February 2018 Select events and news from the world of organized labor.

Organizing

Third-party services like the American Arbitration Association have seen an increase in requests from unions to supervise representative elections over the last five years, representing a shift away from National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) elections. In particular, organizing efforts among graduate students have been trending in favor of private arbitration as graduate student unions are concerned that a Republican-majority NLRB will overturn the Board’s 2016 Columbia University decision allowing them to organize. Since 2013, the number of Board supervised elections peaked in 2015, the year the Board enacted the “quickie” election rules. Since then, the number of elections has returned to pre-2015 numbers.

Union organizing efforts among graduate students at universities across the country are continuing. Georgetown University agreed to recognize the results of a graduate student representation election overseen by a third-party, rather than the Board. Georgetown informed the union, Georgetown Alliance of Graduate Employees (GAGE) that it would recognize the results of the vote regardless of the outcome of a pending court case challenging the legality of graduate students’ right to unionize. Meanwhile, Graduate Students United, which won a graduate student representation election in October 2017 at the University of Chicago (UofC), withdrew its petition seeking representation, instead seeking voluntary recognition. The union is asking UofC to voluntarily recognize it as the collective bargaining representative. UofC had petitioned the NLRB to dismiss the organizing effort arguing that the Columbia University decision, which gave graduate students the opportunity to organize, should be overturned. Meanwhile, Yale University graduate students who voted in favor of union representation by UNITE HERE in February 2017, abruptly terminated its organizing efforts at the university.

The NLRB ordered a new election at Bronx Lobster Place LLC because the Board agent opened the polls seven minutes late, which potentially prevented four nonvoters from casting ballots. The employees had voted 14-12 to be represented by the International Association of Machinists (IAM) and Aerospace Workers.

After a failed organizing attempt in September 2017, employees at Wismettac Asian Foods Inc. in Los Angeles voted 76-46 in favor of Teamster representation.

Frontier Communications customer service employees, who work from home, voted to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in Texas. The union already represents about 1,500 other Frontier workers across the state.

Workers at KUOW-FM 94.9, a National Public Radio member station affiliated with the University of Washington in Seattle, voted for representation by SAG-AFTRA. The bargaining unit will include 50 announcers, hosts, producers, reporters, and community engagement staff.

Flight dispatchers at Spirit Airlines, voted 45-0 in favor of switching representation from Transport Workers Union, an AFL-CIO affiliate, to the Professional Airline Flight Control Association.

More than 100 van drivers and monitors who transport special needs students in Southeastern Massachusetts will be represented by Teamsters Local 653 following a representation election. The election followed a three-year organizing campaign at North River Collaborative, a network of schools across Massachusetts for students with physical and mental disabilities.

The United Auto Workers (UAW), which has been historically known for representing manufacturing workers, is seeing growth in membership at academic institutions. Since 2010, 20,000 academic workers have joined the UAW, including graduate students, adjunct professors, postdoctoral researchers, and support staff and maintenance workers at school campuses in California, Washington, Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut. Currently, nearly 70,000 workers on college campuses are affiliated with the UAW. In California alone, 33,000 postdoctoral researchers and student workers are affiliated. Of the UAW’s approximately 415,000 members, 40 percent are now from outside the auto industry.

Staff at Wyoming’s largest newspaper, the Casper Star Tribune, voted to join the NewsGuild-CWA. The new bargaining unit is made up of 11 employees. In Wyoming, which is a right-to-work state, only 6 percent of workers are unionized.

Strikes & Labor Disputes

More than 350 Teamster represented school bus drivers at First Student Inc. in Seattle struck after the company and the union were unable to reach a bargaining agreement. After 11 days, the drivers returned to work after voting to approve a new agreement providing improved health care and pension benefits. The strike left approximately 12,000 students in need of transportation, and the Seattle Public Schools administration threatened to impose $1.2 million in liquidated damages per day on the company for each day that bus routes were not served.

Approximately 150 baggage handlers, wheelchair attendants, and other workers employed by Flight Services & Systems and ReadyJet, subcontractors of JetBlue and Airways Corp, were on strike at Logan Airport, seeking higher wages, working conditions, health benefits, and freedom to join the union. Two days later, the workers returned to work, without management offering any significant concessions.

