Petition for Writ of Certiorari — Local 1814, International Longshoremen's Ass'n v. National Labor Relations Board
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| iy Otic. Sprem Court, U.S,
a Ss
84-358 ‘a
SEP 5 1984
No. |
—rr STEVAS, |
IN THE 4
Supreme Court of the United States
OcrToBER TERM, 1984
LOCAL 1814, INTERNATIONAL
LONGSHOREMEN’S ASSOCIATION,
Petitioner,
Vv.
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
JACKSON ENGINEERING COMPANY, INC.,
Petitioner,
Vv.
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO
THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
*Rosert H. Bocucki
ANTHONY T. ScoTTo
TinA PELuso
Bocucki, DiCHIARA & SCOTTO
26 Court Street
Brooklyn, New York 11242
(212) 875-7762
Counsel for Petitioner,
Local 1814, International
Longshoremen’s Association
*Counsel of Record
QUESTIONS PRESENTED
1. Whether under Section 8 of the National Labor Relations
Act, 29 U.S.C. 158, common law principles of agency may be
applied to impute to a labor organization the concealed criminal
acts of an officer in accepting illegal employer payments under
29 U.S.C. 186 (b) when there is no substantial evidence that
the officer intended to benefit the labor organization.
2. Whether a labor organization may be found to have
violated Section 8(b)(1)(A) of the Act, 29 U.S.C. 158(b)(1)(A)
solely on the basis of the concealed criminal acts of an officer,
despite a finding by the Board that at all times the labor
organization vigorously represe1ited an uncoerced majority of
the employer’s employees.
3. Whether a labor organization must, when a union officer
is accused of accepting employer payments in violation of 29
U.S.C. 186(b), act contrary to the national labor policy and
discipline that officer or risk a judgment that it ratified and con-
doned the officer’s criminal acts.
4. Whether the Board exceeded its jurisdiction by applying
typical unfair labor practice remedies in an atypical fashion in
order to redress the criminal conduct of an officer of a labor
organization.
PARTIES
The petitioner, Local 1814, International Longshoremen’s
Association, AFL-CIO, is an unincorporated labor organiza-
tion representing longshoremen and allied craft workers in the
Port of New York. It is a subordinate unit of the International
Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO.
In accordance with Rule 21(b), it should be noted that all
of the parties in the court below are listed in the caption. Jackson
Engineering Company, Inc. has not petitioned for a writ of
certiorari.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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REASONS FOR GRANTING THE PETITION...
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
CASES:
Allen v. NLRB, 561 F.2d 976 (D.C. Cir. 1977) ..
Conair Corporation v. NLRB, 721 F.2d 1355
ee a EDS vs Sic ach a bk Case Cees
Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197
Sara ct aia cy 4 Ae Re
ILGWU v. NLRB, 366 U.S. 731 (1961) .........
Intalco Aluminum Corp. v. NLRB, 417 F.2d 36
rrr rr ee rr rere rer
International Distribution Corp. v. American
District Telephone Co., 569 F.2d 136 (D.C.
STE 0a GN Eb Rae ws
International Longshoremen and Warehousemen’s
Union, 79 N.L.R.B. 1487 (1948) .............
Local 60, Carpenters v. NLRB, 365 U.S. 651
SEE: 6idvnkevndas cons Cee ee eae
Melton v. United States, 488 F. Supp. 1066
ate SE 66-4446 BWA e Sa nee ae dees
Morrison-Knudsen Co. v. NLRB, 276 F.2d 63
ks re ey ee
NLRB V. Burke Oldsmobile Inc., 285 F.2d 14
(Qnd Cir. 1961) ............cecceceeeeeeeees
NLBB v. District 50, UMW, 355 U.S. 453 (1958) .
NLRB v. Gissel Packing Co., 395 U.S. 575 (1969)
NLBB v. Hollywood-Maxwell Co., 126 F.2d 815
Ss ns PE LAS Ak cae Gaara bee eae es
NLBB v. Mark J. Gerry, Inc., 355 F.2d 727 (9th
Cir. 1966), cert. denied, 385 U.S. 820 (1966) ..
NLBB v. Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines, 303
2% frre ere re
PAGE
iv
NLBB vw. U.S. Steel Corp., 278 F.2d 896 (3rd
Cir. 1960), cert. denied, 366 U.S. 908 (1961) ..
NLRB v. Vernitron Electrical Components, Inc.,
FA § Fi oe A epererrerrere cere
Park Transfer Co. v. Lumberman’s Mutual
Casualty Co., 142 F.2d 100 (D.C. Cir. 1944) ..
Phelps Dodge Corp. v. NLRB, 313 U.S. 177
COORD oa ices tx én sa c0onvcvdusebvinsactacana
Republic Steel Corp. v. NLRB, 311 U.S. 7 (1940)
Scotto v. Waterfront Commission, No. 5580 81
(Sup. Ct. Sept. 19, 1980), aff'd, 78 A.D. 2d
686 (2d Dept. 1980), leave to appeal denied, 51
N.Y. Ge TOD COORD ww ccc scr enensaescnsen
United States v. Jalas, 409 F.2d 358 (7th Cir.
rer ere errr rere re
United States v. Ricciardi, 357 F.2d 91 (2d Cir.),
cert denied, 384 U.S. 942 (1966) .............
United States v. Ryan, 350 U.S. 299 (1956) ......
United States v. Scotto, 641 F.2d 47 (2d Cir.
1980), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 961 (1981) ......
Universal Camera Corp. v. NLRB, 340 U.S. 474
GRUNBED 5 54 uous caas cease seb eseesavaenseewews
Virginia Electric & Power Co. v. NLRB, 319 U.S.
ee Cn 6g koh 6g seks cn 04540 cuesnss
Wirtz v. Local 153, Glass Bottle Blowers, 389
U.S. 463 (1968) .. 2.2 eee
13
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16
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STATUTES AND RULES:
PAGE
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ae U.5.C. § RBBAT) (ROTE) . . ccc cens 2
. 29 U.S.C. § 141, et seg. (1976) ................ 2
29 U.S.C. § 151, et seg. (1976) ................ 2
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29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1) (1976)................... passim
29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(2) (1976) ................... passim
29 U.S.C. § 158(b)(1)(A) (1976) ..... 2.2.0.0... passim
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9, 10,
11, 15
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29 U.S.C. § 504(a)(1) (1976)............0.00... ll
29 U.S.C. § SO04(c) (1976) ... 0... en 10, ll
BO Wes UO Sas nc csi cccn cae ccisens 1]
N.Y. Unconsol. Laws § 9933 (McKinney 1974) ... 10
RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF AGENCY (1958)
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No.
em met os
IN THE
Supreme Court of the United States
Octroser TERM, 1984
LOCAL 1814, INTERNATIONAL
LONGSHOREMEN'’S ASSOCIATION,
Petitioner,
Vv.
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
JACKSON ENGINEERING COMPANY, INC.,
Petitioner,
Vv.
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO
THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
Petitioner, Local 1814, International Longshoremen’s Associa-
tion, AFL-CIO, prays that a writ of certiorari issue to review
the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit enforcing an order of the National
Labor Relations Board (“Board”) which, upon a finding that
the petitioner violated Section 8(b)(1)(A) of the National Labor
Relations Act (“Act”), 29 U.S.C. 158 (b)(i)(A), directed
withdrawal of employer recognition, abrogation of the collec-
tive bargaining agreement between the petitioner and the
employer and petitioner’s reimbursement of dues and initiation
fees to employees of the employer.
OPINION BELOW
The opinion of the Court of Appeals (App. A, infra, la-47a)
is not yet officially reported.
JURISDICTION
The Court of Appeals filed its opinion and entered judgment
against petitioner on May 15, 1984. A timely petition for rehear-
ing and suggestion for rehearing en banc was denied, without
opinion on July 23, 1984. A copy of the orders of denial are
printed at App. B, infra, 48a-49a. By its order of August 17,
1984, the Court of Appeals stayed issuance of its mandate, under
Fed. R. App. P. 41, pending application to this Court for a writ
of certiorari. The jurisdiction of this Court is invoked under 28
U.S.C. 1254 (1).
STATUTES INVOLVED
The relevant provisions of the National Labor Relations Act,
29 U.S.C. 151 et. seq., the Labor Management Relations Act,
29 U.S.C. 141 et. seq. and the Labor Management Reporting
and Disclosure Act of 1959, 29 U.S.C. 504 are set forth in App.
E, infra, 125a-128a.
STATEMENT
This case has its origins in a jurisdictional dispute between
the petitioner and Local 17, IUMSWA over the representation
of employees of the Jackson Engineering Company, Inc.
(“Jackson” or the “employer”) with which the petitioner had
BF Seber AMT a eS OH
a previous and ongoing collective bargaining relationship. ' After
unsuccessfully pleading its case under the AFL-CIO’s jurisdic-
tional dispute resolution procedures, Local 17 filed unfair labor
practice charges against the petitioner and Jackson alleging
violations of Sections 8(b)(1)(A) and 8(a)(1)(2), respectively, of
the National Labcs Relations Act, as amended, (“Act”), 29
U.S.C. 158 (b)(1)(A), (a)(1)-(2).
A complaint issued and, subsequently, the Board’s General
Counsel issued an amended complaint focusing on concealed
payments made by the president of Jackson (Seregos) to the peti-
tioner’s vice-president (Anastasio) as a commission for referr-
ing ship repair work to Jackson. Those concealed payments
violated Section 302(b) of the Labor Management Relations Act,
1947, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 186(b).?
After full hearings, the Board’s Administrative Law Judge
(“ALJ”) found that Seregos was acting as Jackson’s agent when
he made the concealed payments and that Anastasio was ac-
ting as the petitioner’s agent when he accepted them. The ALJ
concluded that Seregos’ payments violated Section 8(a)(2) of the
Act, which prohibits interference with the administration of any
' Prior to 1975, Jackson’s employees were not represented by any labor
organization. In September 1975, the petitioner’s predecessor, Local 1277-1,
ILA, obtained signed authorization cards from a majority of Jackson's
employees and Jackson, thereupon, recognized the union as the exclusive
bargairng representative for its employees. Effective November 3, 1975
througt November 3, 1978, Jackson was party to an industry-wide collective
bargaining agreement between the petitioner's predecessor and other ship
repair companies. In March 1978, Local 1277-1, ILA merged into the peti-
tioner labor organization. Jackson was also party to the succeeding industry
agreement which became effective in November, 1978. App. C, infra, 53a-57a.
* Anthony Scotto and Anthony Anastasio, the president and vice-president,
respectively, of the petitioner labor organization, were prosecuted and con-
victed under 18 U.S.C. 1962(c)(d), for conducting and conspiring to conduct
the affairs of an enterprise (union) through a pattern of racketeering activity
predicated upon multiple misdemeanors under 29 U.S.C. 186(b), each of
which consisted of the receipt of money from an employer paid without in-
tent to influence the officers in respect to any of their actions,decisions or
duties. See United States v. Scotto, 641 F.2d 47 (2d Cir. 1980), cert. denied,
452 U.S. 961 (1981). The predicate Section 186(b) offenses are non-mens rea
misdemeanors. United States v. Ryan, 350 U.S. 299, 305 (1956); United States
v. Ricciardi, 357 F.2d 91 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 384 U.S. 942 (1966).
labor organization or the contribution of financial or other sup-
port to it, and that Anastasio’s acceptance of the concealed
payments violated Section 8(b)(1)(A), which makes it an un-
fair labor practice for a labor organization to restrain or coerce
employees in the exercise of their statutory rights. The relief
recommended by the ALJ was limited, however, to a cease and
desist order that Jackson would not thereafter make concealed
payments to the petitioner and that the petitioner would not
thereafter receive such payments, and to the posting of notices
to that effect. App. C, infra, 109a-110a.
Subsequently, the Board issued its Decision and Order affir-
ming, inter alia, the ALJ’s findings of fact and conclusion that
the concealed payments violated Sections 8(a)(2)-(1) and
8(b)(1)(A) of the Act. The Board further found that the par-
ties’ modification of an existing collective bargaining agreement
to accommodate the establishment of a new shipyard opera-
tion was “tainted” by the illegal concealed payments. Based on
that finding, the Board drastically expanded the scope of the
remedy to include: (1) withdrawal of employer recognition of
the petitioner; (2) abrogation of the collective bargaining agree-
ment, as modified; and (3) the refund of all dues and initiation
fees to employees of the employer who joined the Union after
the effective date of the modification agreement. App. D, in-
fra, 115a-119a.
Both the petitioner and Jackson petitioned the United States
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for review
of the Board’s Decision and Order. The Board moved for con-
solidation of the two cases and for enforcement of its order.
The Court of Appeals, with one judge dissenting, held that the
Board’s order should be enforced. A petition for rehearing and sug-
gestion for rehearing en banc was denied. App. B, infra, 48a-49a.
REASONS FOR GRANTING THE PETITION
1. The court below characterized the issues raised in this case
as “legal questions of considerable importance and some novel-
ty.” App. A, infra, 2a. Its decision, with Wald, J. dissenting,
is of equai significance by virtue of its inevitable impact upon
the continued viability of the fundamental premises of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act.
APD, ARB DARD DURES 2 a eR a
5
The indisputable core of the Act is the right of workers to
bargain collectively through representatives chosen by a ma-
jority. 29 U.S.C. 157, 159(a), Conair Corp. v. NLRB, 721 F.2d
1355, 1381-82 (D.C. Cir. 1983), App. A, infra, 4a. The deci-
sion below affirms a decision and order of the Board (App. D,
infra) which effectively eviscerates that policy by an ad hoc and
tortuous application of the principles of ordinary agency law
to achieve a desired result, i.e. the remediation of what the
Court of Appeals described as a “... truly stark case of corrup-
tion in labor-management relations.” App. A, infra, 2a. It falls
to this Court to reaffirm the national labor policy and reject
the substitution of the Board’s “big brother” judgment for a ma-
jority of employees’ express choice of collective bargaining
representative. See Conair, supra 721 F.2d at 1379.
The court below held that the acceptance of employer
payments by two of the petitioner’s highest officers in violation
of 29 U.S.C. 186(b) could properly be attributed to the Union
and, thereby, serve as predicates for the unfair labor practice
charged. App. A, infra, 3a. It based its imputation of liability
to the Union for the criminal acts of its officers upon the ap-
plication of the “scope of employment” doctrine and a finding
that the Union “benefitted” by Anastasio’s acceptance of
payments from Seregos. App. A, infra, 19a, 2la-23a.
In determining whether the acts of an individual may be im-
puted to a labor organization, the Board is bound by the “or-
dinary law of agency.” Int7 Longshoremen and Warehousemen’s
Union, 79 N.L.R.B., 1487 at 1507, quoting 93 Cong. Rec. 7001
(June 12, 1947) (remarks of Sen. Taft). Ordinary agency law
recognizes that an act may be within the scope of employment
even though it is criminal. See RESTATEMENT (Second) OF
AGENCY Section 231 (1958). However, a criminal act by an
employee is not within the scope of employment if it is not done
to benefit the employer. See id. Section 235. The act of any in-
stitution’s employees or officers may be imputed to the institu-
tion only when “it is actuated, at least in part, by a purpose
to serve the [institution].” See id. Section 228 (1)(c). See also
International Distribution Corp. v. American District Telephone
Co., 569 F.2d 136 (D.C. Cir. 1977); Park Transfer Co. v.
Lumberman’s Mutual Casualty Co., 142 F.2d 100 (D.C. Cir.
1944); Melton v. United States, 488 F.Supp. 1066 (D.D.C. 1980).
In this case, the sine qua non to a determination that Jackson
violated Section 8(a)(1)-(2) and the petitioner, Section 8(b)(1)(A),
is a finding, supported by substantial evidence, that Anastasio was
acting as the petitioner’s agent when he accepted illegal payments
from Seregos. The court below characterized the agreement bet-
ween Seregos and Anastasio as having four interlocking facets,
to wit: (1) The Company would voluntarily recognize the Union;
(2) the Company would check-off union dues and initiation fees
and fund a variety of fringe benefits; (3) the Union would steer
business to the Company; and (4) Anastasio would be paid a com-
mission for the business referred to Jackson. App. A, infra,
29a-23a. Yet, no substantial evidence was adduced that Anastasio
intended to serve the interests of the petitioner. *
The ALJ found that: (1) the record was devoid of any evidence
that Anastasio was authorized by the petitioner to obtain addi-
tional business for employers and to enter into arrangements for
payment from the employer for such referrals; (2) there is no
evidence that the petitioner received any of the monies paid by
Jackson through Seregos to Anastasio; and (3) there was no
evidence that the petitioner received any other tangible benefits
from such payments. App. C, infra, 85a. The Board disregard-
ed, but did not dispute those findings. As the dissent below ac-
curately observed:
“The solicitation and acceptance of kickback payments
here appear in no way to have been motivated by the
officials’ desire to serve their union. Instead it appears
from the evidence that Scotto and Anastasio simply ex-
ploited their powerful positions as ILA officials.” App.
