Terrell Machine Company v. NLRB
| Decision Date | 20 January 1970 |
| Docket Number | No. 13371.,13371. |
| Citation | 427 F.2d 1088 |
| Parties | TERRELL MACHINE COMPANY, Petitioner, v. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
William W. Sturges, Charlotte, N. C. (Weinstein, Waggoner, Sturges & Odom, Charlotte, N. C., on the brief), for petitioner.
Thomas E. Silfen, Atty., N. L. R. B. (Arnold Ordman, General Counsel, Dominick L. Manoli, Associate General Counsel, Marcel Mallet-Prevost, Asst. General Counsel, and John D. Burgoyne, Atty., N. L. R. B., on the brief), for respondent.
Before SOBELOFF and WINTER, Circuit Judges, and HARVEY, District Judge.
Terrell Machine Company seeks to have set aside an order of the National Labor Relations Board based on a finding that it violated §§ 8(a) (1) and 8(a) (5) of the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to bargain collectively with the representative of its employees and by unilaterally granting a wage increase to its employees after its refusal to bargain. Despite the company's assertions to the contrary, the Board found that, on the crucial date, the union continued to represent a majority of the employees and that the company had no good faith doubt as to that majority. From the record as a whole, those findings are supported by substantial evidence. It follows that the refusal to bargain and the subsequent unilateral grant of a wage increase were violative of the Act, so that as prayed by the Board the order will be enforced.
Terrell admits a refusal to bargain on July 3, 1967, after several bargaining sessions. Its justification was that either the union did not represent a majority of the employees on that date or the company had a good faith doubt as to that majority status.
The trial examiner found that on July 3, 1967, the union possessed dues cards and authorization cards from forty-four employees out of a bargaining unit of ninety employees. He concluded that the union thus had no majority. The examiner, however, held that the date July 3 was not crucial and found an unfair labor practice because there was in fact a majority on July 31. On theory, but not result, the Board reversed, holding that July 3 was the crucial date, but that actual membership in the union on July 3 was not the dispositive fact. To find continued majority status on July 3, the Board invoked the rebuttable presumption that majority status continues after expiration of the first year following certification and concluded that a showing of actual membership or payment of dues is not the equivalent of establishing the number of employees who desire representation by the union so as to rebut the presumption.
The Board was plainly correct. Upon expiration of the original certification year, a rebuttable presumption of representative status exists, and it is sufficient to establish prima facie a continuing obligation to bargain. NLRB v. Rish Equipment Company, 407 F.2d 1098 (4 Cir.1969). See also, NLRB v. Little Rock Downtowner, Inc., 414 F.2d 1084 (8 Cir.1969); NLRB v. Gulfmont Hotel Co., 362 F.2d 588 (5 Cir.1966). The presumption may be overcome, according to these authorities, if the employer demonstrated that the union, in fact, no longer enjoyed majority support on the date of the refusal to bargain, or that...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Zim's Foodliner, Inc. v. NLRB
...& Cooler, Inc. v. NLRB, 6 Cir., 416 F.2d 902 (1969), cert. denied, 399 U.S. 910, 90 S.Ct. 2201, 26 L.Ed.2d 562 (1970); Terrell Machine Co. v. NLRB, 4 Cir., 427 F.2d 1088, cert. denied, 398 U.S. 929, 90 S.Ct. 1821, 26 L.Ed.2d 91 (1970); NLRB v. Tesoro Petroleum Corp., 9 Cir., 431 F.2d 95 (19......
-
N.L.R.B. v. Tahoe Nugget, Inc.
...98 S.Ct. 57, 54 L.Ed.2d 74 (1978); this disparity is emphasized in a right-to-work state, such as Nevada. See Terrell Machine Co. v. NLRB, 427 F.2d 1088, 1090 (4th Cir. 1970), Cert. denied, 398 U.S. 929, 90 S.Ct. 1821, 26 L.Ed.2d 91 5. Financial Difficulties of the Union During 1974, the Un......
-
Smitty Baker Coal Co., Inc. v. United Mine Workers of America
...showing that the Union had lost its status as the representative of a majority of the employees in the unit. Terrell Machine Company v. N.L.R.B., (4th Cir. 1970) 427 F.2d 1088, 1090, cert. denied, 398 U.S. 929, 90 S.Ct. 1821, 26 L.Ed.2d 91. Moreover, the plaintiff with its operations comple......
-
N.L.R.B. v. Fall River Dyeing & Finishing Corp., 85-1019
...application of the rule, if supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole, must be enforced.").45 See Terrell Machine Co. v. NLRB, 427 F.2d 1088, 1090 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 398 U.S. 929, 90 S.Ct. 1821, 26 L.Ed.2d 91 (1970); NLRB v. Gulfmont Hotel Co., 362 F.2d 588, 589 (5th......