More than 200 distribution workers, represented by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1445, returned to work after a 24-hour strike at Hannaford Brothers Company in Portland, Maine. Hannaford and the UFCW are attempting to settle a new labor agreement.

Graduate student workers at University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign announced that they will continue to strike indefinitely. The students, who are represented by Graduate Employee’s Organization, have been attempting to negotiate a contract since August 2017.

Teachers in West Virginia remain on strike, even after the Governor announced a plan to raise the salaries by 5 percent and the union leaders said that teachers would return to work.

Major Contract Settlements & Negotiations

According to data reported by Bloomberg law, through February 25, 2018, first-year average wage increases in recently signed union contracts were 3.1 percent, compared to 2.7 percent for the same period in 2017. Average wage increases in manufacturing averaged 3.3 percent, compared with 1.8 percent in 2017, and average increases in non-manufacturing businesses were 3.8 percent, compared with 3.1 percent in 2017. Meanwhile, pay raises in public sector contract settlement were 1.5 percent, compared to 2.7 percent in 2017.

The Campaign Workers Guild (CWG), a new union focused on organizing political election campaign staff, settled a contract for the campaign staff of Rep. Randy Bryce (D. WI), the leading challenger to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R. WI) in the upcoming mid-term election. The agreement provides workers paid time off and at least $3,000 per month. Several other House of Representative campaign organizations and at least one gubernatorial campaign have also recognized the CWG and are negotiating contracts.

School bus drivers and monitors, represented by Teamsters Local 777, in Chicago approved a labor contract with First Student Inc. The contract provides for bonuses, hourly wage increases, adds Super Bowl Sunday and Memorial Day as paid holidays, and expires June 30, 2021.

The Teamsters railroad division, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, reached a tentative agreement with the Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad Co. The agreement would cover about 80 employees and members have until March 9 to vote for or against ratification of the agreement. Contract details were not made public.

DHL delivery drivers and office workers nationwide represented by the Teamsters approved a new labor contract. The five-year contract covers 2600 DHL employees, and it provides an average hourly raise of $5 over term, retroactive to April 1, 2017, tuition assistance, and new rules to ensure that part-time workers do not replace full-time workers.

Republic Airline pilots represented by the Teamsters ratified a three-year contract extension with the airline. The agreement, which applies to 2000 pilots, provides pay increases and extends the amendable date to January 1, 2021.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved a new labor contract with 1,300 nurses represented by the California Nurses Association. The three-and-a-half year contract provides a 10.5 percent minimum pay increase over term, up to $7000 in student loan debt relief, and adds additional time for meal and rest periods.

The UAW settled a contract covering 150 cafeteria workers employed by food service contractor Bon Apetit, a subcontractor at four Airbnb facilities in San Francisco, Calif. and Portland, Ore. The contract provides 5 percent raises in the first year and improved benefits.

The Teamsters reached a three-year contract with Liberty Bakery Kitchen, a bakery serving approximately 150 Dunkin Donuts facilities in New England. The agreement, which covers 100 workers, provides delivery drivers with $18 an hour and bakery workers $15 an hour, by the end of the three-year term. The agreements also provides paid holidays, more vacation time, and equipment for safer working conditions.

AT&T reached a tentative agreement with CWA, covering 12,000 employees across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including retail, call center, and warehouse workers. The four-year agreement provides that the employees will be guaranteed a new job if their store or center shuts down. The ratification vote is scheduled for March 23.

Pilots at Spirit Airlines approved a new contract negotiated by the Air Line Pilots Association, providing a 43 percent increase in wages and $75 million in signing bonuses. The five-year agreement covers 1,800 pilots.

Administrative, Court & Other Decisions

The Board ruled that Ashford TRS Nickel LLC, owner of the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel and Spa in Alaska, must pay a UNITE HERE Local’s attorneys’ fees accrued in defending a lawsuit brought after the union organized a boycott of the hotel. The Board unanimously ruled that the employer’s claims of defamation in the suit were “baseless and retaliatory.” The Board further found the lawsuit unlawful because it was brought in an attempt to retaliate over the protest, and was preempted by the NLRA because it centered on conduct protected by Section 7 of the NLRA. Ashford TRS Nickel, LLC.

