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The Board adopted the judge’s findings that the employer engaged in multiple violations of the Act in the aftermath of an employee strike. These violations included refusing to offer reinstatement to former strikers; threatening former strikers with the loss of their reinstatement rights if they failed to sign the employer’s return to work log; engaging in surveillance of employee union representatives; relocating the union’s office at the plant; establishing rules which impeded employees’ access to their union representatives; denying employee union representatives’ access to its plant; modifying employees’ work week; and refusing to furnish the union with information which the union was entitled to receive, including the addresses of permanent replacement employees 30 days after the strike ended.
With respect to this last violation, the Board noted that the judge properly applied extant law holding that this information is presumptively relevant and must be provided, if requested, unless there is a clear and present danger that the information would be misused by the union. Member Hayes noted that he would overrule extant Board precedent and adopt the Seventh Circuit’s “totality of circumstances” standard in which the legitimate concerns about the harassment and safety of replacements are balanced against the requesting union’s legitimate need for information. Under this standard, an employer does not act unlawfully if it offers reasonable alternatives to accommodate the union’s need. Member Hayes also noted that in the present case he would affirm the judge’s finding of a violation even under the Seventh Circuit’s standard. Chairman Liebman and Member Pearce noted that they adhered to the “clear and present danger” test but agreed that a violation was established under the proposed “totality of the circumstances” standard as well.
Charges filed by the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW). Administrative Law Judge John H. West issued his decision on May 20, 2010. Chairman Liebman and Members Pearce and Hayes participated.
© Copyright 2012 National Labor Relations Board
