Firestone Tire and Rubber Co.Download PDFNational Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsMar 27, 195193 N.L.R.B. 981 (N.L.R.B. 1951) Copy Citation FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY 981 is engaging in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 (a) (1) of the Act. 3. The aforesaid unfair labor practices are unfair labor practices affecting commerce within the meaning of Section 2 ( 6) and ( 7) of the Act. 4. The Respondent has not engaged in unfair labor practices by discharging David Mingo or by refusing to reinstate him. [Recommended Order omitted from publication in this volume.] FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY and E. CARL RHODUS INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WARE- HOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, OVER-THE-ROAD AND CITY TRANSFER DRIVERS, HELPERS, DOCKMEN AND WAREHOUSEMEN, LOCAL UNION No. 41, A. F. L. and E. CARL RHODUS. Cases Nos, 17-CA-247 and 17-CB-18. March 27, 1951 Decision and Order On September 25, 1950, Trial Examiner James R. Hemingway issued his Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding, find- ing that the Respondents had not engaged in the unfair labor prac- tices alleged in the Complaint,' and recommending that the complaint be dismissed in its entirety, as set forth in the copy of the Intermediate Report attached hereto. The General Counsel and the Respondent Union thereafter filed exceptions to the Intermediate Report and sup- porting briefs. The Respondent Union also requested oral argument. This request is denied as the record and briefs, in our opinion, ade- quately present the issues and the positions of the parties. The Board has reviewed the rulings made by the Trial Examiner at the hearing and finds that no prejudicial error was committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. The Board has considered the Intermediate Report, the exceptions and briefs, and the entire record in this case, and hereby adopts the Trial Examiner's findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the extent that they are consistent with this Decision and Order. 1. The Trial Examiner found that the Employer did not violate Section 8 (a) (1) or (3) of the Act, and the Union did not violate Section 8 (b) (1) (A) or (2) of the Act, in connection with employee Rhodus' reduction in seniority about November 10, 1949, and his consequent transfer and discharge. We agree with the Trial Exam- iner's result, but not with his reasoning. As found in the Intermediate Report, on September 1, 1949, the Em- ployer and the Union executed a lawful contract requiring, inter alia, 1 The complaint alleged violations of Section 8 (a) (1), 8 (a) (3), 8 (b ) (1) (A), and 8 (b) (2) of the Act as amended. 93 NLRB No. 161. 982 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD membership in "good standing" as a condition of employment on and after 30 days. The contract further provided that "seniority rights shall prevail if employee is qualified," and that any controversy over seniority should be settled by the Union alone. About November 9, 1949, while charging employee Rhodus was in arrears in his dues and therefore not a member in "good standing," 2 the Union advised the Employer that Rhodus had lost his seniority for nonpayment of dues. Rhodus was one of the most senior employees at that time, having been employed since 1943. About 2 days later, the Employer accordingly advised Rhodus that he had been dropped to the bottom of the senior- ity list. Rhodus thereafter tendered, and the Union accepted, his back dues: As a result of his earlier reduction in seniority, however, Rhodus was later transferred to another department, and was sub- sequently laid off in a plant-wide reduction in force. He would not have been either transferred or laid off but for his reduction in seniority. - The principal issue before us is whether the joint action of the Union and the Employer in reducing Rhodus' standing on the senior- ity list was in itself a violation of the Act. Rhodus' reduction in seniority was of course a discrimination in regard to a condition of his employment, and thus would constitute a violation of the Act, be- cause grounded on the membership requirement as to the payment of dues, unless the provisos to Section 8 (a) (3) and the terms of Section 8 (b) (2) protect the discrimination. If this discrimination is pro- tected, the subsequent transfer and layoff of Rhodus were not unlaw- ful, but merely resulted from a nondiscriminatory application of his reduction in seniority. It is clear that at the time Rhodus was reduced in seniority the existing contract contained a union-security provision that required him to maintain his membership in good standing as a condition of employment. Thus, Rhodus could then have been discharged for losing his good standing because of nonpayment of dues, if the union- security provision was permitted by the Act. True, the Union de- manded a lesser discrimination than the union-security clause entitled it to demand : it actually requested only that Rhodus be dropped to the bottom of the seniority list. But this leniency on the part of the Union cannot reasonably be said to have detracted from the otherwise meritable position of either the Union or the Employer; nor should it enhance Rhodus' Claim to protection. On these facts, and viewed in this posture, the only question to be resolved is whether the union-security provision of the contract was lawful. 