National Labor Relations Board v. Bailey Co., 10883.
| Decision Date | 13 February 1950 |
| Docket Number | No. 10883.,10883. |
| Citation | 180 F.2d 278 |
| Parties | NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD v. BAILEY CO. (EAST SIDE BRANCH). |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
Frederick U. Reel, Washington, D. C., David P. Findling, A. Norman Somers, Frederick U. Reel, and Albert Gore, Washington, D. C., on brief, for petitioner.
Eugene B. Schwartz, Cleveland, Ohio, Welles K. Stanley, Eugene B. Schwartz, Carl H. Clark, Cleveland, Ohio, on brief; Stanley, Smoyer & Schwartz, Cleveland, Ohio, of counsel for respondent.
Before ALLEN, McALLISTER, and MILLER, Circuit Judges.
This is a petition for enforcement of an order of the National Labor Relations Board which found, upon undisputed evidence, that during the week preceding an election directed by the Board, respondent company called each of its employees to its office, and after impressing upon each of them its opposition to the union, proceeded to advise them of its intention to grant certain economic benefits to them. The Board concluded that the promising of such benefits in this manner and under the attendant circumstances interfered with, restrained, and coerced the employees in the exercise of the rights of self-organization and collective bargaining through representatives of their own choosing, guaranteed them under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 157. It, accordingly, ordered respondent to cease and desist from in any manner interfering with, restraining, or coercing its employees in the exercise of such rights. While declaring that expressions of views voiced by the company to certain of its employees and statements contained in circulars and notices distributed to them by the company before the election clearly indicated respondent's hostility to the union and its leaders and the company's preference for individual bargaining, the Board held that this was an expression of opinion protected by the Constitutional guarantee of free speech. The Board based its findings of an unfair practice upon the promises of economic benefits made by the company to the employees immediately preceding the election.
The economic benefits promised by the respondent consisted, among other matters, of more frequent payments of commissions — from semiannual to quarterly payments. Theretofore the employees had been paid a weekly draw which was deducted from their earned commissions. But when an employee's commissions were less than his total draw for the six months' period, the difference between his total draw and his earned commissions was canceled. In other words, respondent's rules required neither the return of the overdraw from the employees nor its deduction from future earnings. The foregoing change of more frequent payment of commissions obviously constituted an advantage to the employees because the increase in frequency of payment of commissions increased the number of occasions in which a deficit in commissions with respect to the draw might be canceled. In addition, a more advantageous drawing account was promised to the employees, as well as a more generous vacation plan, and improvement of existing locker and rest room facilities.
The Board was justified in concluding that through the promises of the economic benefits above mentioned, the respondent was demonstrating to its employees that resort to self-organization was plainly unnecessary. This constituted interference with the exercise by the employees of their right of self-organization and collective bargaining through representatives of their own choosing. "Interference is no less interference because it is accomplished through allurements rather than coercion." National Labor Relations Board v. Crown Can Co., 8 Cir., 138 F.2d 263, 267. An employer interferes with the right of self-organization when he emphasizes to his employees that there is no necessity for a collective...
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