A, infra, 45a.
> Conceptually, the kickback arrangement consisted of two parts: (1) Scotto
and Anastasio referred business to Jackson and (2) Seregos made cash payments
to Anastasio, which Anastasio accepted for himself. Under Section 8(a)(1)-
(2) and Section 8(b)(1)(A) of the Act, there is nothing unlawful about union
leaders referring work to a signatory employer. The court below found that
A ay Nate my <b
I ET OR ob oI
Perhaps, recognizing the gossamer texture of its application
of ordinary agency principles to this case, the court below found
refuge in the Board’s determination that the collective bargain-
ing relationship betv zen the petitioner and Jackson was
“tainted” ab initio* (App. A, infra, 21a) and that the temporal
confluence of Anastasio’s acceptance of some employer payments
while the parties were negotiating the modification of an ex-
isting collective bargaining agreement to accommodate a new
shipyard operation further supported an inference of “taint”.
Acceptance of the decision of the Board and the court below
would ,therefore, decree in similar cases a greater emphasis on
the application of the ordinary principles of agency law rather
than the principles themselves. Such a result can only penalize
the union victim rather than the officer wrongdoer.
2. In affirming the decision and order of the Board, the court
below held that a labor organization may be found to have
violated Section 8(b)(1)(A) of the Act, 29 U.S.C. 158(b)(1)(A),
solely on the basis of the concealed criminal acts of an officer
(cont.)
the petitioner “benefitted” from the arrangement through: (1) Jackson's
recognition of the union; (2) the concommitant extension of the petitioner's
representation of ship repair workers; and (3) the extension of its strength
and authority on the waterfront. App. A, infra, 2la-22a. But assuming arguen-
do, that such benefits accrued to the petitioner, they did not result from
Anastasio’s acceptance of payments from Seregos. Both benefits resulted from
referrals of business to Jackson, the lawful part of the arrangement.
*The court below described the Anastasio-Seregos arrangement as involving
the referral of business as a quid pro quo for Jackson’s recognition of the peti-
tioner. App. A, infra, 21a. If the Board had considered Jackson's recognition
of the petitioner as such a quid pro quo, presumably, it would have considered
all of Jackson’s collective bargaining agreements with the petitioner to have
been tainted and would have required the petitioner and Jackson to reim-
burse all of Jackson’s employees for dues, intitiation fees and other member-
ship obligations paid since 1975. However, the Board carefully restricted its
reimbursement remedy to those members who joined the union after
September 5, 1979. App. D, infra, 118a. Thus, in the Board’s judgment,
Jackson's recognition of the petitioner was not an element of the kickback
arrangement.
in accepting illegal employer payments despite uncontradicted
findings that at all times the labor organization vigorously and
effectively represented an uncoerced majority of the employer's
employees. As the dissent below accurately observed, this case
apparently represents the first time that the Board has applied
the Section 8(a)(2) proscription of financial and other support
of unions by employers to a scheme of individual corruption
involving kickback payments that in no way benefitted the union
as an entity. App. A, infra, 43a. Taken to its logical extremity,
the decision below grants the Board extraordinary power to
abrogate under Section 8(a)(1) and Section 8(b)(1)(A) virtual-
ly any collective bargaining agreement or relationship temporal-
ly coincident with corrupt dealings between a representative
of the employer and an officer of the union, despite uncon-
tradicted findings that the agreement or relationship was unaf-
fected by such criminal acts.
Section 7 of the Act guarantees employees the right to col-
lectively bargain through representatives of their own choos-
ing. 29 U.S.C. 157. Section 8(b)(1)(A) makes it an unfair labor
practice “... to restrain or coerce (A) employees in the exercise
of ...” their Section 7 rights. The ALJ found that the petitioner
at all times represented an uncoerced majority of Jackson's
employees. App. C, infra, 79a, 102a, 105a. The Board adopted
those findings but subsumed them in an overriding and unsup-
ported inference of “taint”. App. D, infra, 112a, 114a. In the
absence of demonstrable coercion, a necessary element of a Sec-
tion 8(b)(1)(A) violation, the court below adopted the Board’s
inference of “taint” of the collective bargaining relationship bas-
ed upon the concurrent, though without evidentiary basis, facts
of the illegal payments and negotiation for modification. * App.
\
5 Since the Board’s decision and order rest upon its factual conclusion that
the kickback arrangement “tainted” the parties relationship and the modified
collective bargaining agreement, the substantial evidence rule requires en-
forcement of the Board’s order only if supported by “... substantial evidence
on the record considered as a whole.” 29 U.S.C. 160(f); Allen v. NLRB, 561
F.2d 976, 978 (D.C. Cir. 1977). Although “the ‘substantial’ evidence stan-
dard is not modified in any way when the Board and its examiner disagree
A, infra, 33a. That inference is wholly inconsistent with the
uncontradicted fact that: (1) the petitioner at all
times represented an uncoerced majority of Jackson’s employees;
(2) the petitioner vigorously and effectively represented Jackson’s
employees in collective bargaining; (3) negotiations for the
modification were conducted without the participation of the
individuals involved in the kickback scheme; (4) the negotia-
tions for modification were conducted with the participation
of and ratified by the employees of Jackson; and (5) the collec-
tive bargaining agreement, as modified, contained greater
benefits than those found in comparable shipyard industry
agreements, as well as the agreement between the charging par-
ty at the Board and the previous owner of the shipyard. App.
C, infra, 105a-106a.
The dissent below flawlessly described the legal and logical
vagaries of the Board’s approach to the Section 8(b)(1)(A) viola-
tion herein as follows:
“If the Board’s decision in this case is based on its con-
clusion that concealed kickback payments of this kind
to high union officers are inherently coercive and
necessarily taint the bargaining relationship, then the
Board has introduced a major innovation in the law
‘of labor relations permitting massive government in-
tervention into collective bargaining relationships in
the absence of any evidence of coercion or lack of ma-
jority status.” App. A, infra, 46a-47a.
If the decision below is permitted to stand, it will stand for
the proposition that employees forfeit their Section 7 rights to
engage in collective bargaining through representatives of their
own choosing solely because an officer of their union has ac-
cepted payments in violation of 29 U.S.C. 186(b).
(cont.)
... the evidence supporting a conclusion may be less substantial when an im-
partial, experienced examiner who has observed the witnesses and lived with
the case has drawn conclusions different from the Board's than when he has
reached the same conclusion.” Universal Camera Corp. v. NLRB, 340 U.S.
474, 496 (1951).
10
3. The court below decided, inter alia, that the petitioner should
be held responsible for the concealed criminal acts of two of its
highest officers, not only on the grounds that the illegal payments
were exacted in the scope of the officers’ employment and that
the petitioner benefitted from the kickback arrangement, but also
on the ground that the petitioner condoned and acquiesced in those
criminal acts by allowing the officers to retain their positions for
more than two years after their indictment.* App. A, infra, 8a.
It would appear that the elasticity of the logic of the decision below
on the agency question was prompted, in part, by the court's
misperception of the record and, more significantly, its failure
to consider the petitioner's actions in the context of the national
labor policy ennunciated in Section 504 of the Labor Manage-
ment and Disclosure Act of 1959, 29 U.S.C. 504.
Section 504 provides that no person may hold union office after
conviction of enumerated crimes. An officer is under the disability
of “conviction” only “ ... from the date of judgment of the trial
court or the date of the final sustaining of such judgment.on ap-
peal, whichever is the later event.” 29 U.S.C. 504(c) (emphasis
added).
Two of the petitioner's officers were indicted in January, 1979
for violations of 18 U.S.C. 1962 predicated on violations of 29
U.S.C. 186(b). None of the charges were factually related to
Jackson with whom the petitioner, through 2 predecessor local
* That conclusion by the court below was obviously based upon erroneous
perceptions of the facts surrounding Scotto and Anastasio’s retention in of-
fice. First, the two union officers were never, as suggested by the Court of
Appeals (App. A, infra, 9a) ordered or sentenced by the trial judge in the
RICO prosecution to forfeit their union office. See United States v. Scotto,
supra, 641 F.2d at 50, n.1. Second, Scotto and Anastasio were not “replaced
by elections” until almost two years after the superceding indictment (App.
A, infra, 8a), but rather resigned their union offices in November, 1980 as
a result of their unsuccessful state court actions involving the application of
the Waterfront Commission Act, N.Y. McK. Unconsol. Laws, Section 9933;
See Scotto v. Waterfront Commission, No. 5580 81 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Sept. 19,
1980), aff'd, 78 A.D. 2d 1980, 686 (2d Dept. 1980), leave to appeal denied,
51 N.Y. 2d 709 (1980).
Scotto and Anastasio’s petition for a writ of certiorari to this Court was
not denied until June 22, 1961.
- a.
. ee
ta" -
11
union, had maintained a collective bargaining relationship since
1975. In June 1979, the petitioner commenced negotiations with
Jackson for modification of an existing collective bargaining
agreement to accommodate a substantially new and different
ship repair operation which would create additional and more
regularized employment for the petitioner’s members. App. C,
infra, 106a. In July 1979, a superceding indictment was filed
charging Anastasio with accepting illegal employer payments
from Jackson between 1978 and early July 1979 in violation of
29 U.S.C. 186(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1962. The court below found
that at that point a “truly upright” union would have taken
“some disciplinary action” against the accused union officers. ?
App. A, infra, 23a.
The petitioner, mindful of the potential for real and/or ap-
parent conflict in the negotiations for modification of the col-
lective bargaining agreement, removed the accused officers from
participation in those negotiations. App. C, infra, 106a. Any
action by the petitioner in July or September, 1979 to remove
or suspend the accused officers would only have been predicated
upon the accusations of a federal grand jury. To adopt the
reasoning of the court below vis a vis the petitioner’s failure to
take precipitous disciplinary action would be to postulate that,
notwithstanding 29 U.S.C. 504(a)(c), a labor organization must,
upon the indictment of its officers for violations of 29 U.S.C.
186({b), undertake to discipline the accused officers or risk a fin-
ding of acquiescence, condonation, ratification and, by exten-
sion, agency. We know of no decision or statutory authority
for imposing such a requirement upon a labor organization.
’ By suggesting that the petitioner was obligated to commence some form of
disciplinary action against Scotto and Anastasio after their indictment, the
court below ignores the federal labor policy against unnecessary governmen-
tal intervention in internal union affairs. Wirtz v. Local 153, Glass Bottle
Blowers, 389 U.S. 463 (1968). Moreover, while 29 U.S.C. 529 prohibits a union
from imposing discipline on its members for certain protected activity, it does
not purport to delineate the circumstances in which the union is required to
impose discipline. See also, United States v. Jalas, 409 F.2d 358 (7th Cir. 1969).
12
It is submitted that the court below erred in finding the peti-
tioner responsible for the concealed criminal acts of certain of
its officers by reason of petitioner’s failure to take disciplinary
action against them after indictment and prior to the final sus-
taining of a judgment of conviction on appeal.
4. By affirming the Board’s remedial order, the court below
has approved an unprecedented extension of the Board’s jurisdic-
tion to the remediation of labor union corruption and, concom-
mitantly, grants the Board authority to remedy such corrup-
tion by the punitive and atypical application of traditional un-
fair labor practice remedies.
The Board is empowered “... to prevent any person from
engaging in an unfair labor practice ...”, 29 U.S.C. 160(a) and
shall “... take such action ... as will effectuate the policies of
[the Act] ...”. 29 U.S.C. 160(c). Although the Board has con-
siderable discretion in fashioning a remedy for unfair labor prac-
tices, the Board’s power is “remedial, not punitive.” Con-
solidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 236 (1938). Ac-
cord, Local 60, Carpenters v. NLRB, 365 U.S. 651, 655 (1961).
The Board’s remedial power is limited to restraining violations
of the Act and “removing or avoiding the consequences of viola-
tion when those consequences are of a kind to thwart the pur-
poses of the Act”. Local 60, Carpenters, supra, 365 U.S. at 655,
quoting Consolidated Edison Co., supra, 305 U.S. at 236.
In this case, the Board adopted the ALJ’s recommended order
that the petitioner cease and desist from accepting payments
from Jackson for the referral of business to Jackson or, from
otherwise accepting financial or other support and assistance
from Jackson and that the petitioner post a notice to that ef-
fect. The Board also ordered extraordinary relief that the ALJ
had rejected. The Board ordered the petitioner: (1) to cease ac-
ting or purporting to act as the exclusive collective bargaining
representative of Jackson’s employees;* (2) to cease performing
* The Board has consistently approved of an employer's voluntary recogni-
tion of a labor organization as the exclusive collective bargaining represen-
tative, provided the labor organization represents an uncoerced majority of
—— a _
13
or giving effect to the collective bargaining agreement, as
modified in 1979;* and (3) together with Jackson, ® to reimburse
Jackson’s present and former employees for dues, initiation fees
and other membership obligations paid pursuant to the 1979
modified collective bargaining agreement. ''
(cont.)
the employer's employees in an appropriate bargaining unit . See NLRB v.
Gissel Packing Company, 395 U.S. 575, 595-600 (1969). Correlatively, the
Board may order withdrawal of such recognition where a labor organization
does not represent an uncoerced majority of unit employees. See, e.g. IL-
GWU vw. NLRB, 366 U.S. 731 (1961); NLRB v. Pennsylvania Greyhound
Lines, 303 U.S. 261 (1938). However, when the Board strips a labor organiza-
tion of its status of collective bargaining representative based on a Section
8(a)(2) or 8(b)(1)(A) violation, it penalizes the labor organization and violates
the employees’ Section 7 rights if the labor organization represents an uncoerc-
ed majority of unit employees. Ironically, the only authority cited in the deci-
sion below for the premise that an employer's bribery of a high union officer
constitutes an unfair labor practice also decries the disestablishment of a union
because it penalizes the employees by destroying their union and, thereby,
constitutes a “perversion and frustration” of the purposes for which the Act
was created. See, NLRB v. Hollywood-Maxwell Co., 126 F.2d 815 at 824
(9th Cir. 1942).
*Since “the Act gives no express authority to the Board to invalidate contracts,”
Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, supra, 305 U.S. at 235, such sanctions
may be permissible, but only if the agreement itself is unlawful or if there
is some causal connection between the contract being invalidated and the un-
fair labor practice found by the Board. See also, NLRB v. Vernitron Elec-
trical Components, Inc. , 548 F.2d 24, 27 (1st Cir. 1977); NLRB v. Mark J.
Gerry, Inc., 355 F.2d 727, 730-731 (9th Cir. 1966), cert denied, 385 U.S.
820 (1966); NLRB ». U.S. Steel Corp., 278 F.2d 896 (3rd Cir. 1960), cert
denied, 366 U.S. 908 (1961); Morrison-Knudsen Co. v. NLRB, 276 F.2d 63,
7€ (9th Cir. 1960), quoted with approval in Local 60, Carpenters v. NLRB,
supra, 365 U.S. at 655-656.
Joint liability with Jackson for reimbursement of dues is illusory. On
February 18, 1983, an involuntary petition was filed against Jackson under
Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (Bankruptcy No. 183-30347-21) in the
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of. New York. That
proceeding is pending.
'' Absent the factual finding that employees were directly coerced into pay-
ing dues and initiation fees, the Board-ordered direct reimbursement of such
payments is punitive and contrary to the purposes of the Act, even if such
14
The Court of Appeals’ approval of the Board’s reme: ial order
appears, again, to be solely predicated upon its conclusion that
“this is a truly stark case of corruption in labor management
relations.” App. A, infra, 2a. It held that the remedies ordered
by the Board bear a “reasonable relation” to the violations found
(App. A, infra, 4a), irrespective of their uaprecedented and
novel application to the Section 8(a)(1), 8(a)(2) and 8(b)(1)(A)
violations which were the subject of the Board proceedings. The
underlying premises of the Court of Appeals’ characterization
of the relationship between the violations and the Board ordered
remedies is its conclusion that: “Like its highest officers
themselves, the Union’s representation of Jackson employees had
been thoroughly corrupted.” App. A, infra, 38a. That premise
and conclusion is unsupported by the Record.
