NLRB NEWS: CONNECTICUT - National Labor Relations Board

July 2011Page twoNLRB NEWS:ConnecticutContact the Region:There is always an informationofficer available between 8:30am and 5:00 pm at the HartfordRegional office, by phone at(860) 240-3522 or in person at450 Main St. in Hartford, toanswer general workplacerelated inquiries or to discuss aspecific workplace problem orquestion. The informationofficer can offer informationabout the NLRA and advice asto whether it appears to beappropriate to file an unfairlabor practice charge or apetition. If filing a charge orpetition appears to beappropriate, the informationofficer will assist you incompleting the charge orpetition form.Information is also available onthe Board’s website atwww.nlrb.gov, which has a linkto the Hartford Regional Officewebpage featuring newsletters,news releases and local casesand decisions.WE ARE AT YOUR SERVICEFor assistance in filing a charge or a petition,Call the Regional Office at(860) 240-3522 and ask for the information officer.The information officer will discuss the situation andassist you in filling out a charge or petition. Information is availableduring office hours, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or atwww.nlrb.govESTAMOS A SU SERVICIOPara asistencia de someter una carga o peticiónLlame la oficial de información en oficina regional a(860) 240-3522.La oficial de información discutirá su situación y le ayudará si deseeSometer una carga o petición. Información esta dispuesta a ustedmientras las horas de servicio - lunes a viernes, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, owww.nlrb.govRegion 34 Professional Staff RosterAGENT TELEPHONE E-MAIL - @nlrb.govJonathan Kreisberg, Reg. Dir. 860-240-3004 Jonathan.KreisbergJohn Cotter, Deputy Reg. Dir. 860-240-3003 John.CotterMichael Cass, Supervisory Ex. 860-240-3524 Michael.CassTerri Craig, Deputy Reg. Atty. 860-240-3532 Terri.CraigDina Emirzian, Compliance Off. 860-240-3006 Dina.EmirzianThomas Quigley, Field Attorney 860-240-3375 Thomas.QuigleyMargaret Lareau, Field Attorney 860-240-3561 Margaret.LareauLindsey Kotulski, Field Attorney 860-240-3525 Lindsey.KotulskiCatalina Arango, Field Attorney 860-240-3826 Catalina.ArangoJennifer Dease, Field Attorney 860-240-3376 Jennifer.DeaseRick Concepcion, Field Attorney 860-240-3374 Rick.ConcepcionClaire Sellers, Field Attorney 860-240-3557 Claire.SellersSheldon Smith, Field Attorney 860-240-3539 Sheldon.SmithHeather Williams, Field Exam. 860-240-3545 April.WilliamsGrant Dodds, Field Examiner 860-240-3567 Grant.DoddsJohn McGrath, Field Attorney 860-240-3527 John.McGrathThuy Le, Student Asst-Field Ex. 860-240-4981 Thuy.Le

July 2011Page threeNLRB NEWS:ConnecticutHow to File an UnfairLabor Practice (ULP)Charge: Anyone may file a ULPcharge with the NLRB bysubmitting a charge form toany Regional Office. Theform identifies the parties tothe charge and includes abrief statement of the basisfor the charge, and must besigned by the charging party. Forms are available on theNLRB website, or may beobtained from any NLRBregional office. The HartfordRegional Office hasinformation officers availableto assist with the filing ofcharges. You must file the chargewithin 6 months of theunfair labor practice.When a Charge is Filed: The NLRB Regional Officewill investigate. Thecharging party is responsiblefor promptly presentingevidence in support of thecharge, which usuallyconsists of a sworn statementand documentation of keyevents. The Region will ask thecharged party to present aresponse to the charge, andwill further investigate thecharge to establish all facts. After a full investigation, theRegion will determinewhether or not the charge hasmerit.Regional Office Unfair Labor Practice NewsSettlement reached in Complaints alleging Unfair LaborPractice Strike at Four Connecticut Nursing HomesA Connecticut nursing home operator agreed to settle a case involvingmultiple allegations of unlawful suspensions, discharges and unilateralchanges by offering reinstatement and backpay to all discharged andstriking workers, and signing a new three-year collective bargainingagreement with its employees’ union, New England Health CareEmployees Union District 1199, SEIU.The settlement, which was reached midway through a hearing beforean NLRB administrative law judge in the Hartford Regional Office andapproved by the judge in May, ends a long-running dispute which grewinto a strike by almost 400 employees at four nursing homes inConnecticut operated by Spectrum Healthcare. Along with the contractand reinstatement of all employees, Spectrum agreed to pay $545,000 inbackpay and pension benefits to employees who were harmed by theunfair labor practices, and to expunge any disciplinary records related tothe case. As a result, all NLRB charges against the company have beenwithdrawn. Spectrum admitted to no wrongdoing in the settlement.Complaints issued by the Hartford Regional Office alleged that,beginning in the fall of 2009, several months after the prior collectivebargaining agreement expired, Spectrum discharged seven employees andsuspended three others to retaliate against their union activities and todiscourage other employees from supporting the union. In addition, oneemployee was discharged and seven others were suspended afterSpectrum unilaterally changed its tardiness discipline policy without firstbargaining with the union. The complaints further alleged that in April2010, employees at the four nursing homes -- in Derby, Ansonia,Winsted, and Hartford -- went on strike to protest the unfair laborpractices. When the strikers offered unconditionally to return to work inlate August, Spectrum refused to take them back. Under federal labor law,if a strike is called because of an unfair labor practice, employees areentitled to reinstatement after an unconditional offer to return to work.Hartford Field Attorney Rick Concepcion investigated and litigated thecase for the Hartford Regional Office, and was instrumental in securingthe terms of the settlement.

