Hillcrest Nursing Home

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 12, 1980

251 N.L.R.B. 59 (N.L.R.B. 1980)

HILLCREST NURSING HOME 5(
Alfred Satin d/b/a Hillcrest Nursing Home and
Florence Kirsch and Hillcrest Nursing Home
Employees Association, Party to the Contract,
and Local 875, International Brotherhood of
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Help-
ers of America, Party in Interest. Case 2-CA-
15727
August 12, 1980
DECISION AND ORDER
BY CHAIRMAN FANNING AND MEMBERS
JENKINS AND TRUESDALE
On April 29, 1980, Administrative Law Judge
Melvin J. Welles issued the attached Decision in
this proceeding. Thereafter, the General Counsel
filed exceptions and a supporting brief.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au-
thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
The Board has considered the record and the at-
tached Decision in light of the exceptions and
briefs and has decided to affirm the rulings, find-
ings, and conclusions of the Administrative Law
Judge and to adopt his recommended Order, as
modified herein.
The Adminstrative Law Judge found, inter alia,
that Respondent violated Section 8(a)(l) and (2) of
the Act by recognizing and entering into a contract
with Hillcrest Nursing Home Employees Associ-
ation at a time when the Association did not repre-
sent a majority of Respondent's employees in the
unit. The General Counsel excepts to the Adminis-
trative Law Judge's failure to find that such activi-
ty also violated Section 8(a)(3) as the contract en-
tered into contained a union-security clause. We
find merit in this exception.
The General Counsel alleged separately in the
complaint that Respondent violated Section 8(a)(3)
in that the union-security provision of the contract
does not comply with the requirements of Section
8(a)(3) of the Act.
The Administrative Law Judge found that the
language of the provision did not contravene the
proviso of Section 8(a)(3). He further found, how-
ever, that as the recognition of the Association was
unlawful, so was the entire contract, and he or-
dered that it be set aside. He saw no need, there-
fore, for a separate order respecting the union-secu-
rity clause. We disagree.
In a case such as this where an employer enters
into a collective-bargaining agreement containing a
union-security provision with a minority union, the
8(a)(3) violation derives from the same facts upon
which the 8(a)(2) violation is predicated, and
which were fully litigated here. The finding of a
251 NLRB No. 14
violation upon which an order will issue depends
not on whether or not the wording of the provi-
sion conforms to the proviso of Section 8(a)(3), but
on the fact that the existence of such a provision
discriminatorily encourages employees to join the
minority union.' We therefore find that the actions
of Respondent here violated Section 8(a)(3), as
well as Section 8(a)(2) and (1), and we shall pro-
vide the appropriate remedy of reimbursement to
employees for moneys paid to the Association for
dues, fees, and other obligations as a result of Re-
spondent's actions. 2
ORDER
Pursuant to Section 10(c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, as amended, the National Labor Re-
lations Board adopts as its Order the recommended
Order of the Administrative Law Judge, as modi-
fied below, and hereby orders that the Respondent,
Alfred Satin d/b/a Hillcrest Nursing Home, Spring
Valley, New York, its officers, agents, successors,
and assigns, shall take the action set forth in said
recommended Order, as so modified:
1. Insert the following as paragraph 2(b) and re-
letter the subsequent paragraphs accordingly:
"(b) Reimburse all present and former employees
for moneys paid by, or withheld from, them on or
after May 22, 1978, for initiation fees, dues, or
other obligations of membership in Hillcrest Nurs-
ing Home Employees Association, with interest
thereon computed in the manner provided in Flor-
ida Steel Corporation, 231 NLRB 651 (1977), and
Isis Plumbing & Heating Co., 138 NLRB 716
(1962)."
2. Substitute the attached notice for that of the
Administrative Law Judge.
Unal 7ril (Coli Sa , In, 234 NlRB 125h (Ig2 S)
2 Member Jnlklnrl, s l ss aIard Irs hacd n tihe tlnIat . forW111th
in hi, dist t Irr ()tcll - .in Odu a i ( 'rtotel ntO. 251 N Rl} N* - I Is()l
APPENDIX
NOTICE To EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
AN AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT
WE WIl.L NOT recognize Hillcrest Nursing
Home Employees Association or any succes-
sor thereto, as your exclusive bargaining repre-
sentative unless it has been certified by the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board as your exclusive
bargaining representative in an appropriate
unit.
HILLCREST NUR ING HOME q~~~
60 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL. LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
WE WIIL. NOT give effect to the agreement
we executed with the Hillcrest Nursing Home
Employees Association, or to any modifica-
tion, renewal, or extension of that agreement
unless the Hillcrest Nursing Home Employees
Association has been certified by the National
Labor Relations Board as set forth above.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner
interfere with, restrain, or coerce our employ-
ees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed to
them by the National Labor Relations Board.