Stripped of its logomachistic veneer, the decision of the court
below and its approval of the remedy fashioned by the Board
is based, not upon the Board’s administrative competence,
remedial discretion or specialized expertise, but rather its im-
plicit approval of the Board’s desire to broaden its statutory man-
date to include the rooting out of labor union corruption.
(cont.)
payments are required by the unlawful union security clause or other provi-
sions of an unlawful collective bargaining agreement. See e.g., Local 60,
Carpenters, supra; Intalco Aluminum Corp. v. NLRB, 417 F.2d 36, 40-43
(9th Cir. 1969); NLRB v. Burke Oldsmobile Inc., 285 F.2d 14, 16-17 (2nd
Cir. 1961). This Court observed in Local 60, Carpenters, supra, 365 U.S.
at 655-656:
“Where no membership in the union was shown to be influenc-
ed or compelled by reason of any unfair practice, no ‘consequences
of violation’ are removed by the order compelling the union to
return all dues and fees collected from the members; and no
‘dissipation’ of the effects of the prohibited action is achieved.
The order in those circumstances becomes punitive and beyond
the power of the Board. As Judge Pope said in Morrison-Knudsen
Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, 9 Cir., 276 F.2d 63, 76,
‘reimbursing a lot of old-time union men’ by refunding their dues
is not a remedial measure in the competence of the Board to im-
pose, unless there is support in the evidence that their member-
ship was induced, obtained, or retained in violation of the Act.”
15
The Board’s charter was not intended to include the imposi-
tion of sanctions upon labor organizations whose highest officers
have accepted employer payments in violation of 29 U.S.C.
186(b). The Board has no special expertise in discovering or
remediating this type of corruption. By enacting 29 U.S.C. 186,
the Congress delegated those functions to other branches of the
executive and the judiciary.
The majority in the court below, responding to the dissent'’s
characterization of its decision as an impermissible extension of
the Board’s powers to intervene and dissolve collective bargain-
ing relationships engendered by corruption, seeks to limit its ap-
proval of the Board’s remediation efforts to the facts of this case.
App. A, infra, 4la-42a, n.29. In fact, however, violations of 29
U.S.C. 186 are neither novel nor unprecedented. What is novel
and unprecedented is the imposition of a remedy which:
“...penalize[s] not the culprits but the Union and its
members who are, as far as we can tell from the
record, only innocent bystanders to the wrongdoing.”
App. A, infra, 47a.
The punitive and inappropriate character of the Board's order
is especially evident upon consideration of the impact of its en-
forcement upon the petitioner. The petitioner, and _ its
predecessor local union, vigorously represented Jackson's
employees since 1975 — but will find its recognition withdrawn.
The petitioner negotiated the modification of an agreement
which resulted in regularization of employment for Jackson’s
employees and the creation of hundreds of new jobs — but will
find its collective bargaining agreement abrogated. The peti-
tioner expended its treasury monies, manpower and expertise
in negotiating terms and conditions of employment in excess
of comparable shipyard agreements — but will be required to
severally reimburse hundreds of thousands of dollars in dues
and initiation fees to Jackson employees, who freely chose the
petitioner as their collective bargaining representative.
The court below suggests that the Board’s remedial efforts
be “viewed pragmatically”. App. A, infra, 27a. Viewed
16
pragmatically, the Board’s wholly inappropriate application of
its arsenal of remedies to the facts of this case does not effec-
tuate the policies of the Act and is, therefore, punitive and
unlawful. See Local 60, Carpenters v. NLRB, supra; Virginia
Electric & Power Co. v. NLRB, 319 U.S. 533 (1943); Republic
Steel Corp. v. NLRB, 311 U.S. 7 (1940); Phelps Dodge Corp.
v. NLRB, 313 U.S. 177 (1941); NLRB v. District 50, UMW,
355 U.S. 453 (1958).
If the decision below is permitted to stand, it will constitute
an impermissible and unjustified extension of the Board’s
jurisdiction to the remediation of labor union corruption.
CONCLUSION
The petition for a writ of certiorari should be granted.
Respectfully submitted,
*ROBERT H. BOGUCKI
ANTHONY T. SCOTTO
TINA PELUSO
BOGUCKI, DiCHIARA « SCOTTO
26 Court Street
_ Brooklyn, New York 11242
(212) 875-7762
Counsel for Petitioner,
Local 1814, International
Longshoremen’s Association,
AFL-CIO
*Counsel of Record
APPENDIX A
la
Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication
in the Federal Reporter or U.S.App.D.C. Reports. Users are requested
to notify the Clerk of any formal errors in order that corrections may be
made before the bound volumes go to press.
United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
No. 83-1113
LOCAL 1814, INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMEN’S
ASSOCIATION, AFL-CIO, PETITIONER
Vv.
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, RESPONDENT
No. 83-1117
JACKSON ENGiNEERING COMPANY, INC., PETITIONER
v.
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, RESPONDENT
Petition for Review of an Order of the
National Labor Relations Board and
Cross-Application for Enforcement
Argued November 10, 1982
Decided May 15, 1984
Bills of costs must be filed within 14 days after entry of judgment. The
court looks with disfavor upon motions to file bills of costs out of time.
2a
James M. Altman, with whom David Jaffe was on the
brief, for petitioner in No. 88-1113. Howard Schulman
also entered an appearance for petitioner.
Andrew E. Zelman, with whom Ellen R. Mandelbaum
was on the brief, for petitioner in No. 83-1117.
Allison W. Brown, Jr., Attorney, National Labor Rela-
tions Board, with whom Elliott Moore, Deputy Associate
General Counsel, was on the brief, for respondent in Nos.
83-1113 and 83-1117.
Before: WILKEY and WALD, Circuit Judges, and MAC-
KINNON, Senior Circuit Judge.
Opinion for the Court filed by Senior Circuit Judge
MACKINNON.
Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge WALD.
MACKINNON, Senior Circuit Judge: This is a truly
stark case of eorruption in labor-mangement relations.
Presented to this Court are legal questions of consider-
able importance and some novelty: the responsibility of
a union that obtains a union shop agreement from an
employer as part of a corrupt agreement to pay the
union’s highest officers to steer work to the employer
from other businesses, and the authority of the National
Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) to remedy the effects
ef such unlawful concealed assistance. Both Jackson En-
gineering Co., Inc. (“Jackson,” or the “Company,” or the
“Employer’), and Local 1814 of the International Long-
shoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO (‘“‘Local 1814” or the
“Union”) petition to reverse the Board’s decision.
In 1975, the president of Jackson struck a deal with
the two highest officials of the Union: the Company
would welcome the Union’s representation of Jackson’s
employees if the Union would steer business to the Em-
ployer. In addition to extending their Union’s represen-
tation and authority, the Union officials were to receive
a ten percent cash kickback for the business that Local
1814 referred to Jackson. As all parties are agreed, the
3a
execution of this agreement over the next few years was
a blatant violation of the anti-bribery provision of the
National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), 29 U.S.C.
§ 186 (1976).
Petitioners seek review of the NLRB’s order holding
that the kickback arrangement, involving as it did the
contribution of support by the Employer to the Union,
constituted unfair labor practices on the part of both
the Employer and the Union.’ The Board ordered peti-
tioners to cease and desist from such actions, and fur-
ther ordered Jackson to withdraw its voluntary recogni-
tion of Local 1814 as the exclusive collective bargaining
representative of Jackson’s employees until the Union
was certified by the Board, that the current collective
bargaining agreement be abrogated, and that Jackson
and Local 1814 jointly reimburse Jackson’s employees
for all union dues and related membership fees paid un-
der the union security clause in the 1979 coilective bar-
gaining agreement.
Petitioners’ first objection to the Board’s decision is
that the illegal acts of the Union’s officers are not at-
tributable to the Union itself, and thus that neither the
Union nor the Employer Jackson committed an unfair
labor practice. We disagree. Local 1814 was properly
held responsible for these acts of its highest officers—
actions closely related to the conduct of the Union’s busi-
ness, which would foreseeably yield benefits to the Union
itself, and which did in fact yield such benefits.
1 Jackson was held to have violated both sections 8(a) (1)
& (2) of the Act, which prohibit employer assistance of labor
organizations through the contribution of financial or other
support; Local 1814 was found in violation of section
8(b) (1) (A) of the Act, which prohibits unions from re-
straining or coercing employees in the exercise of their statu-
tory rights to bargain collectively through representatives
of their own choosing. The full text of these statutory provi-
sions appears supra note 12.
44
Petitioners further contend that the Board lacked au-
thority to take affirmative remedial steps against the
Union and the Employer because the Union local always
represented an uncoerced majority of the Jackson em-
ployees. As far as this Court is aware, the NLRB has
never before applied such affirmative remedies to a case
of concealed unlawful assistance by an employer to a
union. In that sense, this is a case of first impression.
This Court recognizes, however, that the fashioning of
remedies in the field of labor relations frequently calls
for flexible application of familiar statutory policies to
novel factual situations, and that the Board possesses
broad discretion in the matching of remedies to wrongs.
Cognizant of such administrative discretion, and atten-
tive to the central policy of the NLRA—to allow workers
free exercise of their rights to bargain collectively—we
rule that the remedies ordered by the Board bear a rea-
sonable relation to the violations found. Where corrup-
tion is endemic to the relations between an employer and
union, the Board is justified in requiring a fresh start
under which employees may freely designate a collective
bargaining representative of their choice.
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The facts of this case indicate the existence of a de-
liberate, flagrant, and very substantial kickback scheme
between Jackson and Local 1814. Those facts are exten-
sive but deserve detailed attention: they provide the
basis both for holding the Union responsible for the con-
duct of its officers, and for the authority of the Board to
order the remedies that it did.
A. The Origin of the Kickback Arrangement
Jackson is a New Jersey corporation performing ship
building, maintenance, and repair at sites in New Jersey
and New York. Jackson began operations in 1948, and
until 1975, its employees were not represented by any
5a
labor organization. Some time in 1975, Nicholas Seregos,
who was at all relevant times the principal owner and
president of Jackson, came to the conclusion that his Com-
pany’s efforts to get business had been hampered by the
fact that its work force was not unionized. In particu-
lar, Seregos had observed over time that United States
flag ships would repeatedly reject his solicitations on the
grounds that Jackson was not a union shop. Sonny Mon-
tella, an acquaintance of Seregos, suggested to him that
he contact Anthony Anastasio, the Secretary-Treasurer
and later Executive Vice President of the predecessor of
Local 1814 of the International Longshoremen’s Associa-
tion, AFL-CIO (“ILA”).?
Seregos contacted Anastasio at the Union’s office and
expressed his interest in both obtaining some business
for Jackson and unionizing his shop. Anastasio then met
with the employees to see if they would be willing to sign
up with the Union; the record is silent as to the events
of this meeting.
Seregos and Anastasio met again sometime shortly be-~
fore July 11, 1975. Anastasio offered to get Jackson
some business in exchange for a kickback of ten percent
of the proceeds; Anastasio made it clear to Seregos that
he would refer business to Jackson only on the condition
that the firm unionized. Seregos agreed to both the kick-
back arrangement and to unionization of Jackson’s work-
force.
2 At the time, Anastasio was Secretary-Treasurer of Local
1277, ILA. In March, 1978, Local 1277 and other locals of the
ILA merged into Local 1814. All parties agree that Local
1814 is the successor to Local 1277. References to the ILA
local will be to “Local 1814.” As Secretary-Treasurer, Anas-
tasio was responsible for the administration of contracts for
Local 1814 in the ship repair industry. He continued exer-
cising that responsibility after the merger, when he became
Executive Vice President, the second highest position in the
merged organization.
6a
Seregos and Anastasio next met in the Local 1814 of-
fice around July 11, 1975. Anastasio told Seregos that
he could help get Jackson business from Prudential Lines,
a United States flag line, and instructed Seregos to write
to a particular officer at Prudential. Seregos’ letter to
Prudential, dated July 11, 1975, falsely stressed that his
firm was a union shop affiliated with Local 1814. Not
until September 15, 1975, did Local 1814 actually ob-
tain authorization cards from Jackson’s employees. In
late September, Seregos, for Jackson, signed a memo-
randum of understanding with Local 1814, agreeing to
recognize the Union. The Company began to check off
employees’ union dues and forward the funds to the
Union.
Next, sometime in the fall of 1975, Seregos and An-
astasio met with Anthony Scotto, president of Loca! 1814,
at the Union’s office. Seregos asked for more work re-
ferrals; Anastasio indicated that he could help Jackson
get work with United States Shipping Lines. Anastasio
then asked how Seregos was going to pay the ten percent
kickback on the business. Scotto offered to help Seregos
set up a foreign corporation to smooth the arrangement,
but Seregos declined the offer. Seregos, Scotto, and An-
astasio then signed a collective bargaining agreement—
a multi-employer contract covering eleven other employ-
ers in the industry—binding Jackson for a period of
three years from November 3, 1975.
Soon after this meeting, Jackson got work from two
shipping lines. Jackson started to receive business from
Prudential in September, 1975. In late 1975, after Jack-
son had begun receiving business from Prudential and
United States Shipping Lines, Seregos and Anastasio
further discussed the method of payment for the kick-
backs, and agreed that Seregos would pay Anastasio in
cash.
In early 1976, the ten percent payments began; they
were made in cash at the Local 1814 office with only
72
Seregos and Anastasio present. For the business referred
to Jackson from the two shipping lines for 1976, Seregos
paid Anastasio $15,000. The total for 1977 was $16,000.°
During 1978, the payments totalled $28,700. Through-
out this period, Seregos and Anastasio were responsible
for administering the collective bargaining agreement be-
tween Jackson and Local 1814. Between 1975 and 1979,
both Jackson’s business and its number of employees—
all Local 1814 members—grew considerably. On Novem-
ber 3, 1978, Jackson and Local 1814 agreed to a modi-
fied three-year renewal of their collective bargaining
agreement; Seregos signed for Jackson, and Anastasio
and Joseph Collazzo signed for the Union.
B. The Criminal Indictments and Final Kickback
Payments
In January, 1979, the Grand Jury in the Southern Dis-
trict of New York handed down an indictment against
Scotto and Anastasio concerning their acceptance of pay-
ments from other employers under contract to Local
1814. Jackson was not included as a defendant in that
indictment. In early May, 1979, at the Local 1814 office,
Anastasio asked Seregos if there was any money due
“against the work.” When Seregos balked due to the
pending criminal investigation, Anastasio reassured him.
Seregos paid Anastasio $4000 on May 8, 1979.
Sometime later, Anastasio asked Seregos to contribute
to the cost of Scotto’s defense against the indictment.
When Seregos hesitated, Anastasio asked him to try to
help out, and told him that Anastasio and Scotto were
* During 1977, Seregos gave Anastasio $5000 on June 2,
$1000 on October 6, $5000 on November 17, and $5000 on
December 19.
*The 1978 figures and dates were as follows: $5000 on
February 28, $5000 on March 23, $5000 on April 10, $5000
on May 15, $3700 on July 3, and $5000 on November 15. These
payments were for the business of United States Shipping
Lines; Jackson lost Prudential’s business in 1978.
8a
having a reception at a hotel and asking others in the
industry to contribute to pay Scotto’s attorneys’ fees.
Seregos then paid Anastasio $4000 cash at the Local 1814
office, on July 5, 1979. On July 31, 1979, a superseding
indictment was issued, charging Scotto and Anastasio
with additional corrupt conduct. In part, the added
counts involved the payments from Seregos to Anastasio
from 1977-79.°
After the superseding indictment was filed, Local 1814
removed Anastasio from dealings and negotiations with
Jackson, and Jackson removed Seregos from dealings
with the Union. Both Anastasio and Scotto, however,
were allowed to retain their offices in the Union, and the
two were not replaced by elections until almost two years
later.
Scotto and Anastasio were tried in the Southern Dis-
trict of New York on multiple criminal counts of re-
ceiving unlawful labor payments under section 302 of the
Taft-Hartley Act, 29 U.S.C. § 186(b) ;* racketeering and
5 Scotto was not indicted for dealings with Seregos or
Jackson.