A split NLRB ruled, 2-1, that First Student, Inc., one of America’s largest transportation providers, unlawfully changed employees’ wages and benefits when it took over school bus operations in a Michigan school district. The Board held that the company was a “successor” employer that inherited an obligation to bargain with and recognize the United Steel Workers Local. Instead, the company unilaterally set employment conditions. NLRB Chairman Marvin E. Kaplan (R) dissented, finding that the company gave employees notice that there would be changes in their terms of employment more than a month before employment offers were given, thus, questioning the NLRB’s “perfectly clear” successor rulings. First Student, Inc.

An NLRB Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ordered Ford Motor Co. to bargain with the International Union of Operating Engineers, which represents workers at a wind tunnel site that Ford bought from another employer. Ford had planned to incorporate the site workers into an existing bargaining unit represented by the UAW. When Ford took over the facility it hired four IUOE members already working there and transferred in two UAW members from other Ford facilities. Even though Ford stated that it planned to train more UAW members to work at the facility, the ALJ found that because IUOE members were a majority of the new staff, Ford acted illegally when it refused to bargain with the union, finding that Ford’s projections were “speculative and self-serving.” Ford Motor Co.

An NLRB ALJ ruled that under the NLRB’s new test articulated in December 2017 in Boeing Co., Baylor University Medical Center violated employees’ rights by offering unlawful severance agreements. The agreement would have barred a former employee from participating in “any Claim brought by any third party” against Baylor and required the employee to keep secret all confidential information, including employment-related information. The ALJ held that, under Boeing Co., the restrictions in the severance proposal are unlawful unless an adverse impact on employees’ NLRA rights is “outweighed by the justifications associated with the rules.” The ALJ went on to hold that Baylor failed to justify its “no participation” and confidentiality provisions in the proposal. Baylor Univ. Med. Ctr.

The New-York based NLRB Region 2 Office accepted the NLRB General Counsel Peter B. Robb’s recommendation to dismiss charges against three entities behind the Trump campaign. The charges, filed in late 2016 and early 2017 by the Committee to Preserve the Religious Right to Organize, alleged that Trump entities violated the NLRA by requiring that all employees, independent contractors, and volunteers sign a confidentiality agreement. The GC determined that the campaign entities’ primary functions ended with the election and that there was no evidence it employed workers covered by the Act after the campaign.

An NLRB ALJ held that an alternative dispute resolution policy at San Rafael Healthcare & Wellness LLC nursing facility was unlawful because employees could reasonably believe it barred them from filing charges with the NLRB. Even though the policy had a specific disclaimer which stated that the grievance and arbitration policy was not intended to interfere with NLRB filings, the ALJ found it unlawful because that statement was not prominently placed and was in an “obscure location at the end of a multi-page policy.” In finding the policy unlawful, the ALJ also relied on a statement that the ADR policy applied to “ALL DISPUTES” between the employer and employees. San Rafael Healthcare and Wellness, LLC.

The NLRB is considering a claim brought against Velox Express Inc. alleging the company violated federal labor law by misclassifying employees as independent contractors. The Board has yet to find that misclassification of employees is in violation of the NLRA and has invited the filing of briefs by interested parties. Former Board GC Robert F. Griffin persuaded several ALJs to find that misclassification of workers is an unfair labor practice, an approach that was criticized as outside the Board’s jurisdiction. In Velox, the ALJ held that misclassification of drivers interfered with the employees’ NLRA rights. The Board’s current GC informed the NLRB that he was not pursuing Griffin’s initiative with respect to the misclassification issue. Velox Express, Inc.

In an advice memorandum, GC Robb stated that Google’s firing of James Damore, a software engineer who wrote a memo criticizing the company’s inclusion and diversity policies and arguing that women are less biologically suited for tech jobs, did not violate the NLRA. The memorandum stated Damore made both protected and unprotected statements, but Google demonstrated that it terminated Damore only for the unprotected comments. Google Inc.

