IBEW, Local Union No. 388

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 25, 1975

220 N.L.R.B. 665 (N.L.R.B. 1975)

IBEW, LOCAL UNION NO. 388 665
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Lo-
cal Union No. 388 (St. Joseph's Hospital of Marsh-
field, Inc.) and The Hoffman Company, Inc. Case
30-CG-1
September 25, 1975
DECISION AND ORDER
BY CHAIRMAN MURPHY AND MEMBERS JENKINS
AND PENELLO
spondent filed briefs, which have been duly consid-
ered by the Board.
The Board has considered the entire record herein
as stipulated by the parties, as well as the briefs filed
by the Respondent, the General Counsel, and the
Charging Party, and makes the following findings
and conclusions:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYERS
Upon charges filed by The Hoffman Company,
Inc., the General Counsel of the National Labor Re-
lations Board , by the Regional Director for Region
30, issued a complaint on April 28, 1975, against the
Respondent, International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, Local Union No. 388, herein called the Re-
spondent or the Union. Copies of the charge and the
complaint and the notice of hearing before an Ad-
ministrative Law Judge were duly served on the Re-
spondent and the Charging Party. In substance, the
complaint alleges that the Respondent violated Sec-
tion 8(g) of the National Labor Relations Act, as
amended, by picketing at the premises of St. Joseph's
Hospital of Marshfield, Inc., herein called St.
Joseph's or the Hospital, without first giving 10 days'
written notice of its intent to do so to St. Joseph's
and to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Ser-
vice. The answer duly filed by the Respondent denies
the commission of any unfair labor practices.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au-
thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
On June 6, 1975, the Charging Party, the General
Counsel, and Respondent entered into a stipulation
in which they agreed that certain documents shall
constitute the entire record herein I and that no oral
testimony is necessary or desired by any of the par-
ties. Thus, the parties expressly waived all intermedi-
ate proceedings before an Administrative Law Judge
and petitioned that this case be transferred to the
Board for the purpose of making findings of fact and
conclusions of law and issuing an appropriate order,
reserving to themselves only the right to object to the
materiality or relevancy of any of the stipulated
facts.
By order dated June 11, 1975, the Board approved
the stipulation, transferred the proceedings to itself,
and set a date for the filing of briefs. Thereafter, the
General Counsel, the Charging Party, and the Re-
The stipulated record consists of the charge , complaint, answer, the
prior charge and correspondence of the Respondent with St Joseph 's, site
plan, and the stipulation.
Charging Party, The Hoffman Company, Inc., is a
Wisconsin corporation engaged in the building and
construction industry with its main office located at
Appleton, Wisconsin. During the past 12 months, in
the course and conduct of its business, the Charging
Party purchased and received in Wisconsin goods
and supplies valued in excess of $50,000 directly
from points outside the State of Wisconsin.
Thomas Electric Service, Inc. (herein called Thom-
as), is engaged in electrical construction work.
St. Joseph's Hospital of Marshfield, Inc., is a pri-
vate, nonprofit Wisconsin corporation located in
Marshfield, Wisconsin, where it is engaged in the op-
eration of a nonprofit hospital. During the past 12
months, in the course and conduct of its operation,
St. Joseph's had gross revenues in excess of $500,000
and purchased and received at its Marshfield, Wis-
consin, location goods valued in excess of $50,000
from points outside the State of Wisconsin.
The parties stipulated, and we find, that Hoffman
Company and St. Joseph's are now, and at all times
material herein have been, employers engaged in
commerce or in an industry affecting commerce
within the meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act,
and that St. Joseph's is now, and at all times material
herein has been, a health care institution as defined
in Section 2(14) of the Act. We further find that it
will effectuate the purposes of the Act to assert juris-
diction in this proceeding.
II. THE LABOR ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The parties stipulated, and we find, that the Re-
spondent is now, and at all times material herein has
been, a labor organization within the meaning of
Section 2(5) of the Act.
III. THE UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
A. The Issue
The question presented is whether the Respondent
violated Section 8(g) of the Act by picketing Thomas
220 NLRB No. 98
666 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
at a reserved gate at the hospital premises without
first giving 10 days ' written notice of its intent to do
so to St. Joseph's and to the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service.
B. The Stipulated Facts
In September 1974 the Charging Party, pursuant to
a contract with St. Joseph's, began construction of a
laboratory project. The laboratory building came to
be attached to the hospital in the course of construc-
tion and will, upon completion, be permanently at-
tached by a common wall and corridor. In connec-
tion with the laboratory project, St. Joseph's let a
direct contract to Thomas, and pursuant to its con-
tract with St. Joseph's, Thomas has at all times mate-
rial herein been engaged at the laboratory project in
electrical construction work.
Commencing on or about February 11, 1975, and
continuing until the date of the stipulation herein,
the Respondent has picketed Thomas at the hospital
premises with signs reading:
I.B.E.W.
International Broth. of Elec. Workers
L.U. #388
Our only dispute is with the substandard wage,
substandard benefits paid to employees of
Thomas Electric
