48 gave preferential dis-
patching treatment in connection with its salting program
in two ways. First, at a time when the signatory 1 out of
4 rule was still in effect, salts and peppers were given
credit for their time with nonsignatory employers for
purposes of satisfying that rule and thus registering on
book 1 after their “salting” or “peppering” employment
ended. Second, salts and peppers sometimes received
dispatches without having registered on the OWL at all.4
The judge made no findings concerning deliberate out-
of-order dispatches unrelated to Local 48’s salting pro-
gram. Based on our review of the record, however, we
find that Local 48 knowingly made numerous out-of-
order referrals for a variety of reasons other than the re-
cipient’s having served as a salt or pepper. Some of
these dispatches fall into well-defined categories, as fol-
lows.
Category 2: According to Bruce’s uncontradicted tes-
timony, certain former employees of Tigard Electric—
including without limitation Paul Starr and John Holmes
III—who had been “stripped” during an organizing cam-
paign were returned to Tigard off the books shortly after
it recognized the Union.5
Category 3: Some individuals—including without
limitation Troy Rorabaugh, John Vitro, and Marvin

4 The General Counsel contends there was a third way in which Lo-
cal 48 gave salts preferential treatment in dispatching: salts who were
registered on book 1 when their “salting” employments began were
permitted to remain on the OWL and work their way up the list during
those employments. Our dissenting colleague defends this practice,
taking the view that allowing salts to stay on the OWL during their
salting employments did not contravene the hiring hall rules because,
technically speaking, a salt working for a nonunion contractor has not
been dispatched. In light of the judge’s undisputed finding that Local
48 gave salts and peppers preferential dispatching treatment in other
ways that plainly did contravene hall rules, we need not pass on the
legality of this particular practice. However, even assuming that re-
maining on the OWL during a salting employment does not in itself
violate the rules of the hiring hall, registrants so situated would still be
obliged to meet their biannual re-sign duty. Keeping a salt on the OWL
despite his having failed to satisfy that duty would constitute an im-
proper dispatching practice; and, as explained more fully below, the
General Counsel may allege and prove additional instances of that
practice at compliance.
5 “Stripping” is the practice of persuading employees of nonunion
employers to join the union and leave their employer. Wolgast Corp.,
334 NLRB 203, 212 (2001), enfd. 349 F.3d 250 (6th Cir. 2003), cert.
denied 124 S.Ct 1656 (2004). In its brief, Local 48 admits that it
agreed to return four “stripped” former employees to Tigard. The other
two may have been Charles Gaty and Howard Cook, but at this stage
the record is insufficient to so find.
Schreifels—received off-the-books dispatches at or about
the time they joined Local 48. Unlike the peppers dis-
cussed above, persons in this category did not join the
Union and then remain with their nonsignatory employ-
ers for a time to engage in organizing. Rather, the evi-
dence indicates that they received off-the-books dis-
patches simply as a reward for joining the Union.6 With
respect to Rorabaugh and Vitro, our finding is based on
Rorabaugh’s uncontradicted testimony. Rorabaugh testi-
fied that in 1992, when he was working as a supervisor
for a nonunion contractor, Local 48 official, Mel Conner,
approached him and guaranteed him a year’s work if he
joined the Union. Rorabaugh accepted Conner’s offer
and received a dispatch without ever being placed on the
OWL. Rorabaugh also testified that John Vitro came
with him and received the same deal.7 Schreifels simi-
larly testified, without contradiction, that he joined Local
48 at Conner’s prompting in January 1993 and received
an immediate dispatch to Team Electric.8
Category 4: Bruce testified that Bill Wynkoop,
Everett Johnston, and Steven Shiprack, without having
registered on the OWL, were dispatched back to an em-
ployer that had just discharged them.
Category 5: Some individuals—including without
limitation Merle Cook, Dale Polzin, Curtis Nappe,
Marius Michael, John Robertson, Louis Roumagoux,
Roger Bement, Ralph Robbins, and Alex Melnick—

6 In addition to Rorabaugh, Vitro, and Schreifels, this category may
also include Dennis Gross, Mark Vesico, Charles Parker, Michael
Quinonez, Gary Rossman, and Craig Yundt. Alternatively, one or more
of these six individuals may have served as a pepper. We need not
resolve this uncertainty because the remedy would be the same regard-
less of the category. Whether rewarded as peppers or simply for join-
ing the Union, these six individuals received deliberate out-of-order
dispatches, as shown by the following evidence. Dennis Gross: Mel
Conner, head of organizing for Local 48 from 1990 to 1998, admitted
that Gross was dispatched off the books. Mark Vesico: Conner admit-
ted that Vesico was dispatched off the books. Michael Quinonez:
MMI shows Quinonez starting at Team Electric on September 15,
1993, but there is no hiring hall record of this dispatch. Charles
Parker, Gary Rossman, and Craig Yundt: MMIs show Parker,
Rossman, and Yundt starting at Team Electric on September 7, 1993,
but there are no hiring hall records of these dispatches. This listing is
not necessarily exhaustive. Others also may have received preferential
dispatching treatment as a reward for joining Local 48.
7 Documentary evidence tends to corroborate Rorabaugh’s testi-
mony. Rorabaugh signed in at the hall on December 15, 1992, and was
dispatched that same day. No OWL was generated on that date. How-
ever, the DSR for that date shows that eight persons signed in, and the
DDR for that date shows that of these eight, only Rorabaugh received a
dispatch. As for Vitro, there is no evidence that he ever signed in at the
hall, but his MMI nevertheless shows that he started work with a signa-
tory contractor shortly after Rorabaugh on January 4, 1993.
8 As with Rorabaugh, documentary evidence corroborates
Schreifels’ testimony. The DSR and DDR for January 22, 1993, show
Schreifels signing in as a new applicant and receiving a dispatch to
Team Electric that same day.
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 104
appear to have retained OWL positions they should have
lost as a result of missing a biannual re-sign. For each of
the named individuals in this category, the General
Counsel introduced into evidence an OWL listing that
individual as having re-signed on a given date in Febru-
ary or August—the biannual re-sign months—and a DSR
for that same date omitting the individual’s name. For
example, the OWL for April 20, 1993, lists Roger Be-
ment as having met his February 1993 re-sign duty on
February 10; but the DSR for February 10 omits Be-
ment’s name. The Union countered this evidence by
speculating that Bement might have been mistakenly
omitted from the February 10 DSR—presumably by the
Local 48 secretary who prepared the DSR from the hir-
ing hall original—and Bement, discovering the error,
presented his re-sign slip to the dispatcher and was re-
stored to his place. Similar evidence, similarly coun-
tered, was introduced as to the other named individuals
in this category.9 However, Local 48 presented no evi-
dence that its speculations as to what might have hap-
pened did, in fact, happen. Thus, we infer from the evi-
dence that the individuals in question were intentionally
permitted to retain OWL positions they should have lost
by virtue of missing a biannual re-sign.
Category 6: Some individuals—including without
limitation Paul Demos, Dean Wilhite, and Patrick Ker-
ner—received off-the-books dispatches in response to
name requests, where the jobs to be filled were not fore-
man positions and therefore did not qualify for name-
request dispatching. The evidence concerning these dis-
patches reveals the following.
Heil Electric asked for Demos by name, and he was
dispatched accordingly on March 2, 1993. Bruce
claimed this referral was a “special skills” dispatch. As
explained above, a “special skills” dispatch must be of-
fered to the highest-listed registrant present in the hall
who possesses the requested skill. There is no evidence

9 Merle Cook: Listed on the February 17, 1993 OWL with a sign-in
date of February 16, 1993; DSR for February 16 does not list Cook.
Dale Polzin: Listed on the April 23, 1993 OWL with a sign-in date of
February 22, 1993; DSR for February 22 does not list Polzin. Curtis
Nappe: Listed on the June 11, 1993 OWL with a sign-in date of Febru-
ary 5, 1993; DSR for February 5 does not list Nappe. Marius Michael:
Listed on the September 1, 1993 OWL with a sign-in date of August 5,
1993; DSR for August 5 does not list Michael. John Robertson: Listed
on the December 13, 1993 OWL with a sign-in date of August 12,
1992, but Robertson failed to re-sign in both February and August
1993; MMI shows that he actually re-signed on September 27, 1993.
Louis Roumagoux: Listed on the February 22, 1994 OWL with a sign-
in date of August 26, 1993; DSR for August 26 does not list Rouma-
goux. Ralph Robbins: Listed on the July 22, 1993 OWL with a sign-in
date of February 16, 1993; DSR for February 16 does not list Robbins.
Alex Melnick: Listed on the June 10, 1993 OWL with a sign-in date of
February 17, 1993; DSR for February 17 does not list Melnick. This
listing is not necessarily exhaustive.
that Demos was the highest-listed qualified registrant on
the OWL on March 2, 1993. Indeed, no OWL was even
printed that day.
Wilhite was dispatched on April 12, 1993, to a jobsite
some distance from Portland. Wilhite had worked for
this contractor at this jobsite before, and the contractor
asked him to come back. This dispatch was handled off
the books: Wilhite was not even present in the hiring
hall on April 12, 1993, and his name does not appear on
that day’s DDR.
Kerner worked out his own employment arrangement
with Far West Electric and was “dispatched” accord-
ingly.
Finally, there were a number of deliberate dispatching
irregularities during the relevant period that cannot be
categorized. As to these, the record suffices to prove a
deliberate departure from the hiring hall rules, but each
instance thus proved appears to be sui generis.10 The
evidence upon which we rely in finding these uncatego-
rizable dispatching irregularities is quite voluminous.
For that reason, and for reasons explained in section II,C,
“Compliance Issues,” we will identify all of the indi-
viduals in this “category” and summarize the relevant
evidence in an evidentiary appendix to this decision, be-
low.
D. Mistaken Departures from the Hiring Hall Rules
In addition to the numerous deliberate dispatching ir-
regularities outlined above, Local 48 also mistakenly
departed from its hiring hall rules in two respects. First,
it unwittingly permitted a number of applicants to regis-
ter on book 1 despite their not having satisfied one or
more of the requirements for book 1 eligibility. These
individuals include, without limitation, those listed in
section 2 of the evidentiary appendix, below. Local 48
was unaware that book 1–ineligible applicants were reg-
istered on that book because it ran the hall on what Bruce
characterized as an “honor system,” trusting the appli-
cants themselves to make sure that they complied with
the eligibility rules. Unfortunately, that system failed
badly. As the MMIs on file in the union office reveal, a
number of applicants signed up on book 1 without hav-
ing passed the journeyman inside wireman’s exam. Oth-
ers should have been excluded from book 1 for failure to
meet the signatory 1 out of 4 rule. Still others registered
on book 1 were expressly identified on their MMIs as
ineligible for that book. It bears repeating that an indi-
vidual’s MMI reflects the starting and ending dates of

10 One or more individuals in this group may have been salts or pep-
pers, but the evidence is insufficient to resolve that uncertainty. In any
event, even if we have included some salts and peppers in the category
of “uncategorizables,” the mistake is harmless because it would have
no effect on the remedy.
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 105
each job to which that person has been dispatched. Nec-
essarily, therefore, the MMIs are consulted and updated
on a regular basis.
Additionally, a number of individuals worked jobs in
excess of the 40-hour short-call limit without rolling to
the bottom of their book. These individuals include,
without limitation, those listed in section 3 of the eviden-
tiary appendix, below. These departures from the con-
tractual short-call rule resulted from Local 48’s mistaken
application of a 30-day short-call limit throughout the
relevant period. As stated above, however, the short-call
limit was not extended from 40 hours to 30 days until
November 1994, well after the end of the relevant period.
II. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
A. Deliberate Departures from the Hiring Hall Rules
In Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171 (1967), the Supreme
Court held that a union breaches its duty of fair represen-
tation by conduct toward a member of the collective-
bargaining unit that is “arbitrary, discriminatory, or in
bad faith.” 386 U.S. at 190.11 Guided by subsequent
Supreme Court decisions construing the duty of fair rep-
resentation,12 the Board has held that the three-pronged
Vaca v. Sipes standard applies to all union activity, in-
cluding the operation of a hiring hall. Plumbers Local
342 (Contra Costa Electric), 329 NLRB 688 (1999), enf.
denied sub nom. Jacoby v. NLRB, 233 F.3d 611 (D.C.
Cir. 2000).13 When a union purposely departs from the
rules governing the operation of its hiring hall, it dra-
matically displays its power to affect employees’ liveli-
hood. Such a deliberate departure constitutes arbitrary,

11 The third amended consolidated complaint alleges violations of
Sec. 8(b)(1)(A), which makes it an unfair labor practice for a labor
organization or its agents to restrain or coerce employees in the exer-
cise of their Section 7 rights. The complaint does not, in so many
words, allege that Local 48 breached its duty of fair representation.
However, under Miranda Fuel, 140 NLRB 181, 185 (1962), enf. denied
326 F.2d 172 (2d Cir. 1963), a breach of the duty of fair representation
constitutes an 8(b)(1)(A) violation; and the judge and parties take it for
granted that Local 48’s duty of fair representation is at issue here.
Moreover, in hiring hall cases, the Board applies the same standards
regardless of whether a breach of the duty of fair representation is
expressly alleged. Plumbers Local 342 (Contra Costa Electric), 336
NLRB 549, 553 (2001).
12 Steelworkers v. Rawson, 495 U.S. 362 (1990); Air Line Pilots
Assn. v. O’Neill, 499 U.S. 65 (1991).
13 In Jacoby, supra, the D.C. Circuit disagreed with the Board’s ap-
plication of a unitary duty-of-fair-representation standard to all union
activity, holding that unions owe a heightened duty in the operation of a
hiring hall. The Ninth Circuit has agreed with the D.C. Circuit in this
regard. Lucas v. NLRB, 333 F.3d 927, 934–935 (9th Cir. 2003). We
discuss this issue more fully in sec. II,B, which deals with Local 48’s
mistaken departures from its hiring hall rules. We need not decide here
which standard should apply because, for the reasons explained below,
Local 48’s deliberate departures from its hiring hall rules were unlawful
under either a unitary or a heightened duty standard.
discriminatory, or bad-faith conduct in violation of the
duty of fair representation, and violates Section
8(b)(1)(A) and (2), unless the union can demonstrate that
the departure was pursuant to a valid union-security
clause or was necessary to the effective performance of
its representative function. Plumbers Local 342 (Contra
Costa Electric), 336 NLRB at 550, enfd. sub nom.
Jacoby v. NLRB, 325 F.3d 301 (D.C. Cir. 2003); Operat-
ing Engineers Local 406 (Ford, Bacon & Davis Con-
struction), 262 NLRB 50, 51 (1982), enfd. 701 F.2d 504
(5th Cir. 1983). As set forth above, on numerous occa-
sions throughout the relevant period, Local 48 knowingly
and deliberately departed from the procedures governing
its hiring hall. There is no contention that any of these
departures were pursuant to a valid union-security clause.
Accordingly, Local 48 violated Section 8(b)(1)(A) as
alleged unless it rebutted the presumptive unlawfulness
of its conduct by demonstrating, as an affirmative de-
fense, that the departures were necessary to the effective
performance of its representative function.
The judge found that Local 48 met its burden in this
regard with respect to departures in furtherance of its
salting program. Citing Ashley, Hickham-Uhr Co., 210
NLRB 32 (1974), the judge equated the “necessary to the
effective performance” defense with a showing that de-
viations from hiring hall rules are not “arbitrary, invidi-
ous, or irrelevant to legitimate union interests.” Finding
that a goal of Local 48’s salting program was to capture
work for the Union, the judge then relied on Sheet Metal
Workers Local 27 (Sheet Metal Contractors’ Assn.), 316
NLRB 419 (1995), which she characterized as holding
that “a union may deviate from established hiring hall
rules to achieve its goal of providing employment oppor-
tunities otherwise unavailable to its hiring hall registrants
when such a goal is recognized by the union.” Finally,
the judge reasoned by analogy from Food & Commercial
Workers Locals 951, 7, & 1036 (Meijer, Inc.), 329
NLRB 730 (1999).14 In Meijer, the Board held that un-
ion organizing expenses are chargeable to Beck15 objec-
tors. The Meijer Board based its holding on evidence
that represented employees benefit from their union’s
organization of additional workers. By analogy to Mei-
jer, and applying the Ashley standard set forth above, the
judge found that deviations from the hiring hall rules in
furtherance of Local 48’s salting program “served the
legitimate Union interest of organizing unorganized em-
ployees” and were neither “arbitrary” nor “invidious.”
Based on this finding, the judge concluded that those
deviations were “necessary to the effective performance

