Marion Hosp. Corp. v. N.L.R.B.

• Decision Date: 14 March 2003
• Docket Number: No. 01-1442.,01-1442.
• Citation: 321 F.3d 1178
• Parties: MARION HOSPITAL CORPORATION, d/b/a Marion Memorial Hospital, Petitioner, v. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

321 F.3d 1178

MARION HOSPITAL CORPORATION, d/b/a Marion Memorial Hospital, Petitioner, v. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Respondent.

No. 01-1442.

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued January 16, 2003.

Decided March 14, 2003.

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Petition for Review and Cross-Application for Enforcement of an Order of the National Labor Relations Board.

Don T. Carmody argued the cause and filed the briefs for petitioner.

David A. Seid, Attorney, National Labor Relations Board, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were Arthur F. Rosenfeld, General Counsel, John H. Ferguson, Associate General Counsel, Aileen A. Armstrong, Deputy Associate General Counsel, and Sharon Block, Supervisory Attorney.

Before: EDWARDS and SENTELLE, Circuit Judges, and WILLIAMS, Senior Circuit Judge.

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge HARRY T. EDWARDS.

Opinion dissenting in part filed by Senior Judge STEPHEN F. WILLIAMS.

HARRY T. EDWARDS, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner Marion Hospital Corporation ("MHC") seeks review of a decision by the National Labor Relations Board ("Board" or "NLRB"), holding that petitioner committed multiple unfair labor practices ("ULPs"). The Board found that MHC violated §§ 8(a)(5) and (1) of the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA" or "Act"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 158(a)(5), (1), in refusing to bargain with the designated bargaining agent of its employees, Southern Illinois Laborers' District Council Local 508 ("Local 508" or "Union"), withdrawing recognition from the Union, and unilaterally changing conditions of employment. See Marion Hosp. Corp. d/b/a Marion Memorial Hosp., S. Illinois Laborers' Dist. Council Local 508, AFL-CIO, 335 N.L.R.B. No. 80, 2001 WL 1126579, at *7 (2001) ("Marion Hospital"). As a remedy for these violations, the Board issued an affirmative order to bargain.

MHC claims that the cited conduct was not illegal, because company officials had a good-faith reasonable doubt about the Union's majority status. MHC contends that, in finding the disputed ULPs, the Board misapplied the legal standard enunciated in Allentown Mack Sales & Serv. v. NLRB, 522 U.S. 359, 361, 367-68, 118 S.Ct. 818, 823-24, 139 L.Ed.2d 797 (1998) (employer may withdraw recognition from an incumbent union based on "good-faith reasonable doubt" or "genuine, reasonable uncertainty" supported by "objective considerations"), and ignored substantial record evidence supporting the employer's defense. MHC also challenges the affirmative order to bargain, claiming that the Board engaged in only a "cursory recitation" of the considerations required by this court in Vincent Indus. Plastics v. NLRB, 209 F.3d 727 (D.C.Cir.2000). The NLRB disputes each of petitioner's contentions and cross-petitions for enforcement of its orders.

We deny MHC's petition for review and grant the Board's cross-petition for enforcement. Substantial evidence supports the Board's finding that petitioner refused to bargain with the Union. MHC was aware of nothing occurring before the refusal to bargain to give rise to a reasonable, good-faith uncertainty over the Union's majority status. It is also undisputed that MHC did nothing to mitigate, rescind, or otherwise remedy its refusal to bargain. The employer remained firm in its unlawful refusal to bargain, which continued unabated for over a month through the time when MHC withdrew recognition from the Union. Because nothing happened to "cure" the initial unlawful refusal to bargain, the employer's subsequent withdrawal of recognition was unjustified. Therefore, the Board was fully warranted in issuing an order to bargain in this case.

I. BACKGROUND

The facts of this case are fully recounted in the Board's decision, see Marion Hospital, 2001 WL 1126579, at *1-*2, *11-*13, so we merely summarize the most salient facts here. Since 1996, Marion Memorial Hospital has been owned and operated by MHC as a private health care facility in Southern Illinois. Id. at *11. Employees at Marion Memorial Hospital are organized into separate units for medical and administrative personnel. Even before petitioner acquired the hospital, all employees were represented by Local 508. Id. The record indicates that the Union and petitioner successfully negotiated a series of year-long collective bargaining agreements, the last of which expired in April of 1998. Id. The main issues presented in this case concern efforts by the parties to negotiate a successor contract.