NLRB inspector general David Berry issued a report finding Board Member William J. Emanuel should not have participated in the Board’s December 2017 Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors Ltd. In Hy-Brand, the Board overturned the Obama-era expanded test for determining joint employment status, established in Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc. The IG found that the Hy-Brand decision was essentially a direct continuation of a matter brought before the Board by Emanuel’s former law firm, and the two cases were consolidated into a matter that is “impossible to separate.” The IG concluded that Member Emanuel should have recused but did not specifically state that he engaged in any misconduct. NLRB Chairman Marvin Kaplan notified the congressional committee tasked with overseeing the agency’s operations, stating that they were evaluating the inspector general’s findings and considering appropriate actions.

Subsequently, the NLRB announced that it vacated its decision in Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, thereby, reinstating the Browning-Ferris standard. In Browning-Ferris, the NLRB held that two or more entities could be deemed joint employers under the NLRA if: (i) two or more separate employers were both “employers” in the common law sense, and (ii) they shared or co-determined matters governing the essential terms and conditions of employment. In Hy-Brand, the NLRB overturned Browning-Ferris and returned to the pre-Browning-Ferris standard, where joint employment would be found only where two or more “entities have exercised joint control over essential employment terms (rather than merely having ‘reserved’ the right to exercise control), the control must be ‘direct and immediate’ (rather than indirect), and joint-employer status will not result from control that is ‘limited and routine.’” The charging parties in that Hy-Brand filed a motion for reconsideration, recusal, or to strike, arguing that Board Member Emanuel should have been disqualified from participating in the decision. A three-member panel of the Board issued an order vacating the Board’s earlier decision in Hy-Brand, explaining that its prior overruling of Browning-Ferris “is of no force or effect.” Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, Ltd.

An NLRB Associate GC released an advice memorandum stating that Washington University in Saint Louis violated the NLRA when it stated that foreign students would lose their visa and need to leave the U.S. in the middle of a graduate student employee organizing campaign. The memo asserted that the employer’s statement overstated the requirements of the applicable regulations and the potential effects of those regulations on the affected graduate student employees. Washington University d/b/a Washington University in Saint Louis.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit overturned an NLRB decision ordering Aerotek to hire an electrician who tried to poach a client. The Eighth Circuit agreed with the Board, however, in finding that Aerotek’s refusal to hire electricians based on their union membership was unlawful. One electrician, however, tried to divert business by urging a client to obtain electricians directly from the union. The Board found that this conduct did not forfeit the employee’s right to reinstatement and back pay, whereas the Eighth Circuit rejected this assessment and found that the application of the full remedy was an abuse of the Board’s discretion. Aerotek, Inc. v. NLRB.

The NLRB held that an ALJ inappropriately relied on sexual stereotyping when dismissing a female truck driver’s case against the International Longshoreman’s Union. The ALJ rejected her testimony that she had resisted sexual groping and propositions of a union official at least 10 times because he found it “implausible” that a women who worked on docks and drove trucks would have “meekly allowed” the official to harass and assault her. The NLRB GC appealed the ruling on the basis that it was based on sexual stereotyping and the NLRB determined that the reliance on inappropriate considerations was severe enough to vacate the decision and remand it to a new ALJ for consideration. Int’l Longshoreman’s Ass’n Local 28 (Ceres Gulf Inc.).

The Sixth Circuit ruled that the United Food & Commercial Workers union acted properly when it continued deducting dues from two members who failed to follow proper procedures for rescinding authorization to have the dues deducted. The union members alleged that the union violated the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) by continuing to accept dues even when members tried to revoke permission for deduction of dues. The authorization for union dues would continue unless revoked by certified mail during a 15-day window each year. The workers attempted to revoke authorization by regular mail outside the 15-day window. The union refused to accept the revocation and continued accepting the union dues that were being deducted from the workers’ paycheck for that year period. The court held that the LMRA does not create a private cause of action and the “union did not [act] arbitrarily or in bad faith.” Ohlendorf et al. v. United Food & Commercial Workers International Union.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) has full authority to decertify collective bargaining units that do not timely file representation election petitions. The ruling reinstated a WERC decision to decertify two unions—the Wisconsin Association of State Prosecutors, representing district attorneys, and SEIU Local 150, representing public school food service workers and custodians, after they missed their statutory deadline to seek recertification petitions by one hour. The ruling also reinstates WERC’s annual recertification process, which requires state and local employees to annually petition the agency for recertification as part of Gov. Scott Walker’s landmark collective bargaining law, that was previously struck down by a court of appeals. Wis.Ass’n of State Prosecutors v. Wis. Emp’t Relations Comm’n, Wis.