$29 U.S.C. § 186(a) & (b) (1976) provides:
(a) It shall be unlawful for any employer .. . to pay,
lend, or deliver, or agree to pay, lend, or deliver, any
money or other thing of value—
(1) to any representative of any of his employees
sso
(2) to any labor organization, or any officer or
employee thereof, which represents, seeks to repre-
sent, or would admit to membership, any of the em-
ployees of such employer ...or...
(4) to any officer or employee of a labor organiza-
tion... with intent to influence him in respect to any
of his actions, decisions, or duties as a representative
of employees or as such officer or employee of such
labor organization.
(b) (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to request,
demand, receive, or accept, or agree to receive or accept,
any payment, loan, or delivery of any money or other thing
of value prohibited by subsection (a) of this section.
9a
conspiracy charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c) and (d);
and tax evasion charges under 26 U.S.C. §§ 7201 &
7206(1). In January of 1980, the jury convicted both
defendants. Anastasio was convicted on the Jackson pay-
ments, and was sentenced to two years in prison, five
years probation, and a $5000 fine. Scotto, who was not
indicted on the Jackson payments, was sentenced on other
counts to five years in prison, five years probation, and
$75,000 in fines. The trial judge also ordered that the
two defendants forfeit their offices in the Union. On
September 2, 1980, the Second Circuit unanimously af-
firmed the convictions. See United States v. Scotto, 641
F.2d 47 (2d Cir. 1980), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 961
(1981). All the time that the federal appeal and de
fendants’ unsuccessful state court actions to retain their
offices were pending, Local 1814 allowed Scotto and An-
astasio to remain in their respective positions at the
head of the Union. The two were not replaced until
May, 1981, when new elections were held.
C. Renegotiation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement
Sometime in late 1978, Jackson began negotiating with
Brewer Drydock Co. (“Brewer”) for the purchase of a
drydock facility on Staten Island. Jackson’s business had,
up to then, been purely a pierside operation; the drydock
operation would be complementary, and was located op-
posite Jackson’s facility in Brooklyn. In early June,
1979, Jackson agreed to purchase Brewer’s Staten Island
facility, and to take it over on June 15. Brewer’s Staten
Island employees had been represented by Local 17, In-
dustrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of
America (“Local 17”).7. When Jackson took over the
™ The last collective bargaining agreement between Brewer
and Local 17 was to run until August 31, 1981, and contained
a clause binding Brewer and its “successors and assigns.”
All of Brewer’s employees, however, had been laid off prior
to the June, 1979, sale. During the summer of 1979, officials
of Local 17 asserted, without success, that Jackson was bound
10a
Staten Island facility, the Company recognized Local
1814 as the representative of its employees there, believ-
ing it was obligated to do so.
In late June or early July, 1979, Jackson initiated
negotiations with Local 1814 to modify their existing
collective bargaining agreement. Jackson sought reduc-
tion in wages and benefits, claiming that the firm’s new
ability to handle combination pierside-drydock work
would result in more regular work for employees. The
Company also asserted that shipyard work brought lower
market prices, and that labor costs of shipyard operations
were usually lower. After extensive negotiation, involving
a number of bargaining cessions, the parties reached a
modified collective bargaining agreement on September
15, 1979. The agreement extended the recognition clause
to cover the new Staten Island facility, but the Union
agreed to reduced wages and reductions in certain bene-
fits for most Jackson employees.’ The record contains no
suggestion as to what, if anything, the Employer gave
up in exchange for receiving these concessions from the
Union. Scotto and Anastasio did not personally take
part in these negotiations, but they remained the highest
officials of the Union throughout.
II. PROCEDURAL DEVELOPMENT
A. Initiation of the Complaint
On September 28, 1979, Local 17 filed unfair labor
practice charges against Jackson and Local 1814 with
by the successor clause to recognize Local 17 as the repre-
sentative of employees at the Staten Island facility. Local 17
did not claim, however, that it represented any of Jackson’s
employees.
® The twenty-five most senior Jackson employees received
no reduction in wages or benefits. For the remainder of the
workforce, wages and pension and hospitalization benefits were
slightly reduced. Holidays, sick days, and jury days were
unchanged.
.
—— ye
lla
the National Labor Relations Board. As initially filed,
the Local 17 complaint was considerably broader than
the complaint ultimately brought before Administrative
Law Judge (ALJ) Fish.® As presented to the ALJ by
the General Counsel, the case primarily involved the il-
legality, under sections 8(a)(1) and (2) and section
8(b) (1) (A) of the NLRA, of the concealed payments
from Seregos to Anastasio. In addition, the complaint
presented Midwest Piping * allegations that Jackson had
committed an unfair labor practice against Local 17 by
recognizing Local 1814 as the bargaining representative
of Jackson’s Staten Island employees while a real ques-
tion of representation existed. These aspects of the com-
plaint were distinct, yet factually related.
B. The Decision of the Administrative Law Judge
Upon the foregoing facts, the ALJ found both Jackson
and Local 1814 guilty of unfair labor practices based
on the concealed payments. The judge found that the
undisputed evidence indicated that Seregos had made
illegal concealed payments to Anastasio, and that Scotto
® The allegations of the complaint that dropped out of the
case before the decision of the ALJ were the Local 17 charge
that Jackson violated section 8(a) (5) of the Act by refusing
to recognize that union as the successor to Brewer’s bargaining
obligation; that Jackson violated section 8(a)(3) by dis-
criminatorily refusing to hire former Brewer employees be-
cause of their Local 17 membership; and that Local 1814 vio-
lated sections 8(b)(1)(A) and (2) by inducing Jackson to
refuse to hire those employees. The Regional Director of the
NLRB refused to issue a complaint with respect to these
charges, and specifically dismissed the section 8(a) (5)
charges.
10 Midwest Piping & Supply Co., 63 N.L.R.B. 1060 (1945),
in which the Board held violative of section 8(a) (2) an em-
ployer’s recognition of one union as the bargaining repre-
sentative of employees while a real question of representation
existed between two rival unions.
12a
had at least condoned this arrangement. Jackson Engi-
neering Co., Nos. 29-CA-7498, 29-CB-3966 (May 27,
1982) (hereinafter “ALJ Decision”) at 24, 28 (JA 292,
315, 319). In addition, the ALJ explicitly found that the
evidence before him yielded the conclusion that the kick-
back arrangement had been agreed to before the execu-
tion of the original memorandum and contract between
Jackson and Local 1814. Id. at 8-9 (JA 299-300). Based
on those facts, the ALJ stated the central question to be:
whether the payments were made to a “labor or-
ganization”, or put another way, whether Anastasio
and Scotto were agents of [Local 1814] with respect
to this conduct.
Id. at 25 (JA 316). To find the answer to this ques-
tion, the ALJ turned to section 2(13) of the Act, see
infra, which he interpreted in turn to refer him to gen-
eral principles of agency law. Id. at 26 & n.44 (JA
317).
The ALJ found that the concealed payments were re-
lated to Anastasio’s exercise of his authority to act for
the Union, because they were “intimately connected”
with the Company’s decision to recognize the Union. 7d.
at 27 & n.44 (JA 318). Furthermore, the ALJ specifi-
cally found that the kickback arrangement had been “sup-
portive of the interests of the Union,” in generating more
work for members of Local 1814, and more funds for
the Union itself. Id. at 28 (JA 319) (emphasis added).
The ALJ reasoned that the entire arrangement had been
engineered by the Union’s highest officials, and in the
absence of outright authorization by the Union’s member-
ship, which could hardly be expected to be demonstrable
concerning illegal concealed acts, no greater degree of
responsibility by the Union could possibly be proven. Jd.
at 28-29 (JA 319-20). All these facts led to the inexor-
able conclusion that the Employer had provided the
Union with illegal assistance in violation of section
122
8(a)(1) and (2) of th Act, and that the Union had
violated section 8(b) (1) (.1) of the Act.”
The remedies ordered by the ALJ were limited to
cease-and-desist orders to both the Company and the
Union concerning illegal payments, and requirements of
posting of notices. ALJ Decision at 44-46 (JA 335-37).
The ALJ particularly declined to set aside the parties’
bargaining relationship on the basis of the unlawful pay-
ments. Id. at 43 (JA 334).
C. The Decision of the Board
The Employer, the Union, and the General Counsel
each filed exceptions to the decision of the ALJ. Adopting
the underlying facts found by the ALJ, the Board af-
firmed his decision concerning the unfair labor practices
of Jackson and Local 1814 respectively. Thus the Board
approved the ALJ’s findings that Anastasio and Scotto
had acted on behalf of the Union, and that the illicit
arrangement had served the Union’s interests. The
Board disagreed unanimously, however, with the ALJ’s
conclusion that the concealed payments arrangements did
not warrant setting aside the parties’ contract of Sep-
tember 15, 1979. Central to the Board’s decision were
the following findings:
[A]t or about the same time [Local 1814 and
Jackson] were negotiating midterm contract modi-
fications granting [the Employer] economic conces-
sions, concealed payments involving large sums of
11The ALJ went on to decide that the Company had not
committed Midwest Piping violations by recognizing Local
1814 as the bargaining representative of the employees at
Jackson’s Staten Island facility. ALJ Decision at 30, 43
(JA 321, 334). In so doing, the ALJ relied on findings that
Local 1814 had enjoyed majority status among Jackson’s
employees, id. at 40 (JA 331), and that the Union had pro-
vided those employees with “vigorous and effective represen-
tation” throughout the period of concealed payments. ZJd. at
42 (JA 333).
l4a
money were changing hands. We find that these
concurrent actions operated to taint and undermine
the bargaining relationship between [the parties]
and the contract which was negotiated by them while
the payments were being made. Our conclusion in
this regard is not affected by the fact that Anastasio,
Scotto, and Seregos personally did not engage in the
negotiations which led to the modified contract. Al-
though those individuals may not personally have
participated, they were, at all material times, [Local
1814’s] executive vice president and president and
[Jackson’s] president, respectively. Under these cir-
cumstances, we do not regard their divorce from the
actual negotiations to be determinative of this issue.
Jackson Engineering Co., Nos. 29-CA-7498, 29-CB-3966,
265 NLRB No. 175, slip op. at 5 (Dec. 28, 1982) (here-
inafter “Board Decision’) (JA 396, 400) (emphasis
added).
On this basis, the Board modified the ALJ’s remedial
order. Id. at 7-12 (JA 402-07). Beyond the original
cease-and-desist orders, the Board added remedial pro-
visions ordering Jackson to cease recognition of Local
1814 until the Union was certified by the NLRB, and
to cease giving effect to the September, 1979, collective
bargaining agreement. Corresponding orders were di-
rected at the Union. Finally, the Employer and Union
were ordered jointly and severally to reimburse all of
the Jackson employees who joined the Union after the
September 19, 1979, collective bargaining agreement be-
came effective, for the total dues and fees paid by those
employees during that period. These petitions for review
followed.
III. UNLAWFUL ASSISTANCE:
THE UNION’S RESPONSIBILITY UNDER AGENCY PRINCIPLES
This case is somewhat novel in that, as was conceded
at oral argument, the National Labor Relations Board
has seldom if ever sought to use the unfair labor practice
15a
provisions of the NLRA .o remedy corrupt criminal
payments of an employer to a union. Yet the issues in
this case all revolve around one central question that is
neither unfamiliar nor particularly troublesome: Can the
Union fairly be held responsible for the unlawful acts of
its highest officers when those acts go to the very heart
of the contractual relationship between the Employer
and Union?
Petitioners’ first challenge is directed at the Board’s
substantive conclusion that the Employer and the Union
each committed unfair labor practices, having respec-
tively violated sections 8(a) (1) & (2) and section 8(b)
(1) (A) of the NLRA.“ The premise of this attack
is that unless the acceptance of the unlawful payments
by Scotto and Anastasio can be attributed to the Union,
then neither the Employer nor the Union can be charged
with an unfair labor practice. By the same token, peti-
tioners concede that if made to the Union, the concealed
payments would constitute the contribution of support
and would therefore give rise to violations on the part
12 The portions of the NLRA under which Jackson was
found to have committed unfair labor practices provide:
It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer—
(1) to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in
the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 157 of
this title;
(2) to dominate or interfere with the formation or ad-
ministration of any labor organization or contribute
financial or other support toit....
Section 8(a) (1) & (2), 29 U.S.C. § 158(a) (1) & (2) (1976).
Local 1814 was found in violation of the following pro-
vision :
It shall be an unfair labor practice for a labor organiza-
tion or its agents—
(1) to restrain or coerce (A) employees in the exercise
of the rights guaranteed in section 157 of this
See
Section 8(b) (1) (A), 29 U.S.C. § 158(b) (1) (A) (1976).
16a
of both the Employer and Union. See Brief for Peti-
tioner Jackson at 19; Brief for Petitioner Local 1814
at 18. Preliminarily, this Court notes that the decision of
the ALJ, whose factual findings the Board adopted, care-
fully analyzed the evidence concerning the responsibility
of Local 1814, and drew reasonable inferences therefrom.
In considering petitioners’ contentions, we begin with
several broad controlling principles. First, the mere fact
that particular acts of individuals are criminally punish-
able does not render the Act’s proscription of unfair la-
bor practices inapplicable to a course of conduct. Section
10(a), 29 U.S.C. § 160(a) ;7* see Sweater Bee by Banff,
Ltd., 197 N.L.R.B. 805, 805 (1972), enforced sub. nom.
NLRB v. Suwanee Lumber Manufacturing Co., 467 F.2d
944 (5th Cir. 1972), enforced, 486 F.2d 1395 (2d Cir.
1973). On the other hand, the unfair labor practices
provisions of the NLRA regulate the conduct of employers
and labor organizations only—not the acts of individuals
as individuals. See International Longshoremen’s and
Warehousemen’s Union (Sunset Line & Twine Co.), 79
N.L.R.B. 1487, 1507 & n.87 (1948). The question here,
as to the alleged unfair labor practices of both Employer
and Union, is whether the individual acts can properly
be attributed to the Union. See Sunset Line & Twine
Co., supra, 79 N.L.R.B. at 1507.
18 Section 10 (a) of the Act provides:
The Board is empowered . . . to prevent any person from
engaging in any unfair labor practice... . This power
shall not be affected by any other means of adjustment
or prevention that has been or may be established by
agreement, law, or otherwise... .
29 U.S.C. § 160(a) (1976) (emphasis added). The italicized
language of section 10(a) refutes, by itself, the dissent’s
suggestion that the existence and availability of 29 U.S.C.
§ 186 forecloses the Board from remedying the kickback
scheme here presented as it would any other unfair labor
practice.
17a
To answer this question, we turn to the NLRA, which
deals with imputation of responsibility as follows:
In determining whether any person '*! is acting as
an “agent” of another person so as to make such
other person responsible for his acts, the question of
whether the specific acts performed were actually
authorized or subsequently ratified shall not be
controlling.
Section 2(13), 29 U.S.C. §152(13) (1976) (emphasis
added). Without more, the plain language of the statute
renders entirely ineffectual Local 1814’s reliance on the
ALJ’s conclusion that Anastasio had not been authorized
to enter into kickback arrangements with employers. See
Brief for Petitioner Local 1814 at 25-26 (quoting ALJ
Decision at 27 (JA 318)). Responsibility is not depend-
ent upon actual authorization.
Furthermore, the statutory provision yields an affirma-
tive basis for holding the Union responsible for its of-
ficers’ acceptance of the payments within the context of
the kickback scheme: the principles of agency law. Sec-
tion 2(13) of the Act was added by the Taft-Hartley
Act of 1947, 61 Stat. 186 (June 28, 1947). Beyond
doubt, the legislative intent of this provision was to
make the ordinary law of agency applicable to the at-
tribution of individual acts to both employers and unions.
See, e.g., Sunset Line & Twine Co., supra, 79 N.L.R.B.
at 1507-08; accord Mullett v. NLRB, 571 F.2d 1292,
1294 (4th Cir. 1978); NLRB v. Local 3, IBEW, 467
F.2d 1158, 1159 (2d Cir. 1972); NLRB v. International
Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Local No. 83, 321 F.2d 807,
810 (8th Cir. 1963).%° Transplantation of ordinary
14 Within the NLRA, the term “person” includes individuals,
labor organizations, and corporations. Section 2(1), 29 U.S.C.
§ 152(1) (Supp. V 1981).
15 Legislative history reveals that Senator Taft offered the
following analysis of section 2(13) :
1Sa
agency law, which arises out of ordinary contract and
tort disputes, into the NLRA context necessarily requires
sensitivity to the particular circumstances of industrial
This restores the law of agency as it has been developed
at common law.
