Purofied Down Products

303 NLRB No. 150 DOR 1905 Ridgefield, NJ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BEFORE THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD PUROFIED DOWN PRODUCTS, CORP. and UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO, CLC, UPHOLSTERY AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES DIVISION, LOCAL 500-U Case 31--CA-+18649 July 31,1991 By Mem Devaney, DECISION Oriatt, AND and ORDER Raude baugh Upon a charge filed by the Union, United Steelworkers of America, AFL-- CIO, CLC, Upholstery and Allied Industries Division, Local 500-U, on February 8, 1991, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint on March 21, 1991, against Purofied Down Products, Corp., the Respondent, alleging that it has violated Section 8(a) (5) and (1) of the National Labor Relations Act. Although properly served copies of the charge and complaint, the Respondent has failed to file an answer. On May 2, 1991, the General Counsel filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. On May 8, 1991, the Board issued an order transferring the proceeding to the Board and a Notice to Show Cause why the motion should not be granted. The Respondent filed no response. The allegations in the motion are therefore undisputed. The National Labor Relations Board has delegated its authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel. 303 NLRB No. 150 1905 Ruling on Motion For Summary Judgment Section 102.20 of the Board's Rules and Regulations provides that the allegations in the complaint shall be deemed admitted if an answer is not filed within 14 days from service of the complaint, unless good cause is shown. The complaint states that unless an answer is filed within 14 days of service, ''all of the allegations in the Complaint shall be deemed to be admitted to be true and may be so found by the Board. Further, the undisputed allegations in the Motion for Summary Judgment disclose that counsel for the General Counsel, by letter dated April 11, 1991, notified the Respondent that unless an answer was received by close of business on April 25, 1991, a Motion for Summary Judgment would be filed. No answer was filed. In the absence of good cause being shown for the failure to file a timely answer, we grant the General Counsel's Motion for Summary Judgment. On the entire record, the Board makes the following Findings of Fact I. Jurisdiction The Respondent, a New York corporation, with an office and principal place of business in Ridgefield, New Jersey, and locations in North Hollywood and Burbank, California, is engaged in the manufacture of feather pillows and related items. The Respondent, annually, in the course and conduct of its business operations, derives gross revenues in excess of $500,000 and sells goods and services valued in excess of $50,000 to customers or business enterprises within the State of California, which customers or business enterprises themselves meet one of the Board's jurisdictional standards, other than the indirect inflow or indirect outflow standard. We find that the Respondent is an employer engaged in commerce within the meaning of Section 1905 Ruling on Motion For Summary Judgment Section 102.20 of the Board's Rules and Regulations provides that the allegations in the complaint shall be deemed admitted if an answer is not filed within 14 days from service of the complaint, unless good cause is shown. The complaint states that unless an answer is filed within 14 days of service, ''all of the allegations in the Complaint shall be deemed to be admitted to be true and may be so found by the Board. Further, the undisputed allegations in the Motion for Summary Judgment disclose that counsel for the General Counsel, by letter dated April 11, 1991, notified the Respondent that unless an answer was received by close of business on April 25, 1991, a Motion for Summary Judgment would be filed. No answer was filed. In the absence of good cause being shown for the failure to file a timely answer, we grant the General Counsel's Motion for Summary Judgment. On the entire record, the Board makes the following Findings of Fact I. Jurisdiction The Respondent, a New York corporation, with an office and principal place of business in Ridgefield, New Jersey, and locations in North Hollywood and Burbank, California, is engaged in the manufacture of feather pillows and related items. The Respondent, annually, in the course and conduct of its business operations, derives gross revenues in excess of $500,000 and sells goods and services valued in excess of $50,000 to customers or business enterprises within the State of California, which customers or business enterprises themselves meet one of the Board's jurisdictional standards, other than the indirect inflow or indirect outflow standard. We find that the Respondent is an employer engaged in commerce within the meaning of Section D-1905 2(6) and (7) of the Act and that the Union is a labor organization within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act. II. Alleged Unfair Labor Practices Since at least January 1, 1988, and at all times material here, the Union has been the designated exclusive collective-bargaining representative of the Respondent's unit employees 1 and since that date has been recognized as the representative by the Respondent. Such recognition has been embodied in a collective-bargaining agreement which was effective by its terms for the period January 1, 1988, through December 31, 1989, and thereafter was renewed to be effective through July 1991. At all times since at least January 1, 1988, and continuing to date, by virtue of Section 9(a) of the Act, the Union has been the exclusive representative of the Respondent's unit employees for purposes of collectivebargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other terms and conditions of employment. Commencing about November 1, 1990, and at all times thereafter, the Respondent has refused, and continues to refuse, to bargain collectively with the Union as the exclusive collective-bargaining representative of its unit employees: (a) by closing its facilities in North Hollywood and Burbank, California, without giving proper notice to the Union and without giving the