2 The Union 's bylaws provide : "to be in continuous good standing, a member must pay his dues on or before the first of the month, in advance." FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY 983 The Act, although generally prohibiting discrimination in employ- ment to encourage membership in a union, nonetheless sanctions such discrimination within certain narrow limits. The limits are set forth in the provisos to Section 8 (a) (3) and in Section 8 (b) (2). In general, there must be a union-shop election, then an agreement requir- ing membership in the union as a condition of employment on or after 30 days, and finally a denial or termination of the "membership" of the complaining employee for nonpayment of dues. These standards were all met in this case at the time Rhodus was discriminated against by being reduced in seniority. We believe, and find, that Congress intended by the word "member- ship" to permit a requirement of membership in good standing. - The proviso to the original Wagner Act was couched, insofar as here rele- vant, in precisely the same terms as is the proviso to the amended Act : It permitted an agreement to require as a condition of employment "membership" in a union. The word "membership" in that proviso was consistently construed in Wagner Act cases, in accordance with established contractual practice in the field of labor relations ,3 as sanc- tioning contracts requiring membership "in good standing." 4 For example, in the Diamond T case, discharges were held proper as to employees who were "no longer member[s] in good standing," under the provisions of a contract requiring employees to "remain members in good standing in the Union." The amended Act, with its amended provisos, does not change the type of membership permitted to be made a condition of employment, although it permits a discharge for loss of "membership" only when such membership is lost for failure to tender periodic dues or initiation fees. Thus, the substantial altera- tions made by the amendments limit the grounds on which good-stand- ing membership must be lost in order to legalize discrimination, but do not change the kind of membership that must be lost.' Congress, when it repeated the precise phraseology of the original Act in this respect, was apparently satisfied with the Board's consistent construction of the original proviso as permitting a requirement of membership in good standing. As the Supreme Court said in an analogous situ- ation, "In the course of adopting the 1947 amendments Congress con- sidered in great detail the provisions of the earlier legislation as they had been applied by the Board. Under these circumstances it is a fair assumption that by reenacting without pertinent modification 8.See, for example , the definition of maintenance of membership in Casselman, Labor Dictionary , pp. 274-275 : "A clause or provision in a collective bargaining agreement be- tween an employer and a union , whereby all employees . . . must remain members en good standing of the union . . . as a condition of remaining employed ." [ Emphasis supplied.] 'Diamond T Motor Car Company, 64 NLRB 1225 ; Public Service Corporation of New -Jersey, 77 NLRB 153; Durasteel Company, 73 NLRB 941. 6 See Pressed Steel Car Company, Inc., 89 NLRB 276; The Electric Auto -Lite Company, 92 NLRB 1073. 984 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the provision with which we here deal, Congress accepted the con- struction placed thereon by the Board...." r As employee Rhodus had lost his "membership in good standing" because of nonpayment of dues when his seniority was reduced, we find that discrimination against him under the valid union-security contract was protected by the provisions of the Act. Rhodus' subsequent payment of his back dues cannot retroactively affect the legality of his reduction in seniority, for at the time of the reduction he was not in good standing within the meaning of the Act. 2. The General Counsel has excepted to the Trial Examiner's failure to find that the seniority provision of the contract between the Em- ployer and the Union in itself violated the Act. We find no merit in this exception. The seniority provision, although permitting the Union to control seniority to some extent, does not on its face provide that the Union should do so because of union affiliation.7 Order Upon the entire record in the case, and pursuant to Section 10 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the complaint against the Re- spondents be, and it hereby is, dismissed. Intermediate Report and Recommended Order Mr. Wtlliam J. Scott, for the General Counsel. Mr. Harold Mull, of Akron, Ohio, for the Respondent Employer. Mr. John J. Manning, of Kansas City, Mo., for the Respondent Union. STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon charges duly filed on December 5, 1949, by E. Carl Rhodus , an individual, in Case No . 