These amendments are criticized in one breath as im-
posing too harsh a liability upon unions for the acts of
their officers or representatives and as too mild with re-
spect to the liability of employers for the acts of their
managerial and supervisory personnel. Of course, the
definition applies equally in the responsibility imputed to
both employers and labor organizations for the acts of
their officers or representatives in the scope of their
employment.
It is true that this definition was written to avoid the
construction which the Supreme Court in the recent case
of United States against United Brotherhood of Carpen-
ters [United Bhd. of Carpenters v. United States, 330
U.S. 395 (1947)] placed upon section 6 of the Norris-La
Guardia Act which exempts organizations from liability
for illegal acts committed in labor disputes unless proof
of actual instigation, participation, or ratification can be
shown. The construction the Supreme Court placed on
this special exemption was so broad that Mr. Justice
Frankfurter, speaking for the dissenting minority, pointed
out that all unions need do in the future to escape lia-
bility for the illegal actions of their officers is simply to
pass a standing resolution declaiming such responsibility.
[830 U.S. at 418, 421 (Frankfurter, J., dissenting) ]
The conferees agreed that the ordinary law of agency
should apply to employer and union representatives. Con-
sequently, when a supervisor acting in his capacity as
such, engages in intimidating conduct or illegal action
with respect to employees or labor organizers his conduct
can be imputed to his employer regardless of whether or
not the company officials approved or were even aware of
his actions. Similarly union business agents or stewards,
acting in their capacity of union officers, may make their
union guilty of an unfair-labor practice when they en-
gage in conduct made an unfair-labor practice in the bill,
even though no formal action has been taken by the union
to authorize or approve such conduct.
98 Cong. Rec. 6858-59 (June 12, 1947) (emphasis added).
Numerous other references in the legislative history of the
19a
labor relations. Courts have concluded that under the
NLRA, agency principles must be expansively construed,
including when questions of union responsibility are pre-
sented. See NLRB v. Georgetown Dress Corp., 5387 F.2d
1239, 1244 (4th Cir. 1976); NLRB v. Urban Telephone
Corp., 499 F.2d 239, 243 (7th Cir. 1974). In reviewing
the Board’s determination that Local 1814 was respon-
sible for these acts, this Court recognizes that the ex-
istence of an agency relationship is a factual matter,
NLRB v. Donkin’s Inn, Inc., 582 F.2d 188, 141 (9th
Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 895 (1976), which cannot
be disturbed if supported by “substantial evidence on the
record considered as a whole.” Local 349, IBEW v. NLRB,
357 F.2d 579, 580 (D.C. Cir. 1965); see NLRB v. Local
815, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 290 F.2d
99, 104 (2d Cir. 1961) (Friendly, J.).
The branch of agency law best suited to this case is
the “scope of employment” doctrine. Among the most
firmly established principles in our law is that a prin-
cipal may be held responsible for the acts of an agent
committed within the scope of employment. See, e.g.,
American Fur Co. v. United States, 27 U.S. (2 Peters)
358, 364 (1829); United States v. Gooding, 25 U.S. (12
Wheat.) 460, 469-70 (1827) (Story, J.). The scope of
employment doctrine has found frequent articulation in
the NLRA context. In the seminal case of Sunset Line
& Twine Co., the Board recognized that:
A principal may be responsible for the act of his
agent within the scope of the agent’s general au-
Taft-Hartley amendments support this interpretation of this
provision making basic agency law equally applicable to the
attribution of actions to both employers and unions. See, e.g.,
House Conf. Rept. No. 510, 80th Cong., 1st Sess. 36, 98 Cong.
Rec. (House) 6371 (June 4, 1947); 98 Cong. Rec. (Senate)
6442 (June 5, 1947). It goes almost without saying that if
a union is guilty of the unauthorized unfair labor practices of
its business agents and stewards, that it is similarly respon-
sible for practices of its president and executive vice president.
20a
thority . . . if the principal actually empowered the
agent to represent him in the general area within
which the agent acted.
79 N.L.R.B. at 1509 (footnote omitted) (emphasis
added).
The Restatement fleshes out the scope of employment
doctrine more fully:
Conduct of a servant is within the scope of em-
ployment if, but only if:
(a) it is of the kind he is employed to perform;
(b) it occurs substantially within the authorized
time and space limits; [and]
(c) it is actuated, at least in part, by a purpose
to serve the master. ...
Restatement (Second) of Agency, § 228(1) at 504 (1957).
The Reporter comments that a showing that an act “tended
to accomplish an authorized purpose and was done at an
authorized time and place” gives rise to an inference
that the act was within the scope of employment. Id.
§ 228, comment b, at 505. The criminality of an act does
not alone prevent it from falling within the scope of
employment. Jd. § 231, at 512. Most importantly, the
acts of an agent motivated partly by self-interest—even
where self-interest is the predominant motive—lie within
the scope of employment so long as the agent is actuated
by the principal’s business purposes “to any appreciable
extent.” Jd. § 236 & comment b, at 523-24.
Applying these principles to the case at bar, it is
readily apparent that Anastasio’s dealings with the Em-
ployer were within the “general area” of his authority.
Furthermore, his entering into the kickback arrange-
ment with Jackson both “tended to accomplish an au-
thorized purpose’”’—the extension of his Union’s member-
ship—and was motivated “to an[{] appreciable extent”
by furtherance of the Union’s interests in dues and pay-
ments for pension and welfare benefits, and principally,
the extension of its representation of longshoremen. Ac-
21a
cording to the record, Anastasio did have actual authority
in the general area of representing the Union in dealing
with employers; his authority extended to organizing em-
ployees, obtaining recognition, and executing and admin-
istering collective bargaining agreements with employers
(JA at 295, 147). As the ALJ and the Board properly
found, Jackson’s recognition of Local 1814, and the con-
commitant extension of the Union’s representation and
membership, were “intimately connected” with the kick-
back arrangement and the concealed payments made pur-
suant thereto. Anastasio made it clear to Seregos at the
outset that the kickback arrangement would only be set
up if Jackson agreed to recognize Local 1814 as the bar-
gaining representative of its employees. Thus, Anastasio’s
exercise of his power to steer business to Jackson—a
power directly related to and derived from his position
within the Union—was directly conditioned on the Em-
ployer’s recognition of Local 1814. Without question, this
was a package deal from the start. Thus the kickback
scheme was a means to an authorized end, and the patent
illegality of the means is immaterial.'* The existence of
an agency relationship is completed by the fact that An-
astasio had dual motivations in the arrangement: his
own pecuniary advantage, and advancement of the rep-
resentational objectives of the Union of which he was
the second highest-ranking officer.
Local 1814 derived substantial advantages from the
unlawful arrangement, and the ALJ so found. See ALJ
Decision at 28 (JA 319). In this regard, it is crucial
to distinguish the interests of the Union itself from those
of the employee members of the Union—who themselves
16 Unfair labor practices may often involve conduct that is
unlawful in other respects. See supra. Interestingly, there
is at least one case in which a court has upheld the Board’s
conclusion that an employer’s bribery of a high union official
constituted an unfair labor practice. See NLRB v. Hollywood-
Maxwell Co., 126 F.2d 815, 818-19 (9th Cir. 1942).
22a
may not have obtained any new job opportunities out of
the payment arrangement. The Union benefitted from
Jackson’s recognition of Local 1814 and the concommitant
extension of the Union’s representation of ship workers.
At the same time, the Union definitely profited from the
associated financial inflow of dues and related fees into
its treasury and pension fund. Finally, the Union bene-
fitted generally from the extension of its strength and
authority on the New Jersey-New York waterfront.
Given his position in the Union and experience in rep-
resenting it, Anastasio must have understood and ex-
pected such potential benefits to the Union. The existence
of such benefits renders entirely unavailing the reliance
of petitioner Local 1814 on the ALJ’s separate finding,
not here in dispute, that no evidence demonstrated that
the Union itself had received any of the money paid by
Jackson,” and had not received any other tangible bene-
fit. See Brief for Petitioner Local 1814 at 26 (quoting
ALJ Decision at 27 (JA 318) )."*
In sum, the agreement between the Union, the Com-
pany, and the Union’s two principal officers had four inter-
locking facets: (1) the Company agreed to recognize the
union; (2) the Company by checkoff would pay the Union,
for all its employees, their dues, fees. and payments for
1TIn United States v. Scotto, supra, 641 F.2d at 51, the
Second Circuit noted the existence of some evidence that
Scotto had used some of the illegal payments involved in that
case for political campaign contributions. The Union might
benefit from such payments.
18 The ALJ’s findings that the Union had so benefitted re-
futes the argument of the dissent that no evidence linked the
kickback payments to Local 1814. Likewise, the facts found
by the ALJ contradict the dissent’s assertion that the Union
officers’ entering into the kickback arrangement was in no
way motivated by a desire to serve the Union. Anastasio’s
participation in the scheme was directly conditioned on the
Employer’s recognition of the Union, which conferred bene-
fits on Local 1814. The Union’s officers acted both for them-
selves and for the Union.
23a
pension and welfare benefits; (3) the Union would steer,
and the Company would receive, ship repair work to the
benefit of the Company, its Union members and the
Union; and (4) the President and Executive Vice
President of the Union would be paid by the Company
sums equal to ten percent of the ship repair business
that the Company would receive from ship owners whose
repair business, because of their subservient relation-
ship to the Union, was subject to Union discretion. It
thus appears that the agreement between the Company,
the Union, and the Union’s principal officers was com-
pletely tainted by fraud and corruption from the very
beginning.
Furthermore, the Union’s retention of Anastasio and
Scotto in their high controlling offices, long after the
grand jury indictments had put Local 1814 on notice of
their misdeeds, is tantamount to acquiescence or condona-
tion of their unlawful acts. The last two payments from
Jackson were received by Anastasio after the Union had
knowledge of the criminal investigation. The continua-
tion of the acceptance of the benefits of the kickback ar-
rangement under such circumstances supports the inference
that the Union had prior knowledge of the arrangement
and that Anastasio was motivated in part by the Union’s
interests. Under such circumstances, one might reason-
ably have expected a truly upright union to have taken
some disciplinary action. As the ALJ astutely recognized,
it is hardly imaginable that any greater degree of union
responsibility could be demonstrated in such a case: the
membership certainly cannot formally authorize an ar-
rangement of which it is unaware, and would certainly
never directly ratify an illegal arrangement once it had
been exposed. Thus, a decision absolving Local 1814 of
responsibility for the acceptance by its highest officers of
financial contributions would be tantamount to a blanket
determination that a union could never be held so respon-
sible under the NLRA. We reject that alternative. We
conclude that Anastasio’s actual authority over represen-
24a
tational matters in general, together with the substan-
tial benefits received by Local 1814 as a result the entire
agreement of which the kickback arrangement was an
integral part, constitute substantial evidence on the record
as a whole, see 29 U.S.C. §160(f) (1976); Universal
Camera Corp. v. NLRB, 340 U.S. 474 (1951), in favor
of the Board’s conclusion that the Union was legally re-
sponsible for Anastasio’s acts as agent for the Union.
Extensive case law under the NLRA concerning agency
relationships within unions buttresses our conclusion. In
Mullett v. NLRB, 571 F.2d 1292 (4th Cir. 1978), the
business manager of a union, who had both authority to
remove men from a job and responsibility for seeing that
union members were hired before outsiders, had tacitly
approved members’ actions that had led to the unlawful
dismissal of a non-member. Notwithstanding the man-
ager’s lack of actual authority to take such actions, the
Fourth Circuit concluded that the union official’s wrongful
conduct could be attributed to the union. ZJd. at 1294.
Similarly, in NLRB v. Georgetown Dress Corp., supra,
537 F.2d at 1244-45, the acts of a voluntary in-plant
committee that tainted the election atmosphere were held
attributable to the union, notwithstanding the absence
of authority for those acts. Likewise, where a union
dispatcher with general authority to dispatch longshore-
men to employers unlawfully discriminated against non-
union casuals, the Ninth Circuit held the union respon-
sible for commission of an unfair labor practice, notwith-
standing the fact that the dispatcher’s discrimination was
contrary to the established practice of the local. NLRB v.
International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union,
Local 12, 378 F.2d 125 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 389 U.S.
846 (1967).
The import of these illustrative cases is clear: where
union officials act within the general scope of their actual
authority to conduct union business, and where their ac-
tions can be understood to further the union’s interests,
25a
the union is responsible for the officials’ unlawful acts.
Numerous other decisions provide further support.’ In
comparison to these cases, one particular instance in
which the union was held not responsible is quite in-
structive. In NLRB v. Service Employees International
Union, Local 254, 535 F.2d 1335, 13838 (1st Cir. 1976),
the court held the union responsible for certain acts, but
found no violation concerning an isolated act of violence
by a union picket, where there was no sign of union
acquiescence in, or approbation of, the assault. In con-
trast to that case, Anastasio’s conduct—recurrent accept-
ance of unlawful assistance from the Employer under an
illicit agreement—was calculated and continuous. Local
1814, furthermore, was silent after it was aware of evi-
dence of the misconduct of its officers, continuing to ac-
cept the benefits of the illegal agreement, and leaving
Scotto and Anastasio in office for many months without
taking any steps to discipline or remove the two.
The very cases offered by petitioners serve to refute
the argument that no agency relationship existed. Not
surprisingly, petitioners avoid case law under the NLRA,
preferring to focus on general agency law. Even this
approach, however, is ultimately unavailing. For in-
stance, petitioners rely on cases in which thefts by em-
ployees were not attributed to their employers to create
liability. International Distributing Corp. v. American
District Telegraph Co., 569 F.2d 186, 189 (D.C. Cir.
1977); Bremen State Bank v. Hartford Accident &
Indemnity Co., 427 F.2d 425, 428 (7th Cir. 1970).”
19 See Sheet Metal Workers’ Int’] Ass’n v. NLRB, 293 F.2d
141 (D.C. Cir.), cert. denied, 368 U.S. 896 (1961) ; NLRB v.
Int’] Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union Local 10,
283 F.2d 558, 564 (9th Cir. 1960) ; NLRB v. Local 135, Int’
Bhd. of Teamsters, 267 F.2d 870, 872-73 (7th Cir.), cert.
denied, 361 U.S. 914 (1959).
20> Cf. Park Transfer Co. v. Lumbermen’s Mutual Casualty
Co., 142 F.2d 100, 100 (D.C. Cir. 1944) (employer not respon-
sible for murder of employee by co-worker in racial incident
26a
In those cases, like that at bar, the employees’ job re-
sponsibilities give rise to the opportunity for the mis-
deed. The critical distinction, however, lies in the fact
that the employees’ acts in the cited cases cannot possibly
be understood to further the interests of the employer.
Outright thefts by employees ¢ nfer no benefit whatso-
ever on the employer, and it would be absurd to main-
tain that employees were even partially motivated by
the employer’s interest when they commit such crimes.
Further illustration is provided by another case upon
which petitioners rely, Melton v. United States, 488 F.
Supp. 1066 (D.D.C. 1980), in which a government re-
habilitation specialist had been bribed by a developer to
falsify reports. The government was held not to be re-
sponsible under agency principles for the acts of its spe-
cialist, because his unlawful acts could not be regarded
as furthering the government’s interests. Jd. at 1073-74.
Significantly, the simple question of who ended up with
the bribe money was not considered determinative: the
totality of the parties’ interests were taken into consid-
eration. Jd. When the sort of all-embracing approach
evident in petitioners’ authority is applied to this case, it
becomes evident that the Board was correct to conclude
that the conduct of Anastasio and Scotto was within the
“scope of employment.”*! Their kickback arrangement
on the job site) ; Grimes v. Saul, 47 F.2d 409 (D.C. Cir. 1931)
(rape committed by employee not attributed to building
owner).
21 Because we hold that the Union officials’ acts were within
the “scope of employment” under agency law, we need not
address the NLRB’s alternative theory for the agency rela-
tionship, the “apparent authority” doctrine. See Brief for
Respondent at 18-19, 21-25. We note, however, that the “ap-
parent authority” strain of agency law has been applied under
the NLRA as an independent theory for the attribution of
responsibility to a union. See NLRB v. Local 3, IBEW, 467
F.2d 1158, 1160 (2d Cir. 1972); NLRB v. Local 815, Int’l
Bhd. of Teamsters, 290 F.2d 99, 103-04 (2d Cir. 1961)
(Friendly, J.). By analogy, the Supreme Court has given
27a
foreseeably and effectively benefitted the Union and fur-
thered the Union’s interests. We conclude that the ac-
ceptance of the money—a prohibited form of employer
payment and assistance—by the Union’s principal officers
is properly attributable to Local 1814, and gave rise to a
finding that both the Employer and the Union engaged in
unfair labor practices.