WE wl.l. reimburse, with interest, all pres-
ent and former employees for moneys paid by,
or withheld from, them on or after May 22,
1978, for initiation fees, dues, or other obliga-
tions of membership in the Hillcrest Nursing
Home Employees Association.
WE WILL. withhold and withdraw all recog-
nition from Hillcrest Nursing Home Employ-
ees Association, or any successor thereto, until
it has been certified by the National Labor Re-
lations Board as your exclusive bargaining rep-
resentative in an appropriate unit.
ALFRED SATIN D/B/A HILLCREST
NURSING HOME
DECISION
STATEMENr OF THE CASE
MELVIN J. WELLES, Administrative Law Judge: This
case was heard at New York, New York, on February 5
and 6, 1979, based on charges filed June 17, 1978, and a
complaint issued August 31, 1978, and amended Septem-
ber 5, 1978, alleging that Respondent violated Section
8(a)(1), (2), and (3) of the Act. The General Counsel and
Respondent have filed briefs.
Upon the entire record in the case,' including my ob-
servation of the witnesses, and upon consideration of the
briefs, I make the following:
FINDINGS OF FACr
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPI.OYER AND HE LABOR
ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Respondent is a proprietary nursing home, with its
principal office and place of business at Spring Valley,
New York. It derives gross revenues in excess of
$100,000 each year. It also purchases and receives goods
and materials valued in excess of $10,000 annually from
points outside the State of New York. I find, as Re-
spondent admits, that it is an employer engaged in com-
merce within the meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the
i Pursuant to agreement hetwecn the General Couunsel and Respoird-
ent, (.C. Exhs. 10 hrough 16 are hereby received into evidence and in-
corporated into the transcript. The General Counsel's letter suhbmitting
the aforesaid exhibits and requesting the correction of certain errors in
the transcript is hereby designated as ALJ Exh I. arnd ;admitted i, ei-
dencc. and the corrections are made as requested
Act. Local 875, International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America, and
Hillcrest Nursing Home Employees Association are
labor organizations within the meaning of Section 2(5) of
the Act.
II. THE A.I.IEGEI) UNIAIR ABOR PRACTICES
A. The Issues and the Facts
The complaint alleges that Respondent, in April 1978,
formed and dominated the Association and entered into
an unlawful agreement with it, which contained a union-
security provision that did not conform to the proviso of
Section 8(a)(3) of the Act, thereby violating Section
8(a)(1), (2), and (3) of the Act. It also alleges that Re-
spondent threatened its employees with discharge if they
opposed the collective-bargaining agreement referred to
above in any way, and that it discharged Florence
Kirsch on May 4, 1978, because of her union activities
on behalf of Local 875 the previous year, and her oppo-
sition to the contract with the Association, thereby vio-
lating Section 8(a)(3) and (1) as to her.
B. Florence Kirsch-Facts
The fact that Respondent entered into a contract with
the Association containing a union-security provision is
admitted, as is the fact that Respondent did discharge
Kirsch on May 4, 1978. There is also no dispute as to the
"union activities" engaged in by Kirsch in 1977. At that
time, in September, she attended a meeting of Respond-
ent's employees at a Holiday Inn, with Local 875 dele-
gates present. She signed a Local 875 authorization card
then, and also successfully solicited another employee,
Rosemary Cervone, to sign a card. Cervone was a fellow
worker in the activities department. Kirsch spoke with
Saul Satin, the activities director and Kirsch's immediate
supervisor, a few days later. She approached Satin and
told him that his attitude had changed, and that it was
"quite impossible" to work under such conditions. He
told Kirsch he was disappointed in her because she did
not tell him about the Union coming in, that he owed
her something. Satin also asked her whether she had
signed a union card, and she said that she had. Following
that day, according to Kirsch, conditions changed in her
department from the former "congenial atmosphere" to
Saul Satin's being "grumpy" and insulting in front of
other staff.
On November 3, the Board conducted two elections at
Hillcrest, one for professionals and one for nonprofes-
sionals. The Union (Local 875) lost the former election
22 to 2 and the latter election 15 to 0. Kirsch stated, on
the stand, that she had voted against the Union.
Delores Husted, who was director of nurses for Hill-
crest for 5 years, ending in November 1977, testified cre-
dibly that Al Satin, Respondent's proprietor, asked her in
August 1977 if she could help him get the nurses into a
union. Husted subsequently told the nurses that Satin
would like them to unionize, but added that if they were
smart they would find one of their own. Husted thereaf-
ter attended a Local 875 organizational meeting at a
Holiday Inn, clearly the same meeting that Kirsch at-
HILLCREST NURSING HOME 61
tended, as Husted testified Kirsch was there and Kirsch
attended only one such meeting. Husted also testified to
promises of benefit and threats to close the facilities
made by management officials in relation to the union
campaign prior to the November election. She added
that the promises were implemented after the election.
