Noel Canning, Div. of the Noel Corporation

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 20, 2017

19-CA-145344 (N.L.R.B. Jun. 20, 2017)

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BEFORE THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
NOEL CANNING, A DIVISION OF
THE NOEL CORPORATION
and Cases 19-CA-145344
19-CA-169060
TEAMSTERS LOCAL 760
DECISION AND ORDER
Statement of the Cases
On July 14, 2016, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision in Case
19-CA-145344 finding that the Respondent, Noel Canning, A Division of the Noel
Corporation, had engaged in certain unfair labor practices.1 On November 14, 2016,
the Board filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals an application for enforcement of its
decision. On March 23, 2017, the court granted the Board’s unopposed motion to stay
the appellate proceedings pending settlement. The Respondent has agreed that upon
the Board’s approval of this Formal Settlement Stipulation, it will withdraw, with
prejudice, its responsive pleadings pending in the appellate proceedings referenced
above.
On May 9, 2016, the Regional Director for Region 19 issued a complaint in Case
19-CA-169060. An evidentiary hearing was convened before Administrative Law Judge
Mara-Louise Anzalone, during which the complaint was amended both by oral motion
and by issuance of an amendment to the complaint on October 19, 2016, alleging that
the Respondent had further violated the Act. The Respondent filed answers to the
complaint and the amendment.
On March 27, 2017, the Respondent, Teamsters Local 760 (the Union), and the
General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board entered into a Formal
Settlement Stipulation regarding both cases, approved by Administrative Law Judge
Anzalone as to Case 19-CA-169060 and subject to the Board’s approval, providing for
the entry of a consent order by the Board and a consent judgment by any appropriate
United States Court of Appeals. In Case 19-CA-169060, the parties waived all further
and other proceedings before the Board to which they may be entitled under the
National Labor Relations Act and the Board’s Rules and Regulations, and the
Respondent waived its right to contest the entry of a consent judgment or to receive
further notice of the application therefor. In Case 19-CA-145344, the parties waived any
appeal of the Board's Decision; filing of appellate briefs with the Ninth Circuit; oral
argument before the Ninth Circuit; the making of findings of fact and conclusions of law
by the Ninth Circuit; and all other proceedings to which the parties may be entitled

1 364 NLRB No. 45.
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under the Act or the Board's Rules and Regulations or the Rules of Civil and Appellate
Procedure, and the Respondent waived its right to contest the entry of a consent
judgment or to receive further notice of the application therefor.
The Formal Settlement Stipulation is approved and made a part of the record,2
and the proceeding is transferred to and continued before the Board in Washington,
D.C., for the entry of a Decision and Order pursuant to the provisions of the Formal
Settlement Stipulation.
Based on the Formal Settlement Stipulation and the entire record, the Board
makes the following
Findings of Fact
1. The Respondent’s business
At all material times, the Respondent has been a corporation with an office and
place of business in Yakima, Washington (the facility), engaged in the business of
bottling and distributing Pepsi-Cola products.
The Respondent, during the 12-month period preceding approval of the Formal
Settlement Stipulation, which period is representative of all material times, in conducting
its operations described above, derived gross revenues in excess of $500,000.
The Respondent, during the 12-month period preceding approval of the Formal
Settlement Stipulation, which period is representative of all material times, in conducting
its business operations described above, purchased and received at the facility goods
valued in excess of $50,000 from points outside the State of Washington.
The Respondent has been at all material times an employer engaged in
commerce within the meaning of Section 2(2), (6), and (7) of the National Labor
Relations Act.
2. The labor organization involved
The Union is a labor organization within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.