Legislation & Politics

Top union leaders have long held that Democrats are more supportive on union legislative and regulatory priorities, and, therefore the union movement strongly favors Democrats taking control of one or both chambers of Congress in in 2018. Yet, in an era where rank-and-file union members may be increasingly Republican, union leaders claim they are spending time listening to concerns and educating members on issues that could affect their paychecks.

Eight Senators and eight House members were named to the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pensions. The committee was created as part of a recent two-year budget deal, as a financial crisis threatens the pensions of up to 1.5 million union workers who are a part of pensions jointly administered by union and employer trustees. The committee has until November 2018 to address the financial solution of collectively bargained pensions, and is charged with also finding a way to keep afloat the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which is projected to collapse within 10 years.

A union representing Board employees reported the NLRB plans to implement a hiring freeze, eliminate performance awards, and lay off health services and information technology contractors in response to the White House’s request to trim the Board’s budget by 9 percent.

Crime, Corruption & Other Misdeeds

Monica Morgan, widow of a former UAW vice president, General Holiefield, pled guilty to filing false tax returns based on $1.5 million in bribes her husband had received from Fiat Chrysler during collective bargaining. Morgan is the fourth person to plead guilty to charges connected with corruption at the Detroit dealership. Chrysler’s former president for employee relations, Alphons Iacobelli, allegedly made payments to Holiefield and others over a five-year period beginning in 2009. Holiefield and Iacobelli were primarily responsible for negotiating the bargaining agreements between the company and the union. Iacobelli pled guilty on January 22. Jerome Durden, a former financial analyst at the company, and UAW contract negotiator Virdell King also pled guilty in August 2017.

The U.S. Department of Labor released a report concerning the ongoing investigation of corruption by the UFCW in Brooklyn, N.Y., which has led to federal indictments of several high-ranking individuals. Two UFCW secretary-treasurers, Frank Cognetta and Vincent D’Acunto, Jr., are accused of racketeering conspiracy, bribery, embezzlement, and fraud, and could face up to 126 years in prison.

Ryan Jones, former secretary-treasurer of an IAM local in Maine, was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for embezzling $280,865 from the union. Jones, who worked for Bath Iron Works, made almost 200 unauthorized withdrawals from the union’s bank account and fabricated bank statements from 2009 to 2017. His sentence also includes three years supervised release and an order to pay $280,865 in restitution.

 

Frozen: Union Appeals to Congress Over NLRB’s Planned “Hiring Freeze” 
Barnes & Thornburg LLP – David Pryzbylski USA March 2 2018

Bloomberg BNA is reporting that the National Labor Relations Board Professional Association – the union who represents National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) employees – has sent letters to congressional members expressing concern over a planned “hiring freeze” at the agency.

According to the report: “The agency plans to implement the freeze, eliminate performance awards, and lay off health services and information technology contractors, the union said in letters to four Democrats on committees with jurisdiction over the board. The union said NLRB Chairman Marvin Kaplan and General Counsel Peter Robb have depicted the moves as a response to the White House’s request to trim the board’s budget by 9 percent next year, even though Congress is unlikely to approve the request.”

This report follows another one from Bloomberg BNA earlier this year recapping remarks by NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb to a group in New York where he indicated reduction in headcount at the agency was being considered. Accordingly, it appears there is change on the horizon at the board in terms of staffing levels.