On December 8, 1977, Carol Medwin was discharged.
She was a fellow employee of Kirsch in the activities de-
partment. Kirsch was given two warnings at that time by
Saul Satin. In one, she was told that another staff
member (clearly Medwin) was terminated in part be-
cause of Kirsch's "lack of discipline." On November 29,
1978, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit en-
forced a Board Order, entered pursuant to a formal set-
tlement, directing Respondent to make whole Carol
Medwin, Floranne Revak, and Gary Berlin, to post no-
tices, and to cease and desist from violating Section
8(a)(1) of the Act in various specified, and like or relat-
ed, ways or from discriminating against employees in
violation of Section 8(a)(3).
The next activity of any kind by Kirsch relating to
unions occurred late in April 1978. At a meeting called
by Alfred Satin to discuss a proposed contract with the
Association,2 a verbal exchange occurred between
Kirsch and Alfred Satin. Rosemary Cervone testified
that Kirsch said the raise for the activities department
employees specified in the contract was not sufficient.
Satin replied that they (activ ties department employees)
were being overpaid, and he could get "any of us for less
money." This was repeated back and forth several times.
Both Kirsch and Cervone referred to lack of job security
in their jobs, saying, "it was a swinging door in the ac-
tivity room." Satin said, "I will deal with that later."
Kirsch's testimony relative to this meeting was a bit un-
clear. According to her, Karen Gornstein told Al Satin
that the "girls were dissatisfied with the amount of
money they were getting as raises and he replied that
they were overpaid anyway and he wasn't giving any
more raises and that was it. And he said that we were all
a dime a dozen and that we could be replaced any-
time.... I said that without a good staff . . . your
rating wouldn't have been a good one and he sort of
shrugged it off and said, 'Well, you could be replaced
anytime.' And I said to him I notice the activity room
was a swinging door and he said 'I'll take care of that
later."' All this followed a protest by Kirsch prior to
Satin's coming to the meeting, 3 about the raise being too
small and that she did not like the idea of Alfred Satin
running the Association. Alfred Satin's testimony con-
firmed that Kirsch was not happy at that meeting with
her share of the increases. He denied telling anyone there
that they would be fired.
About a week or so later, on May 4, 1978, Kirsch was
discharged by Saul Satin. He testified that the discharge
"was a combination of many things." He proceeded by
referring to "excessive use of the phone," "her whole
character diminished upon the firing of Carol Medwin in
2 The Association had been recognized as the bargaining agent of a
professional group of Respondent's employees. The facts relating thereto
are set forth hereafter.
3 Kirsch testified that Alfred and Harry Satin were asked into the
meeting after some discussion among those present.
December," and the failure of a particular activities de-
partment program at the time of her discharge. Kirsch
testified that on May 4 Saul Satin told her, relative to the
just completed "art project" of the activities department,
that "it was a piss poor project." 4
There is a dispute as to the number of warnings given
to or received by Kirsch during her employment. Ac-
cording to Respondent, she received two warnings on
December 9, 1977, and one on each of 4 other days,
March 7, March 16, April 5, and April 27, 1978. Accord-
ing to Kirsch, only the December 9 warning was given
to her. Based on other testimony at the hearing to the
effect that warnings are placed in files without employee
knowledge, I believe Kirsch that she did not receive the
other warnings. It is clear to me, however, that the
warnings came from Respondent's personnel files, as
Saul Satin testified. Apparently, this involved the memo-
rializing of verbal warnings without showing the recipi-
ent of the verbal warning the written warning placed in
the files.
C. Florence Kirsch-Discussion
The General Counsel contends that Kirsch was dis-
charged on May 4, 1978, in retaliation for her union ac-
tivities on behalf of the Teamsters in September 1977,
and for questioning the legitimacy of Respondent's rec-
ognition of the Association in April 1978.
As noted in the facts, Kirsch's involvement on behalf
of the Teamsters, by her own testimony, consisted of at-
tending a meeting, signing a Local 875 authorization
card, and asking a coworker to do so. This occurred in
September 1977. Thereafter, she testified, she voted
against the Union at the November 3, 1977, election.
Seven months later, toward the end of April, Kirsch at-
tended the meeting called to discuss the proposed con-
tract between the Association and the Company. At
either an earlier meeting, or earlier that day before any
management official appeared, Kirsch had indicated her
view that she was not "too thrilled" with what was in
the contract, and that she "didn't like the fact that
Alfred Satin was running this Association." When Satin
was at the meeting, however, Kirsch's only complaints
were about the 10-cent-an-hour proposed increase being
insufficient, and the lack of job security.
