Aluminum Casting & Engineering Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 16, 2001

334 N.L.R.B. 1 (N.L.R.B. 2001)

ALUMINUM CASTING & ENGINEERING CO. 1
Aluminum Casting & Engineering Co., Inc. and
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers
of America (UE). Cases 30–CA–12855, 30–CA–
12902, 30–CA–12943, 30–CA–12944, and 30–
CA–12949
May 16, 2001
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND ORDER
BY MEMBERS LIEBMAN, HURTGEN, AND
WALSH
On April 9, 1999, the Board issued a Decision and Or-
der in the above-captioned case.1 Subsequently, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
issued a decision in which the court enforced in part and
remanded in part for the Board to conform its Order to
the court’s opinion.2 The court enforced the Board’s
findings that the Respondent violated the National Labor
Relations Act by (1) discontinuing the Company’s prac-
tice of conducting annual wage surveys, and based
thereon, granting annual wage increases, because em-
ployees voted to select the Union as their collective-
bargaining representative; (2) failing to announce a wage
increase, telling employees that there will not be an an-
nual wage increase, and telling employees that the Union
is to blame for the failure to grant an annual wage in-
crease, all because employees voted to select the Union
as their collective-bargaining representative; (3) main-
taining a rule restricting employee solicitation that does
not clearly indicate that employees are permitted to en-
gage in solicitation during nonworking times; (4) solicit-
ing reports of employees who “pressure” employees into
supporting the Union; and (5) paying for damage to ve-
hicles for those employees who claim that the damage
was caused by union supporters. Contrary to the Board,
however, the court found that the Respondent did not
violate Section 8(a)(1) of the Act by including in its em-
ployee handbook the statement that it was the Respon-
dent’s “intention to do everything possible to maintain
our company’s union-free status for the benefit of both
our employees and [the Company].” In accordance with
the court’s opinion, we will delete that violation from our
prior Order and notice.
Before the Seventh Circuit, the Respondent also chal-
lenged the Board’s remedial backpay Order. That por-
tion of the Board’s Order states that the Respondent must
“[m]ake whole all employees who were not granted an-
nual wage increases in 1995 to date. . . .”3 The Respon-
dent argued that the Order is “inherently overbroad” in
that “the Board did not have before it the question of any
wage increases for years following 1995. . . . At most
. . . the order should address only the contested 1995 an-
nual increase.”4 The court noted that the Board’s Order