At no time has the Respondent served written no-
tice on either St. Joseph's or the Federal Mediation
and Conciliation Service of its intent to engage in
such picketing.
There is no allegation that any hospital employees
ceased work or that the Respondent's picketing had
any adverse impact on the Hospital's ability to pro-
vide its customary medical care.
On April 1, 1975, the Charging Party filed the in-
stant charges alleging that the Respondent, by engag-
ing in the picketing as described above, violated Sec-
tion 8(g) of the Act.
C. Concluding Findings
The issue posed by this case was recently consid-
ered and determined by the Board in United Associa-
tion of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing
and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Cana-
da, Local 630, AFL-CIO (Lein-Steenberg),' and La-
borers' International Union of North America, AFL-
CIO, Local Union No. 1057 (Mercy Hospital of Lare-
do).3 Accordingly, for the reasons set forth in those
decisions, we find that, by picketing Thomas on the
2 219 NLRB No. 153 (1975).
3 219 NLRB No. 154 (1975).
premises of St. Joseph's Hospital without first giving
10 days' notice of its intent to do so to the Hospital
and to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Ser-
vice, the Respondent violated Section 8(g) of the Act.
IV. THE EFFECTS OF THE UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE UPON
COMMERCE
The activities of the Respondent set forth above,
have a close, intimate, and substantial relationship to
trade, traffic, and commerce among the several
States and tend to lead to labor disputes burdening
and obstructing commerce and the free flow thereof.
V. THE REMEDY
Having found that the Respondent has engaged in
and is engaging in unfair labor practices in violation
of Section 8(g) of the Act, we shall order that it cease
and desist therefrom and take certain affirmative ac-
tion designed to effectuate the policies of the Act.
On the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and
on the entire record in this case, we make the follow-
ing:
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. The Hoffman Company, Inc., and St. Joseph's
Hospital of Marshfield, Inc., are engaged in com-
merce within the meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of
the Act.
2. St. Joseph's Hospital of Marshfield, Inc., is a
health care institution within the meaning of Section
2(14) of the Act.
3. The Respondent is a labor organization within
the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
4. By picketing Thomas Electric Service, Inc., at
the premises of St. Joseph's Hospital without first
giving 10 days' written notice to St. Joseph's and to
the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the
Respondent has violated Section 8(g) of the Act.
5. The foregoing unfair labor practice is an unfair
labor practice affecting commerce within the mean-
ing of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
ORDER
Pursuant to Section 10(c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, as amended, the National Labor Re-
lations Board hereby orders that the Respondent, In-
ternational Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local
Union No. 388, Marshfield, Wisconsin, its officers,
agents, and representatives, shall:
1. Cease and desist from engaging in any strike,
picketing, or other concerted refusal to work at the
IBEW, LOCAL UNION NO. 388
premises of St . Joseph's Hospital of Marshfield, Inc.,
or any other health care institution, without notifying
in writing St. Joseph's Hospital of Marshfield, Inc.,
or such other health care institution, and the Federal
Mediation and Conciliation Service, not less than 10
days prior to such action, of that intention.
2. Take the following affirmative action which is
necessary to effectuate the purposes of the Act:
(a) Post at its business offices and meeting halls
copies of the attached notice marked "Appendix." a
Copies of said notice, on forms provided by the Re-
gional Director for Region 30, after being duly
signed by the Respondent's authorized representa-
tive, shall be posted by the Respondent immediately
upon receipt thereof, and be maintained by it for 60
consecutive days thereafter, in conspicuous places,
including all places where notices to members are
customarily posted. Reasonable steps shall be taken
by the Respondent to insure that said notices are not
altered, defaced, or covered by any other material.
(b) Furnish to the Regional Director for Region
30 enough signed copies of the aforesaid notice for
posting by The Hoffman Company, Inc., Thomas
Electric Service, Inc., and St. Joseph's Hospital of
Marshfield, Inc., if they are willing, in places where
notices to their employees are customarily posted.
(c) Notify the Regional Director for Region 30, in
writing, within 20 days from the date of this Order,
what steps the Respondent has taken to comply here-
with.
667
MEMBER JENKINS, dissenting:
For the reasons expressed in my dissents in Lein-
Steenburg, supra, and Mercy Hospital of Laredo, su-
pra, I would dismiss the complaint here.
In the event that 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 National Labor Relations Board" shall read " Posted Pursuant to a
Judgment of the United States Court of Appeals Enforcing an Order of the
National Labor Relations Board."
APPENDIX
NOTICE To MEMBERS
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
An Agency of the United States Government
WE WILL NOT engage in any strike, picketing,
or other concerted refusal to work at the prem-
ises of St. Joseph's Hospital of Marshfield, Inc.,
or any other health care institution, without no-
tifying in writing St. Joseph's Hospital of Marsh-
field, Inc., or such other health care institution,
and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation
Service, not less than 10 days prior to such ac-
tion, of that intention.
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELEC-
TRICAL WORKERS , LOCAL UNION No. 388