IV. THE BoARD’s REMEDIAL ACTIONS
Both the Union and Employer challenge the Board’s statu-
tory authority to order the remedial measures that it did.
The essence of their complaints is that the “remedies punish
Local 1814 for conduct beyond its control and conflict
with the purposes of the Act.” Brief for Petitioner Local
1814 at 31. Recognizing the NLRA’s remedial nature,
and the Board’s considerable remedial discretion, this
Court cannot agree that the Board exceeded its authority
or abused its discretion in ordering affirmative relief as it
did. Viewed pragmatically, the Board, when faced with
the egregious pattern of concealed unlawful assistance
approval to the liberal development of “apparent authority”
doctrine to hold organizations responsible for the acts of their
high officials in the context of other federal statutes. See
American Soc’y of Mechanical Eng’rs, Inc. v. Hydrolevel Corp.,
456 U.S. 556 (1982) (Sherman Act) ; United States v. Acme
Process Equip. Co., 385 U.S. 1388 (1966) (Anti-Kickback Act
provides basis for United States’ cancellation of contract).
Apparent authority doctrine, however, may not be well-
suited to a case such as this. When working within that doc-
trine, one must remain attentive to the question of to whom
authority might be said to be “apparent.” In the typical
unfair labor practice, the critical audience is the workforce:
the Act priiiiarily protects their interests. Apparent authority
doctrine under the NLRA has so recognized. In this case, how-
ever, the record nowhere indicates that Jackson’s employees
were aware of the kickback arrangement, at least until the
supervening indictment in the criminal case was issued. Thus
as an audience, the employees were shielded from most of
this performance.
28a
before it, was justified in ordering a completely fresh
start to relations between Jackson and its employees.
A. Background: The Board’s Remedial Discretion
The NLRA vests in the Board broad discretion to rem-
edy unfair labor practices:
If . . . the Board shall be of the opinion that any
person ‘named in the complaint has engaged in. .
any such unfair labor practice, then the Board shall
state its findings of fact and shall issue and cause to
be served on such person an order requiring such
person to cease and desist from such unfair labor
practice, and to take such affirmative action ... as
will effectuate the policies of this chapter... .
Section 10(c), 29 U.S.C. §160(c) (1976) (emphasis
added); see also Section 10(a), 29 U.S.C. § 160(a)
(1976) (“The Board is empowered .. . to prevent any
person from engaging in any unfair labor practice... .’’).
The Supreme Court has consistently recognized the great
breadth of discretion given the Board in remedial mat-
ters, thus implementing Congress’ intention to entrust
labor-management relations to a policy-making adminis-
trative body:
Because the relation of remedy to policy is peculiarly
a matter for administrative competence, courts must
not enter the allowable area of the Board’s discretion
and must guard against the danger of sliding un-
consciously from the narrow confines of law into the
more spacious domain of policy.
Phelps Dodge Corp. v. NLRB, 318 U.S. 177, 194 (1941) ;
see International Association of Machinists, Lodge 35 v.
NLRB, 311 U.S. 72, 82 (1940). The Court has also iden-
tified the need for judicial deferrence to the specialized
expertise of the NLRB, frankly acknowledging that the
Board’s remedial “conclusions may ‘express an intuition
of experience which outruns analysis and sums up many
unnamed and tangled impressions... .2” NLRB v.
29a
Seven-Up Bottling Co., 344 U.S. 344, 348 (1953) (cita-
tion omitted).
Accordingly, judicial review of Board-ordered remedies
has a narrow scope. The reviewing court must satisfy it-
self that the Board has employed its expertise, and has
fulfilled its duty to explain how the proposed remedy
furthers the policies of the Act. See Phelps Dodge, supra,
313 U.S. at 196-97. In addition, the court must ulti-
mately ensure that the selected remedy is rationally re-
lated to the purposes asserted by the Board, and does not
conflict with any statutory purpose. See Seven-Up Bot-
tling Co., supra, 344 U.S. at 346-48; Consolidated Edison
Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 235-36 (1938); NZRB v.
MacKay Radio & Telepraph Co., 304 U.S. 333, 348
(1988). Some decisions have spoken of the Act as
barring “punitive” rather than remedial measures, but
the Supreme Court has made it clear that the punitive
remedial distinction is merely a way of restating the un-
derlying question of whether a given remedy furthers,
and is in no manner inconsistent with, the purposes of
the Act. Seven-Up, supra, 344 U.S. at 348; Consolidated
Edison, supra, 305 U.S. at 235-36. In the remedial con-
text as in others, the central purposes of the Act are the
encouragement of collective bargaining and the protection
of employees’ rights to freedom of association and free
choice of bargaining representatives. See 29 U.S.C.
§§ 151, 157 (1976 & Supp. V 1981).
This Court’s duty is to ascertain whether the remedies
ordered by the Board are proximately tailored to the
facts of this case. The remedies selected by the Board
are virtually routine in large classes of cases, so it is not
the novelty of the remedies that should be our concern.
Rather, the question is whether these routine remedial
measures are appropriate to the violations here presented.
Several facts underlying the unfair labor practices in
question are of particular significance. First, the corrupt
arrangement went back to the very origins of the parties’
30a
relations, and actually predated the Employer’s recogni-
tion of the Union. Second is the extreme degree of col-
laboration between Jackson and Local 1814: although
Local 1814 was not a “company union” in the traditional
sense, its ties under the kickback arrangement were very
strong. The involved officers of the Union, without being
employees, in effect were paid for the services they were
able through the strength of the Union in the shipping
industry to render to Jackson.
Finally, we have the concealment of the unlawful as-
sistance payments in this case. Such payments usually
furnish the basis for the criminal prosecution of the re-
cipients, but here they furnish the basis for the unfair
labor practices. The more usual unfair labor practice
case based on company assistance to the union involves
more open management contributions of money or services
to the union——assistance of which the employees would pre-
sumably be aware. In this case, there is no evidence that
Jackson’s employees could have known of the kickback
arrangement until the issuance of the superseding indict-
ment.
Recognizing the broad contours of the NLRA’s reme-
dial scheme, and attentive to the peculiar facts of this
case, this Court has considered each of the contested rem-
edies ordered by the Board. We find that the Board’s
decision represents nothing more than a sensible applica-
tion of routine remedial practices to a slightly unusual
case, and that its orders were entirely consistent with the
purposes of the Act. The Board’s approach is based on
holding the Union responsible for its officers’ acts and on
restoring the employees to the position they would have
enjoyed but for the illegal arrangement.
B. The Cease-and-Desist Order Directed to the Union
Local 1814 contests the Board’s order directing the
Union to cease and desist from entering an arrangement
“where it receives payments from Jackson,” and to post
3ha
a notice declaring that the Union will never again enter
into such a scheme. Board Decision at 10, 11 (JA 405,
406). This objection is easily disposed of, for it is little
more than a renewal of the argument that Local 1814
cannot be held responsible for the actions of its officers.
The Board has specific authority to order cease-and-
desist orders to employers and unions, 29 U.S.C. § 160(c),
supra, and such orders are the staple of the NLRB’s
remedial practice. In particular, for instance, the Board
has ordered an employer to cease and desist from bribing
a union official. See Hollywood-Maxwell, supra, 126 F.2d
at 818-19. The proper scope of a cease-and-desist order
is determined only by inquiry into whether the Board
could reasonably conclude from the evidence that the or-
der was necessary to prevent further violations. See May
Department Stores Co. v. NLRB, 326 U.S. 376, 390
(1945). Notwithstanding the Board’s plenary authority
to issue such orders, the Union maintains that in this
case cease-and-desist orders are inappropriate, because
they “will not prevent a recurrence of the unfair labor
practices the Board found here, since in this case Local
1814 never received any of the money Seregos paid
Anastasio.” Brief for Petitioner Local 1814 at 51 (em-
' phasis in the original). As the entirety of section III of
this opinion demonstrates, supra, the absence of any evi-
dence that the Union received illegal payments is not
dispositive of whether the Union was unlawfully assisted.
The actions of Anastasio and Scotto are properly attrib-
utable to the Union. Local 1814 has the authority and
responsibility to control the conduct of its highest officers
and is responsible for their acts to the extent herein-
before set forth. Thus the cease-and-desist orders di-
rected to the Union were the natural concomitant of the
Board’s substantive findings in the case. The remedy fits
the facts. The orders issued to Local 1814 were neither
unfair nor misleading. In sum, we find no infirmity in
this portion of the Board’s order.
32a
C. The Board’s Order that the Employer Withdraw
Recognition of Local 1814 as Exclusive Bargaining
Representative of the Employees
In addition to the straightforward cease-and-desist or-
ders approved by the ALJ, the Board ordered several af-
firmative remedies on the part of the two petitioners. The
first such remedy consists of the portions of the Board’s
order compelling the Employer to cease recognizing Local
1814 as the exclusive bargaining representative of its
employees until the Union has been certified by the
NLRB, and requiring the Union to cease acting as the
representative of Jackson’s employees. Board Decision
at 7, 8, 11 (JA 402, 403, 406). Petitioner Local 1814
attacks this remedy as “punitive,” arguing that it “con-
flicts with [Jackson’s] employees’ rights under §7 of
the Act, because Local 1814 was the chosen representative
of an uncoerced majority of Jackson’s employees at all
relevant times.” Brief for Petitioner Local 1814 at 32;
see id. at 34, 38-39.
The Board’s standard practice in cases involving ex-
tensive unlawful assistance of a union is to issue the type
of decertification order here presented. See, e.g., NLRB
v. American Beef Packers, Inc., 488 F.2d 331 (10th
Cir.), cert. denied, 403 U.S. 919 (1971); American Bak-
ery & Confectionary Workers International Union v.
NLRB, 379 F.2d 160, 163 (D.C. Cir. 1967); Bowman
Transportation, Inc., 120 N.L.R.B. 1147, 1151 (1958). The
principal remedial issue in this area has revolved around
the distinction drawn between “employer domination”
and the lesser offense of “employer assistance;” the for-
mer has been remedied by complete disestablishment of
the union, while the latter has been corrected by the less
absolute means of decertification.2 Under the Board’s
established remedial practice, the purposes behind a de-
22 For evidence of this distinction at work, see NLRB v.
District 50, UMW, 355 U.S. 453, 458-59 (1958), and the
numerous cases cited therein.
33a
certification order are clear: to allow the effects of an
unfair labor practice to be dissipated, pending the estab-
lishment of the majority status of the union in an election
free of restraint and coercion. See NLRB v. District 50,
UMW, 355 U.S. 458, 459-60 (1958). Under such circum-
stances, the central policy of the NLRA is served—em-
ployees are given a true opportunity, after a breathing
spell, to choose freely their bargaining representative.
See id.
In this case, the Board ordered the decertification rem-
edy on the basis of its established practice and of the
statutory purposes fulfilled by that practice. See Board
Decision at 5 (JA 400). The Board had found unfair
labor practices on the part of both the Employer and the
Union, the core substances of which were respectively the
Employer’s concealed assistance of the Union, and the
Union’s capitulation, through its two principal officers, of
its independence and undivided loyalty to those whom it
represented. Noting the contract concessions made by the
Union during the 1979 renegotiation of the collective bar-
gaining agreement, the Board emphasized that the unfair
labor practices had “operated to taint and undermine the
bargaining relationship between” the Employer and Un-
ion. Jd. (emphasis added). That finding was central to
the Board’s imposition of the decertification remedy as a
means of allowing for a fresh start to the labor-
management relations of Jackson’s employees. As such,
it appears to be the real target of petitioners’ objections
to the affirmative remedies in question. However, we find
that the Board’s finding of a “taint” was supported by
substantial evidence on the record as a whole: * the long-
standing illicit kickback arrangement went to the very
core of the parties’ working relationship. The corrupt
agreement to provide the unlawful assistance pre-dated
the Employer’s recognition of Local 1814 by several
23 See 29 U.S.C. § 160(f) (1976) ; Universal Camera Corp.
v. NLRB, 340 U.S. 474 (1951).
34a
months, and was a condition imposed by the Union’s offi-
cials prior to entering into the collective bargaining
agreement. The final payments were made even after the
indictments, and even as the 1979 negotiations were get-
ting underway. See ALJ Decision at 4-9 (JA 295-300).
By necessity, a union represents its membership through
its officers, and in this case Local 1814’s officers had been
thoroughly corrupted. The Union’s representation of
Jackson’s workforce was thereby tainted.
In contesting the Board’s decertification remedy, peti-
tioners rely heavily on the ALJ’s findings that Local 1814
had enjoyed majority status among Jackson’s employees.
See ALJ Decision at 22, n.36, 40, 42 (JA 313, 331, 333).
Petitioner Jackson observes that the typical employer as-
sistance case in which the NLRB orders decertification
involves conduct which assists the union in obtaining ma-
jority status. Brief of Petitioner Jackson at 11. The
main thrust of this argument is that where majority
status has been demonstrated, a decertification order can-
not be reasonably imposed because the initial recognition
of the union was not flawed in any way. See id. at 12-13.
There are two potent responses. First, the Board has the
remedial authority and responsibility to apply its discre-
tion to all factual configurations that come before it; is-
suance of certain remedies is not limited to standard
factual situations. Second, the unlawful agreement to
provide the assistance in this case was entered into in
July, 1975 (JA 295), and predated the September date
when a majority of the employees expressed a preference
for the Union (JA 296). The evidence thus strongly
demonstrates that the kickback arrangement was an in-
tegral part of the mutual understanding that initially led
Jackson to consent to recognition. The Supreme Court
has recognized that the existence of majority status is not
necessarily determinative of whether employer assistance
has overriden the employees’ free choice. See NLRB v.
Newport News Co., 308 U.S. 241, 248-51 (1939). We
conclude that imposition of the decertification remedy
35a
here “properly reconcile[s] the objectives of eliminating
improper employer interference and preserving the em-
ployees’ full choice of a bargaining representative.”
District 50, UMW, supra, 355 U.S. at 461.
Finally, Local 1814 argues that the absence of demon-
strable coercion of the Jackson workforce precludes the
decertification remedy. Brief for Petitioner Local 1814
at 37-40. This demand for a showing of “coercion” is
highly disingenuous, to say the least. In this case, the
Board was inherently prevented from introducing out-
ward evidence of coercion because from the very outset
the unlawful assistance payments were effectively con-
cealed from Jackson’s employees, as from the world at
large. Thus petitioner’s argument amounts to little more
than an assertion that because the Employer and Union
succeeded so long and so well in concealing their trans-
gressions, the unfair labor practices found here cannot be
remedied. The Board’s decertification order saw through
this argument. This Court finds a sufficient factual nexus
between the underlying facts, the violations found, and
the remedy of decertification. The Union has not been
*% Both in its brief, Reply Brief for Petitioner Jackson at
15, and at oral argument, Jackson adopted the position that
approval of decertification here must necessarily be equated
with the proposition that once the Employer became aware
of the violations, it was legally obligated to cease recognizing
the Union, even in the absence of any Board action in the
matter. We emphasize that the latter situation, in which
there has been no administrative or legal determination that
an unfair labor practice has occurred, is clearly distinguishable
from that at bar, and is most certainly not before this Court.
We do not imply that an employer placed in the situation
hypothesized would be obligated in the manner that Jackson
suggests. We note, however, the decision of the Ninth Circuit
that where the employees had designated a union as their
bargaining agent, and had later discovered that a union official
had accepted bribes from the employer, the employees were
empowered to revoke the prior designation, and the employer
was then justified in refusing to bargain with the union. See
Hollywood-Mazwell, supra, 126 F.2d at 819-20, 823.
36a
irrevocably disestablished: if Local 1814 truly enjoys
majority status among Jackson’s employees, then the
Union will be able to demonstrate its majority status in
an election conducted free from the tainted atmosphere
that so long pervaded relations between this Employer
and Union.
