Northridge Knitting Mills, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 26, 1976

225 N.L.R.B. 1054 (N.L.R.B. 1976)

1054 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Northridge Knitting Mills, Inc. and Hermandad Gen-
eral de Trabajadores de Puerto Rico. Case 24-CA-
3460
August 26, 1976
DECISION AND ORDER
BY CHAIRMAN MURPHY AND MEMBERS FANNING
AND JENKINS
On March 23, 1976, the Board issued a Proposed
Decision and Order ' in this proceeding in which it
proposed finding that the Respondent, Northridge
Knitting Mills, Inc. , violated Section 8(a)(3) and (1)
of the Act by discharging employees Jose Ismael Ri-
vera Montalvo and Anselmo Torres Lugo and inde-
pendently violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act by coer-
cively interrogating , warning, and threatening its
employees. Thereafter the General Counsel and the
Respondent filed exceptions to the Proposed Order.
The Respondent also filed a brief in support of its
exceptions , and the General Counsel filed a response
to the Respondent 's exceptions to which the Respon-
dent filed a reply.
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 its Proposed Decision in
light of the exceptions and brief , and, in absence of
exceptions thereto, has decided to adopt its proposed
findings and conclusions on the allegations of the
complaint.
As noted , both parties have filed exceptions to the
Board ' s Proposed Order. The General Counsel ex-
cepts to the failure of the Board 's proposed Order to
provide for bilingual notices to employees , in Span-
ish and English . We find merit in this exception.
The Respondent excepts to the affirmative provi-
sions of the proposed Order which require the Re-
spondent to offer full and immediate reinstatement
to employees Jose Rivera and Anselmo Torres, with
backpay for any loss of pay suffered by reason of
Respondent 's unlawful conduct against them, and to
post appropriate notices and notify the Regional Di-
rector for Region 24, in writing, of the steps it has
taken to comply with the proposed Order . In support
of its exceptions, the Respondent asserts the claim
that it has ceased doing business and that it is unable
to carry out the affirmative provisions of the pro-
posed Order.
223 NLRB 230 (1976)
In its response, the General Counsel affirms that
the Respondent no longer operates its business in
Puerto Rico and further affirms that no other em-
ployer affiliated with the Respondent is presently en-
gaged in business in the Commonwealth. However,
the General Counsel requests that the proposed Or-
der should be modified to provide that Rivera and
Torres be made whole for any loss of pay and that
their names be placed on a preferential hiring list in
the event the Respondent or one of its affiliates re-
sumes operations in Puerto Rico. Furthermore, the
General Counsel requests that the bilingual notices
be mailed to all employees appearing on the
Respondent's payroll preceding its closing, or that
said notices be published in newspapers of general
circulation in the Commonwealth.
In reply to the General Counsel's response, the Re-
spondent asserts that it is financially unable to meet
any of the Order modifications recommended by the
General Counsel.
We find no merit in the Respondent's exceptions
inasmuch as they raise matters which can best be
resolved at the compliance stage of these proceed-
ings. And while the General Counsel confirms that
the Respondent and its affiliated Puerto Rican com-
panies have ceased doing business in the Common-
wealth, we note that the record shows that the Re-
spondent and its affiliated Puerto Rican companies
are apparently wholly owned subsidiaries of larger
enterprises, located outside the Commonwealth,
which customarily do business outside as well as
within the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Since it is
not clear whether the Regional Director has consid-
ered the foregoing evidence or the likelihood of the
Respondent or one of its affiliates reopening its
plants, we do not deem it appropriate at this time to
modify the reinstatement and backpay provisions of
our proposed Order, pending further proceedings at
the compliance stage. However, in view of the fact
that the Respondent's plant is presently closed, we
shall order it to mail copies of the Appendix, "Notice
to Employees," to the Union, to employees Jose Is-
mael Rivera Montalvo and Anselmo Torres Lugo,
and to each employee in its employ at the time of the
plant shutdown in May 1975. Finally, our remedial
Order shall also require that the notice be printed in
Spanish and English.