14 Enfd. en banc 307 F.3d 760 (9th Cir. 2002), cert. denied 537 U.S.
1024 (2002).
15 Communication Workers of America v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735 (1988).
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 106
of the Union’s representative function.” We disagree
with both the judge’s analysis and her ultimate conclu-
sion.
First, contrary to the judge, Ashley, Hickham-Uhr, su-
pra, does not explain the “necessary to the effective per-
formance” defense. Ashley concerned a dispatch prefer-
ence for a union steward. Steward dispatch preferences
are not presumptively unlawful. Teamsters Local 959
(Ocean Technology, Inc.), 239 NLRB 1387, 1389
(1979); Plumbers Local 520 (Aycock Inc.), 282 NLRB
1228 fn. 2 (1987). Thus, in such cases, the union has no
burden to present a “necessary to the effective perform-
ance” defense. Rather, the General Counsel must show
that the union’s preferential dispatch of a steward was
“‘arbitrary, invidious, or irrelevant to [its] legitimate . . .
interest,’” and therefore “belied any motivation to assure
effective administration of the contract.” Ocean Tech-
nology, supra (quoting Ashley, Hickham-Uhr, supra). In
sum, Ashley articulates the General Counsel’s burden in
steward preference cases, not Local 48’s burden in this
case of showing that its deliberate out-of-order dis-
patches were necessary to the effective performance of
its representative function.
Moreover, Sheet Metal Workers Local 27, supra, upon
which the judge relied, is distinguishable. In that case,
union president Stapleton learned that the general con-
tractor for a county jail project intended to subcontract
the sheet metal work to an out-of-state contractor. Sta-
pleton asked county politician Larrison to intercede with
the general contractor. Larrison did so, and the sheet
metal subcontract was awarded to an in-state union con-
tractor. Larrison then asked Stapleton whether the sub-
contract would result in employment for residents of the
county. Thereafter, Stapleton limited dispatches for the
jail renovation project to county residents. In doing so,
Stapleton invoked “Resolution 78,” an addendum to the
collective-bargaining agreement that authorized the un-
ion to take whatever steps necessary in order to capture
work for its members. 316 NLRB at 422. In finding the
union’s conduct necessary to the effective performance
of its representative function, the Board emphasized the
union’s reliance on Resolution 78, which was found to be
“a collectively bargained exception to the hiring hall
practice of referring employees in the order of their list-
ing on the out-of-work list.” Id. at 423. Here, by con-
trast, there is no collectively bargained “work capture”
exception to the first in, first out rule. Accordingly,
Sheet Metal Workers is inapposite.
The judge’s reliance on Meijer, supra, which our dis-
senting colleague shares, is similarly misplaced.16 This
case and Meijer are fundamentally unlike. Meijer is a
“union-security” case. As noted above, “union security”
is one of the ways in which a union can justify a depar-
ture from hiring hall rules. However, as also noted
above, that is not the asserted basis for the departure
here. Further, at issue in Meijer was a marginally higher
dues burden on employed Beck objectors; at issue here is
access to employment altogether. Meijer holds that be-
cause all unit members benefit from organizational ef-
forts, Beck objectors have to pay their share of the costs
of those efforts. From this holding, it does not follow
that because all unit members benefit from salting ef-
forts, salts may be rewarded with dispatches to which
others are entitled under the rules of the hiring hall. If
the analogy to Meijer were sound, it should be lawful to
withhold referrals from hiring hall registrants who de-
cline to engage in or otherwise support picketing, since
all unit members presumably benefit from the economic
pressure picketing exerts on employers. Nevertheless,
the Board has found to the contrary. See Service Em-
ployees Local 9 (American Maintenance), 303 NLRB
735 (1991)17 (violation found where applicant denied
dispatch for refusing to picket); Carpenters Local 316
(Bay Counties Contractors), 291 NLRB 504 (1988)18
(violation found where applicants rolled to bottom of
OWL for failing to show up at a picket site for a hiring-
hall roll call).
Finally, Supreme Court precedent supports a finding
contrary to the judge’s. The Court has observed that the
Act was “designed to allow employees to freely exercise
their right to join unions, be good, bad, or indifferent
members, or abstain from joining any union without im-
periling their livelihood.” Radio Officers’ Union v.
NLRB, 347 U.S. 17, 40 (1954). Thus, “the policy of the
Act is to insulate employees’ jobs from their organiza-
tional rights.” Id. This policy is plainly undermined by a
dispatching regime that steers work to employees who
engage in union organizing, to the disadvantage of those
who do not. In essence, the Union has extended an em-
ployment preference to those who engage in union activ-
ity elsewhere and has concomitantly disadvantaged those
who refrain from engaging in such activity. Even if it
were shown that organizational efforts in other units
would redound to the economic benefit of those who use
the hiring hall involved here, that would not privilege the

16 The Chairman and Member Schaumber did not participate in Mei-
jer, and they express no views as to the merits of that decision.
17 Enfd. mem. as modified 996 F.2d 1226 (9th Cir. 1993) (substitut-
ing narrow for broad cease-and-desist order).
18 Enfd. mem. 942 F.2d 792 (9th Cir. 1991).
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 107
employment discrimination. For such discrimination is
not necessary to the effective performance of the Union’s
representative function.
For all of the foregoing reasons, we find that Local
48’s knowing, deliberate preferential dispatching treat-
ment of salts and peppers was not necessary to the effec-
tive performance of its representative function, and there-
fore violated Section 8(b)(1)(A). Additionally, as re-
counted in section I,C above and detailed in section 1 of
the evidentiary appendix below, Local 48 deliberately
deviated from its hiring hall rules in favor of a number of
applicants who did not serve as salts or peppers. The
judge did not address the legality of these dispatches.
However, Local 48 does not contend that any of them
were necessary to the effective performance of its repre-
sentative function. We find that they were not, and
therefore, that Local 48’s deliberate preferential dispatch-
ing treatment of applicants who did not serve as salts or
peppers also violated Section 8(b)(1)(A).
Our dissenting colleague defends Local 48’s methods
of favoring salts and peppers in dispatching—namely, by
dispatching salts and peppers not registered on the OWL,
and by giving salts and peppers credit for their time with
nonsignatory contractors for purposes of satisfying the
signatory 1 out of 4 rule. Our colleague approves these
practices as compensating salts and peppers for the per-
sonal sacrifices entailed by their organizational work.
Like our colleague, one can respect the sacrifices these
individuals made, but we disagree that it was necessary
to reward them with job referrals to which others were
rightfully entitled. Local 48 could have found other
ways to compensate salts and peppers for their organiz-
ing work, the most obvious being monetary payment.
Our colleague would find no violation for three other
categories of deliberate dispatching irregularities: return-
ing “stripped” employees to their former employer (cate-
gory 2), redispatching discharged employees back to the
employer that had just fired them instead of pursuing a
grievance (category 4), and dispatching individuals re-
quested by name (category 6). In his view, category 2
and 4 practices should be held lawful because they
smoothed the waters between the Union and signatory
contractors in accord with general language contained in
a section of the parties’ collective-bargaining agreement
entitled “Basic Principles.” This section refers to the
value of “harmonious relations,” “continuous peace,” and
“adjusting any differences by rational common sense
methods.” Notwithstanding these general aspirational
statements, however, our colleague does not dispute that
category 2 and 4 conduct was at odds with more specific
contract provisions regulating the operation of the hiring
hall; and it is a settled canon of contract interpretation
that the specific governs over the general. See, e.g.,
Newspaper & Mail Deliverers (Macromedia Publishing),
281 NLRB 588, 591 fn. 15 (1986), enfd. mem. 804 F.2d
1248 (3d Cir. 1986). Our colleague also says that the
policy of industrial peace favors his position on category
2 and 4 conduct. On the contrary, his position would
undermine industrial peace by subordinating specific
contractual provisions to abstract ideals. Industrial peace
under a collective-bargaining agreement is best main-
tained where parties may confidently assume that its
rules will be enforced as written, not trumped by vague
generalities.
Turning to category 6, the name-request dispatches, we
disagree with our dissenting colleague’s allocation of the
burden of proof as to the dispatch of Paul Demos. Our
colleague would place the burden on the General Coun-
sel to negate Business Manager Bruce’s naked assertion
that Demos was a “special skills” dispatch. To meet that
burden, the General Counsel would have had to prove
that somebody other than Demos had the needed skill
and was listed higher on the OWL—even though no
OWL was printed on the date of Demos’ dispatch, mak-
ing this a burden the General Counsel could not possibly
have met. Contrary to our colleague, we find that the
General Counsel sustained his burden of proof by show-
ing that a contractor asked for Demos by name to fill a
nonforeman position, and Demos was dispatched to that
contractor. Nothing more was necessary to raise an in-
ference that Local 48 had deliberately departed from the
hiring hall rules. Bruce’s claim that this was a “special
skills” dispatch was an affirmative defense, as to which
Local 48 bore the burden of proof, which it failed to sus-
tain.
Our colleague also says that we are “flyspecking” in
finding violations for Wilhite’s and Kerner’s dispatches.
On the contrary, we are simply applying the hiring hall
rules as set forth in the labor contract. Under those rules,
only foreman positions may be filled by name request. If
that rule leads to harsh results, the remedy lies with the
parties to negotiate different rules.
B. Mistaken Departures from the Hiring Hall Rules
In Plumbers Local 342 (Contra Costa Electric), 329
NLRB 688 (1999) (Contra Costa I), the Board held that
mere negligence in the operation of an exclusive hiring
hall does not breach a union’s duty of fair representation.
Applying Contra Costa I, the judge held that Local 48’s
mistaken departures from the hiring hall rules did not
breach its duty of fair representation. After the judge
issued her decision in this case, Contra Costa I amassed
a significant subsequent history. To clarify the basis of
our decision, we will briefly review that history here.
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 108
The Board held in Contra Costa I that alleged breaches
of the duty of fair representation must be analyzed in all
cases—including hiring hall cases—under the test an-
nounced by the Supreme Court in Vaca v. Sipes, 386
U.S. 171 (1967). Under that test, a union breaches its
duty of fair representation by conduct toward a member
of the collective-bargaining unit that is “arbitrary, dis-
criminatory, or in bad faith.” 386 U.S. at 190. In so
holding, the Board concluded that Breininger v. Sheet
Metal Workers Local 6, 493 U.S. 67 (1989), does not
impose a heightened duty of fair dealing on unions in the
operation of a hiring hall. Applying the Vaca v. Sipes
standard, the Contra Costa I Board found that a single,
inadvertent dispatching mistake did not constitute a
breach of the duty of fair representation. The Board
stressed, however, that its holding was a narrow one:

We do not suggest that gross negligence in the opera-
tion of a hiring hall, of the type indicating disregard for
established procedures, would not breach the duty of
fair representation. Such conduct would likely be
found to be “arbitrary,” and possibly in bad faith, and
thus within the proscription of Vaca v. Sipes and
O’Neill [Air Line Pilots Assn. v. O’Neill, 499 U.S. 65
(1991)].

Contra Costa I, 329 NLRB at 691.
On a petition for review of Contra Costa I, the Court
of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed. Jacoby v.
NLRB, 233 F.3d 611 (D.C. Cir. 2000). Contrary to the
Board, the court found that both the Supreme Court’s
decision in Breininger and its own earlier decisions19 do
impose on unions a heightened duty of fair representation
in the hiring hall context.20 The court remanded the case
to the Board for application of this “heightened duty”
standard.
Applying on remand the “heightened duty” standard as
the law of the case, the Board reaffirmed “that inadver-
tent mistakes in the operation of an exclusive hiring hall
arising from mere negligence do not violate the union’s
duty of fair representation.” Plumbers Local 342 (Con-
tra Costa Electric), 336 NLRB 549, 550 (2001) (Contra
Costa II). “However heightened the duty, we do not be-
lieve it reaches so high,” the Board stated. Id. at 552.
The Board reiterated, however, that gross negligence
demonstrating deliberate or reckless indifference to em-
ployees’ interests would breach the duty of fair represen-
tation. Id. at 552 fn. 9.

19 Plumbers Local 32 v. NLRB, 50 F.3d 29 (D.C. Cir. 1995); Boiler-
makers Local 374 v. NLRB, 852 F.2d 1353 (D.C. Cir. 1988).
20 In agreement with the D.C. Circuit, the Ninth Circuit also holds
unions to a heightened duty of fair dealing in administering a hiring
hall. Lucas v. NLRB, 333 F.3d 927, 934–935 (9th Cir. 2003).
On a second petition for review, the D.C. Circuit
agreed with the Board that “[o]ne act of simple negli-
gence does not come close to violating the ‘heightened
duty’ standard.” Jacoby v. NLRB, 325 F.3d 301, 309
(D.C. Cir. 2003). Further explaining that standard, the
court wrote:

Under a heightened duty standard, . . . a union might
violate the DFR in instances of gross negligence or in
circumstances in which its hiring hall business practices
are so reckless as to cause foreseeable adverse affects
[sic] on the employment status of those persons whom
the union is expected to represent fairly. The height-
ened duty of fair dealing requires a union to operate a
hiring hall using “objective criteria” and “consistent
standards.” It does not, however, hold a union strictly
liable for inadvertent mistakes when it is otherwise op-
erating its hiring hall pursuant to the prescribed criteria
and standards. [Id.]

Coming back now to the instant case, as stated above,
the judge found under Contra Costa I that Local 48’s
mistaken departures from the hiring hall rules did not
breach its duty of fair representation. In so finding, the
judge assumed that Local 48 had mistakenly deviated
from those rules approximately 200 times during the
relevant period. In the judge’s view, 200 mistakes over a
little less than 2 years in a busy hiring hall did not rise to
the level of gross negligence.
We agree with the judge that the dispositive question
under Contra Costa I is whether Local 48’s mistakes
constituted gross negligence. We disagree, however,
with her manner of applying this standard, as well as
with her ultimate legal conclusion. As the Board stated
in Contra Costa I, gross negligence in the operation of a
hiring hall is conduct indicating disregard for established
procedures. In determining whether dispatching errors
indicate such disregard, numbers alone do not necessarily
tell the whole story. The kind of mistakes committed,
and the ease with which they might have been avoided,
also must be taken into consideration. Here, the collec-
tive-bargaining agreement set forth specific eligibility
rules for registering on book 1, but Local 48 simply did
not enforce them, despite the fact that records containing
book 1 eligibility data—the MMIs—were readily avail-
able in the union office. Moreover, these records were
not gathering dust in some archive. On the contrary, they
were regularly consulted and updated to document mem-
bers’ employment history. Under these circumstances,
book 1 eligibility could have been routinely checked.
And it should have been: with jobs at stake, it was en-
tirely predictable that some would test the system. In
addition, throughout the entire relevant period, Local 48
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 109
applied a nonexistent short-call rule. The collective-
bargaining agreement plainly specified a 40-hour short-
call period, but the Union applied a 30-day period in-
stead. This mistake could have been avoided simply by
reading the contract.
These mistakes go beyond simple inadvertence. They
indicate reckless disregard for established procedures and
employees’ interests, and thus constitute gross negli-
gence under Contra Costa I or II. Accordingly, we con-
clude that Local 48’s mistaken departures from its hiring
hall rules violated Section 8(b)(1)(A). We would reach
the same conclusion under the “heightened duty” stan-
dard applied by the Ninth and D.C. Circuits. That is, the
numerous departures from the objective criteria and con-
sistent standards that are established by the rules show a
reckless disregard for such criteria and standards, and
that disregard has had employment consequences. Thus,
because the result here is the same under either standard,
we need not pass on which standard should apply.
C. Compliance Issues
In her decision, the judge stated that she did not allow
evidence to be introduced concerning the Union’s dis-
patching practices after December 31, 1994.21 However,
the judge did not find the Union’s conduct after that date
to be beyond the scope of the complaint, which alleged
unlawful dispatches continuing “at least” through De-
cember 31, 1994. On the contrary, she ruled that addi-
tional instances of deviation from the hiring hall rules
may be litigated, if necessary, at compliance. There are
no exceptions to that ruling. Nevertheless, under our
authority to address remedial issues even in the absence
of exceptions,22 we wish to clarify the permissible scope
of compliance-stage litigation in this case.
The Board’s general rule is that where discrimination
against a defined and easily identified class is estab-
lished, the identification of individuals detrimentally
affected thereby is properly left to compliance. See, e.g.,
Electrical Workers Local 724 (Albany Electrical Con-
tractors Assn.), 327 NLRB 730 (1999); Teamsters Local
328 (Blount Bros.), 283 NLRB 779 (1987). That rule is
not quite directly applicable here. The individuals detri-
mentally affected by Local 48’s unlawful dispatching
practices do not comprise a defined and easily identified
class. However, Local 48’s unlawful conduct benefited
certain defined and easily identified classes; and the in-
dividuals in those classes must be identified in order to

21 In actuality, no evidence was introduced concerning any dis-
patches postdating May 16, 1994. At that time, demand for electricians
out of the hiring hall was beginning to outstrip supply, so Local 48
“rolled the books” and went to a lottery system. The record does not
indicate when Local 48 resumed use of the OWL.
22 See, e.g., Indian Hills Care Center, 321 NLRB 144 fn. 3 (1996).
ascertain, for backpay purposes, the identity of all those
who suffered loss of employment as a result of Local
48’s unlawful conduct. We have already identified some
benefited individuals above; others are identified below
in the evidentiary appendix. However, we do not purport
to have exhaustively identified everyone who benefited
from Local 48’s unlawful conduct during the relevant
period; and it goes without saying that no such individu-
als have been identified with respect to unlawful dis-
patches postdating the relevant period, if any. Thus, at
compliance, additional instances of unlawful dispatching,
both during and after the relevant period, may be estab-
lished, limited to the following defined classes:

• Persons who received preferential dispatches
as salts or peppers.
• Persons who received dispatches in “Tigard
Electric”–type situations—i.e., those in which
Local 48 returned so-called “stripped” em-
ployees off the books to a newly organized
contractor.
• Persons who received off-the-books dis-
patches as a reward for joining the Union.
• Persons who, following discharge, were
promptly redispatched to the discharging em-
ployer to resolve a dispute over the discharge.
• Persons who preserved their OWL positions
despite missing a compulsory biannual re-
sign.
• Persons who were dispatched in response to a
name request under circumstances where the
hiring hall rules do not so permit.
• Persons permitted to register on book 1 at a
time when they were not eligible to do so.
• Persons who improperly retained OWL posi-
tions rather than rolling to the bottom of the
book due to Local 48’s failure to apply the
contractual short-call rule.