D. Abrogation of the 1979 Collective Bargaining Agree-
ment
Petitioners next contest the Board orders requiring
Local 1814 and Jackson to cease giving effect to the 1979
collective bargaining agreement between the parties—in-
cluding all dues checkoff cards executed pursuant thereto
—until the Union has been certified by the NLRB. Board
Decision at 6, 8, 10-11 (JA 401, 403, 405-06). Because
the Board provided the employees substantive protection
from the Employer disregarding the terms of the con-
tract,* the abrogation remedy is essentially only a cor-
ollary to the decertification remedy. Like that remedy,
abrogation was based on the central finding of the Board,
which we endorsed above—that the illegal concealed pay-
ments, particularly when viewed together with the con-
tract concessions, had served to “taint and undermine”
the parties’ bargaining relationship. Concerning the ab-
rogation of the collective bargaining agreement, we af-
firm the Board’s conclusion that in light of the fact that
Anastasio and Scotto had remained as officers of the Un-
23In order to protect the employees’ substantive interests,
the Board provided the following:
Nothing in our Order . . . shall be deemed to require
[Jackson] to vary or abandon those wage, hour, seniority,
or other substantive features of its relations with em-
ployees established in the performance of the aforemen-
tioned collective-bargaining agreement, or to prejudice
the assertion by the employees of any rights they may
have thereunder.
Board Decision at 6-7 (JA 401-02) (citing Sweater Bee by
Banff, Ltd., 197 N.L.R.B. 805 (1972) ).
372
ion, “their divorce from the actual negotiations” was not
determinative of whether those negotiations had been
tainted. Board Decision at 5 (JA 400).
Like the decertification remedy, the abrogation remedy
is designed to dissipate the effects of unfair labor prac-
tices and to protect employees’ statutory rights. In un-
lawful assistance cases where the violation has had some
impact on the contract in question, the abrogation remedy
is virtually routine. See, e.g., International Association of
Machinists, supra, 311 U.S. at 75; American Bakery &
Confectionary Workers International Union, supra, 379
F.2d at 163; Ditzler Mechanical Contractors, Inc., 259
N.L.R.B. 610, 612-13 (1981) ; Jeffrey Manufacturing Co.,
208 N.L.R.B. 75 (1974) ; Bisso Towboat Co., 192 N.L.R.B.
885 (1971).
In attacking the abrogation remedy, petitioner Jackson
argues that “there is simply no connection between the
unlawful payments and what has been nullified by the
Board.” Reply Brief for Petitioner Jackson at 14; see
Brief for Petitioner Local 1814 at 44-45. Petitioners rely
on the findings of the ALJ that the modified collective
bargaining agreement had been the product of hard bar-
gaining. See ALJ Decision at 42 (JA 333). In addition,
petitioners assert that the unlawful payments and the
contract concessions were not truly contemporaneous, in
that the payments ceased shortly before the 1979 contract
was executed. See Brief for Petitioner Local 1814 at 42;
Reply Brief for Petitioner Jackson at 14. Therefore, they
conclude, the 1979 modified contract was not the “fruit”
of the illegal assistance, within the sense of Consolidated
Edison, supra, 305 U.S. at 236, 238.
We cannot so easily dismiss the Board’s conclusion that
the illegal assistance was sufficiently proximate to the
1979 negotiations, in both time and practical impact, to
support the abrogation remedy. The last illegal payment
was made even as the negotiations were getting under
way. As we have indicated, the kickback arrangement
38a
went to the very heart of the Jackson-Local 1814 rela-
tionship through the summer of 1979. Like its highest
officers themselves, the Union’s representation of the Jack-
son employees had been thoroughly corrupted. In this
context, the fact that Scotto and Anastasio, still the Un-
ion’s highest officers with no diminution of their internal
authority, did not actually take part in the negotiations
amounts to a mere formality. The Board has fulfilled its
responsibility to tailor the remedy to the violation: it
demonstrated with reasonable specificity the impact of the
illegal assistance on the parties’ bargaining relationship
and on the modification negotiations in 1979. Petitioners
would simply have the Board ignore the forest for ex-
amining the trees. Given the magnitude of the violations
presented, the Board’s “taint and undermine” finding, as
applied to the 1979 modifications, was no great leap.
That taint on the agreement warrants abrogation there-
of. The Board’s order, however, does leave open the pos-
sibility that the contract may be reinstated when and if
the NLRB certifies the Union.
E. The Reimbursement of Dues
The final contested remedy is the Board’s order that the
Employer and Union, jointly and severally, reimburse all
employees who joined the Union after the 1979 contract
for all dues and fees extracted from those employees un-
der the collective bargaining agreement. See Board De-
cision at 6, 8-9, 11 (JA 401, 403-04, 406). Petitioners
contend that reimbursement is unwarranted because there
was no showing that employees had been coerced into
joining the Union and paying dues, and because the union
security clause in the 1979 collective bargaining agree-
ment was entirely legal.”
26 As a threshold matter, the Court holds that the Board
was not precluded from ordering reinstatement by either the
ALJ’s decision not to recommend that remedy, or the absence
of an exception on that point by the General Counsel—or by
39a
The reimbursement remedy is another way of dissipat-
ing the effects of unlawful labor practices, and also re-
stores to employees that which was unlawfully taken from
them. On these bases, the Board has long ordered repay-
ment of dues where employees, as a requirement of em-
ployment, were unlawfully required to support a union.
See Virginia Electric and Power Co. v. NLRB, 319 US.
533, 539-45 (1943). Reimbursement may be ordered
when the union is assisted, as well as when it is “domi-
nated.” See, e.g., NLRB v. Vernitron Electrical Compo-
nents, Inc., 548 F.2d 24, 27 (1st Cir. 1977); NLRB v.
Revere Metal Art Co., 280 F.2d 96, 100-101 (2d Cir.),
cert. denied, 364 U.S. 894 (1960). In either case, the con-
tinued existence of a union security clause may compel
union members to financially support a union that has
compromised its undivided loyalty to the employees.”
There is no dispute that the 1979 collective bargaining
agreement contained, as had the predecessor agreement,
both a union security clause and a dues checkoff provi-
sion. Nonetheless, petitioners argue that reimbursement
those two factors taken together. NLRB v. WTVJ, Inc., 268
F.2d 346, 348 (5th Cir. 1959) (“Even absent an exception, the
Board is not compelled to act as a mere rubber stamp for its
[ALJ].”) ; see Hedstrom Co. v. NLRB, 629 F.2d 305, 315-16
(3d Cir. 1980) (en banc), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 996 (1981) ;
NLRB v. Duncan Foundry & Machine Works, Inc., 485 F.2d
612, 620 (7th Cir. 1970) ; Kohler Co., 128 N.L.R.B. 1062, 1096
(1960), remanded on other grounds sub. nom. Local 8338,
UAW v. NLRB, 300 F.2d 699 (D.C. Cir.), cert. denied, 370
U.S. 911 (1962). The conclusion that the Board was not pre-
cluded from ordering this remedy is particularly strong be-
cause the reimbursement remedy was before the ALJ and was
briefed at that stage of this case: the petitioners cannot claim
unfair surprise at this later stage.
27 Under Supreme Court decisions, the question whether
union members allegedly receive benefits from union bar-
gaining that they might otherwise not have enjoyed is im-
material to the propriety of a reimbursement order. See Vir-
ginia Electric Power Co., supra, 319 U.S. at 543-44; Vernitron,
supra, 548 F.2d at 27.
40a
is inappropriate. First, Local 1814 maintains that the
ease is controlled by the Supreme Court’s decision in Lo-
cal 60, Carpenters v. NLRB, 365 U.S. 651 (1961). That
case held that reimbursement was punitive when applied
to long-time union members, at least in the absence of
evidence that those employees had somehow been coerced
into joining the union as a condition of employment. /d.
at 654-66. The Board’s reimbursement order here, how-
ever, benefits only employees who joined the union after
the 1979 collective bargaining agreement became effective.
Thus the incongruency perceived by the Court in Local
60, Carpenters—the reimbursement of longstanding union
members, whose membership had not demonstrably been
coerced—is absent in this case. Numerous decisions have
recognized that reimbursement is entirely proper when
applied to employees joining the union after the unlawful
assistance, and where a union security clause, that is un-
lawfully acquired, compels payment of dues. See, ¢.g.,
Vernitron, supra, 548 F.2d at 27; NLRB v. Raymond
Buick, Inc., 445 F.2d 644, 645 (2d Cir. 1971). The Local
60, Carpenters requirement of demonstrable coercion is
simply inapplicable.
Petitioners next produce a series of related arguments,
the common core of which is the objection that the 1979
agreement was not unlawful in any way. Both Local
1814 and Jackson reason that because the union security
clause in the 1979 agreement was merely carried over
from the preceding agreement, that the 1979 clause was
not the result of any unfair labor practice. Brief for Pe-
titioner Local 1814 at 49-50; Brief for Petitioner Jackson
at 41. In addition, pewtioners appear to treat the Board’s
application of the reimbursement remedy only to employ-
ees joining the Union under the 1979 collective bargain-
ing agreement as some sort of concession that the checkoff
of dues was unrelated to the unlawful payments. If the
two had truly been related, the argument goes, the Board
would have extended reimbursement further back in time.
Both arguments miss the mark. Regardless of the pre-
4la
existence of the union security clause, the Board found
that the unlawful assistance, particularly in light of the
Union’s bargaining concessions, had been severe enough to
“taint and undermine” the parties’ bargaining relation-
ship that led to the 1979 agreement. In that way, the en-
tirety of the modified collective bargaining agreement, in-
cluding the union security and dues checkoff clauses, were
infected. That being so, reimbursement was appropriately
ordered. The Board’s decision not to extend reimburse-
ment further back in time 7* was an exercise of remedial
discretion, and in no way detracts from the Board’s au-
thority to go as far as it did. The Board is not obliged to
adopt an all-or-nothing remedial stance. That the Board
might have been justified in going back further than it
did is not a sound reason to set aside its order limiting
reimbursemerit to more recent payments.
¥.
For the foregoing reasons, this Court upholds the
Board’s decision that both the Employer and Union com-
mitted unfair labor practices. The acts of the Union’s
Officials being properly attributable to the Union itself,
the illicit kickback arrangement gave rise to violations on
the part of both petitioners. The Board’s remedies were
reasonably designed to dissipate the effects of those vio-
lations, and to prevent their recurrence. We deny the
petitions and order that the Board’s order be enforced in
its entirety.”
Judgment Accordingly.
28In so limiting the scope of the reimbursement remedy,
the Board cited, without comment, its decision in Unit Train
Coal Sales, Inc., 284 N.L.R.B. 1265 (1978), enforcement de-
nied on other grounds, 636 F.2d 1121 (6th Cir. 1980). In
that case, the Board limited the imposition of its reimburse-
ment remedy to that time frame in which the union security
clause could be deemed unlawful. See id. at 1273.
29 The dissent suggests that the foregoing decision would
permit the Board to “abrogate... any bargaining relationship
and any labor contract involving corrupt dealings between the
42a
employer and union officials.” Dissent at 2. That assertion
is overbroad and misconstrues this opinion. Our approval of
the Board’s findings and remedial actions in this case is predi-
cated upon the specific factual situation that was presented
to the Board—a situation in which the entire relationship be-
tween the Union and Company was predicated from the
beginning on the unlawful assistance to the Union and subse-
quent kickbacks to the Union’s principal officers. From the
very beginning of negotiations it was agreed between the
officers of the Union and the Company that the Union would
benefit materially from the corrupt arrangement and that the
corrupt payments would not begin until the Company’s em-
ployees joined the Union, and both of these requirements
which materially benefitted the Union were complied with
before any sums were paid. We intimate no views on other
cases, differing in kind or in degree, that might come before
the Board.
43a
WALD, Circuit Judge, dissenting: Although I, like the
majority, abhor the corrupt conduct of the union officials
in this case, I have considerable difficulty in enforcing
the Board’s remedial order against the union on the basis
of the record before us. As the majority points out, Maj.
Op. at 12, this is apparently the first time in the fifty-
year history of the NLRA that the Board has applied the
section 8(a) (2) proscription of financial and other sup-
port of unions by employers to a scheme of individual
corruption involving kickback payments that in no way
benefitted the union as an entity. I am not willing to
say at this juncture that the Board is not authorized un-
der any circumstances to apply section 8(a) (2) and its
decertification remedies to a union so infected by its
leaders’ corruption that it cannot properly represent its
members. But neither am I willing to read the statute as
permitting the Board to make this major innovation in
the interpretation of the law without any findings or al-
lusions to evidence on the record demonstrating a rela-
tionship between the individual officers’ corruption and
the union’s representation of its members. To do so would
impermissibly expand the Board’s power to intervene in
and dissolve collective bargaining relationships vitally af-
fecting the welfare of union members in situations not
within the legitimate ambit of section 8(a) (2).
The uniqueness of this case of course does not lie in the
corrupt scheme recounted in detail by the majority. Kick-
backs of precisely this kind motivated Congress to enact
as part of the Taft-Hartley Act a special statute, 29
U.S.C. § 186, proscribing the acceptance of payments by
union officials from employers and providing for both
criminal penalties and various civil remedies for its vio-
lation. Indeed the very existence of 29 U.S.C. § 186
strongly suggests to me that Congress never intended
1 Although the Board also found violations of § 8(a) (1)
and § 8(b) (1) (A), making it unlawful for an employer and
? labor organization respectively to restrain or coerce em-
ployees in the exercise of their rights under the labor laws,
hae violations are entirely derivative of the § 8(a) (2) vio-
on.
44a
section 8(a) (2), a provision designed to deal with the
altogether different problem of “company unions,” to be
applied to kickback schemes like this one.
By its terms, section 8(a) (2) proscribes financial or
other support to a labor organization. There is absolutely
no evidence that any of the kickback money here went
into the union coffers or in any other way benefitted the
union. ALJ Opinion at 27, J.A. 318. I cannot agree with
the majority’s attempts to finesse this point by character-
izing the payments as simply part of a “package deal”
that benefitted the union. The sole basis for the Board’s
finding of an unfair labor practice was the kickback pay-
ments themselves and those payments did not in any way
(as far as the record shows) benefit the union. Under
the “package deal” theory, the Board could abrogate un-
der section 8(a) (2) virtually any bargaining relationship
and any labor contract involving corrupt dealings between
the employer and union officials. This would radically ex-
pand the Board’s power to determine for employees which
unions are or are not worthy of their support. The ALJ
specifically found that the union here maintained the sup-
port of an uncoerced majority, ALJ Op. at 40, J.A. 331.
I need not remind this court of the fundamental premise
of the National Labor Relations Act that employees should
be free to choose their own representatives; we recently
rejected a Board decision to issue a bargaining order
where the union had not attained majority status because
such an order was deemed inconsistent with that premise.
Conair Corp. v. NLRB, 721 F.2d 13855 (D.C. Cir. 1983) ;
see infra note 2.
The use of common law agency principles to substitute
for a total lack of evidence that the kickbacks benefitted
the union does not work. Obviously, as the ALJ noted, we
could not expect the union to ratify the illegal actions of
its officers. But that truism does not mean that we should
presume that every illegal action taken by a union officer
to line hix own pockets is done by and for the benefit of
the union. Indeed, the common law of agency incorpo-
rates the opposite presumption, that an illegal act ordi-
45a
narily will not be found within. the agent’s scope of em-
ployment. Although there are situations in which the
principal is held liable for such conduct, generally where
innocent third parties are the direct victims of the
agent’s illegal conduct, it remains the general rule that
“if the employee committing the crime is acting solely
for his own benefit, his employer is not liable.” Melton v.
United States, 488 F. Supp. 1066, 1074 (D.D.C. 1980).
See also Hoston v. Silbert, 681 F.2d 876, 880 (D.C. Cir.
1982) (under D.C. law, “foreseeability must be com-
bined with a purpose to further the employer’s interest’) ;
Restatement (Second) of Agency § 235. The solicitation
and acceptance of kickback payments here appear in no
way to have been motivated by the officials’ desire to
serve their union. Instead it appears from the evidence
that Scotto and Anastasio simply exploited their powerful
positions as ILA officials. Indeed, it is odd, in light of
the Board’s attempt to portray this as a routine applica-
tion of agency principles to what is unfortunately a fam-
iliar set of facts, that we have been cited to no prior
Board decision that held a union responsible under prin-
ciples of agency for its officers’ acceptance of illegal kick-
backs.