The foregoing represents the sum total of Kirsch's pro-
tected activities. The testimony does show Alfred Satin
was not exactly enamored of Kirsch's activities on behalf
of the Teamsters prior to the election. However, her ac-
tivities were not those of a "ringleader"; she was not the
mainstay of the Teamsters organizational drive; she
merely signed a pledge card and got a fellow employee
in the activities department to sign one. Thus, whatever
resentment Respondent harbored toward Kirsch in Sep-
tember 1977 would have had to survive the overwhelm-
ing defeat of Local 875 in the Board-conducted election.
And by April 1977, that resentment over, Kirsch's long-
past and not very long-lasting union activities would
have had to be rekindled by Kirsch's mild objection to
I Kirsch conceded that the project wa a "failure," tesillfying also, h
aay f explanalion, that the activities department ',as not full 'taffed at
the tlime
HILLCREST NURSING HOME hi
62 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the amount of the pay raise in the Association's contract
under discussion in April 1978. The discussion itself oc-
curred at a meeting called for the purpose of employees'
voicing just such complaints, further diminishing the
likelihood of Satin's resenting Kirsch's attitude to the
extent of discharging her for it.
Against this extremely thin case, Respondent's de-
fenses appear at least tenable. Kirsch's admission that the
discharge was immediately following the failure of the
art project certainly makes the timing of the discharge a
factor somewhat more in Respondent's favor than in the
General Counsel's. (It occurred at least I week after the
meeting at which the interchange between Alfred Satin
and Florence Kirsch took place.) And the nature of Re-
spondent's complaints about Kirsch was not really refut-
ed by Kirsch, although her own testimony puts her in a
better light, quite naturally, than does Saul Satin's.
The General Counsel argues that Respondent's assert-
ed bases for Kirsch's discharge are "a morass of inconsis-
tencies." One aspect of this morass, asserts the General
Counsel, is the fact that the failed art project concluded
on Kirsch's last day of employment, May 4, but the only
warning notice relating to that project was dated April
27, 1978. Thus, asserts the General Counsel, Saul Satin
"purports to discipline on April 27, 1978, for an event
which had not yet occurred. Since that is impossible the
likely explanation is that the warning was prepared not
while the event was fresh in he mind of Saul Satin, but
long after Miss Kirsch was fired." Kirsch's own testimo-
ny, however, seems to show that the "failure of the art
project" referred to on May 4 concerned something dif-
ferent from the substance of the April 27 warning, even
as explained in Satin's testimony. At the very least, her
own testimony establishes that the "piss poor project"
did occur on the day of her discharge, not a week earli-
er.
The second major inconsistency seen by the General
Counsel is Saul Satin's testimony that Kirsch's attitude
changed after the firing of Carol Medwin taken in con-
junction with the words "lax attitude," referring to
Kirsch, in a letter of warning given her when Medwin
was discharged. As the testimony here occurred in Feb-
ruary 1979, concerning events in December 1977, 1 see
no horrible inconsistency in Satin's verbally dating
Kirsch's "laxity" from Medwin's discharge, and having
in writing dated it just before (and contributing to) that
discharge.
For all the foregoing reasons, I conclude that the Gen-
eral Counsel has failed to establish by a preponderance
of the credible evidence that Kirsch was discriminatorily
discharged, and shall dismiss this aspect of the com-
plaint.5
D. Respondent's Recognition of the Association-Facts
and Discussion
Alfred Satin, Respondent's owner and proprietor, testi-
fied that head nurse Karen Gornstein and charge nurse
Helen Weinbrecht approached him "several months"
' lnlikc the (General Counsel, I dlo not regard anything in the inter-
chmrigc hclueen Kirsch and Alfred Satin at the meeting in April as being
a threat o(f discharge, and I dismiss he K(a)(l) allegation of the complaint
rl 1 rspect.
before the Company signed a contract with the Associ-
ation (the contract was signed May 22, 1978) and asked
for "recognition." He told them they would "have to
show me." Gornstein and Weinbrecht left, returning
what "could have been" 3 months later with three lists
of signatures. Satin testified that he granted recognition
to the Association on the basis of these lists presented to
him by Gornstein and Weinbrecht.
The General Counsel contends that this recognition
was violative of Section 8(a)(l) and (2) of the Act. He
argues that the Association never commanded numerical
majority support, so that Respondent's recognition of it
was unlawful under the principle of International Ladies'
Garment Workers' Union, AFL-CIO [Bernhard-Altman
Texas Corp.] v. N.L.R.B., 366 U.S. 731 (1961). He asserts
that, even if it should be found that the Association had
a numerical majority at any pertinent time, the signatures
were procured by supervisors, and hence are invalid.
