Agricultural Labor Relations Bd. v. Richard A. Glass Co.

• Decision Date: 13 December 1985
• Docket Number: AFL-CI,I
• Citation: 221 Cal.Rptr. 63,175 Cal.App.3d 703
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: AGRICULTURAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. RICHARD A. GLASS CO., INC., Defendant and Respondent. United Farm Workers of America,ntervenor and Respondent. 1 E000734.

Page 63

221 Cal.Rptr. 63

175 Cal.App.3d 703

AGRICULTURAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. RICHARD A. GLASS CO., INC., Defendant and Respondent.

United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO, Intervenor and Respondent. ¹

E000734.

Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 2, California.

Dec. 13, 1985.

Daniel G. Stone, Sol., and Michael E. Hersher, Deputy Sol. for plaintiff and appellant Agricultural Labor Relations Bd

Lyons, Eggers, Garcia, Gottlieb & Sones, Ira L. Gottlieb and Ellen Eggers, Keene, for United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO (UFW).

David E. Smith, Palm Desert, for defendant and respondent Richard A. Glass Co., Inc.

OPINION

RICKLES, Associate Justice.

The Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) appeals from an order of the superior court denying an application for enforcement of subpoenas duces tecum and subpoenas ad testificandum. The superior court gave five reasons for denying the ALRB's application: (1) the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) was without jurisdiction to modify his previous order of enforcement; (2) the information sought in the subpoenas duces tecum constitutes trade secrets; (3) the equities mandate protection of the trade secrets; (4) respondents did not waive objections to supplying trade secret information; and (5) the UFW waived the right to any information which related to activities conducted upon land owned by third parties for whom the company is the shipper of agricultural products or had a contract to harvest fruit. The ALRB contends these findings are in error. We agree.

FACTS

R.A. Glass Co., Inc. (Glass) was engaged in the growing, harvesting and packing of citrus crops in Riverside County. The UFW was certified as the bargaining representative for Glass agricultural workers. The UFW and Glass entered into a collective bargaining agreement covering the terms and conditions of employment for Glass agricultural workers. The terms of the contract required Glass to provide various information to the UFW concerning its agricultural operations.

Sometime in November 1979, DMB purchased all the assets of Glass. DMB, doing business as Glass, entered into a collective bargaining contract with the UFW covering the DMB agricultural workers. This contract required DMB to provide information to the Union regarding its agricultural operations.

General counsel for the ALRB filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Glass alleging the company unlawfully changed its citrus harvesting operations. The complaint alleged Glass: reduced harvesting services; eliminated bargaining unit work; made these changes unilaterally without notice or bargaining with the UFW; and had not recalled any eliminated bargaining unit workers.

General counsel contends services provided by Glass to customer/growers have remained the same. Citrus grown on the ranches by those growers is still handled, marketed, and shipped through the Glass packing shed. Machinery, equipment, bins, and other items necessary to the harvesting operation are still supplied by Glass. Glass continues to finance the harvesting costs. The same persons, namely Glass supervisors, still direct the operations of the harvesting crews, which Glass now claims are hired directly by the growers. The business relationships between Glass and its growers remain essentially unchanged. Changes in the form of doing business do not change the bargaining obligations of the UFW and Glass. Glass remains the employer of the harvesting crews. General counsel further contends all of the alleged changes in the harvesting operations constitute the unlawful subcontracting arrangement and Glass has refused to provide any information to the UFW about the changes in the harvest operations.

In an attempt to prove its case against Glass, general counsel subpoenaed Glass employees, Glass business records and business records of Glass' growers and their custodians to appear and testify at the administrative hearing. All of the subpoenaed parties have refused to provide any of the subpoenaed information or to testify. This refusal provoked the instant subpoena enforcement litigation.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In December of 1979, the UFW filed an unfair labor practice charging that respondent Glass had violated its duty to bargain in good faith with the UFW, the board certified representative of Glass employees. The UFW claimed that: (1) Glass had failed to notify the UFW of a change in the company's arrangement for harvesting citrus for Glass packing sheds; (2) the change had resulted in the elimination of bargaining unit work; and (3) Glass had refused to bargain over the change in its harvesting arrangement. Approximately a year later, a second charge was filed alleging Glass violated its duty to bargain by refusing to provide its workers' union with information regarding the unilateral changes alleged in the earlier charge.

In September of 1982, the ALRB's regional director issued an amended administrative complaint against Glass and DMB Packing, Inc., the successor to Glass, alleging: The two companies had eliminated, diverted, and subcontracted bargaining unit work without notice to or bargaining with the UFW. The complaint further alleged Glass and DMB had unlawfully refused to provide information to the union in connection with changes in the terms and conditions of employment of the members of the bargaining unit in violation of section 1153(a), (c), and (e) of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act (ALRA). ² This administrative complaint was amended in November 1982, adding as additional respondents three former California citrus growers: Rancho Marco de Oro, Rancho Oro Verde, and Rancho de Diamantes.

On September 13, 1982, general counsel served a number of subpoenas duces tecum and subpoenas ad testificandum on Glass/DMB, and a number of individuals or business entities alleged to be agents or alter egos of Glass/DMB. General counsel alleged the subpoenaed information would demonstrate Glass had eliminated bargaining unit work through unilateral subcontracting; Glass had initiated the change in harvesting arrangements so that beginning with the 1979 harvest, labor would be provided through labor contractors allegedly hired directly by growers rather than Glass; Glass had previously deducted the harvesting labor costs from the growers' sales proceeds; and even though growers now ostensibly hired their own workers, Glass continued to finance the labor costs for these growers. The persons and entities were ordered to appear to testify and produce documentary records at the unfair labor practice hearing involving Glass/DMB.

On September 20, 1982, Glass/DMB filed petitions to revoke the subpoenas duces tecum pursuant to section 1151, subdivision (a), ³ and California Administrative Code title 8, section 20250, subdivision (f). ⁴ The petitions to revoke were heard on October 7, 1982, by the ALJ conducting the unfair labor practice hearing. On October 13, 1982, the ALJ granted enforcement of the subpoenas after limiting their scope. Glass/DMB contended at this hearing the identities of the growers for whom the company packed were trade secrets and protected by the trade secret privilege. (Evid. Code, § 1060.) ⁵ The ALJ ordered Glass/DMB to produce the information for in camera inspection before ruling on the question of trade secret privilege. Glass/DMB refused to comply with the ALJ's in camera inspection order of the subpoenaed documents.

On October 20, 1982, the ALJ filed a declaration with the ALRB stating Glass/DMB refused to comply with the in camera inspection order, and wished to contest the validity of the ALJ's order in superior court. The ALJ recommended the ALRB issue an order seeking enforcement of the subpoenas pursuant to section 1151(b). ⁶

On October 26, 1982, the ALRB issued an order directing compliance with the ALJ's October 13, 1982, order and approving enforcement of the subpoenas in superior court pursuant to section 1151, subdivision (b).

On November 9, 1982, general counsel filed an application for an order requiring obedience to certain subpoenas duces tecum together with points and authorities in support of the application. (Agricultural Labor Relations Board v. R.A. Glass Co., et al., Indio 86681.)

On December 20, 1982, the superior court issued the following minute order denying the application and for an order requiring obedience to the subpoenas:

"Application for order requiring obedience to subpoena duces tecum, denied.

"The administrative law officer ruled that specified information was to be delivered to him in camera. He had not decided on the ultimate question. (Line 21 page 61, transcript of pre-hearing conference, exhibit H).

"It is the opinion of this Court that in making this ruling the administrative law officer exceeded his authority. Evidence Code Sections 905, 914 and 915 section 1151B Labor Code.

"Attorney for Respondent to prepare formal order."

Following this order by the superior court, general counsel asked the ALJ to recommend to the ALRB that the ALRB (1) vacate its October 26, 1982, order requiring production of subpoenaed materials in camera, and (2) issue a new order overruling Glass/DMB's claim of trade secret privilege and order production of the subpoenaed material.

On March 9, the ALJ filed a recommendation for enforcement of subpoenas and accompanying declaration with the ALRB. On May 6, 1982, the ALRB issued an order granting the ALJ's request for enforcement of subpoena duces tecum. The ALRB found the subpoenaed items did not constitute trade secrets and were not privileged. The ALRB further found even if the subpoenaed information included trade secrets, the concealment of the information in this instance would work an injustice. ⁷

On June 7, 1983, the ALRB denied Glass/DMB's motion for reconsideration of its May 6, 1983, order.

On June 26, 1983, general counsel and counsel for Glass/DMB entered into a stipulation providing: (1) 21 persons had been...