We also expressly reserve the right to modify the
backpay and reinstatement provisions of this Deci-
sion and Order if made necessary by a change of
conditions in the future following further proceed-
ings at the compliance stage, and to make such sup-
plements thereto as may hereafter become necessary
in order to define or clarify their application to a
specific set of circumstances not now apparent, or
225 NLRB No. 112
NORTHRIDGE KNITTING MILLS, INC 1055
which may arise following the compliance proceed-
ings herein.'
ORDER
Pursuant to Section 10(c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, as amended, the National Labor Re-
lations Board hereby orders that the Respondent,
Northridge Knitting Mills, Inc., San German, Puerto
Rico, its officers, agents, successors, and assigns,
shall:
1. Cease and desist from:
(a) Threatening its employees with discharge and
other reprisals if they become or remain members of
a union, or if they give assistance or support to it.
(b) Warning and directing its employees to refrain
from becoming or remaining members of, or give
support to, a union.
(c) Interrogating employees about their member-
ship in, activities on behalf of, or support for a union.
(d) Discouraging membership in, or activities on
behalf of, any labor organization by discharging em-
ployees or otherwise discriminating against them in
any manner, with regard to their hire and tenure of
employment, or any condition of employment, be-
cause of their union activities.
(e) In any other manner interfering with, restrain-
ing, or coercing any employee in the exercise of his
rights guaranteed by Section 7 of the Act.
2. Take the following affirmative action necessary
to effectuate the policies of the Act:
(a) Offer Jose Ismael Rivera Montalvo and Ansel-
mo Torres Lugo immediate and full reinstatement to
their former jobs or, if either job or both jobs no
longer exist, to substantially equivalent fobs, without
prejudice to their seniority or other rights previously
enjoyed, and make them whole for any loss of pay
due to the discrimination against them by awarding
them backpay from the date of their discharges to
such time as they receive a valid offer of reinstate-
ment, the computation of such moneys to be in ac-
cord with the Board's decision in P. W. Woolworth
Company, 90 NLRB 289 (1950), and Isis Plumbing &
Heating Co., 138 NLRB 716 (1962).
(b) Preserve and, upon 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
backpay due under the terms of this Order.
(c) Mail exact copies of the attached notice
marked "Appendix," 3 in both Spanish and English,
to the Union, Hermandad General de Trabajadores
de Puerto Rico, to employees Jose Ismael Rivera
Montalvo and Anselmo Torres Lugo, and to each
employee in its employ at the time of the plant shut-
down in May 1975. Copies of said notice, on forms
provided by the Regional Director for Region 24,
after being duly signed by an authorized representa-
tive of the Company, shall be mailed immediately
after receipt thereof.
(d) Notify the Regional Director for Region 24, in
writing, within 20 days from the date of this Order,
what steps Respondent has taken to comply here-
with.
2 Southland Manufacturing Corp, 157 NLRB 1356 (1966)
3In the event that 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 Relations Board "
APPENDIX
NOTICE To EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
An Agency of the United States Government
After a hearing in which all sides had an opportunity
to give evidence, the National Labor Relations
Board has found that we violated the National Labor
Relations Act and has ordered us to post this notice.
The Act gives all employees these rights:
To engage in self-organization
To form, join, or help unions
To bargain collectively through representa-
tives of their own choosing
To act together for collective bargaining or
other mutual aid or protection
To refrain from any or all these things.
WE WILL NOT discourage membership in, or
activities on behalf of, any labor organization by
discharging employees or otherwise discriminat-
ing against them in any manner, with regard to
their hire and tenure of employment, or any
term and conditions of employment, because of
their union activities.
WE WILL NOT threaten to discharge employees
or threaten other reprisals if employees join, or
remain members of, a union, or give support to
it.
WE WILL NOT warn and direct employees to
refrain from joining , or remaining members of, a
union , or giving support to it.
WE WILL NOT interrogate employees concern-
ing their membership in, activities on behalf of,
or support for a union.
1056 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
WE WILL NOT in any other manner interfere equivalent jobs, without prejudice to their se-
with, restrain, or coerce employees with respect niority or other rights, and we will make them
to their rights guaranteed in the Act. whole for any loss of pay suffered by reason of
WE WILL offer Jose Ismael Rivera Montalvo the unlawful conduct against them.
and Anselmo Torres Lugo immediate and full
reinstatement to their former jobs, or, if either NORTHRIDGE KNITTING MILLS, INC.
job or both jobs no longer exist, to substantially