Further, asserts the General Counsel, the undated lists of
names relied upon by Respondent as showing the Associ-
ation's majority cannot be so used as the "designation"
thereon was of separate individuals, not the Association,
with these individuals the very supervisors who pro-
cured the signatures. Finally, the General Counsel con-
tends that the grant of recognition was unlawful because
Respondent's activities "in the aggregate rise to the level
of domination."
None of the three lists forming the basis for recogni-
tion is dated, nor does any of the signatures on them
have a date appended. Each list contained the typewrit-
ten words "We designate" followed by three lines on
which to insert a name or names, and then the words,
also typewritten, "to represent us to negotiate a contract
with the Hillcrest Nursing Home." The first list, with the
names "Karen Gornstein RN" and "Helen Weinbrecht
RN" appearing following the "We designate," contains
17 signatures. At the hearing, it was agreed by counsel
that I of the 17 names, the last one on the list, was inde-
cipherable. (I have not been able to do any better.) The
second list, with "A. Berman RN" written in, contains
five signatures, and the third list, with "I. Stewart" writ-
ten in, contains three signatures, including Irene
Stewart's. 6
Also, in evidence are five company weekly payroll
records, one each for the months of December 1977 and
January through April 1978 for weeks ending about the
middle of each of the months. The payrolls contain the
names of all Respondent's employees, including supervi-
sory personnel, and each has well over 200 names. Based
on the testimony at the hearing, the exhibits, and various
stipulations, it is plain that the number of people in the
recognized unit was somewhere in the neighborhood of
50 in each of the months.
I consider first the question whether the Association
represented a majority of the unit employees when Re-
spondent recognized it. Ascertaining the precise date of
recognition is, as will be seen, an impossible task. It is
difficult enough to narrow the possibilities down on a
T his third list also contained the following "(1. Jones-declined
signing J Hill)" apparently in Hill's writing, as "Joan Hill RN" appears
directl hbelos the quoted parenthetical notation.
HILLCREST NURSING HOME 63
given month. Respondent argues that the payroll for the
period ending January 15, 1978, should be used, claiming
that the evidence "tends to establish" that the designa-
tions were signed during January. The General Counsel,
on the other hand, asserts that April was the most likely
month of recognition. Karen Gornstein and Helen Wein-
brecht both testified that they obtained the designations
in late November or early December, and that recogni-
tion was accorded the Association at that time, with ne-
gotiations with Satin beginning "in late November"
(Gornstein), and in January, with the Association bar-
gaining with the Company "from January until April"
(Weinbrecht). These two witnesses, as well as Irene
Stewart, were admittedly vague and confused about
dates.
Lorna Jones testified that she first heard about the As-
sociation in the spring of 1978, later modifying that to
"between the end of the winter and spring." She was
"pretty sure" that this occurred less than 3 months
before the April 27 meeting. The third list of names, the
one designating I. Stewart has the notation "(L. Jones-
declined signing J. Hill RN)" between the second and
third (last) signatures on that list. It is clear therefore
that when Jones "heard" about the Association was
when this list was offered to her and she would not sign
it.
John Burke, who assisted the "girls" with their con-
tract proposals, testified that 'le visited the nursing home
once or twice a week following his mother's admission
to the home on February 16, 1978. He said that when
"the girls found out that I was a retired union official,
they told me that they had an organization, and they
wanted to draft a contract, so they asked me if I would
do so, and I was very happy to do it because if could
make some friends for my mother I was very happy to
do that." He testified to having had two sessions with
the "entire unit," as well as to sessions with Al Satin,
with the Committee with him. -Burke testified that the
original proposals to Satin were made in April. It is
clear, therefore, that the testimony of Gornstein and
Weinbrecht about negotiations beginning in November
or December, or even January, is far off the mark. Burke
only started visiting the nursing home after February 16,
and it would have taken at least some time for "the
girls" to find out he had expertise in negotiating con-
tracts. Alfred Satin himself was so vague and (admitted-
ly) unclear and uncaring about precise dates as to make
his recollections and estimates scarcely worth consider-
ing.
Based on the testimony of all witnesses, it does not
seem likely that recognition was afforded the Association
until at least late March or early April. As the three lists
of signatures were also undated, I can only presume that
they (the lists) would have been turned over to Satin
very shortly after the signatures on them were obtained,
and therefore (bolstered in this view by Lorna Jones' tes-
timony) that they were signed in late March or early
April. I, accordingly, reject the January date of recogni-
tion urged by Respondent, in favor of an April or March
date. I will analyze whether there was a valid majority
with references to all 4 months, however, in light of the
uncertainty that still remains. '
There is a serious question whether the lists of signa-
tures have any validity at all in terms of proving a ma-
jority for the Association. For, as noted above, the
words "We designate" are followed by two names
(Gornstein and Weinbrecht) on one list, and one more
each (Berman and Stewart, respectively) on the other
two, with no mention of "Association." However, al-
though I am inclined to the view that undated signatures
on undated lists with no union or organization of any
kind signified thereon are not valid proof of majority, the
burden here is on the General Counsel to show lack of
majority. 7 This burden, for reasons set forth below, has
been met.