17-CA-247 against Firestone Tire and Rubber Company , herein called the Employer, and in Case No 17-CB-1S against International Brother- hood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs , Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Over- the-Road and City Transfer Drivers, Helpers , Dockmen and Warehousemen, Local Union No. 41, A. F. L, herein called the Union, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, herein respectively called the General Counsel and the Board , by the Regional Director for the Seventeenth Region, consolidated the cases for hearing and issued his complaint , dated June 30, 1950, alleging that the Employer had engaged in, and was engaging in, unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 ( a) (1) and ( 3) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, 61 Stat. 136 , herein called the Act, and that the Union had engaged in , and was engaging in, unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 (b) (1) (A ) and (2) of the Act , all affecting commerce e N L. R B V. Gitllett Gin Co , 340 U. S 361 (U. S S. Ct, Jan 15, 1951), 27 LRRM 2231 , involving another section of the Act that remained unchanged in pertinent part after the amendments to the Act. 7 Pacife American Shipowners Association, 90 NLRB 1099 . Member Reynolds concurs in this finding on the basis of the valid union -security provision in the contract between the Employer and the Union. FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY 985 within the meaning of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. Copies of the charges, the order consolidating the cases, the complaint, and notice of hearing were duly served on the Employer and the Union. With respect to unfair labor practices, the complaint alleges in substance that the Union has been the bargaining representative for a unit of the Em- ployer's employees since 1946; that in 1947 the employees duly authorized the Union to enter into a union-shop contract ; that the Union and Employer en- tered into a contract containing a union-shop clause, a provision for seniority, and a provision that any controversy over the seniority standing of any em- ployee should be referred to the Union for settlement ; that the bylaws of the Union contained a provision that any member who was delinquent in his dues on the second day of the second month would lose his seniority rights ; that the October 1949 dues of employee-member E. Carl Rhodus became in arrears while he was on vacation ; that on about November 11 the Union notified the Employer that pursuant to the union bylaws said Rhodus had forefeited all his seniority rights because of his failure to pay his dues; that on November 14, 1949, Rhodus paid his October dues to the Union and on November 15, 1949, he paid his November dues; that on the latter date the Union presented to the Employer and the latter accepted a new seniority list with the name of said Rhodus appearing at the bottom of the list; that as a result of this new list- ing, Rhodus, who had previously been the third oldest employee, was assigned to a job that was inferior and less desirable than the one he had held ; that on December 2, 1949, in a reduction in force, Rhodus was laid off, and that such layoff would not have taken place except for his new seniority listing. The answer of the Employer, dated July 7, 1950, denied the foregoing al- legations for want of sufficient information, and denied the commission of any unfair labor practices. The answer of the Union, dated July 12, 1950, ad- mitted the allegations of fact but denied that they constituted unfair labor practices by either the Employer or the Union. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 18 and 19, 1930, before me, the duly designated Trial Examiner. All parties, represented by counsel, participated in the hearing and were afforded op- portunity to examine and cross-examine witnesses and to introduce evidence pertinent to the issues. At the opening of the bearing the Union moved to amend its answer to admit certain jurisdictional allegations of the complaint and the motion was granted The Union at the same time moved to dismiss the complaint for the reason that, under the constitution of the International Union, Rhodus was under obligation to exhaust his remedies under such con- stitution before proceeding before any court or other tribunal. Ruling was reserved thereon but is now denied.' Thereafter the Employer moved to amend its answer to admit all allegations of fact with the exception of that which stated that the job to which Rhodus was transferred was inferior and