In addition, as found above, a number of individuals
received out-of-order dispatches that do not fall into any
of the above categories. These individuals are identified
below in section 1 of the evidentiary appendix. Because
these dispatches do not comprise a defined and easily
identified class, no additional instances of such uncatego-
rizable dispatching violations may be litigated at compli-
ance.
EVIDENTIARY APPENDIX
This appendix summarizes the record evidence upon
which we have based our findings concerning three
groups of individuals: (1) applicants who received delib-
erate out-of-order dispatches, where the evidence does
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 110
not suffice to place them in a defined and easily identi-
fied class; (2) applicants who were permitted to register
on book 1 during the relevant period despite being ineli-
gible to do so; (3) applicants who, during the relevant
period, worked jobs in excess of the 40-hour short-call
limit without rolling to the bottom of their book.
1. “Uncategorizable” out-of-order dispatches
Patrick McDonald: MMI shows McDonald starting at
Team Electric on December 7, 1993. No hiring hall re-
cord documents any referral for this job. The inference
arises that this was an off-the-books dispatch.
Joseph Lauritzon: MMI shows Lauritzon starting at
Excalibur on May 19, 1993. No hiring hall record
documents any referral for this job. The inference arises
that this was an off-the-books dispatch.
Terry Lindberg: Union agent Mel Conner admitted
that Lindberg was dispatched out of order.
Wesley Sherrer: Conner testified that somebody
named Wesley—“I don’t remember his last name”—was
one of about 10 people who were dispatched “under ab-
normal circumstances.” Nobody else named Wesley was
alleged to have been improperly dispatched during the
relevant period.
Richard Sandefur: Sandefur’s name is handwritten in
between numbers 333 and 334 on book 1 of the October
16, 1992 OWL. He appears at number 333 on book 1 of
the October 20 OWL, with a sign-in date of October 7.
However, the DSR for October 7 does not show Sandefur
signing in that day. Because the October 7 sign-in date
appears to have been invented, we infer a deliberate dis-
patching irregularity. Sandefur was subsequently dis-
patched on October 23, and again on December 1, 1992,
from a book 1 position commensurate with an October 7
sign-in.
Howard Stratton: Dues withholding authorization and
introduction slip show Stratton starting a job at Oregon
Electric on October 6, 1992. Typically, the dispatch date
is either the same as or 1 day before the job-start date.
Stratton’s name does not appear on the DDR for either
October 6 or 5. On occasion, a few days might elapse
between a dispatch and the start of a job. Stratton’s
name does not appear on the DDRs for October 2 or 1,
either. (The hiring hall was closed for the weekend on
October 3 and 4.) Absent any DDR documenting this
dispatch, the inference arises that Stratton’s job starting
October 6 was pursuant to an off-the-books referral.
William Filz: The DDR for October 13, 1992, shows
that Filz received a dispatch on that date. Filz was not
listed on the October 13 OWL; he does not appear on the
October 13 DSR as having signed in that day; and sev-
eral book 1 registrants present in the hall that day were
not referred for employment. The inference arises that
he was given a deliberate off-the-books dispatch.
Ron McClenahan: The DDR for January 22, 1993,
shows McClenahan dispatched to Team Electric for a job
starting January 18. McClenahan’s MMI confirms that
he started work with Team on January 18. Obviously,
McClenahan could not have been dispatched on January
22 to a job starting 4 days earlier. Moreover, McClena-
han was not present in the hall on January 18: he was
listed at number 478 on book 1 of the January 18 OWL,
but he did not initial that OWL. McClenahan’s MMI
also shows him starting a job with Adams Electric on
January 25, but there is no corresponding DDR entry
documenting this dispatch. Thus, we infer that McCle-
nahan received back-to-back off-the-books dispatches.
Samuel Johnson: Johnson was dispatched on June 21,
1993. He was not listed on the June 21 OWL, but the
DSR for that date shows Johnson signing in as a new
applicant. If nobody else takes priority, a new applicant
may properly be dispatched the same day he signs in.
However, that was not the case here: many book 1 regis-
trants present in the hall on June 21 did not receive dis-
patches that day.
S. Casey O’Connor: The DSR for May 3, 1994, shows
that O’Connor signed in as a new applicant on that date,
and the May 3 DDR shows he was dispatched that same
day. As with Samuel Johnson, above, OWL registrants
present in the hall on May 3, including several on book
1, received no dispatch that day.
Ed Campbell: Campbell was listed at number 26 on
book 2 of the November 3, 1992 OWL, but there is no
evidence that he was present in the hall that day, as he
did not initial the November 3 OWL. Nevertheless,
Campbell received a dispatch on November 3.
Stephen Mulligan: Mulligan, a traveler from St. Paul,
Minnesota, was listed on book 2 at number 121 on the
November 4, 1992 OWL; but, like Ed Campbell, he did
not initial the November 4 OWL to indicate presence in
the hall that day. Nevertheless, Mulligan received a dis-
patch on November 4.
Stan Monti: The DSR and DDR for December 8,
1992, show that Monti signed in on that date and was
dispatched that same day. No OWL was generated on
December 8, making it impossible to demonstrate con-
clusively that previously registered applicants were left
undispatched that day. However, from examining the
OWLs for the day before and the day after December 8, a
persuasive inference can be drawn that Monti’s dispatch
was irregular. On both December 7 and 9, the supply of
applicants present in the hall well exceeded employer
demand. On December 7, 20 applicants initialed book 1,
and there were only 6 dispatches. On December 9, 15
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 111
applicants initialed book 1, and there were only 4 dis-
patches. Moreover, six individuals who initialed both the
December 7 and 9 OWLs were left in the hall both days.
It goes against common sense to think that these indi-
viduals were not also seeking work on December 8—yet
Monti signed in that day and was dispatched.
Howell Marsh: Marsh showed up at the hiring hall in
the fall of 1992, driving a pickup truck with a camper on
the back, and representing himself to be a traveler out of
Houston. In fact, Marsh had been dropped from the
Houston IBEW local for nonpayment of dues. After
permitting Marsh to camp in its parking lot for some
time, Local 48 asked Tigard Electric to create a job for
Marsh so he could make some money, rent a place to
live, and move out of the parking lot. Marsh signed in as
a new applicant on the March 4, 1993 DSR and was dis-
patched that same day. Book 1 registrants present in the
hall on March 4 were left undispatched.
Marsh’s MMI shows that his Tigard job ended April
30, 1993. Marsh signed in at the hiring hall on April 30
and was given a dues withholding authorization and an
introduction slip for a job at Sutherland starting May 3,
1993. This dispatch was not documented on the DDR.
Marsh’s job with Sutherland ended on July 23, 1993.
Upon signing in, Marsh registered on book 1 and was
dispatched on July 26. Marsh was not eligible for book
1: having come from Houston in the fall of 1992, Marsh
could not have met either the residency requirement or
the requirement of having worked 1 year out of the last 4
within Local 48’s geographical jurisdiction. Local 48
must have been aware of Marsh’s ineligibility for book 1
in July 1993, when just a few months earlier it had ar-
ranged Marsh’s first employment within the Union’s
geographical jurisdiction. Under the circumstances, the
record shows that Local 48 knowingly gave Marsh three
irregular dispatches during the relevant period.
2. Book 1–ineligible applicants permitted to register
on book 1
Richard Sandefur: As stated above, Sandefur’s name
is handwritten in between numbers 333 and 334 on the
October 16, 1992 OWL, and typed in at number 333 of
book 1 on the October 20 OWL. However, Sandefur was
not entitled to be on book 1 at this time because, as his
MMI shows, his first employment with a signatory em-
ployer began on January 6, 1992. Thus, Sandefur did not
satisfy the signatory 1 out of 4 rule for registering on
book 1. Sandefur was dispatched off book 1 on October
23 and again on December 1, 1992.
Loy Lonberg: Lonberg was dispatched off book 1 on
October 30, 1992, and again on January 28, 1993. How-
ever, Lonberg’s MMI shows that he did not pass the
journeyman inside wireman’s exam until February 2,
1994. Thus, Lonberg’s dispatches from book 1 were
improper.
David Enwards: Enwards shows up on book 1 of the
March 1, 1993 OWL, and he was dispatched off book 1
on June 18, 1993. However, Enwards was ineligible for
book 1 at the time because he did not pass the journey-
man inside wireman’s exam until November 2, 1994.
Curtis Nappe: Nappe was dispatched off book 1 on
June 10, 1993. Nappe’s MMI shows, however, that he
was not eligible for book 1 because he had not worked 1
year out of the previous 4 for signatory employers.
Alan Brown: Brown did not pass the journeyman in-
side wireman’s exam until November 3, 1993, and he
was dispatched off book 1 twice prior to that date, on
June 17 and August 30, 1993.
Greg Nordin: Nordin did not pass the journeyman in-
side wireman’s exam until August 4, 1993, and he was
dispatched off book 1 four times prior to that date: on
December 10, 1992, January 27 and 29, 1993, and May
28, 1993.
John Marosi: Marosi took the journeyman inside
wireman’s exam on November 3, 1993, and failed it.
Nevertheless, he was repeatedly dispatched off book 1
both before and after November 3—on December 2,
1992, May 26 and July 12, 1993, and March 28, 1994.
Douglas Person: Person did not pass the journeyman
inside wireman’s exam until August 4, 1993, but before
that date he was dispatched off book 1 three times: for a
job starting May 13, 1993 (documented after the fact on
the May 14 DDR), and on June 15 and 21, 1993.
Robert Lynch: Lynch signed in on April 25, 1994, and
was dispatched that same day. There were no book 1
applicants left undispatched that day, but there were sev-
eral book 2 applicants present in the hall who were not
dispatched. If Lynch were eligible for book 1, his April
25 sign in would have entitled him to a dispatch ahead of
any previously registered book 2 applicants. However,
Lynch’s MMI indicates that he was not eligible for book
1 until 1998. Thus, Lynch was improperly dispatched
ahead of those book 2 applicants.
Paul Rosenberg: Rosenberg signed in as a new appli-
cant on May 9, 1994, and was dispatched off book 1 on
May 10. He was not eligible for book 1 at the time be-
cause he had not worked 1 year out of the previous 4 in
Local 48’s geographical jurisdiction.
Mike Evans: Evans signed in as a traveler on May 9,
1994, and was dispatched off book 1 the following day.
Evans was not eligible for book 1 at the time because he
did not reside within Local 48’s geographical jurisdic-
tion, and he did not pass the journeyman inside wire-
man’s exam until August 3, 1994.
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 112
Michael Douglass: Douglass passed the journeyman
inside wireman’s exam on June 2, 1993, but he was dis-
patched off book 1 before that date on February 25,
1993.
Lamar Delaney: Delaney passed the journeyman in-
side wireman’s exam on May 5, 1993, but before that
date he was dispatched off book 1 five times—on Octo-
ber 26, 1992, and February 8, March 8, April 8, and
April 12, 1993.
Craig Leyburn: Leyburn passed the journeyman inside
wireman’s exam on August 3, 1994. Before that date, he
was dispatched off book 1 twice, on April 2 and May 12,
1993.
Douglas Kobilan: On May 10, 1993, Kobilan received
a foreman dispatch. Contractors may request foremen by
name, but Local 48 Business Manager Bruce testified
that only book 1 registrants are eligible for foreman dis-
patches. Kobilan was registered on book 1 at number
331 on the May 10 OWL, but improperly so: he was a
traveler and not entitled to be on book 1. Confirming
that fact, his MMI shows he was not approved for book 1
until February 1998.
Dale Polzin: As explained in the text of the decision,
Polzin was one of several applicants knowingly permit-
ted to retain book 1 registration despite having missed a
biannual re-sign. In addition to this knowing departure
from the hiring hall rules, Polzin also benefited from
Local 48’s inattention to book 1 eligibility criteria. Pol-
zin appears on book 1 of the April 23, 1993 OWL.
However, he did not pass the journeyman inside wire-
man’s exam until May 5, 1993; and even then, his MMI
indicates that he had not yet satisfied the signatory 1 out
of 4 requirement. Polzin was dispatched from book 1 on
June 28, 1993—after he had passed the exam, but from a
book 1 position predating exam passage.
James Lawrence III: Lawrence signed in on book 1 on
November 8, 1993. Bruce admitted that as of November
8, Lawrence had not worked 1 year out of the past 4
within Local 48’s geographical jurisdiction. Lawrence
was dispatched off book 1 on May 16, 1994.
Gary McKibben: McKibben was listed as number 278
on book 1 of the April 29, 1994 OWL. Bruce admitted
there was no evidence McKibben had worked 1 year out
of the previous 4 in Local 48’s geographical jurisdiction.
He was dispatched from book 1 on May 16, 1994.
Steven Dietrich: Dietrich signed in on book 1 on April
2, 1993, but he did not pass the journeyman inside wire-
man’s exam until May 5, 1993. Dietrich was dispatched
on August 9, 1993 from book 1 number 405, a position
commensurate with his April 2, 1993 sign in. Dietrich’s
first termination date following passage of the exam was
May 21, 1993. With a May 21 sign-in date, he would
have been listed on book 1 at or near number 445.
Mitch Wright: Wright’s MMI indicates that his initial
employment date out of Local 48’s hall was July 23,
1993. It also shows that he passed the journeyman inside
wireman’s exam on August 4, 1993, but that, consistent
with his very recent initial employment date, he had not
met “the one year employment requirement” for register-
ing on book 1. The September 7, 1993 OWL lists
Wright on book 1, approximately a month and a half
after his first employment within Local 48’s geographi-
cal jurisdiction.
Paul Starr: Starr received preferential dispatching
treatment as a salt, and he was also one of the “stripped”
employees sent back to Tigard Electric off the books. In
addition, when Starr signed in on March 21, 1994, after
the end of his Tigard employment, he was listed on book
1 despite the fact that he did not pass the journeyman
inside wireman’s exam until August 3, 1994.
3. Applicants who exceeded the 40-hour short-call limit
without rolling to the bottom of their book
Jorge Algeciras: Algeciras took a dispatch to a job
starting November 23, 1992, and signed in from that job
on January 11, 1993. Upon signing in, Algeciras was
listed on book 1 of the January 12 OWL at number 341,
with a sign-in date of October 9, 1992. He was subse-
quently dispatched twice: on March 29, 1993, from book
1 number 114, and on April 13, 1993, from the same
position. Bruce defended Algeciras’s OWL position
under the 30-day short-call “rule.”23 However, the short-
call limit was 40 hours, not 30 days. Since the purported
short call lasted longer than 40 hours, Algeciras’s posi-
tion on the March 29 and April 13, 1993 OWLs should
have been commensurate with a sign-in date of January
11, 1993. (Even under the 40-hour short-call rule, Al-
geciras would have properly retained his position after
the March 29, 1993 dispatch because his MMI shows
that job lasted zero days—i.e., Algeciras was dispatched
on March 29 but not hired.) Because of the intervening
February 1993 biannual re-sign and the attendant modifi-
cation of sign-in dates recorded on the OWL, it is impos-
sible to determine what Algeciras’s proper position
should have been on March 29 and April 13, 1993, solely
from examining the OWLs for those days. However, by
tracking the OWL positions of Algeciras’s cohort—other
applicants who also signed in on January 11, 1993—it