July 2011Page fourAfter the Region Makes aULP Determination: If the Region determinesthat a charge has nomerit—that the chargedparty has not violated theAct—it will dismiss thecharge after giving thecharging party theopportunity to withdraw.The charging party has theright to appeal a dismissal. If the Region determinesthat a charge has merit—that the charged party hasviolated the Act—it willattempt to settle the case.Unless there is asettlement, the Region willproceed to trial to obtain afinding of a violation andan order directing thecharged party to undertakeremedial actions. Thecharged party has appealrights, including a right toa hearing, with a finaldecision subject to theFederal Circuit Court ofAppeals.NLRB NEWS:ConnecticutALJ orders Connecticut Humane Society to reinstateworkers fired during union organizing campaignAn NLRB Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ordered that twoemployees of the Connecticut Humane Society be reinstated and awardedbackpay because they were unlawfully discharged following anorganizing campaign. The Employer intends to appeal that decision.The two terminated employees had been active in the early stages of aunion organizing campaign by Machinists District Lodge 26, whichresulted in a December 9, 2009 election won by the Union by a vote of18-15. The parties had agreed prior to the election that the two terminatedemployees would not be eligible to vote. The Employer admittedly firedthe two employees shortly after the election because of their early supportfor the Union, claiming that such support conflicted with their purportedsupervisory or managerial obligations. The Employer also asked that theelection results be set aside, under the claim that active support fromsupervisors and/or managers could amount to coercion of voters in favorof the Union.Rejecting the Employer's claims, ALJ Steven Fish found that neitheremployee was a supervisor or a manager under the National LaborRelations Act, thereby making unlawful their discharge for engaging inactivities in support of the union. In ordering the reinstatement of bothemployees, the judge also rejected the Employer's contention that theemployees had lost their right to reinstatement as a result of their postdischargecriticisms of the Employer's operations, managementrepresentatives, and members of the Board of Directors. The judge furtherfound that the Employer violated the Act in the course of the Unioncampaign by coercively interrogating employees about their unionactivities, creating the impression among its employees that their unionactivities were under surveillance, informing employees that they cannotparticipate in union activities, instructing employees to report the unionactivities of other employees, threatening employees with discharge forengaging in union activities, and informing employees that they werebeing terminated because of their union activities.The judge also dismissed the Employer's objections to the election,which were based solely on its claim that the two terminated employeeswere supervisors/managers, and ordered that Machinists District Lodge 26be certified as the employees' exclusive collective bargainingrepresentative.Hartford Field Attorney Tom Quigley both investigated and litigatedthe case for the Hartford Regional Office.