As noted above, the 3 lists contain a total of 25 signa-
tures. One of them cannot be counted for it is illegible.
Respondent argues that three of the four committeewom-
en, Gornstein, Weinbrecht, and Berman, should also be
counted, even though they did not sign the lists (Stew-
art, the fourth designee, did sign list number three). The
General Counsel contends that 4 of the 24 identifiable
signers were in fact supervisors, and therefore cannot be
counted. These four are Laverdi, Hill, Tolentino, and
Foley. The General Counsel also would exclude Jacobs
on the ground that she was an office employee and office
employees were not part of the contract unit. Also at
issue is whether some of the names on the payroll should
be counted as in the unit in I or more months. Two of
those named, Dealca and Trevisone, signed the lists.
To begin with, I reject the Company's contention that
Gornstein, Weinbrecht, and Berman should be counted
as if they signed the lists. I have no doubt but that these
three were in favor of something, probably their own
designation as representatives of the employees to negoti-
ate a contact. But Alfred Satin's testimony precludes
their inclusion as part of any possible majority. He relied
on signatures on the lists, not on some sort of "phantom
designation." And that is the question I am now attempt-
ing to resolve, whether there was a majority of signa-
tures in any of the 4 possible recognition months.
Various exhibits, stipulations, and testimony, taken to-
gether, clearly support the General Counsel's contention
that the signatures of Laverdi, Hill, Tolentino, and Foley
should not be counted toward the Association's majority.
As to Hill and Tolentino, the stipulation between counsel
for Respondent and counsel for the General Counsel ex-
plicitly states each to have been a supervisor at all mate-
rial times, and this stipulation is confirmed by perform-
ance evaluations for each that were introduced into evi-
dence. As to Laverdi and Foley, they were at all materi-
al times "in-service directors." This job classification was
described by Josephine Choe, Respondent's director of
nurses, as "directing all in-service continuous education
for the staff." And the job description of the "in-service"
director category shows "to supervise and guide all nurs-
ing personnel on all wings" as part of the functions of
that category. I shall accordingly not count the signa-
tures of Laverdi, Hill, Foley, or Tolentino in determin-
I Arguably, with Respondent's owner, Alfred Satin, having testified
that he granted recognition solely on the basis of these lists, their being
insufficient to demonstrate a majority is enough to carry the General
Counsel's burden
HILLCREST NURSING HOME
64 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ing whether the Association had a majority. Counsel also
stipulated that Harriet Jacobs was secretary to the direc-
tor of nurses at all material times. And Harry Satin testi-
fied that "office help," listed as Code No. 0302 on pay-
roll records, were not part of the unit. Although Jacobs
appeared under Code No. 0302 only in the April payroll,
I accept the stipulation of the parties that she was a clerk
at all material times, and therefore do not count her sig-
nature toward the Association's majority. The only other
questions with respect to those employees who signed
the lists involve Dealca and Trevisone. The payrolls in
evidence seem to show that Dealca's employment ended
on March 11, 1978, and that Trevisone's employment
ended on March 25, 1978. If that is so, neither signature
could be counted in April, and Dealca's could probably
not be counted in March. I consider these two along
with the rest of the employees whose inclusion in the
unit for purposes of a numerical count presents a prob-
lem in 1 or more months.
The January 1978 payroll contains 57 names with code
numbers indicating they are part of the unit. Three of
these names are agreed by the parties (in their briefs) not
to be in the unit-Choe, director of nurses, Adler, assist-
ant director of nurses, and Saul Satin, agreed to be a su-
pervisor. And I have already concluded that Hill's, La-
verdi's, Tolentino's, Foley's, and Jacobs' designations
cannot count toward a majority showing for the Associ-
ation; naturally, they are not counted in terms of unit
size either.
These resolutions lower the unit size to 49 and the
number of legible signatures on the lists to 19. There re-
mains to be resolved the status of signers Dealca and
Trevisone, as mentioned above, as well as of nonsigners
Bergstrom, Burton, Faulls, Nack, and Revak, all of
whom Respondent would exclude from the unit on the
ground that they were last paid prior to the January pay-
roll in evidence. The General Counsel would include
Revak in the unit on the ground that she was a discri-
minatee in the earlier settled case. The General Counsel
takes no firm position with respect to Dealca, Nack,
Trevisone, and Bergstrom, pointing out that although
they were not paid during some of the months involved,
other personnel records indicate that they may have
been employed at material times.