Union an opportunity to bargain over the effects of the closing on the unit 1 The following employees of the Respondent constitute a unit appropriate for collective-bargaining purposes within the meaning of the Act: Included: All production and maintenance employees employed by Respondent at its facilities located in North Hollywood and Burbank, California. Excluded: Office clerical employees, non-working foremen, and supervisors as defined in the Act. 1905 employees; 2 and (b) by repudiating its collective-bargaining agreement in its entirety and unilaterally discontinuing benefits and abrogating provisions previously maintained on behalf of unit employees including, inter alia, vacation pay, severance pay, remittance of deducted union dues, and remittance of deducted deposits to the Furniture Workers' Federal Credit Union. The Respondent engaged in the above acts and conduct without prior notice to the Union and without having afforded the Union an opportunity to bargain as the exclusive representative of the Respondent's unit employees. By these acts and conduct, the Respondent has engaged in, and is engaging in, unfair labor practices affecting commerce within the meaning of Section 8(a) (5) and (1) and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act. Conclusions of Law By closing its facilities in North Hollywood and Burbank, California, without giving proper notice to the Union and without bargaining with the Union over the effects of the closing on the unit employees, and by repudiating its collective-bargaining agreement with the Union and unilaterally discontinuing benefits and abrogating provisions previously maintained on behalf of the unit employees, the Respondent has engaged in unfair labor practices affecting commerce within the meaning of Section 8(a) (5) and (1) and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act. 2 Even if the parties' collective-bargaining agreement did not expressly provide for bargaining over the effects on the unit employees of the Respondent's decision to close its North Hollywood and Burbank, California facilities, there is an independent statutory obligation to afford the Union notice and opportunity to engage in such bargaining. E.g., Willamette Tug & Barge Co., 300 NLRB No. 32 (Sept. 28, 1990). D--1905 Remedy Having found that the Respondent has engaged in certain unfair labor practices, we shall order it to cease and desist and to take certain affirmative action designed to effectuate the policies of the Act. We shall order the Respondent to cease repudiating its collectivebargaining agreement with the Union by discontinuing benefits and abrogating provisions previously maintained on behalf of unit employees. We shall also order the Respondent to make whole unit employees by paying them contractually required benefits, including, inter alia, accrued vacation and severance payments, remitting deducted union dues, and remitting deducted deposits to the Furniture Workers' Federal Credit Union, as set forth in the parties' collective-bargaining agreement. These sums shall be computed as prescribed in Ogle Protection Service, 183 NLRB 682 (1970), with interest to be computed as prescribed in New Horizons for the Retarded, 283 NLRB 1173 (1987). We shall also order the Respondent, on request by the Union, to bargain about the effects on unit employees of the Respondent's decision to close its facilities in North Hollywood and Burbank, California. Further, because the employees were displaced by the closings, thereby eroding the collective strength of the bargaining unit, we find it necessary to provide a remedy to recreate in some practicable manner a situation in which the parties' bargaining is not entirely devoid of economic consequences for the Respondent. Accordingly, we shall require the Respondent to pay backpay to its employees in a manner similar to that required in Transmarine Corp., 170 NLRB 389 (1968). Consequently, the Respondent shall pay unit employees who were displaced by the closings at the rate of their normal wages when last in the Respondent's employ from 5 days after the date of this Decision and Order until the occurrence of the earliest of the following conditions: (1) the date D--1905 the Respondent bargains to agreement with the Union on those subjects pertaining to the effects on unit employees of the closing of its facilities; (2) a bona fide impasse in bargaining; (3) the failure of the Union to request bargaining within 5 days of this Decision and Order, or to commence negotiations within 5 days of the Respondent's notice of its desire to bargain with the Union; or (4) the subsequent failure of the Union to bargain in good faith. In no event shall the sum paid to any of these employees exceed the amount they would have earned as wages from the date on which they were displaced, to the time they secured equivalent employment elsewhere, or the date on which the Respondent shall have offered to bargain, whichever occurs sooner; provided, however, that in no event shall this sum be less than these employees would have earned for a 2-week period at the rate of their normal wages when last in the Respondent's employ. Interest on all such sums shall be computed in the manner prescribed in New Horizons for the Retarded, supra. Finally, in light of the Respondent's closing of its North Hollywood and Burbank, California facilities, in addition to ordering posting at its Ridgefield, New Jersey facility, we shall order the Respondent to mail signed copies of the notice to the Union and to all individuals employed in the bargaining unit at the North Hollywood and Burbank, California facilities at the time of the Respondent's closing. ORDER The National Labor Relations Board orders that the Respondent, Purofied Down Products, Corp., Ridgefield, New Jersey, its officers, agents, successors, and assigns, shall 1. Cease and desist from D--1905 (a) Repudiating its collective-bargaining agreement with the Union by discontinuing benefits and abrogating provisions previously maintained on behalf of unit employees. (b) Failing to pay unit employees their contractually required benefits, including, inter alia, accrued vacation and severance payments, failing to remit deducted union