less de- sirable. The motion was granted. The Employer then moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that it did not state facts constituting any unfair labor practice. Ruling was reserved on this motion and it was renewed later in combination with a motion to dismiss on the evidence. Following the Em- ployer's motion to amend, the Union moved to amend its answer to deny that Rhodus was assigned to a job which was inferior and less desirable than the one he had held. The motion was granted. At the close of the General Coun- sel's; case, the Employer and the Union moved to dismiss, but their motions were denied at that time. At the close of all the evidence, the Employer and I See Durasteel Company , 73 NLRB 941; Mai lboro Cotton Mills, 53 NLRB 965 ; Merrimac Manufacturing Company, 31 NLRB 900. 986 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the Union moved to dismiss on the ground that the complaint failed to state, and the evidence failed to show, the commission of any unfair labor prac- tice. Ruling thereon was reserved and the motions are now granted for the reasons hereinafter stated. At the close of the hearing the parties argued orally. Upon request the undersigned set a date for the filing of briefs. The Union alone filed a brief. Upon the entire record in the case and from my observation of the witnesses, I make the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER The Employer is an Ohio corporation engaged generally in the manufacture and sale of tires and rubber products and it operates plants and warehouses throughout the United States. The instant case involves its warehouse in North Kansas City, Missouri. At this warehouse the Employer annually re- ceives tires, tubes, and other merchandise of a value in excess of $100,000, of which more than 50 percent is shipped to it from points outside the State of Missouri.. From the same warehouse, the Employer annually distributes tires, tubes, and other merchandise of a value in excess of $100,000, of which more than 25 percent is shipped to points outside the State of Missouri? I find that the operations of the Employer affect commerce within the meaning of the Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Over-the-Road and City Transfer Drivers, Helpers, Dock- men and Warehousemen, Local Union No 41, affiliated with the American Fed- eration of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Employer. There is no question raised as to the Union's character. It is a labor organization within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the Act. III. THE ALLEGED UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES A. The collective bargaining agi cement and the Union's bylaws Representing the Employer's employees, the Union, on September 1, 1949, en- tered into a collective bargaining contract with the Employer for a term of 1 year. The paragraph thereof covering seniority rights of employees, so far as pertinent, reads : Seniority rights shall prevail if employee is qualified. A list of employees arranged in the order of their seniority shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the job. Any controversy over the seniority standing of any employee on this list shall be referred to the Union for settlement . . . Pursuant to prior authorization, the Union and the Employer in an addendum to this contract, of even date, agreed to a union shop with the usual require- ment of membership in the Union and the requirement that the Employer dis- charge any employee losing membership by reason of failure to pay initiation fees or membership dues. 2 These findings are made on the basis of the allegations of the complaint admitted by the answer of the Employer Although the answer of the Union denied most of these allegations , counsel for the Union orally admitted these allegations after an off -the-record discussion. FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY 987 The local Union at all times material thereto had a bylaw providing for automatic suspension from membership when 3 months in arrears in payment of dues and one providing that any member who was 1 month in arrears for dues should forfeit all seniority rights. A member was defined to be in arrears for nonpayment of dues on the second day of the second month. B. Loss of seniority of Rhodus Carl Rhodus was employed by the Employer on August 17, 1943. He served a period of time in the tire department, where he unloaded and stacked tires and filled tire orders. Later he served most of his time in the shipping depart- ment where he also performed physical work. On occasions, however, he was transferred, when needed, to the tire department for temporary duty. It was the custom of the Employer to transfer to the tire department for such temporary duty the employees with the least seniority. After 1947 Rhodus was high enough on the seniority list so that he was no longer transferred back to the tire depart- ment until after his seniority was taken away, as hereinafter