REFLECTIONS CLEANING SERVICES LLC

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 10, 2017

365 NLRB No. 43 (N.L.R.B. 2017)

365 NLRB No. 43
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the
bound volumes of NLRB decisions. Readers are requested to notify the Ex-
ecutive Secretary, National Labor Relations Board, Washington, D.C.
20570, of any typographical or other formal errors so that corrections can
be included in the bound volumes.
Reflections Cleaning Services, LLC and Laborers
International Union of North America (LIUNA),
Local 563. Case 18–CA–182827
March 10, 2017
DECISION AND ORDER
BY ACTING CHAIRMAN MISCIMARRA AND MEMBERS
PEARCE AND MCFERRAN
The General Counsel seeks a default judgment in this
case on the ground that Reflections Cleaning Services,
LLC (the Respondent) failed to file an answer to the
complaint. Upon a charge and an amended charge filed
by Laborers International Union of North America
(LIUNA), Local 563 (the Union) on August 24, and Sep-
tember 27, 2016, respectively, the General Counsel is-
sued a complaint on October 26, 2016, alleging that it
has violated Section 8(a)(5) and (1) of the National La-
bor Relations Act. The Respondent failed to file an an-
swer.
On December 6, 2016, the General Counsel filed with
the National Labor Relations Board a Motion for Default
Judgment. Thereafter, on December 8, 2016, the Board
issued an order transferring the proceeding to the Board
and a Notice to Show Cause why the motion should not
be granted. The Respondent filed no response. The alle-
gations in the motion are therefore undisputed.
Ruling on Motion for Default Judgment
Section 102.20 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations
provides that the allegations in the complaint shall be
deemed admitted if an answer is not filed within 14 days
from service of the complaint, unless good cause is
shown. In addition, the complaint affirmatively stated
that unless an answer was received by November 9,
2016, the Board may find, pursuant to a motion for de-
fault judgment, that the allegations in the complaint are
true. Further, undisputed allegations in the General
Counsel’s motion disclose that by letter dated November
16, 2016, counsel for the General Counsel notified the
Respondent that unless an answer was received by No-
vember 28, 2016, a motion for default judgment would
be filed. Nevertheless, the Respondent failed to file an
answer.
In the absence of good cause being shown for the fail-
ure to file an answer, we deem the allegations of the
complaint to be admitted as true, and we grant the Gen-
eral Counsel’s Motion for Default Judgment.
On the entire record, the Board makes the following
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. JURISDICTION
At all material times, the Respondent, a Minnesota
limited liability company with an office and principal
place of business in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been
engaged in the building and construction industry as a
cleaning company.
During the calendar year preceding issuance of the
complaint, the Respondent, in conducting its business
operations described above, provided services valued in
excess of $50,000 directly to customers located outside
the State of Minnesota.
We find that the Respondent is an employer engaged
in commerce within the meaning of Section 2(2), (6), and
(7) of the Act, and that the Union is a labor organization
within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
II. ALLEGED UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
At all material times, Velma Metters has been the
owner of the Respondent, a supervisor of the Respondent
within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Act, and an
agent of the Respondent within the meaning of Section
2(13) of the Act.
The following employees of the Respondent (the unit)
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the
Act:
All employees performing work within the jurisdiction
of the Union, as identified in the 2013-2016 Commer-
cial Cleaning Services Agreement.
On September 23, 2015, the Respondent signed a
Commercial Cleaning Acceptance of Agreement (the
Agreement) granting recognition to the Union as the ex-
clusive collective-bargaining representative of the unit
and agreeing to be bound by the 2013–2016 Commercial
Cleaning Services Agreement (the Agreement). After
that date, the Union has been recognized as such repre-
sentative by the Respondent without regard to whether
the majority status of the Union has ever been estab-
lished under the provisions of Section 9(a) of the Act.
Article 13, section 4 of the Agreement provides in rel-
evant part that employers who have agreed to be bound
to that Agreement also agreed that the Agreement would
continue to be in effect from year to year thereafter un-
less terminated in writing by registered or certified mail
to any party at least 60 days before the expiration date.
At no time has the Respondent provided such notice.
At all times since September 23, 2015, based on Sec-
tion 8(f) of the Act, the Union has been, and is, the lim-
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD2
ited 9(a) exclusive collective-bargaining representative of
the unit.1
At all times since September 23, 2015, the Union has
requested that the Respondent recognize and bargain
with it as the limited exclusive collective-bargaining rep-
resentative of the unit.
Since February 24, 2016, the Respondent has refused
to recognize and bargain with the Union as the limited
exclusive collective-bargaining representative of the Un-
ion and has repudiated its contract with the Union.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
By the conduct described above, the Respondent has
been failing and refusing to bargain collectively and in
good faith with the limited exclusive collective-
bargaining representative of its employees, in violation
of Section 8(a)(5) and (1) of the Act, and has thereby
engaged in unfair labor practices affecting commerce
within the meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
REMEDY
Having found that the Respondent has engaged in cer-
tain unfair labor practices, we shall order it to cease and
desist and to take certain affirmative action designed to
effectuate the policies of the Act. Specifically, having
found that the Respondent has violated Section 8(a)(5)
and (1) by failing and refusing to recognize and bargain
with the Union and by repudiating its contract with the
Union, we shall order the Respondent to recognize and
bargain with the Union as the limited exclusive collec-
tive-bargaining representative of the unit employees and
to honor and abide by the terms of the 2013–2016 Com-
mercial Cleaning Services Agreement and any automatic
renewal of it. In addition, we shall order the Respondent
to make the unit employees whole for any loss of earn-
ings and other benefits they may have suffered as a result
of the Respondent’s unlawful conduct in the manner set
forth in Ogle Protection Service, 183 NLRB 682 (1970),
enfd. 444 F.2d 502 (6th Cir. 1971), with interest at the
rate prescribed in New Horizons, 283 NLRB 1173
(1987), compounded daily as prescribed in Kentucky
River Medical Center, 356 NLRB 6 (2010).
ORDER
The National Labor Relations Board Orders that the
Respondent, Reflections Cleaning Services, LLC, Min-