23 Obviously, more than 30 calendar days elapsed between Novem-
ber 23, 1992, and January 11, 1993, Algeciras’s dispatch and sign-in
dates, respectively. However, Local 48 counted only working days in
applying the 30-day “rule.”
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 113
appears that instead of number 114, Algeciras should
have been in the neighborhood of number 267 or 268.
Brian Neary: Neary was listed as number 520 on book
1 of the January 18, 1993 OWL, with a sign-in date of
January 11. He was dispatched from number 5 on book
1 of the February 18, 1993 OWL, which position was
commensurate with an April 30, 1992 sign-in date. Lo-
cal 48 contends that Neary must have shown that he had
not worked more than 30 days since April 30, 1992.
Again, however, the short-call period was 40 hours, not
30 days. Applying the 40-hour rule and examining
Neary’s MMI, it appears that his sign-in date should have
been November 3, 1992. That would have placed him
somewhere between numbers 400 and 405 on the Janu-
ary 18, 1993 OWL—higher than number 520, but no-
where near number 5.
Paul Demos: Demos was dispatched from number 32
on book 1 of the May 24, 1993 OWL. Under the 40-
hour short-call rule, Demos’ position on the May 24
OWL should have been commensurate with a sign-in
date of April 13, 1993, the date he signed in from a job
that began March 2 and ended April 13, 1993. That
would have dropped Demos from number 32 to number
412 on book 1 of the May 24, 1993 OWL.
Joseph Irby: Counsel for the General Counsel admits
that Irby’s position on the September 3 and 7, 1993
OWLs is proper. However, Irby maintained that position
and was dispatched from it twice: on December 6, 1993,
and March 31, 1994. Prior to the December 6, 1993 dis-
patch, Irby worked from November 4 to 19, 1993—more
than 40 hours. Prior to the March 31, 1994 dispatch, Irby
worked from December 7 to 29, 1993—again, more than
40 hours. Under the 40-hour short-call rule, Irby should
not have maintained his prior position on the OWL.
George Rutherford: Rutherford was dispatched on
June 15, 1993, from number 16 on book 1 of the OWL.
That position was far too high, given that Rutherford’s
previous job ran from April 19 to June 3, 1993, clearly
more than 40 hours. Had Rutherford’s position on the
June 15 OWL been commensurate with a June 3 sign-in,
he would have dropped from number 16 to between
numbers 455 and 456 on book 1.
Walter Uhrich: Uhrich worked from May 5 to June
25, 1993—obviously not a short call—and yet main-
tained a position on the OWL commensurate with a sign-
in date of March 2, 1993. He was dispatched from an
improperly high OWL position on June 30, 1993. A
June 25 sign-in date would have put Uhrich almost at the
bottom of the June 30 OWL.
Brian Treacy: Treacy worked from August 23 to No-
vember 17, 1993, and next from November 30, 1993, to
January 12, 1994. He was subsequently dispatched on
April 12, 1994, from a book 1 position commensurate
with a sign-in date of November 17, 1993. In other
words, the intervening employment—November 30,
1993, to January 12, 1994—was improperly treated as a
short call. Treacy’s sign-in date should have been the
date he signed in after his January 12, 1994 termination,
which was January 18. A January 18 sign-in date would
have dropped Treacy farther down the OWL.
Patrick McCorkle: McCorkle was listed at number
271 on book 1 of the January 6, 1994 OWL, with a sign-
in date of September 30, 1993. McCorkle did indeed
sign in on September 30 following a job that ended on
September 28. Subsequently, however, he worked from
November 5 to December 23, 1993, well in excess of 40
hours. Thus, McCorkle should have rolled to the bottom
of the list when he signed in from that job. Instead, he
retained a position commensurate with a September 30,
1993 sign in. He was subsequently dispatched on April
8, 1994.
Ralph Robbins: Robbins’s MMI shows that he was
dispatched to a job that lasted from May 20 to June 30,
1993. Under the 40-hour short-call rule, Robbins should
have rolled to the bottom of the list when he signed in
from that job. Instead, on July 22, 1993, Robbins was
dispatched from an OWL position commensurate with a
sign-in date of February 16, 1993. The DSR for Febru-
ary 16 does not show Robbins having signed in that day,
so Robbins is numbered among those applicants Local 48
knowingly permitted to retain their OWL position de-
spite having missed a biannual re-sign. In addition, the
record shows that Robbins then improperly retained the
February 16 position because of Local 48’s gross negli-
gence with respect to the short-call rule.
Alex Melnick: Melnick worked from June 14 to July
30, 1993, signed in on July 30, and was dispatched on
August 11, 1993, from a book 1 position commensurate
with a February 17, 1993 sign-in date. This set of facts
involves two improprieties. First, Melnick’s name does
not appear on the February 17 DSR. Thus, Melnick, like
Robbins, is included among those applicants Local 48
knowingly permitted to retain their OWL position de-
spite having missed a biannual re-sign. Second, the job
that began June 14 and ended July 30, 1993, obviously
lasted longer than 40 hours. Thus, Melnick should have
rolled to the bottom of the list when he signed in from
that job.
Samuel Brock: At the hearing, counsel for the General
Counsel dropped his allegations with respect to Brock.
However, counsel’s decision in this regard was based on
his misconception—under which everyone labored dur-
ing the hearing—that the short-call limit during the rele-
vant period was 30 days. In his exceptions brief, counsel
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 114
for the General Counsel insists, correctly, that the short-
call limit was 40 hours, not 30 days. Since the record
plainly shows the impropriety of Brock’s dispatch under
the 40-hour rule, we will assume that the General Coun-
sel does not intend to abandon his allegations concerning
Brock.
Brock was dispatched on June 21, 1993, for a job that
ended on July 30, 1993. Since that job lasted longer than
40 hours, Brock should have rolled to the bottom of the
list when he next signed in. Instead, he was restored to a
position commensurate with his last biannual re-sign on
February 12, 1993, and was dispatched from that position
on August 9, 1993.
Ronald Remy: Remy appears on the October 11, 1993
OWL with a sign-in date of August 16, 1993. In the in-
terim, he worked from August 20 to October 6, 1993,
more than 40 hours. Thus, Remy should not have re-
tained an OWL position commensurate with an August
16, 1993 sign-in date.
ORDER
The National Labor Relations Board orders that the
Respondent, International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, Local 48, AFL–CIO, Portland, Oregon, its offi-
cers, agents, and representatives, shall
1. Cease and desist from
(a) Deliberately departing from the rules governing the
operation of its hiring hall in the following ways: (i)
giving preferential dispatching treatment to salts—i.e.,
union members who take jobs with nonunion employers
to engage in union organizing—and “peppers”—i.e.,
newly organized employees of nonunion employers who
remain with those employers to engage in union organiz-
ing; (ii) returning, off the books, to their newly organized
former employer, employees who had been “stripped”—
i.e., persuaded to leave that employer and join the Un-
ion—during a union organizing campaign; (iii) giving
off-the-books dispatches to individuals as a reward for
joining Local 48; (iv) sending discharged employees
back to the discharging employer off the books; (v) per-
mitting registrants to retain positions on the out-of-work
list despite having missed a compulsory biannual re-sign;
(vi) dispatching registrants requested by name under cir-
cumstances where the collective-bargaining agreement
does not permit a name-request dispatch; (vii) otherwise
deliberately departing from the rules governing the op-
eration of its hiring hall where such a departure is neither
pursuant to a valid union-security clause nor necessary to
the effective performance of its representative function.
(b) Permitting book 1–ineligible registrants to register
on book 1.
(c) Restoring registrants to their prior position on the
out-of-work list despite intervening employment in ex-
cess of the contractual short-call limit.
(d) Refusing to allow registrants the opportunity to in-
spect and/or copy its records relating to the operation of
the hiring hall.
(e) Utilizing a journeyman inside wireman’s examina-
tion that in major part tests knowledge of the Union’s
bylaws and constitution, the contents of its collective-
bargaining agreement with the Oregon-Columbia Chap-
ter of the National Electrical Contractors Association,
and labor history, rather than knowledge of the electrical
trade, and utilizing such an examination as the basis for
denying book 1 status to William Perry.
(f) In any like or related manner restraining or coercing
employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed them
by Section 7 of the Act.
2. Take the following affirmative action necessary to
effectuate the policies of the Act.
(a) Make available the requested records relating to the
operation of the hiring hall.
(b) Within 14 days from the date of this Order, admin-
ister to William Perry, upon request, a nondiscriminatory
journeyman inside wireman’s examination.
(c) Make whole all individuals who suffered loss of
employment because of the violations found herein for
all earnings and other benefits lost as a result of those
violations. Backpay shall be computed in accordance
with F. W. Woolworth Co., 90 NLRB 289 (1950), with
interest as prescribed in New Horizons for the Retarded,
283 NLRB 1173 (1987).
(d) Preserve and, within 14 days of a request, or such
additional time as the Regional Director may allow for
good cause shown, provide at a reasonable place desig-
nated by the Board or its agents, all payroll records, so-
cial security payment records, timecards, personnel re-
cords and reports, out-of-work lists, daily sign-in reports,
daily dispatch reports, member master inquires, introduc-
tion slips, dues withholding authorizations, and all other
records, including an electronic copy of such records if
stored in electronic form, necessary to identify those who
suffered loss of employment because of the violations
found herein and/or to analyze the amount of backpay
due under the terms of this Order.
(e) Within 14 days after service by the Region, post at
its union office and hiring hall in Portland, Oregon, cop-
ies of the attached notice marked “Appendix.”24 Copies

24 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 Na-
tional Labor Relations Board” shall read “Posted Pursuant to a Judg-
ment of the United States Court of Appeals Enforcing an Order of the
National Labor Relations Board.”
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 115
of the notice, on forms provided by the Regional Director
for Region 19, after being signed by the Respondent’s
authorized representative, shall be posted by the Respon-
dent and maintained for 60 consecutive days in con-
spicuous places, including all places where notices to
members or applicants for referral are customarily
posted. Reasonable steps shall be taken by the Respon-
dent to ensure that the notices are not altered, defaced, or
covered by any other material.
(f) Within 21 days after service by the Region, file
with the Regional Director a sworn certification of a re-
sponsible official on a form provided by the Region at-
testing to the steps that the Respondent has taken to
comply.

MEMBER WALSH, dissenting in part.
I disagree with my colleagues in several respects.
First, I would not find a violation for Local 48’s dis-
patching practices in furtherance of its organizational
efforts. One such practice challenged by the General
Counsel was perfectly appropriate under the rules of the
hiring hall: salts were permitted to remain on the out-of-
work list (OWL) during their salting employments with
nonunion contractors. Under hall rules, an applicant
loses his place on the OWL when he is dispatched to a
job that exceeds the short-call limit. Dispatches are to
union contractors. A salt working for a nonunion con-
tractor has not been dispatched. Nothing in the parties’
collective-bargaining agreement requires registrants to
remain unemployed while working their way up the
OWL. Thus, permitting salts to stay on the OWL while
working for nonunion employers was not contrary to the
rules.1
My colleagues find a violation for a related practice
that represented a justifiable departure from the hiring
hall rules. Salts and peppers were credited for their time
with nonsignatory contractors for purposes of satisfying
the “signatory 1 out of 4” rule—i.e., the requirement, for
registering on book 1, of having worked 1 year out of the
previous 4 with signatory employers. This practice
should not be faulted. Those who volunteered to serve as
salts and peppers could have met the signatory 1 out of 4
rule by declining organizational work, securing dis-
patches, and amassing time with signatory contractors.
Instead, they subordinated self-interest to collective
goals, thus necessarily foregoing opportunities to satisfy
the signatory 1 out of 4 rule. Crediting their salting and
“peppering” employments toward the signatory 1 out of
4 requirement compensated them for their personal sacri-

1 The majority does not pass on the legality of this particular prac-
tice.
fice and prevented them from being unfairly penalized
for their organizing work.
The majority also finds a violation for a third dispatch-
ing practice in furtherance of Local 48’s salting program:
salts and peppers sometimes received dispatches without
having registered on the OWL. This limited departure
from the hiring hall rules is justifiable as well. It bears
repeating that members serving as salts and peppers gave
up more lucrative employment opportunities with union
contractors to engage in organizational efforts. In some
instances, when peppers lost their nonunion jobs due to
their organizing activities, they were promptly dis-
patched to a union contractor working at the same jobsite
as the nonunion employer in order to encourage the lat-
ter’s employees to persevere in union activity. Doing so
both compensated the peppers for their losses and main-
tained the momentum of the organizing campaign.
Turning to the legal issue, the judge correctly held that
Local 48’s dispatching treatment of salts and peppers
was lawful. As the Board has recognized, “Congress
envisioned broad economic benefits to society flowing
from the organization of employees for the purposes [of]
collective bargaining.” Food & Commercial Workers
Locals 951, 7, & 1036 (Meijer, Inc.), 329 NLRB 730,
734 (1999).2 More specifically, when previously unor-
ganized employees become unionized, the union typi-
cally secures higher wages for employees it already
represents in the same competitive market. Id. Thus, the
work a union does to extend the benefits of organization
is inseparable from its duty to effectively represent cur-
rent unit employees. Since organizing is a vital part of
the union’s representative function, and since salting is a
vital part of union organizing, the Union’s rather modest
uses of dispatching in furtherance of its organizational
efforts here were necessary to the effective performance
of its representative function.
In finding a violation for the Union’s “salt and pepper”
dispatches, my colleagues rely in part on cases in which
unions withheld dispatches to punish a refusal to engage
in union activity.3 This case is unlike those cases. Local
48 did not use dispatching to punish anybody. Rather, as
explained above, it sought to prevent salts and peppers
from being disadvantaged in dispatching because of their
union work. My colleagues also rely on broad language
from Radio Officers’ Union v. NLRB, 347 U.S. 17, 40
(1954). Notwithstanding that language, however, the

2 Enfd. en banc 307 F.3d 760 (9th Cir. 2002), cert. denied 537 U.S.
1024 (2002).
3 Service Employees Local 9 (American Maintenance), 303 NLRB
735 (1991), enfd. mem. as modified 996 F.2d 1226 (9th Cir. 1993);
Carpenters Local 316 (Bay Counties Contractors), 291 NLRB 504
(1988), enfd. mem. 942 F.2d 792 (9th Cir. 1991).
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 116
Board has long held that departures from hiring hall pro-
cedures do not violate the Act where they are necessary
to the effective performance of the union’s representative
function. Operating Engineers Local 406 (Ford, Bacon
& Davis Construction), 262 NLRB 50, 51 (1982), enfd.
701 F.2d 504 (5th Cir. 1983); Plumbers Local 342 (Con-
tra Costa Electric), 336 NLRB 549, 550 (2001), enfd.
325 F.3d 301 (D.C. Cir. 2003). Thus, Radio Officers
does not preclude finding Local 48’s “salt and pepper”
dispatches lawful under the “necessary to the effective
performance” test.
I also would find no violation for returning “stripped”
employees to their former employer, or for redispatching
discharged employees in lieu of pursuing a grievance. In
the course of its organizing campaign at Tigard Electric,
Local 48 succeeded in convincing almost all of its em-
ployees of the advantages of joining the Union. Since
union rules typically bar members from working for
nonunion employers, these newly organized workers left
Tigard. According to Local 48 Business Manager Gerald
Bruce, at the time Tigard recognized the Union, only
four employees remained out of a former workforce of
175. After recognizing the Union, Tigard asked for sev-
eral of its former employees back again. Local 48 ac-
commodated that request. Under the circumstances, this
should be viewed as a gesture of goodwill following a
tough campaign, meant to get the new contractual rela-
tionship off on the right foot. Such a gesture, in my
view, easily satisfies the “necessary to the effective per-
formance of the Union’s representative function” test.
Similarly, the way the Union handled the three dis-
charges promoted good relations with a signatory con-
tractor. Northwest Electric had fired three employees.
Bruce investigated, determined that the discharges were
retaliatory, and filed a grievance. A few days later,
Northwest put in a call for three employees. Bruce dis-
patched the three that had just been discharged, North-
west accepted them, Bruce dropped the grievance, and
that settled the matter. As in the Tigard episode, the Un-
ion acted reasonably here to maintain cordial relations
with a contractual partner.
Indeed, in both situations, the Union’s conduct was in
accord with a foundational provision of the parties’ col-
lective-bargaining agreement entitled “Basic Principles.”
This provision affirms the importance of “harmonious
relations” and “mutuality of confidence” between the
contracting parties, and states that “[a]ll will benefit by
continuous peace and by adjusting any differences by
rational common sense methods” (emphasis added). My
colleagues err in failing to give effect to this provision.
After all, the “overriding policy” of the Act is “industrial
peace.” Fall River Dyeing Corp. v. NLRB, 482 U.S. 27,
38 (1987). The Act should not be applied so as to pre-
clude commonsense measures consistent with both this
overriding policy and the contract’s “Basic Principles,”
such as those undertaken by the Union here. There is a
difference between observing the rules and being rule
bound.
The majority faults my reliance on the contract’s “Ba-
sic Principles,” citing the interpretive canon that specific
contract provisions govern over more general provisions.
It is also well settled, however, that a contract must be
interpreted “as a whole and in light of the law relating to
it when made.” Mastro Plastics Corp. v. NLRB, 350
U.S. 270, 279 (1956). That is what I have done here.
The majority also defends the harshness of its findings
by saying that the remedy lies with the parties to change
the dispatch rules. However, the “Basic Principles” al-
ready provide the needed flexibility. My colleagues
simply decline to give effect to that part of the contract.
I would also find no violation for the referrals of Paul
Demos, Dean Wilhite, and Patrick Kerner. As to Demos,
the majority finds that the General Counsel sustained his
burden of proving a violation by showing that Demos
was dispatched after Heil Electric asked for him by
name. However, according to Bruce, who was dispatch-
ing on the day in question, Demos was a “special skills”
dispatch. A “special skills” dispatch goes to the highest-
listed OWL registrant present in the hall who possesses
the needed skill. If Demos was that individual, his dis-
patch to Heil was proper as a “special skills” dispatch
notwithstanding the name request. Thus, to prove that
Demos was improperly dispatched, the General Counsel
had to rebut Bruce’s testimony by showing that Demos
was not the highest-listed registrant with the needed skill.
The General Counsel did not meet that burden. The fact
that no OWL was generated on the day Demos was dis-
patched does not alter the legal consequence of the Gen-
eral Counsel’s failure to make the necessary showing.
Therefore, no violation may be found.
As for the jobs Wilhite and Kerner took, Bruce testi-
fied that nobody else wanted them. The job Wilhite ac-
cepted was 86 miles from Portland. Wilhite took it be-
cause he happened to live out that way. Kerner’s dis-
patch was for a residential job. According to Bruce, no-
body else would take a residential call. Local 48 did not
formally offer these referrals in the hiring hall, but dis-
patchers should not be forced to engage in pointless for-
malities when they know it would be an exercise in futil-
ity. In fact, the only reason these instances have been
brought to the Board’s attention here is that a searchlight
has been aimed at all of Local 48’s dispatches. The Gen-
eral Counsel was right to aim that light, but the Board
should not respond by flyspecking mere technicalities.
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 117
As to the rest of the violations found, I join my col-
leagues.
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 vio-
lated Federal labor law and has ordered us to post and obey
this notice.