1 Aluminum Casting & Engineering Co., 328 NLRB 8 (1999).
2 NLRB v. Aluminum Casting & Engineering Co., 230 F.3d 286 (7th
Cir. 2000).
3 328 NLRB 8, 11 (emphasis added).
did not bind [the Company] to a perpetual practice of
granting this particular kind of wage adjustment. To
the contrary, it provided that “[t]he exact amounts of
the wage increases due employees shall be determined
in compliance proceedings, and shall be computed to
the extent appropriate. . . . At the compliance stage,
[the Company] shall be given the opportunity to estab-
lish that even if it had followed its normal practice con-
cerning annual wage increases, no increase would have
been given in a particular year.”5
The court also noted that it was unequivocally assured at
oral argument by Board counsel that “[the Company] would
have the opportunity during compliance proceedings to
show that it had completely abandoned across-the-board
adjustments as a tool of company policy, in favor of the
targeted merit, incentive, training, and development raises it
has touted in its briefs.”6 With that understanding, the court
found “that the Board’s order is entitled to enforcement.”7
We agree with the court’s interpretation of the Board’s Or-
der.
By letter dated February 15, 2001, the Board solicited
statements of the parties on the issues raised by the Sev-
enth Circuit’s remand. In statements of position filed
March 7 and March 1, 2001, respectively, both the Gen-
eral Counsel and the Company agreed that, in response to
the remand, “the Board need only modify its Order and
Notice consistent with the Court’s denial of enforcement
of the Section 8(a)(1) finding regarding the handbook . . .
[and that the] remedy will be addressed in compliance in
accordance with the understanding of the Court. . . .”
The National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
The Board has considered the Seventh Circuit’s re-
mand and the General Counsel’s and the Respondent’s
statements of position, and has decided to substitute the
attached Order and notice for those issued on April 9,
1999.
ORDER
The National Labor Relations Board conforms the Or-
der to NLRB v. Aluminum Casting & Engineering Co.,
230 F.3d 286 (7th Cir. 2000), and orders that the Re-
spondent, Aluminum Casting & Engineering Co., Inc.,
4 230 F.2d at 295.
5 Id. at 296.
6 Id.
7 Id.
334 NLRB No. 3
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 2
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, its officers, agents, successors,
and assigns, shall
1. Cease and desist from
(a) Discontinuing the Company’s practice of conduct-
ing annual wage surveys, and based thereon, granting
annual wage increases, because employees voted to se-
lect the Union as their collective-bargaining representa-
tive.
(b) Failing to announce a wage increase, telling em-
ployees that there will not be an annual wage increase,
and telling employees that the Union is to blame for the
failure to grant an annual wage increase, all because em-
ployees voted to select the Union as their collective-
bargaining representative.
(c) Maintaining a rule restricting employee solicitation
that does not clearly indicate that employees are permit-
ted to engage in solicitation during nonworking times.
(d) Soliciting reports of employees who “pressure”
employees into supporting the Union.
(e) Paying for damage to vehicles for those employees
who claim that the damage was caused by union support-
ers.
(f) In any like or related manner interfering with, re-
straining, or coercing employees in the exercise of the
rights guaranteed them by Section 7 of the National La-
bor Relations Act.
2. Take the following affirmative action necessary to
effectuate the policies of the Act.
(a) Rescind the unlawfully broad rule restricting em-
ployee solicitation.
(b) Make whole all employees who were not granted
annual wage increases in 1995 to date in the manner set
forth in the remedy section of the judge’s decision, as
modified by the Board’s decisions, and consistent with
NLRB v. Aluminum Casting & Engineering Co., 230 F.3d
286 (7th Cir. 2000).
(c) Preserve and, within 14 days of a request, make
available to the Board or its agents for examination and
copying, all payroll records, social security payment re-
cords, timecards, personnel records and reports, and all
other records, including an electronic copy of the records
if stored in electronic form, necessary to analyze the
amount of backpay due under this Order.
(d) Within 14 days after service by the Region, post at
its facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, copies of the at-
tached notice marked “Appendix.”8 Copies of this no-
tice, on forms provided by the Regional Director for Re-

8 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 Na-
tional Labor Relations Board” shall read “Posted Pursuant to a Judg-
ment of the United States Court of Appeals Enforcing an Order of the
National Labor Relations Board.”
gion 30, after being signed by the Respondent’s author-
ized representative, shall be posted by the Respondent
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 al-
tered, defaced, or covered by any other material. In the
event that, during the pendency of these proceedings, the
Respondent has gone out of business or closed the facil-
ity involved in these proceedings, the Respondent shall
duplicate and mail, at its own expense, a copy of the no-
tice to all current employees and former employees em-
ployed by the Respondent at any time since October 14,
1994.
(e) Within 21 days after service by the Region, file
with the Regional Director a sworn certification of a re-
sponsible official on a form provided by the Region at-
testing to the steps that the Respondent has taken to
comply.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the complaint is
dismissed insofar as it alleges violations of the Act not
specifically found.

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 vio-
lated the National Labor Relations Act and has ordered us to
post and abide by this notice.

Section 7 of the Act gives employees these rights.
To organize
To form, join, or assist any union
To bargain collectively through representatives
of their own choice
To act together for other mutual aid or protection
To choose not to engage in any of these protected
concerted activities.

WE WILL NOT discontinue our practice of conducting
annual wage surveys and, based thereon, granting wage
increases, because employees voted to select the United
Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)
as their collective-bargaining representative.
WE WILL NOT fail to announce an annual wage in-
crease, tell employees that they will not receive an an-
nual increase, or tell employees that the Union is to
blame for the failure to grant an annual wage increase, all
because employees voted to select the Union as their
collective-bargaining representative.
ALUMINUM CASTING & ENGINEERING CO. 3
WE WILL NOT maintain a rule restricting employee
solicitation that does not clearly indicate that employees
are permitted to engage in solicitation during nonwork-
ing times.
WE WILL NOT ask that you report employees who
“pressure” employees to support the Union.
WE WILL NOT pay for damage to vehicles for em-
ployees who claim that the damage was caused by union
supporters.
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 rescind the unlawfully broad rule that re-
stricts employee solicitation.
WE WILL make employees whole for the annual wage
increases that were unlawfully withheld from them.

ALUMINUM CASTING & ENGINEERING
CO., INC.