1 As this relationship was entered into pursuant to Sec. 8(f) of the
Act, the Union is the limited 9(a) representative of the unit employees
for the period covered by the agreement. See, e.g., A.S.B. Cloture, Ltd.,
313 NLRB 1012, 1012 fn. 2 (1994), citing Electri-Tech, Inc., 306
NLRB 707, 707 fn. 2 (1992), and John Deklewa & Sons, 282 NLRB
1375 (1987), enfd. sub nom. Iron Workers Local 3 v. NLRB, 843 F.2d
770 (3d Cir. 1988).
neapolis, Minnesota, its officers, agents, successors, and
assigns, shall
1. Cease and desist from
(a) Failing and refusing to recognize and bargain with
Laborers International Union of North America
(LIUNA), Local 563 as the limited exclusive collective-
bargaining representative of the employees in the follow-
ing unit during the term of the 2013–2016 Commercial
Cleaning Services Agreement and any automatic renewal
or extension of it:
All employees performing work within the jurisdiction
of the Union as identified in the 2013-2016 Commer-
cial Cleaning Services Agreement.
(b) Failing and refusing since February 24, 2016, to
continue in effect all of the terms of the 2013–2016
Commercial Cleaning Services Agreement and any au-
tomatic renewal or extension of it.
(c) In any like or related manner interfering with, re-
straining, 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) On request, recognize and bargain in good faith
with the Union as the limited exclusive collective-
bargaining representative of the unit.
(b) Honor and comply with the terms and conditions
of the 2013–2016 Commercial Cleaning Services
Agreement and any automatic renewal or extension of it.
(c) Make the unit employees whole for any loss of
earnings or other benefits suffered as a result of its fail-
ure, since February 24, 2016, to abide by the terms of the
2013–2016 Commercial Cleaning Services Agreement
and any automatic renewal or extension of it, in the man-
ner set forth in the remedy section of this decision.
(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 payment records,
timecards, personnel records and reports, and all other
records necessary 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 facility in Minneapolis Minnesota, copies of the at-
tached notice marked “Appendix.”2 Copies of the notice,
on forms provided by the Regional Director for Region
18, after being signed by the Respondent’s authorized

2 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.”
REFLECTIONS CLEANING SERVICES, LLC 3
representative, shall be posted by the Respondent and
maintained for 60 consecutive days in conspicuous plac-
es including all places where notices to employees are
customarily posted. In addition to physical posting of
paper notices, notices shall be distributed electronically,
such as by email, posting on an intranet or an internet
site, and/or other electronic means, if the Respondent
customarily communicates with its employees by such
means. Reasonable steps shall be taken by the Respond-
ent to ensure that the notices are not altered, defaced, or
covered by any other material. In the event that, during
the pendency of these proceedings, the Respondent has
gone out of business or closed the facility involved in
these proceedings, the Respondent shall duplicate and
mail, at its own expense, a copy of the notice to all cur-
rent employees and former employees employed by the
Respondent at any time since February 24, 2016.
(f) Within 21 days after service by the Region, file
with the Regional Director for Region 18 a sworn certifi-
cation of a responsible official on a form provided by the
Region attesting to the steps that the Respondent has
taken to comply.
Dated, Washington, D.C. March 10, 2017
______________________________________
Philip A. Miscimarra, Acting Chairman
______________________________________
Mark Gaston Pearce, Member
______________________________________
Lauren McFerran, Member
(SEAL) NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
APPENDIX
NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
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 with us on
your behalf
Act together with other employees for your bene-
fit and protection
Choose not to engage in any of these protected
activities.
WE WILL NOT fail and refuse to recognize and bargain
with Laborers International Union of North America
(LIUNA), Local 563 as the limited exclusive collective-
bargaining representative of our employees in the follow-
ing unit during the term of the 2013-2016 Commercial
Cleaning Services Agreement and any automatic renewal
or extension of it:
All employees performing work within the jurisdiction
of the Union as identified in the 2013-2016 Commer-
cial Cleaning Services Agreement.
WE WILL NOT fail and refuse to continue in effect all of
the terms of the 2013–2016 Commercial Cleaning Ser-
vices Agreement and any automatic renewal or extension
of it.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner interfere
with, restrain, or coerce you in the exercise of the rights
listed above.
WE WILL, on request, recognize and bargain with the
Union as the limited exclusive collective-bargaining rep-
resentative of our unit employees.
WE WILL honor and comply with the terms of the
2013–2016 Commercial Cleaning Services Agreement
and any automatic renewal or extension of it.
WE WILL make our unit employees whole for any loss
of earnings and other benefits they may have suffered as
a result of our unlawful conduct, with interest.
REFLECTIONS CLEANING SERVICES, LLC
The Board’s decision can be found at
www.nlrb.gov/case/18—CA—182827 or by using the QR
code below. Alternatively, you can obtain a copy of the
decision from the Executive Secretary, National Labor Re-
lations Board, 1015 Half Street, S.E., Washington, D.C.
20570, or by calling (202) 273-1940.