FEDERAL LAW GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO

Form, join, or assist a union
Choose representatives to bargain on your behalf
with your employer
Act together with other employees for your bene-
fit and protection
Choose not to engage in any of these protected
activities.

WE WILL NOT deliberately depart from the rules gov-
erning the operation of the hiring hall in the following
ways: (i) giving preferential dispatching treatment to
salts—i.e., union members who take jobs with nonunion
employers to engage in union organizing—and “pep-
pers”—i.e., newly organized employees of nonunion
employers who remain with those employers to engage
in union organizing; (ii) returning, off the books, to their
newly organized former employer, employees who had
been “stripped”—i.e., persuaded to leave that employer
and join the Union—during a union organizing cam-
paign; (iii) giving off-the-books dispatches to individuals
as a reward for joining Local 48; (iv) sending discharged
employees back to the discharging employer off the
books; (v) permitting registrants to retain positions on the
out-of-work list despite having missed a compulsory
biannual re-sign; (vi) dispatching registrants requested by
name under circumstances where the collective-bargain-
ing agreement does not permit a name-request dispatch;
(vii) otherwise deliberately departing from the rules gov-
erning the operation of the hiring hall where such a de-
parture is neither pursuant to a valid union-security
clause nor necessary to the effective performance of our
representative function.
WE WILL NOT permit book 1–ineligible registrants to
register on book 1.
WE WILL NOT restore registrants to their prior position
on the out-of-work list despite intervening employment
in excess of the contractual short-call limit.
WE WILL NOT refuse to allow registrants the opportu-
nity to inspect and/or copy our records relating to the
operation of the hiring hall.
WE WILL NOT utilize a journeyman inside wireman’s
examination that in major part tests knowledge of our
bylaws and constitution, the contents of our collective-
bargaining agreement with the Oregon-Columbia Chap-
ter of the National Electrical Contractors Association,
and labor history, rather than knowledge of the electrical
trade, and WE WILL NOT utilize such an examination as
the basis for denying book 1 status to William Perry.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner restrain or
coerce you in the exercise of the rights set forth above.
WE WILL make available the requested records relating
to the operation of the hiring hall.
WE WILL, within 14 days from the date of the Board’s
Order, administer to William Perry, upon request, a non-
discriminatory journeyman inside wireman’s examina-
tion.
WE WILL make whole, with interest, all individuals
who suffered loss of employment because of our unlaw-
ful conduct for all earnings and other benefits lost as a
result of that conduct.

INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELEC-
TRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL 48, AFL–CIO

Patrick F. Dunham, Esq., for the General Counsel.
Paul C. Hays, Esq. (Ping Tow-Woram, Esq., with him on brief)
(Carney, Buckley & Hays), of Portland, Oregon, for Re-
spondent International Brotherhood of Electricians, Local
48, AFL–CIO.
George Fisher, Esq., of Portland, Oregon, for the Charging
Parties.
DECISION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
MARY MILLER CRACRAFT, Administrative Law Judge. These
cases were tried in Portland, Oregon, on various dates in 1998
and 1999. At issue is whether International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers, Local 48, AFL–CIO (the Union) violated
Section 8(b)(1)(A).1 On May 8, 1998, the Regional Director for

1 The charge and amended charge in Case 36–CB–1798-1 was filed
by Paul Footlick on April 22 and May 7, 1993, respectively. The charge
is Case 36–CB–1798-2 was filed by Dennis Coey on April 22, 1993.
The charge in Case 36–CB–1798-3 was filed by Patrick Mulcahy on
April 22, 1993. The charge in Case 36–CB–1798–4 was filed by Rich-
ard S. Smith on April 22, 1993. The charge and amended charge in
Case 36–CB–1798–5 were filed by Brad Twigger on April 22 and May
10, 1993, respectively. The charge in Case 36–CB–1798-6 was filed by
Terry Taylor on April 22, 1993. The charge and amended charge in
Case 36–CB–1947 were filed by Footlick on October 12 and November
13, 1994. The charge in Case 36–CB–1840–1 was filed by Footlick on
January 10, 1994. The charge in Case 36–CB–1859 was filed by Twig-
ger on March 24, 1994. The charge in Case 36–CB–1853 was filed by
William Perry on March 1, 1994.
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 118
Region 20 of the National Labor Relations Board (the Board)
issued a third consolidated amended complaint and notice of
hearing against the Union. The Union filed a timely answer to
the complaint denying any violation of the Act. 2
The parties were afforded full opportunity to appear, to in-
troduce relevant evidence,3 to examine and cross-examine wit-
nesses, and to argue the merits of their respective positions. On
the entire record,4 including my observation of the demeanor of
the witnesses,5 and after considering the briefs filed by counsel
for the General Counsel, counsel for the Union, and many of
the Charging Parties, I make the following
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. JURISDICTION AND LABOR ORGANIZATION STATUS
Oregon-Columbia Chapter of the National Electrical Con-
tractors Association (Oregon-Columbia NECA), with offices
and a place of business in Portland, Oregon, is a multiemployer
association of electrical contractors performing work in the
State of Oregon and in southwest Washington State. Friberg
Electric Company, Christensen Electric Company, Allphase
Electric, and Cherry City Electric (the Employers), with offices
and places of business in Portland, Oregon, are among its
members. Each Employer has duly authorized Oregon-
Columbia NECA to represent it in collective-bargaining nego-
tiations with the Union. Each Employer annually has gross
sales of goods and services in excess of $500,000 and pur-
chases goods and materials in excess of $50,000. These goods
and materials are shipped to their State of Oregon projects di-
rectly from outside the State of Oregon and to their State of
Washington projects directly from outside the State of Wash-
ington. Each Employer is an employer engaged in commerce
within the meaning of Section 2(2), (6), and (7) of the Act.
Oregon-Columbia NECA is an employer engaged in commerce
within the meaning of Section 2(2), (6), and (7) of the Act.6 The

2 Following litigation of all allegations in the third amended consoli-
dated complaint, the cases were severed. Fourteen of the underlying
charges, all involving alleged discrimination in employment, were
severed as “Employer” cases (see Friberg Electric Co., JD(SF)–19–
00); 10 of the charges, all involving alleged restraint and coercion by
the Union, were severed as “Union” cases and are discussed in this
decision; and 4 charges were severed as “Pension/Attorneys Fee” cases
(see Oregon-Columbia NECA, JD(SF)–21–00).
3 Several of the Charging Parties submitted posthearing motions to
supplement the record. These motions are denied as there was ample
opportunity during the 28-day hearing to submit all relevant evidence
and there is no showing that the evidence is newly discovered or previ-
ously unavailable.
4 Counsel for the General Counsel’s unopposed motion to correct the
transcript is granted.
5 Credibility resolutions have been made based upon a review of the
entire record and all exhibits in this proceeding. Witness demeanor and
inherent probability of the testimony have been utilized to assess credi-
bility. Testimony contrary to my findings has been discredited on some
occasions because it was in conflict with credited testimony or docu-
ments or because it was inherently incredible and unworthy of belief.
6 Respondent Oregon-Columbia NECA denied employer status
within the meaning of the Act because it does not employ any electri-
cians. However, it admitted that the Employers authorized it to repre-
sent them jointly in collective-bargaining negotiations with the Union.
Union admits, and I find, that it is a labor organization within
the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
II. ALLEGED UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
A. Overview
1. Facts
The Union and Oregon-Columbia NECA have been parties
to a series of collective-bargaining agreements covering jour-
neymen and apprentice electricians working for employer
members of Oregon-Columbia NECA, including Employers
Friberg, Christensen, Allphase, and Cherry City. Pursuant to
these agreements, the Union operates an exclusive referral sys-
tem7 (the hiring hall) for journeymen and apprentice electri-
cians from its offices in Portland, Oregon. The complaint al-
leges four discrete areas of arbitrary and discriminatory conduct
engaged in by the Union. These categories are:

• that the Union operated its exclusive hiring hall in
contravention of the hiring hall rules since at least
October 22, 1992, and continuing at least through
December 31, 1994;
• that the Union refused registrants the opportunity
to inspect and/or copy its records relating to opera-
tion of the hiring hall;
• that on occasions in 1993 and 1994, the Union
unlawfully removed hiring hall registrants Twigger
and/or Footlick from the Group I out-of-work list
and refused to permit them to register and to dis-
patch them; and
• that on at least three occasions between November
3, 1993, and February 2, 1994, the Union unlaw-
fully refused to allow Perry to sign the Group I
out-of-work list by administering an arbitrary jour-
neyman wireman’s examination to him.

Under these circumstances, it is appropriate to assert jurisdiction over
the association on that basis. See, e.g., Laundry Owners Assn. of
Greater Cincinnati, 123 NLRB 543, 544 (1959) (association is engaged
in commerce based upon association’s members direct outflow and
gross volume of business), relying on Siemons Mailing Service, 122
NLRB 81, 84 (1958) (all members of multiemployer associations who
participate in or are bound by multiemployer bargaining negotiations
treated as single employers for jurisdictional purposes); Insulation
Contractors of Southern California, 110 NLRB 638, 639 (1954) (by
manifesting a desire to be bound in their labor relations by joint rather
than individual action, the association and its members have constituted
themselves a single employer within the meaning of the Act).
7 The Union and General Counsel agree that the Union operates an
exclusive hiring hall. In related litigation, Employers Friberg, Christen-
sen, Allphase, and Cherry City, as well as Oregon-Columbia NECA
denied that the Union operates an exclusive hiring hall asserting that
because employers may hire off the street if the Union does not provide
referrals within 48 hours, exclusivity is defeated. I find contrary to the
Employers’ and Oregon-Columbia NECA’s assertion, that the hiring
hall operated by the Union is an exclusive hiring hall. See, e.g., Iron
Workers Local 111 (Steel Builders), 274 NLRB 742, 746 (1985), enfd.
in relevant part 792 F.2d 241 (D.C. Cir. 1986), and cases cited therein.
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 119
2. Law
Although a labor organization owes a duty of fair representa-
tion to individuals which it represents, it is permitted a wide
range of discretion in the performance of its duties.8 A labor
organization breaches this duty when any of its actions are
arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith.9 Generally, mere neg-
ligence does not constitute a breach of the duty of fair represen-
tation.10 In the operation of an exclusive hiring hall, “mere
negligence” does not violate the duty of fair representation even
if an applicant loses an employment opportunity as a result of
the union’s mistake.11 However, gross negligence in the opera-
tion of a hiring hall may constitute a violation of the union’s
duty of fair representation:

We do not suggest that gross negligence in the operation of a
hiring hall, of the type indicating disregard for established
procedures, would not breach the duty of fair representation.
Such conduct would likely be found to be “arbitrary,” and
possibly in bad faith, and thus within the proscription of Vaca
v. Sipes [386 U.S. 171 (1967)] and [Air Line Pilots Assn. v.]
O’Neill [499 U.S. 65 (1991)]. We hold only that honest, inad-
vertent mistakes, such as the Union’s in this case, do not,
without more, constitute a breach of the duty. 12

Finally, if “mistakes” are routinely made or if “mistakes”
typically disfavor nonmembers, dissidents, or some other iden-
tifiable group, such “mistakes” may be arbitrary, discriminatory
or bad-faith conduct breaching the duty of fair representation.13
Absent the defense of negligence, union actions which deviate
from hiring hall rules may be lawful if the action was taken
pursuant to a valid union-security clause or was necessary to
the effective performance of the union’s representative func-
tion.14

8 Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman, 345 U.S. 330 (1953).
9 Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 190 (1967), as applied in Air Line Pi-
lots Assn. v. O’Neill, 499 U.S. 65, 67 (1991).
10 Letter Carriers Branch 6070 (Postal Service), 316 NLRB 235,
236 (1995).
11 Steamfitters Local 342 (Contra Costa Electric), 329 NLRB 688
(999), overruling Iron Workers Local 118 (California Erectors), 309
NLRB 808, 809 (1992), and returning to the rule of law extant from
1963 with the holding in Operating Engineers Local 18 (Ohio Pipe
Line Construction Co.), 144 NLRB 1365 (1963), until 1982 when the
Board held for the first time that any departure from established hiring
hall rules denying employment to an applicant violated the duty of fair
representation. Operating Engineers Local 406 (Ford, Bacon & Davis
Construction Co.), 262 NLRB 50, 51 (1982), enfd. 701 F.2d 504 (5th
Cir. 1983).
12 Contra Costa Electric, supra, 329 NLRB at 811. This case was
litigated prior to the decision Contra Costa Electric. That is, the case
was litigated under a theory of “strict” liability in operation of an exclu-
sive hiring hall. Therefore, each instance of deviation from the hiring
hall rules was thoroughly litigated. Counsel for the General Counsel
sought to litigate the issue of contravention of the hiring hall rules up to
the present date. However, I would not allow evidence after December
31, 1994. Any additional instances of deviation from the hiring hall
rules may be litigated in the compliance phase of this proceeding, if
necessary.
13 Contra Costa Electric, supra, 329 NLRB at 811 fn. 24.
14 See Operating Engineers Local 406 (Ford, Bacon & Davis Con-
struction), supra, 262 NLRB at 51.
B. Dispatches Allegedly Failing to Conform to Hiring
Hall Rules
1. Factual background
Edward Barnes was business manager of the Union from
1992 until late July 1995. During that same period of time,
Gerald D. Bruce, business representative, was the chief dis-
patcher in the hiring hall. As dispatcher, Bruce sent employees
to employers pursuant to employer requests for electricians,
utilizing the hiring hall rules. In late July 1995, Bruce suc-
ceeded Barnes as business manager.
The hiring hall rules provide in relevant part:

5.02.01 The Union shall be the sole and exclusive
source of referral of applicants for employ-
ment.
5.04.01 The Union shall select and refer applicants for
employment without discrimination against
such applicants by reason of membership or
nonmembership in the Union and such selec-
tion and referral shall not be affected in any
way by rules, regulations, bylaws, constitu-
tional provisions or any other aspect or obliga-
tion of Union membership policies or re-
quirements. All such selections and referrals
shall be in accord with the following proce-
dure.
5.05.01 The Union shall maintain a register of appli-
cants for employment established on the basis
of the Groups listed below. Each applicant for
employment shall be registered in the highest
priority Group for which he qualifies.

