Operations In Fiscal Year 1988 - National Labor Relations Board

106 Fifty-Third Annual Report of the National Labor Relations Board5. Discipline Against Supervisor-MemberUnder Section 8(b)(1)(B), a union may not obstruct an employer'sright to select its own collective-bargaining representatives.Specifically, the section provides that "[it] shall be an unfairlabor practice for a labor organization or its agents . . . to restrainor coerce . . . an employer in the selection of his representativesfor the purposes of collective bargaining or the adjustmentof grievances."In Operating Engineers Local 501 (Golden Nugget), 112 theBoard held that the union did not violate Section 8(b)(1)(B)when it fmed a member for working behind the picket lineduring a strike, even though he was a supervisory representativeof the employer for the purpose of grievance adjustment.Union disciplinary proceedings were initiated against the supervisor-memberpursuant to charges that he violated union constitutionand bylaws provisions generally prohibiting discreditableconduct and any member's working contrary to a declaredstrike. At his intraunion hearing, the supervisor-member admittedthat he worked behind the picket line and answered affirmativelywhen asked if he was continuing to cross the picket line and toperform bargaining unit work. No inquiry was made at the intraunionhearing into the amount of bargaining unit work the supervisor-memberperformed and he did not volunteer any informationin this regard. The record developed in the Board proceeding,however, established that more than a minimal amountof his work behind the picket line involved "carrying tools," i.e.,performing struck work.Relying on Florida Power & Light Co. v. Electrical WorkersIBEW Local 641 120 and Columbia Typographical Union 101(Washington Post), 121 the Board majority found that the impositionof discipline did not adversely affect the employer in its selectionof a collective-bargaining representative. The majorityreasoned that it need not decide whether either the supervisormember's"unqualified admission at the intraunion trial" or theevidence of his performance of more than a minimal amount ofbargaining unit work would suffice independently as grounds forconcluding the discipline was lawful because the existence of thetwo compelled a fmding that the conduct was lawful. The majorityalso noted that the general references in the union constitutionand bylaws and in the intraunion charge to "a member" and"any member" were similar to the language used in the constitutionand disciplinary charge deemed lawful in Florida Power Co.,supra, and Carpenters Local 1959 (Aurora Modular), 122 respectively.119 287 NLRB No. 68 (Chairman Dotson and Members Johansen, Babson, and Stephens).' 20 417 U.S. 790 (1973).i' 242 NLRB 1079 (1979).122 217 NLRB 508 (1975).