The parties commenced negotiations over a new labor contract in May of 1998, but talks stalled on issues relating to wages, a pension plan, and a wage incentive program for medical transcriptionists. Id. After a round of additional meetings yielded no progress, the parties requested assistance from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. On July 7, 1998, petitioner presented its best offer to the Union. Id. Representatives from Local 508 took that proposal to the employees in the bargaining unit. On July 16, 1998, the employees voted to reject the employer's offer; the employees also voted in support of a strike authorization notice. The Union never called a strike, however, ultimately preferring instead to pursue bargaining.

Not all bargaining unit employees endorsed the strike authorization. Between late July and early August 1998, some employees who had demurred on the strike authorization notified MHC of their intent to change their status in the Union and become "financial core" members of Local 508. Id. at *5-*6, *17. And, on July 30, 1998, one hospital employee, Joy Woods, initiated an effort to decertify Local 508. Id. at *12.

The Union agreed to rescind the strike notice and continue contract talks with petitioner, which resumed on August 4, 1998. Id. Negotiations continued until August 20, 1998, when the Union presented a counter-proposal to MHC's offer regarding wages and pension benefits. Id. Petitioner requested additional time to review the counter-proposal and to calculate the costs. Petitioner agreed to reconvene bargaining on September 9, 1998, but that proved to be an idle promise.

On September 1, 1998, Laborers' International Union of North America, AFL-CIO ("International") — the parent organization of Local 508 — filed a petition with the Board to become the certified bargaining agent for employees at the hospital. Id. The Board agreed to a consolidated proceeding to consider the International's petition for certification with the pending decertification petition filed earlier by Woods. The hearing on both matters was scheduled for September 10, 1998, but the International withdrew its petition for certification on that date. The Board, however, allowed the affected parties to present evidence on the decertification petition. During the course of the proceeding, the parties agreed that the size of the bargaining unit at issue was about 160 workers. Id.

Meanwhile, the Union sent letters to MHC on September 10 and 11 requesting a resumption of bargaining. On September 11, 1998, MHC responded with a letter questioning whether the Local 508 was still authorized to negotiate on behalf of the unit employees. Id.; see also Letter from Leonard W. Sachs, Counsel, MHC, to Randall J. Mayhew, President, Local 508 (Sept. 11, 1998), reprinted in Joint Appendix ("J.A.") 256-58 ("MHC Letter"). MHC also requested from both Local 508 and the International copies of their constitutions, related by-laws, and procedures for certifying a new bargaining representative. MHC Letter at 2, J.A. 257. MHC's letter made it clear that bargaining would not resume until the Union sent the material requested and, then, only "if warranted." Id. The Union sent five additional letters in September 1998 requesting MHC to meet and bargain, all to no avail.

On October 20, 1998, employee Woods, whose decertification petition was still pending before the NLRB, presented petitions to MHC with the signatures of workers who were allegedly dissatisfied with the Union's representation. Marion Hospital, 2001 WL 1126579, at *12. Woods' cover letter accompanying the petitions stated that a majority of workers "no longer wished to be represented by the Union." Id. The petitions included a total of 82 dated signatures from various Hospital employees. Of these signatures, 69 were dated between July 22, 1998 and August 6, 1998, while seven were dated between October 15, 1998 and October 20, 1998. The remaining signatures were those of employees who were not members of the bargaining unit. Id. at *2.

On October 28, a hospital administrator told employees that MHC was withdrawing official recognition from the Union and that MHC would begin unilaterally implementing its proposed wage changes. Id. at *12-*13. Thereafter, petitioner unilaterally changed a number of conditions of employment at the hospital. Id.

Local 508 filed ULP charges against MHC, and the General Counsel for the NLRB issued a consolidated complaint on December 9, 1998. Id. at *10. An ALJ conducted an evidentiary hearing and, on April 29, 1999, found that petitioner had violated §§ 8(a)(5) and (1) of the NLRA in (1) refusing to bargain on September 11, 1988, (2) withdrawing recognition from the Union on October 28, 1998, and (3) unilaterally implementing changes to the employees' terms and conditions of employment. Id. at *20.

With respect to the refusal to bargain, the ALJ found that MHC's letter of September 11, 1998 was undisputed evidence that petitioner had placed an unlawful condition on bargaining with Local 508. Id. The judge rejected petitioner's assertions that its refusal was permissible because of a good faith doubt about the Union's authority. The ALJ found that the Union's aborted strike activity, the International's withdrawn certification petition, the pending decertification petition, and the employees' change-of-membership letters gave petitioner no credible reasons to question Local 508's authority to bargain on behalf of the...