JOURNEYMAN WIREMAN:

GROUP I. All applicants for employment who have
four or more years’ experience in the trade, are residents
of the geographical area constituting the normal construc-
tion labor market, have passed a journeyman’s examina-
tion given by a duly constituted Inside Construction Local
Union of the I.B.E.W. or have been certified as a Jour-
neyman Wireman by an Inside Joint Apprenticeship and
Training Committee, and who have been employed for a
period of at least one year in the last four years under a
collective bargaining agreement between the parties to this
Agreement [or in later contracts, “in the geographical ju-
risdiction of IBEW Local 48.”]
GROUP II. All applicants for employment who have
four or more years experience in the trade and who have
passed a Journeyman Wireman’s examination give by a
duly constituted Inside Construction Local Union of the
I.B.E.W. or have been certified as a Journeyman by any
Inside Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.
GROUP III. All applicants for employment who have
two or more years experience in the trade, are residents of
the geographical area . . . . and have been employed for at
least six months in the last three years under a collective
bargaining agreement between the parties to this Agree-
ment [or in post June 17, 1993 contracts, “in the geo-
graphical jurisdiction of IBEW Local 48.”]
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 120
. . . .

5.06.01 If the registration list is exhausted and the Lo-
cal Union is unable to refer applicants for em-
ployment to the Employer within 48 hours
from the time of receiving the Employer’s re-
quest, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays ex-
cepted, the Employer shall be free to secure
applicants without using the Referral Proce-
dure but, such applicants, if hired, shall have
the status of “temporary employees.”
5.07.01 The Employer shall notify the Business Man-
ager promptly of the names and Social Secu-
rity numbers of such “temporary employees”
and shall replace such “temporary employees”
as soon as registered applicants for employ-
ment are available under the Referral Proce-
dure.

Individuals who have signed the group I out-of-work list and
are present in the hall at the time of dispatch have the highest
dispatch priority and are given the opportunity to be dispatched
before individuals in other groups. Occasionally, however,
individuals are legitimately dispatched out of order, for in-
stance, when an employer requests an individual with specific
skills or requests an individual by name.
The Union maintains a salting program which interfaces with
the hiring hall in several aspects. Pursuant to the salting pro-
gram, the Union allows its members to work for nonunion elec-
trical contractors. Such members are known as “salts.” One
purpose of salting is to attempt to persuade employees of the
nonunion contractors to join the Union. Any nonunion electri-
cians thus recruited are known as “peppers.”
2. Alleged contravention of hiring hall rules
Eleven separate categories of “irregularities” in operation of
the hiring hall were delineated in paragraph 11(a) of the com-
plaint as follows:

1) Dispatching persons not registered on the out-of-
work list
2) Dispatching persons who worked as “salts” for the
Union at non-Union companies ahead of other qualified
journeymen who had a higher position on the out-of-work
list.
3) Providing dispatches to persons not present in the
hiring hall at 3 p.m. or whatever time was set by the Union
for dispatching when other qualified journeymen who
were present in the hiring hall at that time were available.
4) Leaving numbers blank on the out-of-work list, in
order to insert registrants with less priority thereon.
5) Placing converted apprentices on the journeyman
out-of-work list as of the date they signed the apprentice
list rather than the date they became journeymen.
6) Dispatching newly organized persons (“peppers”)
ahead of qualified journeymen registered on the out-of-
work list.
7) Allowing “salts” and “peppers” credit for the time
worked for non-union companies toward their Group I
status.
8) Giving “salts” and “peppers” credit for the time
worked for non-union companies toward their Group I
status.
9) Failing to put available jobs on the recorder and
then dispatching persons not on the out-of-work list and/or
lower on the out-of-work list than other available jour-
neymen.
10) Dispatching persons not meeting Group I require-
ments ahead of journeymen registered on the Group I out-
of-work list.
11) Inserting persons on the out-of-work list out of or-
der and ahead of other registrants.

These allegations are grouped in logical categories and dis-
cussed below.
3. Dispatching persons not registered on the out-of-work list;
Dispatching persons who worked as “salts” for the Union at
non-Union companies ahead of other qualified journeymen
who had a higher position on the out-of-work list; Dispatch-
ing newly organized persons (“peppers”) ahead of qualified
journeymen registered on the out-of-work list; Giving “salts”
and “peppers” credit for the time worked for non-union com-
panies toward their Group I status
a. Facts
The parties agree that salts and peppers did not register on
the out-of-work list and were nevertheless sometimes given
preference in referrals. This occurred approximately 15 times
between October 22, 1992, and December 31, 1994. The parties
agree that salts and peppers were sometimes given credit for the
time they worked for non-Union companies for purposes of
registering on the group I out-of-work list. No negligence was
involved. Rather, the Union purposefully determined to return
salts and peppers, perceived to have lost employment due to
their organizing activity, to the same construction site, if possi-
ble at a location adjoining the location from which the salts or
peppers had been discharged or had otherwise left employment.
To achieve this result, the Union admits that it dispatched the
salts and peppers (who had not registered) ahead of registrants
on the out-of-work list and gave salts and peppers credit for the
time they worked for nonunion companies for purposes of fu-
ture registration on the group I out-of-work list. The issue, ac-
cordingly, is whether departure from its established rules was
necessary to the effective performance of the Union’s repre-
sentative function.
b. Contentions
Counsel for the General Counsel argues that the favoritism
accorded salts and peppers pursuant to the Union’s policy to
suspend certain hiring hall rules is unlawful because this en-
courages union membership or unlawfully coerces employees
to engage in the union activity of becoming members and seek-
ing to work as salts and peppers. Counsel for the General
Counsel distinguishes cases which hold that referral preferences
for stewards are lawful,15 arguing that those cases are based

15 See cases cited by counsel for the General Counsel: Plumbers Lo-
cal 520 (Allis-Chalmers Corp.), 282 NLRB 1228 (1987); Teamsters
Local 959 (Ocean Technology), 239 NLRB 1387 (1979).
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 121
upon the Union’s need for an ongoing site representative to
administer the contract.
Counsel for the Union asserts that the salt and pepper refer-
rals were necessary to the performance of the Union’s represen-
tative function. A goal of the salting program was to capture
work for the Union. The ability to send salts and peppers im-
mediately to projects adjoining nonunion projects which they
were attempting to organize after they departed the nonunion
company served the purpose of the Union as a whole. Counsel
argues that the Union did not act arbitrarily or discriminatorily
or in bad faith. Rather, these 15 deviations from the hiring hall
rules were for the common good of its members and hiring hall
referents.16 Similarly, when nonunion contractors signed
agreements with the Union, employees who had been stripped
from the contractor earlier, received first priority in returning to
the contractor in order to ensure continuity of the work force.
Counsel asserts that this is a legitimate reason for deviation
from the rules. Finally, counsel notes that these incidents are so
isolated that they should not constitute a violation.17
c. Analysis
The defense, that deviation from established rules was neces-
sary to effective performance of a union’s representative func-
tion, has long been recognized.18 It has been explained as fol-
lows:

Not every encouragement of union membership is unlawful,
and the mere acquiescence of an employer in a demand of a
union is not unlawful encouragement per se . . . . Thus, when
the circumstances do not involve an objective of furthering,
requiring, or conditioning employment on union membership
as such, the illegality, if any, must be found in those actions
by a union that impinge upon the employment relationship
which are arbitrary, invidious, or irrelevant to legitimate union
interests.19

Application of this principle has resulted in findings that in-
dependent of rules allowing such referrals, stewards may be
sent to jobsites in order to police the collective-bargaining con-

16 Counsel cites, Sheet Metal Workers Local 27 (Sheet Metal Con-
tractors’ Assn. of Central & South New Jersey), 316 NLRB 419 (1995)
(resolution allowing union to do whatever is necessary to capture work
was legitimate reason for deviation from hiring hall rules); Hays v.
NECA, 781 F.2d 1321 (9th Cir. 1985) (referral preference for those
within a 40-mile radius was legitimate exercise of union’s discretion
and did not violate duty of fair representation).
17 Counsel cites Master Stevedores Assn. of Texas (Houston Mari-
time Assn.), 156 NLRB 1032, 1036 (1966) (violations not sufficient in
number to support allegation that union hall dispatching hundreds of
longshoremen daily engaged in practice of discriminatory preference to
members at shapeup).
18 See, e.g., Plasterers Local 299, 257 NLRB 1386, 1394–1395
(1981), and Longshoremen ILA Local 440 (Port Arthur Stevedores),
214 NLRB 1068, 1070–1071 (1974), both pre-Operating Engineers
Local 406 cases; and Operating Engineers Local 450 (Houston Chap-
ter, AGC), 267 NLRB 775, 795 (1983), and Plumbers Local 519 (Sam
Bloom Plumbing), 306 NLRB 810, 813 (1992), enfd. 15 F.3d 1160
(D.C. Cir. 1994), both post-Operating Engineers Local 406 cases.
19 Ashley, Hickham-UHR Co., 210 NLRB 32, 33 (1974).
tract. In Painters District Council No. 2 (The Paintsmiths),20
the collective-bargaining agreement provided that the union
could appoint job stewards. Upon learning that an employer
had secured a new job and no steward had immediately been
designated, the union business agent sent his brother from the
union hall to act as steward.21 No violation was found even
though the union acted without authority of a rule allowing
such a dispatch. The Board noted that the union’s action served
a legitimate purpose in ensuring an independent steward who
would enforce trade rules and police the contract without fear
of losing a regular job.22 Of course, these “steward preference”
cases recognize the Union’s need to represent its organized
employees by placing a steward on the worksite to protect the
organized employees’ contractual and statutory rights. In the
instant case, the Union’s assertion of necessity to deviate ema-
nates from its desire to organize nonunion employees.
However, recognizing the distinction between necessity of
protecting organized employees and the goal of organizing
nonunion employees, as in our case, further guidance is pro-
vided in Sheet Metal Workers Local 27 (Sheet Metal Contrac-
tors’ Assn.),23 relied upon by the Union. In that case, rather than
referring employees from the top of the out-of-work list, the
union referred only employees on the out-of-work list who
were residents of a specific county in order to satisfy a contrac-
tor’s requirement that a percentage of the work force reside in
that county. The union defended its action by reference to a
resolution which permitted it to “take whatever steps neces-
sary” in order to “capture” work for its members to ensure full
employment. By invoking the resolution, the union was able to
obtain work for its hiring hall registrants. The Board found that
this deviation from hiring hall rules was necessary to the effec-
tive performance of the union’s representative function. Ac-
cordingly, it is recognized that a union may deviate from estab-
lished hiring hall rules to achieve its goal of providing em-
ployment opportunities otherwise unavailable to its hiring hall
registrants when such a goal is recognized by the union.
The Union has fully endorsed the COMET or salting pro-
gram as a method of organizing the unorganized. The record
reflects that, as implemented by this Union, the salting program
eschewed the filing of unfair labor practice charges when a salt
or pepper was discharged or laid off arguably for his union
organizing involvement. Rather, the Union immediately re-
ferred the salt or pepper back to the site to show its strength. It
must be concluded that by engaging in these actions, the Union
was encouraging union membership, a goal sanctioned by the
Union, in part, pursuant to its COMET program. However, the

20 239 NLRB 1378 (1979), enfd. in relevant part 620 F.2d 1326 (8th
Cir. 1980), on remand 253 NLRB 164 (1980).
21 There is no evidence regarding the dispatched steward’s place-
ment on any out-of-work list.
22 See also Teamsters Local 959 (Ocean Technology), 239 NLRB
1387, 1388–1389 (1979) (steward preference clause which allowed
union discretion to send a steward to job in place of employee who
would otherwise have been entitled to the referral is valid), overruling
Painters Local 798 (Gypsum Drywall Contractors), 212 NLRB 615,
617 (1974), enfd. 538 F.2d 312 (2d Cir. 1976) (steward’s provision
creates member preference in referral).
23 316 NLRB 419, 422–423 (1995).
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 122
fact that the Union’s salting efforts encouraged union member-
ship, in and of itself, does not constitute the end of the analysis.
If relevant to legitimate union interests and if not arbitrary or
invidious, the action may nevertheless be lawful.24
Although resolving a different issue, the rationale in Food &
Commercial Locals 951, 7 and 1035 (Meijer, Inc.),25 is instruc-
tive. The Board held therein that under the California Saw26
standard, a union’s organizing expenses within the same com-
petitive market as an organized employer are chargeable to the
organized employer’s objecting bargaining unit employees.
This holding is based in part upon the acknowledged relation-
ship between organizing and collective bargaining readily “ap-
parent from the language of the Act. . . . Congress envisioned
broad economic benefits to society flowing from the organiza-
tion of employees for the purposes of collective bargaining.”27
The Board also noted evidence that represented employees’
wage rates increase or decrease as a function of the percentage
of employees who are unionized in the geographic area in-
creases or decreases.28 Based upon this evidence, the Board
concluded that, “represented employees, whether or not they
are members of the union that represents them, benefit, through
the results of collective bargaining, from that union’s organiza-
tion of other employees. . . . ”29
By analogy to Meijer, and based upon the same policy ra-
tionale and economic conclusions, I find that deviations from
the exclusive hiring hall referral rules in furtherance of the
Union’s salting program served the legitimate union interest of

24 In Teamsters Local 357 (Los Angeles-Seattle Motor Express) v.
NLRB, 365 U.S. 667, 675 (1961), the Court stated:
It may be that the very existence of the hiring hall encourages
union membership. We may assume that it does. The very exis-
tence of the union has the same influence. When a union engages
in collective bargaining and obtains increased wages and im-
proved working conditions, its prestige doubtless rises and, one
may assume, more workers are drawn to it. When a union negoti-
ates collective bargaining agreements that include arbitration
clauses and supervises the functioning of those provisions so as to
get equitable adjustments of grievances, union membership may
also be encouraged. The truth is that the union is a service agency
that probably encourages membership whenever it does its job
well. But . . . the only encouragement or discouragement of union
membership banned by the Act is that which is “accomplished by
discrimination.”
25 329 NLRB 730, 733 (1999).
26 California Saw & Knife Works, 320 NLRB 224, 239 (1995), sup-
plemented 321 NLRB 731 (1996), enfd. sub nom. Machinists v. NLRB,
133 F.3d 1012 (7th Cir. 1998), cert. denied 525 U.S. 813 (1998), rely-
ing on Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Assn., 500 U.S. 507, 524 (1991)
(chargeability of expenses outside objector’s bargaining unit is deter-
mined by whether they are germane to the union’s role in collective
bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment, regard-
less of whether the activities were performed for the direct benefit of
the objector’s bargaining unit as long as the expense is for services
which may ultimately inure to the benefit of the members of the local
by virtue of their membership in the parent organization).
27 Meijer, supra, 329 NLRB at 734.
28 Id., 329 NLRB 735.
29 Id., 329 NLRB 737.
organizing unorganized employees.30 Moreover, there is no
evidence that the Union’s actions were arbitrary or invidious. It
is agreed that the Charging Parties herein did not lose employ-
ment opportunities due to the Union’s deviation from its exclu-
sive hiring hall rules in favor of salts and peppers. Accordingly,
I conclude that the Union’s deviation on 15 occasions from its
established exclusive hiring hall rules in order to refer salts or
peppers to work without regard to their relative placement or
lack of placement on the out-of-work list was necessary to the
effective performance of the Union’s representative function.
Similarly, I conclude that allowing credit to salts and peppers
for time worked for nonunion contractors was necessary to the
effective performance of the Union’s representative function.
4. Providing dispatches to persons not present in the hiring
hall at 3 p.m. or whatever time was set by the Union
for dispatching when other qualified journeymen who
were present in the hiring hall at that time were available
and failing to put available jobs on the recorder and then
dispatching persons not on the out-of-work list and/or
lower on the out-of-work list than other available journeymen
a. Facts
Late on Friday, April 8, 1994, Frito Lay fired a nonunion
contractor and awarded the work to Tice Electric. Organizer
Mel Connors was contacted by Tice at home on Friday evening
with a request for dispatches for the weekend. Connors went to
the hiring hall, retrieved the out-of-work list, and started tele-
phoning registrants. He started at the top and called registrants
until he found some individuals to report to Tice by 11 p.m. or
midnight that night. Connors also requested that Chezem, who
remained at work for the nonunion contractor on Friday night
and into Saturday morning, April 8 and 9, 1994, leave the job.
Chezem left the job early Saturday, April 9, 1994. On Monday,
April 11, 1994, before dispatching hours, Connors gave
Chezem a dispatch to Tice. Connors made these dispatches on
an emergency basis in order to staff the job for Tice before
normal hiring hall hours. Connors conceded that this was an
emergency situation and he handled it on an emergency basis.
Posted dispatch procedures effective March 1, 1994, pro-
vided that “Available jobs will be announced on the hotline
between 5:30PM through 8:30AM . . . .” There is no evidence
whether the Tice jobs were announced on the hotline.
b. Contentions
Counsel for the General Counsel relies on the above example
of deviation from the hiring hall rules to prove the allegations.
Counsel contends that it is not necessary to list every instance
of such conduct. Counsel asserts that having proven that the
Union engaged in this one instance of prohibited conduct, a
remedy is appropriate and any other violations can be remedied
in compliance. Counsel for the Union discusses the above facts