dues, and failing to remit deducted payments to the Furniture Workers' Federal Credit Union, as set forth in the parties' collective-bargaining agreement. (c) Failing and refusing to bargain with the Union over the effects of the closing of the Respondent's facilities in North Hollywood and Burbank, California, on the unit employees in the following appropriate unit: Included:All production and maintenance employees employed by Respondent at its facilities located in North Hollywood and Burbank, California. Excluded: Office clerical employees, non-working foremen, and supervisors as defined in the Act. (d) In any like or related manner interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed them by Section 7 of the Act. 2. Take the following affirmative action necessary to effectuate the policies of the Act. (a) Make its unit employees whole by paying contractually required benefits, including, inter alia, accrued vacation and severance payments, remitting deducted union dues, and remitting deducted payments to the Furniture Workers' Federal Credit Union, as set forth in the parties' collective-bargaining agreement, in the manner set forth in the remedy section of this Decision and Order. (b) Make whole, in the manner set forth in the remedy section of this Decision and Order, any unit employees displaced from their jobs as a result D--1905 of the Respondent's closing of its facilities in North Hollywood and Burbank, California. (c) Bargain, on request, with the Union over the effects on unit employees of the closing of the Respondent's facilities in North Hollywood and Burbank, California, and reduce to writing any agreement reached as a result of such bargaining. (d) Preserve and, on request, make available to the Board or its agents for examination and copying, all payroll records, social security payment records, timecards, personnel records and reports, and all other records necessary to analyze the amount of payments due under the terms of this Order. (e) Post at its facilities in Ridgefield, New Jersey, and mail to the Union and to all unit employees employed at the Respondent's North Hollywood and Burbank, California facilities as of the time of the Respondent's unfair labor practices, copies of the attached notice marked ''Appendix. 13 Copies of the notice, on forms provided by the Regional Director for Region 31, after being signed by the Respondent's authorized representative, shall be mailed to the Union and the unit employees immediately upon receipt, and posted by the Respondent immediately upon receipt, and maintained for 60 consecutive days in conspicuous places including all places where notices to employees are customarily posted. Reasonable steps shall be taken by the Respondent to ensure that the notices are not altered, defaced, or covered by any other material. 3 If this Order is enforced by a judgment of a United States court of appeals, the words in the notice reading ''POSTED BY ORDER OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD'' shall read ''POSTED PURSUANT TO A JUDGMENT OF THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS ENFORCING AN ORDER OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONSBOARD.' D-- 1905 (f) Notify the Regional Director in writing within 20 days from the date of this Order what steps the Respondent has taken to comply. Dated, Washington, D.C. July 31, 1991 Dennis M. Devaney, Member Clifford R. Oviatt, Jr., Member (SEAL) John N. Raudabaugh, Member NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD D--1905 APPENDIX NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES Posted by Order of the National Labor Relations Board An Agency of the United States Government The National Labor Relations Board has found that we violated the National Labor Relations Act and has ordered us to post and abide by this notice. WE WILL NOT repudiate our collective-bargaining agreement with the United Steelworkers of America, AFL--CIO, CLC, Upholstery and Allied Industries Division, Local 500-U by discontinuing benefits and abrogating provisions previously maintained on behalf of unit employees. The appropriate unit is: Included: All production and maintenance employees employed by Respondent at its facilities located in North Hollywood and Burbank, California. Excluded: Office clerical employees, non-working foremen, and supervisors as defined in the Act. WE WILL NOT refuse to pay unit employees their contractually required benefits, including, inter alia, accrued vacation and severance payments, remit deducted union dues, and remit deducted payments to the Furniture Workers' Federal Credit Union, as set forth in our collective-bargaining agreement with the Union. WE WILL NOT fail and refuse to bargain with the Union over the effects on unit employees of the closing of our facilities in North Hollywood and Burbank, California. WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner interfere with, restrain, or coerce you in the exercise of the rights guaranteed you by Section 7 of the Act. WE WILL make unit employees whole, with interest, by paying them their contractually required benefits, including, inter alia, accrued vacation and severance payments, remitting deducted union dues, and remitting deducted payments to the Furniture Workers' Federal Credit Union and WE WILL make whole, in the manner directed by the Board, any unit employees displaced from their jobs as a result of the closing of our facilities in North Hollywood and Burbank, California. D--1905 WE WILL, on request, bargain with the Union over the effects on unit employees of the closing of our facilities in North Hollywood and Burbank, California, and WE WILL put it in writing any agreement reached as a result of such bargaining. PUROFIED DOWN PRODUCTS, CORP. (Employer) Dated By (Representative) (Title) This is an official notice and must not be defaced by anyone. This notice must remain posted for 60 consecutive days from the date of posting and must not be altered, defaced, or covered by any other material. Any questions concerning this notice or compliance with its provisions may be directed to the Board's Office, 11000 Wilshire Boulevard, Room 12100, Los Angeles, California 90024-3682, Telephone 213--209--7357.