July 2011Page fiveHow to File aRepresentation Petition:An NLRB InformationOfficer can assist you incompleting a petition form. Ifyou complete the petitionyourself, keep in mind thesehelpful tips:Prepare your petition onour website at:www.nlrb.gov (filinginstructions detailed).Know the job titles usedby the Employer and theemployee shift schedules.Provide the Region withauthorization/membershipcards (or other proof ofinterest) signed and datedby at least 30 percent ofthe employees in thepetitioned-for unit.NLRB NEWS:ConnecticutALJ orders First Student to reinstate employee fired forinvestigating work-related grievancesAn NLRB Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ordered that an employeeof First Student who drove school buses for the Town of Weston,Connecticut be reinstated and awarded backpay because she wasunlawfully discharged for investigating work-related grievances. TheEmployer intends to appeal that decision.The terminated employee had been a Weston school bus driver for 14years, and was the local union president of AFSCME Local 1303-416 ofCouncil 4 at the time of her termination. While investigating an incidentinvolving the alleged removal of bargaining unit work, she confronted theTown of Weston’s Transportation Coordinator and a low-seniority unitbus driver preparing to drive the girl’s softball team to an after schoolevent in two vans owned by Weston. That driving assignment hadoriginally been assigned to a senior bargaining unit driver, but wascancelled for unexplained reasons. The terminated employee took photosof the incident and had brief conversations with the driver and theTransporation Coordinator, and departed the area after the police arrived.The next day, the terminated employee posted copies of the photographs,along with a brief description of the incident, on the union bulletin boardin the driver’s lounge. Following a brief investigation, the Weston Boardof Education requested that she be removed from driving in Weston basedsolely upon the incident described above, which resulted in hertermination by First Student.Be prepared for a hearingby knowing: (1) theemployer’s operations; (2)the community of interestsof various employee jobcategories; and (3) whothe "supervisors" are.Hearings are typicallyheld within 10 days fromdate of filing.Be prepared for theelection to be conductedwithin 42 days from thedate of filing.ALJ Mindy Landow rejected the Employer claims that the terminatedemployee lost the protection of the Act during the incident by yelling andshouting obscenities at the driver and the Transportation Coordinator inthe presence of several students, crediting the terminated employee’stestimony over the testimony proffered by several Employer witnesses.The ALJ further held that even if the terminated employee engaged insuch conduct during the incident, it was not sufficiently egregious to costher the protection of the Act. Finally, the ALJ ordered the terminatedemployee reinstated with full backpay to her driving position in the Townof Weston, rejecting the Employer’s claim that its post-discharge offer ofa driving position in another Town was sufficient, especially in light ofthe Town of Weston’s objection to her driving in Weston.Hartford Field Attorney Jennifer Dease both investigated andlitigated the case for the Hartford Regional Office.

July 2011Page sixRegion 34 RepresentationStatistics - FY 2010: Representation electionswere conducted in 55cases. 91% of elections wereachieved by way of anelection agreementbetween the parties. 96% of elections were heldwithin 56 days from thefiling of the petition. Initial elections wereconducted in a median of38 days from the filing ofthe petition.Region 34 Unfair LaborPractice Statistics - FY2010:407 unfair labor practicecharges were filed.35% of the charges werefound by the HartfordRegional Office to bemeritorious.84% of the meritoriouscases were settled priorto hearing.100% of litigated caseswere won before eitheran administrative lawjudge or the NLRB.NLRB NEWS:ConnecticutParksite saga finally ends with Union contractA four-year journey by a small group of dedicated Teamster membersemployed by The Parksite Group in South Windsor finally ended with thesigning of a union contract in June 2011. The case began in 2007 whenthe drivers and warehousemen employed by Ryder at Parksite’s SouthWidsor distribution center voted in an NLRB election to be representedby Teamsters Local 671. Shortly after Ryder and the Teamsters enteredinto a union contract covering those employees, Parksite terminated itscontract with Ryder and took over all distribution operations at the SouthWindsor facility. Although Parksite hired a majority of the former Ryderemployees, it refused to hire 10 employees who were the most activeunion supporters while employed by Ryder.Following an administrative investigation, the Hartford RegionalOffice issued an unfair labor practice (ULP) complaint alleging thatParksite’s refusal to recognize the union and hire the union supportersviolated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The Hartford officealso took the highly unusual step of seeking an injunction in FederalDistrict Court requiring Parksite to immediately recognize the Union andhire the 10 union supporters. The ULP allegations were tried before anNLRB administrative law judge (ALJ), who issued a decision inNovember 2008 finding that Parksite had violated the NLRA as alleged inthe complaint. In January 2009, the Federal District Court granted theinjunction request in full, ordering Parksite to immediately offerreinstatement to the 10 former Ryder employees who were not hired,displacing, if necessary, any other hired or reassigned employees, and toimmediately recognize and bargain with the Union. In September 2009,the NLRB affirmed the ALJ’s decision, finding that Parksite violated theNLRA as alleged in the complaint (reported at 354 NLRB No. 90). TheNLRB’s decision was subsequently enforced by the Second Circuit Courtof Appeals in January 2010, effectively ending the lengthy legalproceedings.Following almost a year of bargaining after the appellate court decision,as well as further ULP charges filed by the Union alleging that Parksitehad engaged in bad faith bargaining during such discussions, Parksite andthe Union entered into a signed collective bargaining agreement in June2011, bringing the saga to a successful conclusion.Hartford Field Attorney Jennifer Dease litigated the case on behalf ofthe Hartford Regional Office in both District Court and before the ALJand the Board, and Hartford Compliance Officer Dina Emirzian wasinstrumental in securing compliance with the terms of the enforced Boardand Court Orders.