That isn’t the only change being contemplated at the NLRB. Robb also announced earlier this year a potential complete reorganization of the agency. Specifically, Robb reportedly has informed agency employees that he is exploring centralizing some powers to his office that traditionally have been vested with the regional directors who oversee the board’s 26 regions. To the extent the reported organizational changes go through, they would likely have a drastic effect on the way the NLRB handles its cases. Currently, regional directors effectively act as gatekeepers on most matters before the board and enjoy much autonomy to investigate and ultimately render initial rulings in cases. To the extent these powers are more centralized within the general counsel’s office, it could impact the speed at which rulings are made and even the potential outcomes. Indeed, NLRB general counsels are appointed by the president, they usually change when a new president is elected, and their labor relations philosophy often is tied to the administration that appointed them. In contrast, regional directors generally remain relatively constant and stay in their posts through changes in administration. Any such changes would likely have to be vetted and approved by the five member of the NLRB, though, so such changes likely are not going to take effect in the immediate future.

We’ll continue to watch these developments and keep you posted on how all of this plays out.

 

Summary of NLRB Decisions for Week of February 12 – 16, 2018

The Summary of NLRB Decisions is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for the opinions of the NLRB.  Inquiries should be directed to the Office of the Executive Secretary at 202‑273‑1940.

Summarized Board Decisions

Cranesville Block Co., Inc.  (03-CA-209124; 366 NLRB No. 18)  Amsterdam, NY, February 13, 2018.

The Board granted the General Counsel’s Motion for Summary Judgment in this test-of-certification case on the ground that the Respondent failed to raise any issues that were not, or could not have been, litigated in the underlying representation proceeding in which the Union was certified as the bargaining representative.

Charge filed by International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 294.  Chairman Kaplan and Members Pearce and Emanuel participated.

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Liberty Bakery Kitchen, Inc.  (01-CA-181081 and 01-CA-191349; 366 NLRB No. 19)  Brockton, MA, February 16, 2018.

The Board adopted the Administrative Law Judge’s conclusion that the Respondent violated Section 8(a)(5) and (1) by unlawfully withdrawing recognition from the Union, noting that the document the Respondent relied on in withdrawing recognition contained no statement indicating employees’ desires as to Union representation at all.  Member McFerran included a personal footnote in which she called the rationale of one of the cited cases into question.  The Board found that a written addition to the document presented to the Respondent only represented the views of the employee who added that language and rejected the Respondent’s argument that its withdrawal of recognition was justified by its concerns about potential Section 8(a)(2) liability.  In a personal footnote, Chairman Kaplan stated that he did not rely on the judge’s statement that the Respondent’s request that an employee add more language to the document revealed that the Respondent regarded the document as unclear.  The Board also adopted the judge’s conclusion that the Respondent violated Section 8(a)(5), (3), and (1) by granting a wage increase, but it did not rely on the judge’s discussion of NLRB v. Exchange Parts Co., 375 U.S. 405 (1964).  The Board relied on the pretextual justifications for the wage increase, the timing of the wage increase, the lack of a past practice of granting comparable wage increases, and the descriptions of the wage increase in the Respondent’s campaign literature in adopting the judge’s animus finding, and Member Pearce added a personal footnote indicating that he would also rely on several additional facts in adopting the judge’s animus finding.

Charges filed by International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 653.  Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth M. Tafe issued her decision on May 25, 2017.  Chairman Kaplan and Members Pearce and McFerran participated.

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Unpublished Board Decisions in Representation and Unfair Labor Practice Cases

R Cases

Recology, Inc. d/b/a Hay Road Landfill  (20-UC-191943)  Vacaville, CA, February 13, 2018.  The Board (Chairman Kaplan and Member Emanuel; Member Pearce, dissenting) granted the Employer’s Request for Review of the Regional Director’s Decision and Clarification of Bargaining Unit to determine whether the Regional Director’s finding that the Employer’s Material Receiving Coordinators constitute an appropriate accretion to the unit is consistent with the standard articulated in Safeway Stores, Inc., 256 NLRB 918 (1981).  Dissenting, Member Pearce would have denied review, finding that the Regional Director correctly considered all of the traditional factors in determining that the Material Receiving Coordinators share an overwhelming community of interest with existing bargaining unit employees, and that their accretion is thus consistent with Safeway.  Petitioner – Teamsters Local 315.  Chairman Kaplan and Members Pearce and Emanuel participated.

Bay at North Ridge Health and Rehabilitation Center, LLC  (18-RD-208565)  Manitowoc, WI, February 14, 2018.  The Board denied the Employer’s Request for Review of the Regional Director’s administrative dismissal of the petition as it raised no substantial issues warranting review.  Petitioner – an individual.  Union – SEIU Health Care Wisconsin.  Chairman Kaplan and Members Pearce and McFerran participated.