I agree with the General Counsel that Revak should
be included in the unit for purposes of determining the
Association's majority, or lack thereof, on any particular
date, on the basis of the settlement agreement. Although
a settlement agreement may not be used for purposes of
establishing a violation of the Act, as noted above, it
may be used to establish "eligibility" in an election, a for-
tiori, to establish "eligibility with respect to determining
a majority or lack thereof without an election. It is true
that the settlement agreement here did not provide for
Revak's reinstatement, but only for backpay. But the
backpay for Revak covered the period from her dis-
charge in December through July 24, 1978, a period that
embraced all possible dates in which the Association's
majority status could be at issue. In effect, then Revak
was paid for the full period, and it must be presumed
that she would have been at work during that period.
Accordingly, I deem Revak properly included in the
unit.
As to the other four, payroll records indicate that
Bergstrom was last paid on December 25, 1977; Dealca
on March 11, 1978; Nack on December 4, 1977, and
Trevisone on March 25, 1978. As to Dealca, there is a
vacation request dated June 30, 1978, in the file, as well
as indication of absences in October and December 1978.
As to Bergstrom, there is evidence of an evaluation for
the period from June to December 1978. And as to
Trevisone, there is no evidence of any employee separa-
tion form in the file. The fact that Dealca and Bergstrom
were employed again in June 1978, or shortly thereafter,
does not prove their presence during any of the payroll
periods in question for which they were not paid, nor is
it sufficient to establish that they were in some sort of
status that carried with it a reasonable expectation of re-
employment. The lack of a separation form in the file for
Trevisone is also not a sufficient basis for concluding
that she was on the payroll during the months in ques-
tion (in her case, during April), particularly in the ab-
sence of evidence showing that separation forms were
always utilized for a departing employee. As to Nack,
however, company records indicate that she returned
from a 6-month maternity leave in July 1978. Under set-
tled law, she must be counted as part of the unit during
the intervening months.
As to Burton, the payroll record for January 1978 in-
dicates at one point that she was last paid in December
1977. However, subsequent payroll records show a last
payment to her on February 4, 1978. Accordingly, she
was in the unit in January, but not thereafter. Finally,
payroll records show clearly that Faulls should be ex-
cluded in March and April; Shakleford in February,
March, and April; and Helen Sontag in February.
March, and April.
There are also, based on the payroll records, additions
to the unit-of Sisterenik for the months of March and
April, and Farley for the month of April. With these ad-
ditions, and recapping all the foregoing resolutions as to
which employees were in the unit in each of the 4
months, and how many of them can be counted toward
the Association's majority, the following figures emerge:
In January, the Association had 19 signers out of 47 in
the unit; in February, it had 19 signers out of 44 in the
unit; in March it had 18 signers out of 43 in the unit; and
in April, it had 17 signers out of 43 in the unit.
In sum, whether January, as urged by Respondent,
April, as urged by the General Counsel, or February or
March, the other two "possible" months during which
recognition could have been granted, is utilized as the
appropriate month to determine the Association's major-
ity status, it is plain that no such status is shown. The
most names on the list that are countable toward the As-
sociation's majority at any time are 19. And the least
number of employees in the unit in any of the 4 months
is 43. Even counting the three nonsigner designees,
Gornstein, Weinbrecht, and Berman for the Association
would not alter this result. The figures in that event
would show as ollows: January-22 out of 47; Febru-
HILLCREST NURSING HOME 65
ary-22 out of 44; March-21 out of 43; and April-20
out of 43.
As the evidence demonstrates that the Association was
not the majority representative of the employees at any
material time, Respondent has violated Section 8(a)(1)
and (2) of the Act by recognizing it and entering into a
contract with it.
I do not conclude, however, that Respondent's con-
duct in this case, in all the circumstances, amounted to
domination of the Association. Perhaps, Respondent wel-
comed the Association as a buffer against future organi-
zational efforts by Local 875. But liking, or even accept-
ing with open arms, a particular labor organization, is
not unlawful unless the accepted labor organization is
not entitled to recognition. As the latter is the case here,
I have found that Respondent violated the Act. The
other bases upon which the General Counsel relies in
urging a finding of "domination" are the alleged supervi-
sory status of Gornstein, Weinbrecht, Berman, and Stew-
art; assistance to the Association in collecting signatures
on company time and property; making nursing home
premises available for Association meetings; and the fact
that the Association did not "function normally." The
evidence fails to establish to my satisfaction that the four
employees were supervisors at pertinent times, under the
standards set forth by the Board in Wing Memorial Hos-
pital Association, 217 NLRB 1015 (1975). Nor does the
evidence show that signature; were collected on work-
time, the testimony is to the contrary-viz, Weinbrecht's
testimony that she collected signatures on "my coffee
break," not on worktime. The "meetings" for which
nursing home premises were "made available" were ne-
gotiation meetings, meetings between management and
the Association to discuss the proposed contract. There
is nothing untoward about that. The evidence relied
upon by the General Counsel to show that the Associ-
ation did not "function normally' seems to consist pri-
marily of what is quite confusing testimony by Director
of Nurses Josephine Choe, who clearly did not under-
stand the questions being asked in some respects. For
these reasons, I conclude that the General Counsel has
not established a case of domination.