related. In the spring of 1949 the warehouse superintendent designated Rhodus as assistant shipping clerk. This was apparently an informal title, not carried as a classi- fication by the Employer, and it involved no increase in pay, but it gave Rhodus, to his preference, more clerical work than he had before and it gave him more responsibility. At that time he had the greatest seniority in his department. Rhodus joined the Union in July 19463 and remained to the time of the hearing, a member in good standing. In August 1949 Rhodus paid his August and Sep- tember dues to the Union. During the second week of October, when the busi- ness agent collected for the current dues, Rhodus was off on a week's vacation. He took another week's vacation during the second week of November. Through oversight or confusion on his part as to how many months' dues he had paid in advance, he did not pay his October dues before November 2, when they became in arrears. On about November 9, when O. B. Enloe, the Union's business agent, was collecting November dues, and while Rhodus was away on vacation, the union steward informed Ralph Sexton, foreman of the warehouse, that Rhodus had lost his seniority as a result of nonpayment of dues. About 2 days later, Sexton reached Rhodus by telephone and told him that he had been dropped to the bottom in seniority and should get the matter straightened out. The next day, Saturday, Rhodus went to the Union's office but found no one there He returned on Monday, November 14, and paid his October dues before going back to work. The next day, while at work, he paid his November dues to Enloe. At about this time, Enloe brought a newly typed seniority list with him, show- ing Rhodus' name at the bottom of the list. In Sexton's' presence, Enloe took down the old seniority list and posted the new one. Rhodus' name had been about the fourth from the top in the old list. Around the end of the same week or beginning of the next week of November, Rhodus was transferred from the shipping to the tire department and another employee, who had been employed for a shorter time than Rhodus, took over Rhodus' former duties. On December 2, 1949, in a reduction in force for economic reasons, Rhodus was laid off. Had his seniority not been disturbed he would have been neither transferred nor laid off. 8 The first contract between the Union and the Employer was dated August 14, 1946. 988 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD C. Arguments and conclusions It is argued by the General Counsel that an employer and union have no right under the Act to enter into an agreement which affects seniority in event of nonpayment of dues, and that an employer may not lawfully delegate to a union the unilateral power to forfeit seniority, especially when, at the time, the em- ployee involved could not have been deprived of membership. I deem it unnecessary to determine what a union or employer might do by contract to deprive employees of seniority rights for nonpayment of clues, be- cause, as I had the contract, it makes no provision for such forfeiture. It is claimed by the Union that the contract clause referring "any controversy over seniority standing of any employee . . . to the Union for settlement" gave it the right, through bylaws, to cause a forfeiture of seniority for nonpayment of dues. As defined in Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Fifth Edition) "contro- versy" is : "A discussion of a controverted matter or controversial issue ; dis- pute ; debate ; sometimes, quarrel." The word "controvert" is defined : "To op- pose with arguments; deny; contradict; also to refuse to accept or hold, as a doctrine." There is no pretense here that a dispute arose concerning Rhodus' seniority standing before the forfeiture thereof by the application of the bylaw. Consequently there was no dispute or controversy which could, by the terms of the contract, be "referred to the Union for settlement " Counsel for the Union, in his oral argument, contended that the bylaw was "part of the contract." If that were true, there would need to be no reference to the.Union for "settle- ment," as the forfeiture would be automatic as a result of the contract provision. "Settlement" contemplates a composure of doubts or differences which would not exist if the contract operated automatically. As the contract, itself, then, does not here authorize a forfeiture of seniority, the question of law presented is not whether an employer and a union might lawfully contract that nonpayment of union dues would result in a forfeiture of seniority ; rather it is whether it is an unfair labor practice for a union and em- ployer, having a union-shop contract with no provision therein for forfeiture of an employee's seniority for nonpayment of union dues, to work such •a for- feiture. There is no question of personal animous. The Union and Employer in this case acted through careless misunderstanding of .the language of the contract but without bad