2 The record in Case 19-CA-145344 consists of the Formal Settlement Stipulation, the
administrative law judge’s January 28, 2016 decision, the Board’s decision, and the
application for enforcement. The record in Case 19-CA-169060 consists of the Formal
Settlement Stipulation, the charge, the amended charge, the complaint, the amendment
to the complaint, and transcript pages 254 line 18, through 258 line 22, which pertain to
the oral amendment of the complaint.
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ORDER
Based on the above findings of fact, the Formal Settlement Stipulation, and the
entire record, the National Labor Relations Board orders that the Respondent, Noel
Canning, A Division of the Noel Corporation, Yakima, Washington, its officers, agents,
successors, and assigns, shall
1. Cease and desist from:
(a) Unilaterally changing the past practice of granting access to Union
representatives for the purpose of posting a notice and investigating working conditions.
(b) Abrogating the parties’ collective-bargaining agreement by refusing to allow
Union representatives access to investigate working conditions.
(c) Refusing to meet and discuss in good faith with the Union regarding any
proposed changes in wages, hours, and working conditions, including access by Union
business agents.
(d) Restricting the wearing of union hats worn by employees and the granting of
employee wage increases.
(e) Making changes to wages, hours, and working conditions without reaching
an overall good faith impasse.
(f) Issuing and enforcing policies such that employees are prohibited from
wearing hats with union and other non-Respondent insignia in production areas.
(g) Threatening, coercing and disciplining employees for wearing hats with union
insignia in the production area.
(h) Retaliating against employees who are subpoenaed to testify in Board
proceedings.
(i) In any like or related manner interfering with, restraining, or coercing
employees in the exercise of rights guaranteed them by Section 7 of the Act.
2. Take the following affirmative actions:
(a) Within 14 days, remove from the Respondent’s files all references to the
February 4, 2016 verbal warning issued to Dean Berriman and notify him in writing that
this has been done and that the verbal warning will not be used against him in any way.
(b) Within 14 days, repeal the Respondent’s rule preventing employees from
wearing hats with union insignia in the production areas of its facility.
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(c) Within 14 days, revise its policies so that they do not restrict Section 7 rights
such that employees are permitted to wear hats with union and other non-Respondent
insignia in production areas.
(d) Within 14 days, rescind any and all changes to employees’ wages, hours,
and working conditions if requested by the Union.
(e) Within 14 days, rescind the unilateral change in the parties’ practice
regarding access to the plant by Union representatives to post union notices and
investigate working conditions, and notify the Union in writing that this has been done.
(f) Within 14 days of the Board Order, post at the Respondent’s facility copies of
the attached Notice to Employees (“Notice”) marked Appendix A, on forms provided by
Region 19, after being signed by the Respondent’s authorized representative. Said
Notice shall be posted by the Respondent and maintained for a period of sixty (60)
days, in conspicuous places, including all places where notices to its employees are
normally posted and which are accessible to employees who work for the Respondent
at its facility. The Respondent will take reasonable steps to ensure that the Notices are
not altered, defaced, or covered by any other material. The Respondent shall also
duplicate and mail, at its own expense, a copy of the Notice to all former employees
who have worked for the Respondent at its facility at any time since January 29, 2015.
(g) Within twenty (20) days of the issuance of the Board’s Order, file with the
Regional Director of Region 19 of the Board, a sworn affidavit from a responsible official
describing with specificity the manner in which the Respondent has complied with the
terms of the Board’s Order, including providing the names and addresses of all former
employees the Notice was mailed to, and the locations of the posted documents.
Dated, Washington, D.C., June 20, 2017.
_____________________________________
Philip A. Miscimarra, Chairman
_____________________________________
Mark Gaston Pearce, Member
_____________________________________
Lauren McFerran, Member
(SEAL) NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
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APPENDIX A
NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
An Agency of the United States Government
PURSUANT TO A STIPULATION PROVIDING FOR A BOARD ORDER
AND A CONSENT JUDGMENT OF ANY APPROPRIATE
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FEDERAL LAW GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO:
 Form, join, or assist a union;
 Choose a representative to bargain with us on your behalf;
 Act together with other employees for your benefit and protection;
 Choose not to engage in any of these protected activities.
WE WILL NOT do anything to prevent you from exercising the above rights.
Teamsters Local 760 (Union) is our employees’ representative in dealing with us
regarding wages, hours and other working conditions of the employees in the
following unit: all our employees working in the job classifications of Lead
Production, Industrial Mechanic, Lead Dock/Warehouse, Quality Control/Mixer,
Production Employee, Dock/Warehouse, General Maintenance, Electric
Mechanic, Construction Worker, Utility Worker, at our Yakima, Washington
facility, excluding all other employees, guards, office clerical, owners, and
supervisors as defined in the NLRA, as amended.
WE WILL NOT deny your Union representatives access to our Yakima, Washington
facility for the purpose of posting a meeting notice.
WE WILL NOT deny your Union representatives access to our Yakima, Washington
facility for any reason set forth in our collective-bargaining agreement with your Union,
including to meet with your Union steward in order to investigate working conditions.
WE WILL NOT refuse to meet and discuss in good faith with your Union any proposed
changes to your wages, hours, and working conditions, including access to our Yakima,
Washington facility, wearing hats without our logo in the production areas of the facility,
and granting you wage increases, before putting such changes into effect.
WE WILL NOT stop you from wearing hats with union insignia in the production areas
of our Yakima, Washington facility and WE WILL repeal our oral rule preventing you
from wearing these hats.
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WE WILL NOT threaten you with discipline or coerce you for wearing hats with union
insignia in the production areas of our Yakima, Washington facility. You have the right
to wear union hats while working and WE WILL NOT stop you from doing so.
WE WILL NOT discipline you because you wear a hat with union insignia in the
production area of our Yakima, Washington facility. WE WILL remove from our files all
references to the verbal warning we issued to Dean Berriman and WE WILL notify him
in writing that this has been done and that the verbal warning will not be used against
him in any way.
WE WILL NOT retaliate against you and prevent you from wearing non-Company
issued hats in our cafeteria or other non-work areas, because you were subpoenaed to
testify in a Board proceeding on behalf of the General Counsel.
WE WILL NOT make changes to your wages, hours, and working conditions without
first bargaining with the Union and reaching an overall good faith impasse.
WE WILL, if requested by the Union, rescind any or all changes to your terms and
conditions of employment that we made without first bargaining.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner interfere with your rights under Section 7 of
the Act.
NOEL CANNING, A DIVISION OF
THE NOEL CORPORATION
The Board’s decision can be found at www.nlrb.gov/case/19-CA-145344 or by using the
QR code below. Alternatively, you can obtain a copy of the decision from the Executive
Secretary, National Labor Relations Board, 1015 Half Street S.E., Washington, D.C.
20570, or by calling (202) 273-1940.