E. The Alleged Unlawful Union-Security Clause
A final allegation of the complaint is that the union-
security clause of the May 22, 1978, agreement did not
comply with the requirements of Section 8(a)(3)'s provi-
so.
The contract in evidence contains a union-security
clause reading as follows: "As a condition of employ-
ment, all employees covered by this Agreement shall,
(90) days after the date of execution hereof or hiring
become members of the Association and remain members
during the term of this Agreement." The words "execu-
tion hereof or" are written in ink, not typed. It seems to
me that the General Counsel may have seen a typed ver-
sion of the contract without the interlineated words, for
he stated in his brief that the clause requires "member-
ship 90 days after hiring." Be that as it may, I do not
read the clause as being in contravention of the 8(a)(3)
proviso in terms of its language, as I believe a "which-
ever is later" is the purport of the provision, and there
was no litigation of this point. Of course, as I have found
that Respondent's recognition of the Association was un-
lawful, so was the entire contract that followed recogni-
tion, including its union-security clause. And, as I shall
order that the contract be set aside and recognition with-
drawn, there is no need for a separate order respecting
the union-security clause in any event.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. Local 875 and Hillcrest Nursing Home Employees
Association are labor organizations within the meaning
of Section 2(5) of the Act.
2. By recognizing and signing a contract with Hillcrest
Nursing Home Employees Association for certain of its
employees, Respondent has engaged in and is engaging
in unfair labor practices affecting commerce within the
meaning of Section 8(a)(1) and (2) and Section 2(6) and
(7) of the Act.
THE REMEDY
Having found that Respondent has engaged in certain
unfair labor practices, I shall recommend that it cease
and desist therefrom and take certain affirmative action
to effectuate the policies of the Act.
Upon the foregoing findings of fact, conclusions of
law, and the entire record, and pursuant to Section 10(c)
of the Act, I hereby issue the following recommended:
ORDER8
The Respondent, Alfred Satin d/b/a Hillcrest Nursing
Home, Spring Valley, New York, his agents, successors,
and assigns, shall:
1. Cease and desist from:
(a) Recognizing Hillcrest Nursing Home Employees
Association or any successor thereto as the representa-
tive of any of his employees for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining unless or until said labor organization
shall have been certified by the National Labor Relations
Board as the exclusive representative of such employees
in an appropriate bargaining unit.
(b) Giving effect to the agreement with the Associ-
ation executed May 22, 1978, or any modification, re-
newal, or extension thereof unless and until it has been
certified as the exclusive bargaining representative by the
Board.
(c) In any like or related manner interfering with, re-
straining, or coercing employees in the exercise of their
rights under Section 7 of the Act.
2. Take the following affirmative action necessary to
effectuate the policies of the Act:
(a) Withhold and withdraw all recognition from Hill-
crest Nursing Home Employees Association, or any suc-
cessor thereto, until it has been certified in the manner
aforesaid by the National Labor Relations Board.
In the event no exception,s arc filid ais pros ided h Se, 1i)2 4h of the
Rules and Regulations of the Naltionlal lthbor Relatiol, Btard. the finld-
ings. conlusil,,s, and recomimended Order heret hall, a provided in
Sec 1024 of the Rule and Regulation. be adopted h he I Board and
beconle its indlilgs. cit;luionll, illd ()rder, aind 11 lhlCl iJctlol thereto
shall he deemed 'W ai ed fotr all purpose,
HILLCREST NURSING HOME
66 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
(b) Post at its Spring Valley, New York, place of busi-
ness copies of the attached notice marked "Appendix." 9
Copies of the notice, on forms provided by the Regional
Director for Region 2, after being duly signed by an au-
thorized representative of the Company, shall be posted
9 In the event that the Board's 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 "Poslted
Pursuant to a Judgment of the United States Court of Appeals Enforcing
an Order of the National Labor Relations Board."
immediately upon receipt thereof and maintained by it
for 60 consecutive days thereafter, in conspicuous places,
including all places at all locations where notices to em-
ployees are customarily posted. Reasonable steps shall be
taken by the Company to insure that the notices are not
altered, defaced, or covered by any other material.
(c) Notify the Regional Director for Region 2, in writ-
ing, within 20 days from the date of this Order, what
steps Respondent has taken to comply herewith.