30 Cf. Teamsters Local 174 (Totem Beverages), 226 NLRB 690,
699–700 (1976) (where exclusive hiring hall maintained no objective
criteria or written standards of any kind and employees were referred at
the whim of the union, referral of employee because of his organiza-
tional role inherently encouraged union activities and was, thus, dis-
criminatory).
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 123
in connection with deviations from hiring hall rules incident to
its salting program.
c. Analysis
In agreement with the Union, I find that Chezem’s situation
was handled outside the normal hiring hall rules due to his
status as a salt. As to other referrals to Tice over the weekend
of April 8, 1994, I note that there is no evidence whether the
job was announced on the hotline. It is undisputed that the job
order was received after 5:30 p.m. and had to be filled on an
emergency basis. Because this was an isolated incident based
upon an emergency situation, I find no violation. To the extent
possible, Connors followed the order of the out-of-work list in
attempting to staff the Tice job. Such emergency excuses put-
ting the job on the hotline and waiting to dispatch until the
following Monday when normal hiring hall hours resumed. In
my view, this constitutes action taken to effectively perform the
Union’s representative function.
5. Leaving numbers blank on the out-of-work list in order
to insert registrants with less priority thereon; inserting
persons on the out-of-work list but out of order and
ahead of other registrants
Counsel for the General Counsel contends that the Union left
numbers blank on the out-of-work list in order to “slot people
in.” There is no evidence that this, in fact, occurred. Rather, the
evidence reflects that when the Union converted from a manual
to a computerized system, blanks were left on the computer-
generated list in order to correct any mistakes made through the
computer program.31 Accordingly, this allegation is dismissed.
6. Placing converted apprentices on the group I out-of-work
list as of the date they signed the apprentice list rather than
the date they became journeymen.
a. Facts
Rule 5.05.01 states, inter alia, that a registrant may be placed
on the group I out-of-work list only when “certified as a jour-
neyman wireman.” Nevertheless, the Union uniformly regis-
tered apprentices who became journeymen through the inside
joint apprenticeship and training program on the out-of-work
list as of the date the registrant last became unemployed as an
apprentice.32 Admittedly, the date of certification was different
that the date of last becoming unemployed. In December 1993,
the Union published a letter of understanding between itself and
NECA which reflected the longstanding practice of permitting
unemployed graduate apprentices to sign the group I out-of-
work list and be considered as group I journeymen prior to
completion of their apprenticeship status. This employment
notice, posted in the hiring hall, states, “The policy of the local
union regarding apprentices who graduate to journeyman level
while unemployed shall be to place these individuals within the

31 There is evidence that occasionally names were written in on the
out-of-work list. However, there is no evidence why this was done and
there is no evidence that the names written in were out of order.
32 Bruce credibly testified that this has been the practice of the Union
for as long as he could remember. He testified that only one apprentice,
to his knowledge, had been out of work at the time his graduation from
the joint apprenticeship and training program was imminent.
Book I group, giving them full credit for their time unemployed
while an apprentice previous to graduation.”
b. Contentions
Counsel for the General Counsel contends that the Union’s
policy prior to December 1993 violated rule 5.05.01. Counsel
asserts that this action by the Union was taken purposefully
rather than negligently.
The Union contends that it properly allowed apprentices to
register on the out-of-work list prior to their eligibility for
group I status. This is so, the Union argues, because it had a
long-standing, well-known practice of allowing apprentices to
sign on the group I out-of-work list prior to meeting all the
official criteria. Counsel notes that the apprentices were ac-
corded this treatment because they had essentially qualified for
group I except for receiving notice of their completion of the
state licensure examination.
c. Analysis
Until December 1993, the apprenticeship policy was not in
writing. However, the Union uniformly treated apprentices
enrolled in the joint apprenticeship and training program as
unemployed for purposes of eligibility on the group I out-of-
work list as of the date they were last unemployed as an ap-
prentice. Accordingly, after these apprentices completed the
state-administered examination but before they were notified
that they had received their state license, if they became or
were unemployed prior to receiving their state license but after
taking the exam, it was that date of unemployment which was
utilized for purposes of eligibility for referral from the group I
out-of-work list. Technically, as pointed out by counsel for the
General Counsel, the apprentices were not eligible for group I
until they received their state licenses. Admittedly, there was a
delay between taking the exam and receiving notification from
the state of passing. However, I find that whether the Union
maintained a written rule or merely acted pursuant to an oral
understanding, the practice was lawful in the absence of evi-
dence that it was designed for an invidious or discriminatory
purpose. Absent such evidence, I find the uniform practice of
according apprentices an unemployment date prior to their
receipt of state licensure a lawful practice. This is not a case of
failure to maintain objective criteria or written rules for referral
from an exclusive hiring hall.33 Rather, it is a case of acting
pursuant to an unwritten rule.34

33 Teamsters Local 174, (Totem Beverages), supra, 226 NLRB at
699–700 (by operating its exclusive hiring hall without any objective
criteria or standards and in a discriminatory manner, the union violated
the Act).
34 See, e.g., Iron Workers Local 10 (Guy F. Atkinson Co.), 196
NLRB 712 (1986), enf. 83 LRRM 2409 (8th Cir. 1973) (referral system
created as a matter of practice or oral agreement lawful even though not
reduced to writing).
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 124
7. Dispatching persons not meeting group I requirements
ahead of journeymen registered on the group I
out-of-work list
a. Facts
Counsel for the General Counsel presented evidence of about
200 instances when the Union apparently failed to follow its
own rules for registration on the group I out-of-work list during
the period October 22, 1992, to May 16, 1994. During this pe-
riod of time, the Union made about 10,000 dispatches. Ap-
proximately 2100 or 2200 to 3500 or 4000 individuals utilized
the hiring hall during this same time. In addition, during this
time period, the Union converted its dispatching procedure
from a manual system to a computerized system. The comput-
erized system initially incorporated members of the Union.
Travelers were added to the computerization at a later time.
The evidence reflects, for example, that some registrants
were allowed to sign the group I list even though there was no
documentation that the registrant had passed a journeyman
wireman’s examination. In addition, the General Counsel pro-
duced evidence that some registrants were allowed to maintain
their group I priority although they had worked more than 30
days since their last “re-signing” and, thus, should have been
removed from the list. Further, some registrants’ names were
inserted on the out-of-work list ahead of other registrants and
dispatched according to their point of insertion although the
record sometimes failed to reflect the reason for insertion of the
registrants’ names at the particular points on the out-of-work
list. Finally, some registrants were allowed to remain on the
group I list even though the evidence failed to establish that the
registrant had worked one of the prior 4 years in the industry.
On about 10 occasions, the union records did not reflect that
particular registrants on the group I out-of-work list had passed
the journeyman inside wireman’s examination. The Union
agreed that these registrants should not have been allowed to
sign the group I out-of-work list if, indeed, they had not passed
the journeyman inside wireman’s examination. The Union
could offer no explanation for how these registrants slipped
through the rules. The Union conducted periodic audits to de-
termine compliance with the group I requirements. However,
the Union agreed that in these instances the registrants had not
been caught. No specific group was targeted for special treat-
ment. The registrants who were improperly present on the
group I list without evidence of having passed the journeyman
inside wireman’s examination consisted of both travelers and
members.
With regard to virtually all of the evidence regarding failure
to remove registrants from the out-of-work list after 30 days of
work, the evidence reveals that very few deviations from the
rule actually occurred. The Union instituted a computerized
program to monitor the 30-day rule. This program counted 42-
calendar days and assumed that anyone who had worked that
long had probably worked for 30-working days. However, the
program did not account for holidays or sick days. On numer-
ous occasions, the Union was able to rebut the General Coun-
sel’s assertion of failure to follow the 30-day rule. Business
Manager Bruce testified credibly that certain insertions of
names on the group I out-of-work list were consistent with
correcting a mistake of omitting the registrant’s name on a prior
list. Accordingly, he surmised in many instances (although he
did not have a specific recollection of each instance) that the
registrant had been dropped from the list due to improper appli-
cation of the 30-day rule or improper application of the “re-
sign” rule35 and the registrant brought the mistake to the atten-
tion of the dispatcher who rectified the mistake by inserting the
registrant’s name at the appropriate spot on the out-of-work list.
On some occasions, Bruce specifically recalled that this had
been the case.
Finally, the Union produced evidence that many of the ap-
parent deviations from the hiring hall rules were actually con-
templated within the framework of the hiring hall. For instance,
some of the registrants were actually requested by name and
thus dispatched out of order; some of the registrants had special
skills which were required and, thus, were dispatched out of
order; and some of the registrants were sent to noninside wire-
men’s jobs and thus not pursuant to the hiring hall rules.
It is not disputed that deviations from the hiring hall rules
were random. That is, travelers, nonmembers and dissidents
were advantaged as often as members. The record, on the
whole, indicates that the deviations from hiring hall rules were
simply that—deviations or mistakes which had no motivation
to advantage or disadvantage any group.
b. Contentions
Counsel for the General Counsel contends that so many in-
advertent errors were made that this amounts to gross negli-
gence while counsel for the Union, although conceding that
some mistakes were made, insists that mistakes were made in
an honest, good-faith attempt to comply with all hiring hall
rules. Counsel for the Union notes that the Union installed a
new computer system for handling referrals. This system
dropped some individuals from the group I out-of-work list
before they had worked 30 days. However, no evidence indi-
cates that discriminatory or unlawful reasons were behind these
mistakes. Once the Union became aware of these errors, the
employees were appropriately reinserted on the out-of-work list
and dispatched. Counsel for the Union also asserts that many of
the mistakes, such as verification of eligibility and application
of the “re-sign” requirement, involved honest human error.36
Finally, counsel for the Union argues that statistical and nu-
merical evidence of errors, advantaging both members and non-
members, is insufficient to establish breach of the duty of fair
representation.37

35 Basically, this rule required that registrants who wanted to retain
their place on the out-of-work list were required to resign the list in
February and August.
36 Counsel relies upon Plumbers Local 38 (D.I. Chadbourne), 159
NLRB 370 (1966), enfd. 388 F.2d 679 (9th Cir. 1968) (where operation
of hiring hall admittedly left much to be desired, nevertheless no viola-
tion because no relationship to union activity); Stage Employees IATSE
Local 592 (Saratoga Performing Arts), 266 NLRB 703 (1983) (union
did not operate exclusive hiring hall in arbitrary faction although opera-
tion was sloppy and unbusinesslike).
37 Counsel cites Iron Workers Local 483 (Building Contractors
Assn.), 285 NLRB 123 (1987), enfd. in relevant part 864 F.2d 1113 (3d
Cir. 1989) (unexplained bypasses of nonmembers from among thou-
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 125
c. Analysis
In exercising its duty of fair representation, a labor organiza-
tion must, “serve the interests of all members without hostility
or discrimination toward any. . . . exercise its discretion with
complete good faith and honesty, and . . . avoid arbitrary con-
duct.”38 However, mere forgetfulness or inadvertent error in the
operation of an exclusive hiring hall does not violate the duty of
fair representation.39
Given that the law does not guarantee the quality of repre-
sentation and given that a degree of human error or negligence
may be expected in any human endeavor, the issue is whether
the referral mistakes admittedly made by the Union rise to the
level of gross negligence in violation of the duty of fair repre-
sentation. I find that all of the mistakes were made in good
faith. Many were due to the press of business at the hiring hall.
Many were due to implementation of the computer system.
However, there is no evidence that any specific group of em-
ployees was prejudiced by the mistakes. Given the great vol-
ume of business in the hiring hall and the relatively few num-
bers of “mistakes,40 I am unable to find that “gross” negligence
has occurred.
C. Refusal to Allow Registrants the Opportunity to Inspect
and/or Copy Hiring Hall Records
1. Facts
In mid-March 1993, Footlick and others requested access to
hiring hall records on behalf of their dissident union organiza-
tion, Electricians for a Democratic Union (EDU), in order to
ascertain the order of dispatch and how the hall was being op-
erated. Bruce took the records away when Footlick began writ-
ing notes from the records. At an appeals committee meeting in
April 1993, a box of hiring hall records was produced while
Footlick and others were presenting an appeal. There is no evi-
dence that Footlick and other EDU members examined the box
of records at the appeals hearing. There is no evidence regard-
ing what, if any, restrictions were placed on access to the box
of hiring hall records nor is there any evidence regarding the
dates of coverage of those records. On January 19, 1994, Foot-
lick was allowed to examine several months of dispatch re-
cords. However, when Footlick attempted to write notes regard-

sands of referrals over an 18-month period unlikely to have been result
of deliberate discrimination).
38 Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 177 (1966), citing Humphrey v.
Moore, 375 U.S. 335, 342 (1964).
39 Steamfitters Local 342 (Contra Costa Electric), supra, 329 NLRB
688, 690 (1999), citing Operating Engineers Local 18 (Ohio Pipe
Line), 144 NLRB 1365 (1963); Plumbers Local 40, 242 NLRB 1157,
1163 (1979), enfd. mem. 642 F.2d 456 (9th Cir. 1981). In both of the
cited cases, the union had made mistakes in operation of their hiring
halls but no showing of hostile, invidious, irrelevant or unfair consid-
erations was shown and no violation of the duty of fair representation
was found.
40 Even if all of the General Counsel’s allegations of deviation from
the rules had been proven—and they were not because the Union rebut-
ted many of the allegations—there were about 200 instances in over
10,000 dispatches. Thus, even if the Union made as many deviations as
alleged, only 2 percent of the dispatches involved misapplication of the
rules.
ing the records, the books were withdrawn and Footlick was
asked to leave.
2. Contentions
Counsel for the General Counsel notes that when a union
undertakes the operation of an exclusive hiring hall, the union
must allow hiring hall registrants an opportunity to inspect and
copy the records in order to determine that the hall is being
operated in conformity with the rules and the law. Counsel
asserts, based on the undisputed facts herein, that the Union
clearly acted arbitrarily and discriminatorily in denying access
to the records. Counsel asserts that the Union’s “defense,” that
some of the documents were produced in April 1993, is un-
availing because any records produced at the appeals hearing
were not made available at a time when the Charging Parties
could avail themselves of the opportunity to inspect and copy.
Further, counsel asserts that subsequent attempts to inspect and
take notes were met with a stone wall.
Counsel for the Union asserts that the Charging Parties’ re-
quest for access to hiring hall records was spurious and based
on untenable grounds. This is so, counsel asserts, because the
sole basis for the Charging Parties’ concern about hiring hall
procedures was the fact that a computerized referral system left
systematic blanks on the out-of-work list in order to leave room
to correct mistakes. Because the only evidence regarding the
blanks in the list is a legitimate reason for the blanks, counsel
asserts that the request was unreasonable. Counsel additionally
raises privacy concerns for registrants’ social security numbers.
Finally, counsel notes that the Union made certain records
available during an appeals committee meeting and the Charg-
ing Parties did not avail themselves of the opportunity to in-
spect these materials.
3. Analysis
“Inherent in a union’s duty of fair representation is an obli-
gation to deal fairly with an employee’s request for information
as to his relative position on the out-of-work register for pur-
poses of job referral through an exclusive hiring hall.”41 When
a labor organization refuses to provide access to hiring hall
records in response to a request for such records in order to
determine whether referral rights are being protected, the labor
organization violates Section 8(b)(1)(A).42
The Union has failed to advance any legitimate reason for
withholding the requested information from the Charging Par-
ties. Initially, it must be concluded that the request for informa-
tion was reasonably based. If, indeed, the request to review
hiring hall records was based upon the blank spaces left in the
out-of-work list when the list became a computer-generated list,
it does not matter whether the Charging Parties’ belief or con-
cern about the system was accurate. Rather, it is enough to
establish a right to hiring hall information if the applicant just