faith. Rhodus' transfer and subsequent layoff were purely incidental to the seniority status given him and are not considered as unfair labor practices independently of the deprivation of his seniority. If the General Counsel's argument were put in the form of a syllogism it would read : Any discrimination by an employer against an employee, other than dis- charge for failure to pay dues to a union having a valid contract which re- quires membership therein as a condition of employment, is an unfair labor practice within the meaning of Section 8 (a) (3) of the Act. Rhodus, an employee, was discriminated against by his Employer by being deprived of his seniority (and not by being discharged for failure to pay dues to the Union, which had a valid contract requiring membership as a condition of employment). Therefore the Employer discriminated against Rhodus within the mean- ing of Section 8 (a) (3) of the Act. The major premise, however, omits the words of Section 8 (a) (3) of the Act, "to encourage or discourage membership in a labor organization." The problem, therefore, is, granting that Rhodus or any other employee would be discriminated against by being deprived of his seniority, does such dis- FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY 1 989 cruuination in the circumstances of this case tend to encourage or discourage membership in a labor organization? In the absence of the valid union-shop contract here there would be no room for doubt. But how can employees who, have no choice under the contract but to become and remain union members or lose their employment be said to be encouraged to become or remain union members by the threat of loss of seniority for nonpayment of dues? Even if it be urged that under the Act an employee might retain employment without union membership by payment of the periodic dues, the dues would still have, to be paid under the requirements of the contract, and the compulsion here, exerted by the Employer was for the payment of dues rather than for main- tenance of membership in general. It might be argued that if an employee chose to pay dues but not join the Union, the union bylaws would not be binding upon him and therefore the Employer could not have deprived him of seniority pursuant to such a bylaw. I am not considering what justification the employer might or might not have independently of the Act. As the contract here reads I find that the Employer had as little justification for depriving Rhodus of his seniority as if there had been no union bylaw providing therefore. But this lack of justification does not mean that an unfair labor practice has been com- initted Unless the Employer's conduct is such as to encourage or discourage membei ship in a labor organization, the Employer has not violated Section 8 (a) (3). Encouragement or discouragement can operate to influence only a free choice. None existed here for employees required by the collective bargaining contract to pay dues to the Union. It is not enough to invoke the processes of the, Board that an employee has been wronged. That wrong must be unfair labor practice I find none here on the part of the Employer. A fortiori, if the Employer's conduct would not be a violation of Section 8 (a) (3), the Union could not have caused or attempted to cause the Employer to violate Section 8 (a) (3). Therefore the Union has not violated Section 8 (b) (2) of the Act. Likewise, in view of the union-shop provisions of the collective bargaining con- tract, the Union's conduct here was not a violation of 8 (b) (1) (A) of the Act. The only right guaranteed by Section 7 in respect to which the Union may be said to have coerced Rhodus was the right-to refrain from being a member or paying dues to the Union, and this right was effectively and lawfully waived by the union-shop provisions of the contract; so the coercion here is not a coercion in respect to an existing right No evidence was offered of any inde- pendent violation by the Employer of Section 8 (a) (1) of the Act and I find none Upon the foregoing findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, I make the following : CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The Respondent, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, has not violated' Section 8 (a) (1) or (8) (a) (3) of the Act by depriving E. Carl Rhodus of his seniority, or by subsequently transferring him to inferior and less desirable work, or by thereafter laying him off 2. The Respondent, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Over-the-Road and City Transfer Drivers, Helpers, Dockmen and Warehousemen, Local Union No. 41, A. F. L., has not violated Section 8 (b) (1) (A) or 8 (b) (2) of the Act by coercing Rhodus in. the exercise of rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act or by causing the Em- ployer to deprive Rhodus of his seniority as alleged in the complaint. [Recommended Order omitted from publication in this volume Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation