Allbritton Communications Co. v. N.L.R.B.
| Citation | 766 F.2d 812 |
| Decision Date | 08 July 1985 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 84-3438,No. 84-3676,P,AFL-CI,84-3620 and 84-3676,N,No. 84-3438,No. 84-3620,No. 103,I,84-3438,103,84-3620,84-3676,s. 84-3438 |
| Parties | 119 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3290, 103 Lab.Cas. P 11,540 ALLBRITTON COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY, the News Printing Company, Inc. and the Hudson Dispatch, Petitioners,, v. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Respondent, Newark Typographical Unionnternational Typographical Union,ntervenor. ALLBRITTON COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY, the News Printing Company, Inc. and the Hudson Dispatch, Respondents, v. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Petitioner,ewark Typographical Unionnternational Typographical Union,ntervenor. NEWARK TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION NO. 103, International Typographical Union,etitioner,, v. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Respondent, Allbritton Communications Company, the News Printing Company, Inc. and the Hudson Dispatch, Intervenors. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit) |
Frank C. Sabatino, Schnader, Harrison, Segan and Lewis, Philadelphia, Pa.; Richard W. Beckler (argued), Carl W. Vogt, David M. Foster, Stephen M. McNabb, Fulbright & Jaworski, Washington, D.C., for petitioners in No. 84-3438.
Rosemary M. Collyer, Gen. Counsel, John E. Higgins, Jr., Deputy Gen. Counsel, Robert E. Allen, Associate Gen. Counsel, Elliott Moore, Deputy Associate Gen. Counsel, Elinor Hadley Stillman, Jerrold Jay Wohlgemuth (argued), N.L.R.B., Washington, D.C., for petitioner in No. 84-3620.
Sally M. Armstrong, Brian A. Powers (argued), O'Donoghue and O'Donoghue, Washington, D.C., Jack Wysoker, Mandel, Wysoker, Sherman, Glassner & Weingartner Before ALDISERT, Chief Judge, GIBBONS, Circuit Judge, and DIAMOND, District Judge. *
New Brunswick, N.J., for petitioners in No. 84-3676.
This review of a decision of the National Labor Relations Board requires us to examine contentions raised in separate petitions for review presented by an employer and a union, and the justification for the Board's action contained in the Board's application for an enforcement order. We must decide whether substantial evidence supports the Board's findings that (1) the News Printing Company, Inc. was the employer of the employees of T & T, Inc.; (2) economic reasons motivated the dismissal of eight editorial employees; (3) the Company did not fail to bargain in good faith with Local 103 of the International Typographical Union; and (4) the News Printing Company, Inc. reasonably filed a civil action against employees who had claimed workmen's compensation benefits. We hold that the Board's findings were supported by substantial evidence and therefore grant the application for enforcement of its order.
The News Printing Company, Inc. and Hudson Dispatch are wholly owned subsidiaries of Allbritton Communications Company. The Board has previously found these entities to comprise a single employer (the Company). This finding is uncontested. There are two unions involved: the Newspaper and Mail Deliverers Union of New York and Vicinity (NMDU) and the Typographical Union No. 103, International Typographical Union, AFL-CIO (Local 103, ITU or the Union).
The events underlying this action occurred in 1980-81. Four distinct but related sets of facts give rise to the issues we must decide.
The News contracted in 1966 with T & T, Inc. for T & T to handle The News's mailroom and delivery functions. Allbritton assumed this contract when it purchased The News in 1977. T & T employed workers represented by the NMDU to carry out the mailroom functions, which involved removing the printed newspapers from a conveyor belt in the mailroom, packaging the papers for delivery, placing advertising supplements in each bundle (topping) when necessary, loading the delivery trucks, and delivering the papers to retail stores and "drop" locations for distribution to deliverers. Peter Trombina, one of the owners of T & T, periodically negotiated and signed collective bargaining agreements between T & T and the NMDU. In October 1980, the Company and Trombina agreed that he would seek NMDU's approval of a Company proposal to consolidate delivery routes and reduce the size of T & T's work force. Under the terms of the proposal, the Company would pay any severance money owed T & T employees and would reimburse T & T for any legal fees incurred because of the proposal. The NMDU rejected the Company's proposal and the Company hired new employees to carry out the mailroom and delivery job functions of T & T. The Company denied Trombina and his employees access to The News's mailroom. The T & T employees have remained out of work since February 9, 1981.
Since its purchase of The News and The Dispatch in 1977, Allbritton Communications Company had, by 1980, advanced over $2,500,000 to the News to compensate for operating losses. The News, however, still was not a profitable enterprise by July 1980. In August 1980, W. Dean Singleton, president of The News and The Dispatch, directed executive editor Richard Vezza to reduce the size of the editorial staffs of The Dispatch and The News through attrition. Vezza did not heed Singleton's directive and instead hired additional reporters in September and October. On October 24, 1980, Singleton learned the editorial staffs had not been reduced and ordered Vezza to cut the staff at The Dispatch from 44 to 40 employees and the staff at The News from 51 to 46. Eight editorial employees were then dismissed. Throughout this entire time period, and particularly in October 1980, Local 103 was attempting to unionize the editorial room employees.
The composing room employees at The News were represented by Local 103. In December 1980, negotiations began between the Company and Local 103 for a new contract, because the then existing contract was due to expire on January 25, 1981. In November 1980, prior to formal negotiations, Singleton met with the president of Local 103 and informed him The News was in serious financial difficulty and would need to save approximately $35.00 per week for each composing room employee. The Company initially proposed a 15 percent wage cut ($51.00 per employee), an increase in straight-time working hours to a 40-hour work week, and a decrease in personal leave days from 10 to 5. The Union initially proposed an increase in overtime pay and an increase in paid holidays. The membership of Local 103 unanimously rejected the Company's proposal to decrease wages, and this rejection was communicated to the Company at one of the December bargaining sessions.
On January 14, the Company presented its "bottom line" position to the Union: a $35.00 per week cut for each composing room employee, taken in any combination of wages, fringe benefits, and personal days. On January 29, Singleton informed the Union that an agreement on cost reduction must be reached by February 10, and that he felt the negotiations were nearing impasse. On February 3, Singleton informed the vice president of the ITU that the Company was going to post its final offer of a $35.00 per employee per week cost reduction on February 6 and would implement the reduction on February 10 if no agreement were reached.
On February 6, a bargaining session took place in the presence of a federal mediator. At this session Singleton proposed a three year contract, with a $35.00 cut the first year, a restoration of the cut the second year, and a $29.50 increase for the third year. The Union rejected the offer. On the same day, February 6, the Company posted a notice in the composing room stating that wages would be cut $35.00 per week effective February 10, and all other conditions would remain unchanged. The Union accepted the posted conditions on February 9, pending negotiation of a new agreement. However, the composing room employees did not return to work because that same night, February 9, the NMDU began picketing The News because of the Company's action in hiring replacement mailroom and driver employees and members of the Local 103 honored the picket line. On February 10 the Company notified the striking composing room employees that they would be permanently replaced if they did not return to work that afternoon. The employees did not return to work.
The members of Local 103 met on February 13 and voted to strike. Several meetings between the Company and Union took place during the pendency of the strike and the Company reverted to its original offer (15 percent wage cut, increase in straight time, decrease in personal days). A final bargaining session was held on November 17, 1981, without any further progress.
While they were on strike, all but eight of the composing room employees filed workmen's compensation claims against The News alleging partial disabilities (51 employees filed claims). Most of the claimants filed their petitions on March 14, and each stated he or she had not received medical treatment for the alleged disability. The Company filed answers to the petitions in August and September 1981. On November 25, the Company filed suit alleging fraud, conspiracy and abuse of process against each of the striking employees because of the mass workmen's compensation filings. On December 10, the Company amended its complaint, deleting as defendants the striking employees who had not filed workmen's compensation claims.
In response to various charges made by the unions involved, the Regional Director of the NLRB filed an original and two amended complaints against the Company and T & T. Following a consolidated hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), the ALJ issued a written opinion to which all parties filed exceptions. After a proceeding before the Board, the Board concluded, in disagreement with the ALJ, that T & T was not an independent contractor but rather an "administrative arm" of the Company and as such T & T's employees were also the Company's employees. Accordingly, the Board found that the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Lambert v. Blackwell
...to reach the merits of the claims raised in a PCRA petition that is filed in an untimely manner." See also Allbritton Communications Co. v. N.L.R.B., 766 F.2d 812, 820 (3d Cir.1985) ("Clearly, the sole issue relevant to this judgment was the jurisdictional question; any `findings' by [the D......
-
FARINA v. NOKIA INC.
...file a removal petition within the 30 day statutory time limit [does not] affect this Court's jurisdiction.”); Allbritton Commc'ns Co. v. NLRB, 766 F.2d 812, 820 (3d Cir.1985) (“[R]emoval proceedings are in the nature of process, and thus defects in the removal procedures are waivable....”)......
-
Gosch v. Int'l Chapter of Horseshoers & Equine Trades, Local 947
...281692, at *1 (M.D.Pa. Jan. 24, 2014) (Conner, C.J.)(citing 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a) ; Allbritton Commc'ns Co. v. N . L . R . B . , 766 F.2d 812, 820 (3d Cir.1985) )."The two primary types of ‘[federal subject-matter] jurisdiction’ that § 1441(a) contemplates are diversity jurisdiction and feder......
-
Michaels v. State of N.J.
...and were any party to do so now, any such complaint would be treated as having been waived. Allbritton Communications Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, 766 F.2d 812, 820 (3d Cir.1985) (holding that "removal proceedings are in the nature of process, and defects in the removal procedures......