41 Operating Engineers Local 324 (Michigan Chapter AGC), 226
NLRB 587 (1976).
42 See, e.g., Boilermakers Local 197 (Northeastern State Boiler-
maker Employers), 318 NLRB 205 (1995); Carpenters Local 35 (Con-
struction Employers Assn.), 317 NLRB 18, 21–23 (1995).
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 126
wants to see the information.43 Moreover, as to any concerns
for privacy of registrants, the fact that the Charging Parties
were allowed to view the social security numbers of registrants
but not to make notes belies the concern for registrants’ pri-
vacy. Finally, I do not find failure to examine the box of mate-
rials made available at the April 1993 appeals hearing fatal to
the allegation herein. The Charging Parties were at the appeals
hearing to resolve an issue and their failure to undertake ex-
amination of the box of materials during that meeting cannot be
held against them. Moreover, on a subsequent attempt to exam-
ine and take notes, the Union withdrew the materials from the
Charging Parties. Accordingly, I find that the Union violated
Section 8(b)(1)(A) by failing to allow the Charging Parties to
inspect and/or take notes of its records relating to operation of
the hiring hall.
D. Unlawful Refusal to Allow Perry to Sign the Group I Out-of-
Work List by Administering an Arbitrary Journeyman Wire-
man’s Examination to Him
1. Facts
Perry began working in the jurisdiction of the Union in the
early 1990s. He had been a journeyman inside wireman for
about 20 years at that time. Initially, the Union allowed Perry to
register on the group I out-of-work list. In October 1993, Perry
was notified that he needed to complete a journeyman inside
wireman’s examination. Perry sat unsuccessfully for the ex-
amination on three occasions and thereafter, pursuant to valid
rules, was denied group I status. Counsel for the General Coun-
sel alleges that the content of the examination unlawfully en-
couraged membership in the Union. The examination required
applicants to know details about the elected union leadership,
the bylaws of the Union, the constitution and operation of the
IBEW, and the local Union and its collective-bargaining
agreement with Oregon-Columbia NECA.
For instance, the examination administered in 1994 con-
tained 10 questions regarding the electrical code (apparently
worth 4 points each), 6 questions about the collective-
bargaining agreement (apparently worth 4 points each), 5 ques-
tions about the Union’s bylaws (apparently worth 2 points
each), 2 questions about IBEW history (apparently worth 2
points each), and 2 questions about the IBEW constitution (ap-
parently worth 2 points each). An examination administered in
1993 contained 15 questions about the bylaws, 10 questions
about the collective-bargaining agreement, 10 questions about
the IBEW constitution, 8 questions about IBEW history, and 25
questions about the electrical code.
2. Contentions
Counsel for the General Counsel acknowledges the Union’s
right to require examination prior to referral in the group I out-
of-work list. It is the content of the examination, characterized
in the complaint as requiring “in major part” knowledge of
union bylaws and constitution, labor history and the contents of
a collective-bargaining agreement, which counsel asserts is
unlawful. Counsel for the General Counsel acknowledges that

43 Operating Engineers Local 513 (Various Employers), 308 NLRB
1300, 1303 (1992).
Perry was not the only person required to take the examination
and also acknowledges that this argument presents an issue of
first impression.44 He argues, however, that it is axiomatic that
a labor organization may not use its control over the referral
process to foster, encourage, discourage, or require union
membership.45
Counsel for the Union asserts that there is no evidence that
the examination was unfair or discriminatory. Counsel also
notes that at least in 1994, Perry did not pass the examination
largely due to incorrect answers regarding the electrical code
section of the test.
3. Analysis
It has long been permissible for a labor organization to ad-
minister regular examinations to persons selected on a nondis-
criminatory basis in order to certify “journeyman” status, that
is, the status of a qualified independent worker, for purposes of
referral priority.46 However, a labor organization may not use
the device of journeyman examination to promote discrimina-
tory practices.47
The purpose of the examination of applicants for inclusion
on the group I out-of-work list is to ensure referral of qualified
applicants to employers. I conclude that inclusion of questions
about the Union’s collective-bargaining agreement, bylaws, and
constitution, and history do not serve the purpose of ensuring
referral of qualified applicants. Inclusion of such questions can
only serve union institutional purposes. Moreover, I find that
inclusion of such questions unlawfully restrains or coerces
employees who wish to refrain from the right to join a union.
inclusion of such questions is invidious in the potential to deny
referral access.48 Accordingly, I conclude that Perry was unlaw-

44 In fact, counsel for the General Counsel specifically denied that
this allegation was related in any way to Perry’s dissident union activ-
ity.
45 Counsel relies generally on Scofield v. NLRB, 394 U.S. 423 (1969)
(union may reasonably enforce a properly adopted rule which impairs
no statutory policy and serves a legitimate union interest); Electrical
Workers Local 1579, 316 NLRB 710 (1995) (union unreasonably en-
forced rule against traveler for working for a nonunion employer but
not against its own members); Teamsters Local 579 (Janesville Auto
Transport Co.), 310 NLRB 975 (1993), enfd. in relevant part 145
LRRM 2200 (7th Cir. 1993) (penalizing union members who publicly
expressed opposition to union’s choice of health providers does not
serve legitimate union interest and impairs policy of labor laws); and
Carpenters Local 720 (UMC of Louisiana), 287 NLRB 545, 546–547
(1987) (rule forbidding members from turning down union job referrals
in order to continue nonunion employment serves legitimate union
interest).
46 See, e.g., Nassau-Suffolk Chapter of the NECA, 215 NLRB 894
(1974), vacated in relevant part as moot and remanded 565 F.2d 76
(D.C. Cir. 1977), on remand 231 NLRB 1021 (1977), enfd. in part 586
F.2d 959 (2d Cir. 1978); Electrical Workers, Local 99 (Crawford Elec-
tric Construction Co.), 214 NLRB 723, 725 (1974).
47 See, e.g., Plumbers Local 633 (B & W Construction Co.), 249
NLRB 67, 70 (1980), enfd. 668 F.2d 921 (6th Cir. 1982).
48 It is irrelevant whether Perry failed the exam based in large part
upon the electrical code questions or the internal union questions.
Moreover, I credit Perry’s denial that the 1994 exam admitted in evi-
dence reflects his answers. Perry credibly testified that although his
score was the same as the score on the exam admitted in evidence, that
particular exam did not contain his handwriting.
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 48 (OREGON-COLUMBIA CHAPTER OF NECA) 127
fully excluded from group I status due to the contents of the
examination.49
E. Removal of Registrants Twigger and Footlick from
the Group I Out-of-Work List and Refusal to Permit
them to Register and to Dispatch them
1. Facts
Charging Parties Footlick, Twigger, Coey, Mulcahy, Jacobs,
DeBien, Taylor, Perry, and McVay as well as other electricians
who used the Union’s hiring hall, formed EDU in 1993 because
they disliked the hiring hall preferential dispatches to salts,
peppers, new hands, and apprentices. EDU held its first open
meeting in March 1994. In addition to seeking access to the
hiring hall records, EDU filed internal union charges and ap-
peals. Shortly after this dissident activity became known to the
Union, an agreement between the Union and Oregon-Columbia
NECA was published requiring that anyone who unsuccessfully
filed NLRB or other charges would be responsible for paying
costs incurred by the Union and Oregon-Columbia NECA.50
Evidence introduced by counsel for the General Counsel clearly
indicates both knowledge of EDU activities and animus for
these activities as of March 1994.
In May 1993, about a year before the Union learned of EDU
activity, internal union charges were brought by Bruce against
Footlick alleging that Footlick did not reside within the geo-
graphic area constituting the normal construction labor market
and was, accordingly, ineligible to sign the group I out-of-work
list. During the pendency of this charge, Footlick was removed
from the group I out-of-work list. Bruce based his internal un-
ion charge against Footlick on the fact that Footlick lived in a
travel trailer without a permanent foundation and Footlick kept
his vehicles registered in another county. Footlick successfully
proved his residency and Bruce lost the internal union charge
against Footlick.51
Later, in October 1994, dispatcher Keith Edwards refused to
allow Footlick to sign the group I book because of a dispute
over Footlick’s residency. After a meeting with the appeals
board, Footlick was allowed to sign the group I out-of-work list
again. Footlick’s removal from the group I out-of-work list

49 The complaint specifically alleges that Perry was removed from
the group I out-of-work list during the summer of 1993 in violation of
Sec. 8(b)(1)(A). The complaint further alleges that between November
3, 1993, and February 2, 1994, on three occasions, Perry took the ex-
amination and failed to pass. I do not find that Perry’s removal from the
group I out-of-work list was unlawful under the circumstances of this
case. The Union has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that it
lawfully conducted audits to ensure the integrity of the group I qualifi-
cations. However, refusal to allow Perry the opportunity to take a law-
ful journeyman examination was violative. Any issues regarding
Perry’s ability to physically perform the duties of a journeyman inside
wireman are left to the compliance phase of these proceedings.
50 This agreement between the Union and Oregon-Columbia NECA
was never enforced and was later rescinded. The legality of publication
of the “loser pays” requirement is dealt with in my decision in “Ore-
gon-Columbia Chapter of National Electrical Contractors Association,
JD(SF)–21–00.”
51 This removal from the group I out-of-work list is not alleged as
violative of the Act.
from October 22 to November 7, 1994, is alleged as violative of
Section 8(b)(1)(A).
Similarly, between September 23 and November 19, 1993,
and between February 25 to April 8, 1994, Twigger’s name was
removed from the group I out-of-work list. Bruce testified that
Twigger’s name was removed pursuant to a group I eligibility
audit performed by the Union. However, Bruce could not recall
the names of any other persons who were affected by the audit
but believed about 17 individuals were affected.
2. Contentions
Counsel for the General Counsel contends that Twigger and
Footlick’s protected EDU activities motivated the Union’s ac-
tions to remove them from the group I out-of-work list. Counsel
notes the knowledge, animus, and timing of their removals.
Counsel notes that Bruce’s treatment of Footlick stands in harsh
contrast to Bruce’s treatment of Howell Marsh, an unregistered
electrician from Texas. Bruce called Tigard Electric on behalf
of Marsh and immediately found employment for him. When
Marsh’s work with Tigard ended, Bruce allowed Marsh to sign
the group I out-of-work list even though Marsh was admittedly
not eligible to sign that list because he had not satisfied the
residency requirement. Counsel additionally, points to the pre-
textual nature of the audit, in that there is no evidence that any-
one other than Twigger was affected by the audit.
Counsel for the Union concedes that there is evidence that
Barnes and Footlick did not get along. However, counsel as-
serts that personal animosity falls far short of animus for dissi-
dent union activities which the Union had no knowledge of at
the time of Footlick’s removal from the group I out-of-work
list.52
Counsel for the Union notes that Twigger was removed in
September 1993 pursuant to a normal audit and once he pro-
vided evidence that he satisfied the group I requirements, he
was reinstated to the group I out-of-work list. Counsel asserts
that Twigger’s removal in February 1994 was an inadvertent
clerical error.53 Counsel asserts that the Union’s actions were
not motivated by animus for Twigger’s dissident activities, in
part, because there is no evidence of knowledge of EDU activi-
ties until March 1994.
Finally, counsel contends that Twigger’s and Footlick’s
claims are barred by res judicata. Counsel asserts that an action

52 Counsel relies upon Plasterers Local 299(Wyoming Contractors
Assn.), 257 NLRB 1386, 1395 (1981) (although union impaired regis-
trant job referral prospects, union’s actions were in good faith, based on
rational considerations, and linked to its need to effectively represent its
constituency as a whole); Plumbers Local 375, 228 NLRB 1191 (1977)
(expulsion of individual from apprenticeship program and failure to
dispatch him not based on personal or intra-union political considera-
tions not violative).
53 Counsel relies upon Operating Engineers Local 18 (Ohio Pipe
Line Construction Co.), 144 NLRB 1365 (1963) (mere forgetfulness or
inadvertent error in failing to re-register member did not constitute
discriminatory conduct); Operating Engineers Local 450 (Houston
Chapter AGC), 267 NLRB 775, 799–800 (1983) (retention of members
on the out-of-work list contrary to hiring hall rules did not constitute
unfair labor practice because they were due to oversight or mistake and
did not cause detriment to others).
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 128
in Federal court between the same parties found no evidence of
animus or discriminatory behavior on the part of the Union.
3. Analysis
Turning to the procedural issue first, on December 20, 1994,
Twigger and others filed suit against the Union and employers
Christenson and Friberg in the United States District Court for
the District of Oregon (Civil No. 94-1544-JE) claiming, in part,
breach of the duty of fair representation and collusion between
the Union and the employers in issuance of not-for-rehire let-
ters allegedly in retaliation for Twigger’s and others’ dissident
union activities.54 The substance of the alleged breach of duty
of fair representation claim included not only the alleged collu-
sion between the employers and the Union but also the manner
in which grievances regarding the not-for-rehire letters were
handled by the Union. Removal of Twigger’s and Footlick’s
names from the out-of-work list was not litigated. However, in
entering an order of partial summary judgment in favor of the
Union and the employers, the magistrate noted there was some
evidence that the Union, “generally disfavored the EDU. . . .”
(Opinion and Order of November 20, 1997, at 26). Given this
statement, I am unable to conclude that the court found no evi-
dence of animus. However, the magistrate concluded that the
evidence was insufficient to prove that the Union, “investigated
and prosecuted their grievances in a manner that was arbitrary,
capricious, or in bad faith.” (Opinion and Order of November
20, 1997, at 28).
The doctrine of res judicata does not bar litigation of Twig-
ger and Footlick’s claims herein nor does the doctrine of collat-
eral estoppel compel a finding of no animus or discriminatory
behavior. Assuming arguendo that the doctrine of res judicata is
applicable to proceedings before the Board, the fact that the
Union and the Charging Parties have engaged in Federal court
litigation of the duty of fair representation involving alleged
collusion in issuance of not-for-rehire letters and processing of
grievances due to issuance of those letters does not preclude the
government from litigating the issue of Twigger and Footlick’s
removal from the out-of-work list.55 Moreover, I decline to
apply the doctrine of collateral estoppel to the court’s statement
regarding general disfavor of EDU by the Union or to the
court’s holding regarding processing of the grievances. Neither
of the holdings is directly applicable herein. Finally, the Gov-
ernment was not a party to the Federal court proceeding and the
finding of the court is currently on appeal.
Turning to the merits of removal of Twigger’s and Footlick’s
names from the group I out-of-work lists, I note that all three of
the removals in question occurred prior to the Union’s knowl-
edge of EDU or of Twigger and Footlick’s involvement in
EDU. Accordingly, absent knowledge of the dissident union
activities of these individuals, it is impossible to conclude the
EDU activities were the basis for their removals. Nevertheless,

54 The issuance of these not-for-rehire letters was litigated before me
as unfair labor practices in the related Employer cases. Those cases
were severed for purposes of decision. See “Friberg Electric Company,
et al., Cases 36–CA–7261, et al., JD(SF)–19–00”).
55 Precision Industries, 320 NLRB 661, 663 (1996), enfd. 118 F.3d
585 (8th Cir. 1997), cert. denied 523 U.S. 1020 (1998).
counsel for the General Counsel argues that personal animosity
on behalf of the Union toward Twigger and Footlick motivated
their removals. Of course, disfavored treatment due to personal
animosity is arbitrary action in violation of the duty of fair rep-
resentation. However, I am unable to discern evidence in the
record which warrants a finding that personal animosity existed
in 1993 and early 1994 toward
Twigger and Footlick.56 According, I conclude that there is
insufficient evidence upon which to find that their removals
from the group I out-of-work list were arbitrary or discrimina-
tory.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. By refusing to allow hiring hall registrants the opportunity
to inspect and/or copy its records relating to the operation of the
hiring hall, the Union has engaged in unfair labor practices
affecting commerce within the meaning of Section 8(b)(1)(A)
and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
2. By utilizing a journeyman wireman examination given on
three occasions to hiring hall registrant Perry which dealt in
major part with knowledge of the Union’s bylaws and constitu-
tion, labor history and the contents of its collective-bargaining
agreement, rather than knowledge of the electrical trade, and
utilizing this examination as the basis for denying Perry group I
status, the Union violated Section 8(b)(1)(A).
REMEDY
Having found that the Union has engaged in certain unfair
labor practices, I find that it must be ordered to cease and desist
and to take certain affirmative action designed to effectuate the
policies of the Act. Specifically, having found that the Union
unlawfully refused to allow hiring hall registrants the opportu-
nity to inspect and/or copy its records, the Union must make
available the requested information. Having found that the Un-
ion unlawfully utilized an arbitrary journeyman wireman’s
examination to deny Perry group I status, the Union must make
Perry whole for his money losses and loss of contributions to
the funds established by the relevant collective-bargaining
agreements, as prescribed in F. W. Woolworth Co., 90 NLRB
289 (1950), plus interest as computed in New Horizons for the
Retarded, 283 NLRB 1173 (1987).
[Recommended Order omitted from publication.]

56 I note that in the federal court litigation, the magistrate specifically
referred to evidence of personal animosity between Twigger and Bar-
nes and between Footlick and Barnes. The Federal court litigation
documents were admitted as union exhibits solely for the purpose of the
argument regarding issue preclusion. Counsel for the General Counsel
strenuously objected to admission of these documents as irrelevant.
Under these circumstances, it would be improper to take note of the
evidence referred to by the court regarding personal animosity. This
evidence was not litigated before me and cannot now be considered.