C Cases

Ulliman Schutte Construction, LLC  (05-CA-188093)  Rockville, MD, February 15, 2018.   The Board denied the Respondent’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, finding that the Respondent failed to establish that there are no genuine issues of material fact warranting a hearing and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.  Charge filed by International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 542, AFL-CIO.  Chairman Kaplan and Members Pearce and McFerran participated.

Midwest Terminals of Toledo International, Inc.  (08-CA-195939)  Toledo, OH, February 15, 2018.  The Board denied the Employer’s Petition to Revoke investigative subpoenas duces tecum and ad testificandum, finding that the subpoenas sought information relevant to the matter under investigation and described with sufficient particularity the evidence sought, and that the Employer failed to establish any other legal basis for revoking the subpoenas.  Charge filed by International Longshoremen’s Association, Local 1982.  Chairman Kaplan and Members Pearce and Emanuel participated.

Velox Express, Inc.  (15-CA-184006)  Little Rock, AR, February 15, 2018.  The Board issued a Notice and Invitation to File Briefs, inviting the parties and interested amici to file briefs on the issue of under what circumstances, if any, the Board should deem an employer’s act of misclassifying statutory employees as independent contractors a violation of Section 8(a)(1).  The parties and amici may file briefs with the Board by April 16, 2018; parties may file responsive briefs by April 30, 2018.  Charge filed by an individual.

Wynn Las Vegas, LLC  (28-CA-193230, et al.)  Las Vegas, NV, February 16, 2018.  The Board denied the Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment, finding that the Respondent failed to establish that there are no genuine issues of material fact warranting a hearing and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, in light of the General Counsel’s amendments to, and notice of intent to further amend, the amended consolidated complaint.  The denial is without prejudice to the Respondent’s right to renew its arguments to the Administrative Law Judge and before the Board on any exceptions that may be filed to the judge’s decision, if appropriate.  Charges filed by individuals.  Chairman Kaplan and Members Pearce and McFerran participated.

United Parcel Service, Inc.  (18-CA-193426)  Coralville, IA, February 16, 2018.  No exceptions having been filed to the January 5, 2018 decision of Administrative Law Judge Andrew S. Gollin’s finding that the Respondent had engaged in certain unfair labor practices, the Board adopted the judge’s findings and conclusions, and ordered the Respondent to take the action set forth in the recommended Order.  Charge filed by an individual.

Gruma Corporation d/b/a Mission Foods  (04-CA-199438, et al.)  Mountain Top, PA, February 16, 2018.  The Board approved a formal settlement stipulation between the Respondent, the Charging Party, and the General Counsel, and specified actions the Respondent must take to comply with the Act.  The complaint had alleged Section 8(a)(5), (3), and (1) violations, including withdrawing recognition and engaging in bad faith bargaining, unilaterally changing terms of conditions of employment, suspending and discharging employees because of their union activity, threatening employees with job loss and plant closure, instigating and assisting employees’ decertification efforts, and numerous other violations.  Charges filed by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776.  Chairman Kaplan and Members Pearce and McFerran participated.

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Appellate Court Decisions

No Appellate Court Decisions involving Board Decisions to report.

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Administrative Law Judge Decisions

Baylor University Medical Center  (16-CA-195335; JD-11-18)  Dallas, TX.  Administrative Law Judge Robert A. Ringler issued his decision on February 12, 2018.  Charge filed by an individual.

San Rafael Healthcare and Wellness, LLC  (20-CA-204948; JD(SF)-02-18)  San Rafael, CA.  Administrative Law Judge Jeffrey D. Wedekind issued his decision on February 14, 2018.  Charge filed by National Union of Healthcare Workers.

Salem Hospital Corporation a/k/a The Memorial Hospital of Salem County  (04-CA-130032; JD-12-18)  Salem, NJ.  Administrative Law Judge Arthur J. Amchan issued his supplemental decision on February 14, 2018.  Charge filed by Health Professional and Allied Employees, AFT/AFL-CIO.