The majority, the ALJ and the Board all presume that
no direct evidence could be shown—and therefore that
none need be shown—to link the kickback payments to
the union. But that link is precisely what the statute re-
quires—some proof that the employer provided unlawful
support to the union by virtue of the payments—or at
least what agency law ordinarily requires—that Scotto
and Anastasio, in soliciting and accepting kickbacks, were
acting pursuant to a plan entered into for the benefit of
or with the approval of the union as an entity. This
would for instance be a different case if there were evi-
dence of widespread knowledge and acceptance of the
kickback scheme by other union officers or members. In-
“jead we have only the bare fact of an indictment that
came down at the very end of the kickback scheme. What-
ever our personal views of what action a “truly upright
46a
union” would take under the circumstances, Maj. Op. at
20, there is no evidence at all in this record of knowledge
or ratification by other officers or members so as to fill
the gaping holes in the Board’s application of agency
law.
This would also be a different case if the Board had
found on the basis of substantial evidence that the em-
ployer or the union had, by virtue of the kickback pay-
ments or otherwise, coerced or restrained employees in
their choice of bargaining representative, or that the un-
ion had failed to represent the employees adequately. In-
stead, the ALJ specifically found on the evidence before
him that Local 1814 had maintained the support of an
uncoerced majority, ALJ Op. at 40, J.A. 331, and had
provided the employees with “vigorous and effective rep-
resentation” in spite of the ongoing kickback scheme.
ALJ Op. at 42, J.A. 333. Without pointing to a single
piece of evidence undermining these carefully supported
findings, the Board concluded that the entire bargaining
relationship was “tainted.” It proceeded to order a set of
section 8(a) (2) remedies, including decertification of the
union and abrogation of the collective bargaining agree-
ment, that make sense only in the usual 8(a) (2) case, in
which the employer’s out front assistance to the union
carries with it a threat of coercion to the rank and file
and therefore undermines the union’s claim of majority
status. I point out at the risk of tedium the absence of
any precedent for the application of these remedies to a
case of direct and secret employer payments to officials,
apparently inuring solely to the personal benefit of those
individual union officials.
If the Board’s decision in this case is based on its con-
clusion that concealed kickback payments of this kind to
high union officers are inherently coerceive and neces-
sarily taint the bargaining relationship, then the Board
has introduced a major innovation in the law of labor
relations permitting massive government intervention
into collective bargaining relationships in the absence of
47a
any evidence of coercion or lack of majority status. At
the very least the Board is obligated to acknowledge the
significance of this innovative use of the NLRA and to
justify it.2 Here, however, we are presented with no link,
logical or factual, between the corrupt kickbacks and the
need for a complete abrogation of the entire collective
bargaining relationship that the Board, reversing the
ALJ, ordered as a remedy.
The government has a wide range of remedies and
penalties under 29 U.S.C. § 186 that are tailor-made to
penalize and rectify the evil of such kickback schemes.
Section 8(a) (2) and the traditional remedies for its vio-
lation simply do not fit the situation depicted here of
corrupt union officers extorting money from the employer
solely for their own use. Without proof of any motive to
benefit the union or any relationship between their in-
dividual greed and the union’s activities, I am not con-
vinced that there is a legitimate invocation of section
8(a) (2). However distasteful the misdeeds of these in-
dividuals, they do not justify novel remedies that bend
the statute out of shape and, in so doing, penalize not the
culprits but the union and its members who are, as far
as we can tell from this record, only innocent bystanders
to the wrongdoing. I respectfully dissent.
2In Conair Corp. v. NLRB, 721 F.2d 1355 (D.C. Cir. 1983),
this court held that the principle of majority support is so
central to the statutory scheme that the NLRB may never
issue a bargaining order in the absence of evidence that the
union had a majority before the employer’s coercive conduct
took its toll. 721 F.2d at 1377-84. I dissented. In my view,
the Board had adequately supported its conclusion that the em-
ployer’s massive and unprecedented campaign of coercion had
eliminated any possibility of a fair election and that a tempo-
rary bargaining order was the only possible means of restoring
employee freedom of choice. See id. at 1387-1401. The ma-
jority decides here, ironically, that the principle of majority
rule and freedom of choice is so unimportant that a collective
bargaining representative whose majority status is not in
doubt may be ousted on the basis of individual officers’ cor-
ruption bearing no demonstrated relationship to the quality
of the representation in collective bargaining.
APPENDIX B
48a
United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
No. 83-1113 September Term, 1983
Local 1814, International Longshoreman’s Association,
AFL-CIO
Petitioner
v.
National Labor Relations Board,
Respondent
And Consolidated Case No. 83-1117
BEFORE: Wilkey and Wald, Circuit Judges, and MacKinnon,
Senior Circuit Judge
ORDER
On consideration of the Petition for Rehearing of Petitioner-
Cross Respondent, Local 1814, it is
ORDERED by the Court that the aforesaid Petition for
Rehearing is denied.
Per Curiam
For the Court:
Georce A. FisHer, Clerk
By:
Robert A. Bonner
Chief Deputy Clerk
Circuit Judge Wald would grant the Petition for Rehearing.
49a
United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
No. 83-1113 September Term, 1983
Local 1814, International Longshoreman’s Association,
AFL-CIO
Petitioner
v.
National Labor Relations Board,
Respondent
And Consolidated Case No. 83-1117
BEFORE: Robinson, Chief Judge; Wright, Tamm, Wilkey,
Wald, Mikva, Edwards, Ginsburg, Bork, Scalia and
Starr, Circuit Judges
ORDER
The Suggestion for Rehearing en banc of Petitioner-Cross
Respondent, Local 1814, has been circulated to the
full Court and a majority of the Judges in regular
active service have not voted in favor thereof. On
consideration of the foregoing, it is
ORDERED by the Court en banc that the aforesaid Sugges-
tion is denied.
Per Curiam
For the Court:
GeorceE A. FisHEer, Clerk
By:
Robert A. Bonner
Chief Deputy Clerk
Circuit Judge Wald, Edwards and Ginsburg would grant the
Suggestion for Rehearing en banc.
APPENDIX C
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BEFORE THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
DIVISION OF JUDGES
BRANCH OFFICE
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
JACKSON ENGINEERING CO.
and
INDUSTRIAL UNION OF MARINE
AND SHIPBUILDING WORKERS
OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO and
LOCAL 17, INDUSTRIAL UNION
OF MARINE AND
SHIPBUILDING WORKERS OF
AMERICA, AFL-CIO
and
LOCAL 1814, INTERNATIONAL
LONGSHOREMEN’S
ASSOCIATION, AFL-CIO
Party to the Contract
LOCAL 1814, INTERNATIONAL
LONGSHOREMEN’S
ASSOCIATION, AFL-CIO
(JACKSON ENGINEERING CO.)
and
INDUSTRIAL UNION OF MARINE
AND SHIPBUILDING WORKERS
OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO and
LOCAL 17, INDUSTRIAL UNION
OF MARINE AND
SHIPBUILDING WORKERS OF
AMERICA, AFL-CIO
and
JACKSON ENGINEERING CO.
Party to the Contract
Case No. 29-CA-7498
Case No. 29-CB-3966
5la
Stanley, L. Goodman, Esq. and
Steven M. Swirsky, Esq.,
Brooklyn, NY for General Counsel.
Andrew E. Zelman, Esq. and Jeffrey
H. Lapidus, Esq. (Seham, Klein &
Zelman, Esqs.) New York, NY for
Respondent Employer.
Howard Schulman, Esq. and Donald
L. Sapir, Esq. (Schulman &
Abarbanel, Esqs.) New York, NY
for Respondent Union.
Michael Brodie, Esq. (Freedman &
Lorry, Esqs.) Philadelphia, Penn.
for Charging Parties.
DECISION
Statement of the Case
STEVEN B. FISH, Administrative Law Judge: Pursuant to
charges and amended charges filed by Industrial Union of Ma-
rine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, AFL-CIO and Local
17, Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of
America, herein called Charging Parties or IUMSWA, the Gen-
- eral Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board by the
Regional Director for Region 29 issued an Order Consolidating
Cases, Consolidated Complaint and Notice of Hearing on May
30, 1980 and a Consolidated Amended Complaint on October
7, 1980. The Complaint as amended alleges that Jackson Engi-
neering Co., herein called Respondent Employer or Jackson,
violated Section 8(a)(1), (2) and (3) of the Act and that Local
1814, International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO,
herein referred to as Respondent Union or ILA, violated Section
8(b)(1)(A) and (2) of the Act, by inter alia, on September 13,
1979,' executing and thereafter maintaining and enforcing a
collective bargaining agreement with respect to Jackson’s em-
‘ Unless otherwise obtained all dates hereinafter referred to are in 1979.
$2a
ployees, containing a Union Security Clause, notwithstanding
the fact that a real question concerning the representation of
said employees had been raised and was pending by virtue of
requests for recognition made by IUMSWA. The Complaint
also alleges that Jackson violated Section 8(a)(1) and (2) and ILA
violated Section 8(b)(1)(A)of the Act, by virtue of an arrangement
in existence from 1975 to 1979 whereby Jackson made concealed
payments to Anthony Scotto and Anthony Anastasio, president
and executive vice-president of the ILA, respectively, in amounts
equal to ten percent of the additional volume of business result-
ing from referrals to Jackson by the ILA.
A hearing on the issues encompassed by said complaint was
heard before me in Brooklyn and New York, New York on
October 27, 28 and 29, 1980 and on June 3 and 4, 1981.”
Briefs which have been received from General Counsel, Re-
spondent Company and Respondent Union, have been carefully
considered, and I might add were all excellently prepared and
most helpful in assisting my deliberations herein.
Upon the entire record, including my observation of the
demeanor of the witnesses, I make the following:
Findings of Fact
I. Jurisdiction
Respondent Employer, a New Jersey corporation, is engaged
in the business of performing maritime ship maintenance, build-
ing and repair services and related services, with places of
* Although not appearing at the hearing, Counsel for the Charging Parties
submitted a motion to the Chief Administrative Law Judge, which was re-
ferred to me for disposition, requesting withdrawal of the charges herein. Said
request had previously been denied by the Regional Director for Region 29,
by letter dated October 1, 1980, except for the portion of the charge in Case
No. 29-CB-3966 insofar as it relates to the International Longshoremen’s
Association, AFL-CIO, which had been named a Respondent in the original
Complaint issued on May 30, 1980. The Amended Complaint issued on
October 7, 1980, pursuant to the Director's approval of the partial withdrawal,
removed the international as a Respondent herein. I deferred ruling on the
motion of Charging Parties to withdraw the remaining portions of the charge
pending my hearing the record testimony and consideration of the parties
briefs on this issue.
$3a
business at 1418 Willow Avenue in Hoboken, New Jersey,
herein called the Hoboken facility, at 2945 Richmond Terrace
in Staten Island, New York, herein called the Staten Island
facility, and various other places of business in New York and
New Jersey. Annually, Respondent Employer in the course of
its business operations, performed services in excess of $50,000
for various steamship companies, including United States Lines
and Prudential Lines, each of which companies annually derives
gross revenues in excess of $50,000 from the transportation of
goods and passengers among the several states of the United
States and to foreign countries. Respondents admit and I find
that Jackson *s an employer engaged in commerce within the
meaning of Section 2(2), (6) and (7) of the Act.
It is also admitted and I so find that Charging Parties and the
ILA are, and have been at all times material herein labor organ-
izations within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
Il. Facts
A. Recognition of ILA By Jackson and Arrangement
For Payments to ILA Officers By Jackson
Respondent Employer began its operations in 1948. Prior to
1975 its employees were not represented by any labor organi-
zation. Nicholas Seregos, herein called Seregos, became presi-
dent of Jackson on or about August 1971, when it had sales of
less than $500,000 per year.
In the middle of 1975, Seregos noticed that when he would
go around soliciting for business, particularly on U.S. flag ships,
he would be told that unless he was a Union shop his firm could
not obtain the work on the piers. Sonny Montella, an acquaint-
ance of Seregos, suggested to him that he ccntact Anthony
Sta
Anastasio, an officer of the ILA.* Seregos then telephoned An-
astasio at the ILA’s office and informed Anastasio of his being
referred by Montella to Anastasio. Seregos added that he was
looking for some business and was interested in unionizing the
shop. A meeting was arranged for and held either at the Re-
spondent Employer's Hoboken shop or Respondent Union's
Brooklyn office. Seregos repeated that he was looking for work
and wanted to unionize his shop. Anastasio responded that he
wished to meet the employees at the shop and see if they would
be williag to sign up. Anastasio then met with Jackson’s employ-
ees. The record does not disclose what if anything Anastasio said
to the employees at that time.
Seregos next met with Anastasio sometime prior to July 11,
1975. At this meeting Anastasio offered to obtain some business
for Jackson, for a consideration of 10% of the proceeds of any
business obtained through his efforts. Anastasio made it clear to
Seregos that he would not help Seregos get any business unless
Jackson became a Union shop. Seregos agreed to the arrange-
ment and agreed that his firm would become a Union shop.
On or about July 11, 1975, Seregos met again with Anastasio,
this time in the ILA’s office. At this meeting Anastasio in-
structed Seregos to write a letter to Prudential Lines, a U.S.
flag ship, attention John Marano. Anastasio told Seregos that he
could help him obtain business from this firm. Pursuant to
Anastasio’s instructions Seregos wrote a letter dated July 11,
1975 to Marano of Prudential, stating that Jackson is a complete
union plant affiliated with ILA, and that its employees are ILA
members.
* At that time Anastasio was Secretary Treasurer of Local 1277, ILA. In
March 1978, Local 1277 as well as other locals of the International merged
into Local 1814, ILA, the Respondent Union herein. All parties concede that
Respondent Union is the successor to Local 1277. As Secretary Treasurer,
Anastasio was responsible for the administration of contracts for the ILA in the
ship repair industry. He continued exercising that responsibility after the
merger when he became Executive Vice President, the number two position
in the merged organization.
55a
On September 15, 1975 the ILA obtained authorization cards
from Jackson’s employees and in late September, Jackson by
Seregos signed a memorandum of understanding with the ILA,
apparently agreeing to recognition. Thereafter pursuant to
checkoff authorizations executed by Jackson’s employees, it be-
gan to checkoff dues and forward them to the ILA.‘
Sometime in the fall of 1975, Seregos met with Anastasio and
Anthony Scotto, president of the ILA, at the ILA’s office. Sere-
gos indicated that he was looking for more work. Scotto replied
that he could help Seregos obtain the United States Shipping
Lines account. The conversation then drifted to how Seregos
was going to come up with the 10% commission arrangement on
this business. Scotto indicated that he was concerned about how
Seregos was going to get the money and suggested that he would
assist Seregos in setting up a foreign corporation to help him in
this regard. Seregos replied that this will not be necessary.
The parties then signed a collective agreement effective No-
vember 3, 1975 to November 3, 1978. This contract was the
industry contract, known as the “blue book,” and was signed by
Seregos, Anastasio and Scotto.
At some point in the early fall of 1975, Seregos received a
phone call from a Mr. Bauer, assistant to the director at U.S.
Lines, notifying Jackson to start work on one of their ships.
Jackson began receiving business from Prudential Lines in or
about September of 1975.
At some time late 1975, after Jackson began receiving busi-
ness from Prudential and U.S. Lines, Seregos discussed with
Anastasio the method of payment of the 10% commission. An-
astasio informed Seregos that payments were to be made in
cash, and Seregos agreed.
* The memorandum of understanding signed by Jackson was not introduced
into the record, nor does the record reveal its terms. However, the record
tends to suggest and I so find that the memorandum of understanding in
addition to providing for recognition of ILA, also called for Jackson to be
bound by the terms of the [LA's industry contract, including checkoff provi-
sions, which was about to expire.
$6a
In early 1976 Seregos began his payments to Anastasio, which
were made in cash at the ILA’s office with no else present.
Pursuant to the arrangement made, Seregos paid Anastasio
$15,000 during the course of 1976 covering 10% of the business
obtained by Jackson from Prudential and U.S. Lines. During
the year 1977, Seregos paid to Anastasio, $5,000 on June 2,
$1,000 on October 6, $5,000 on November 17, and $5,000 on
December 19. All of these payments, representing 10% of busi-
ness Jackson obtained from U.S. and Prudential, were also made
to Anastasio by Seregos at the ILA office.
In 1978, Jackson lost the Prudential account. Seregos com-
plained to Anastasio about it and asked if there was anything he
could do to reinstate the business. The record does not reflect
Anastasio’s response, but the business was not thereafter re-
stored.
During the year 1978, payments were made in the same
fashion, but only covering Jackson's business from U.S. Lines.
Seregos gave Anastasio pursuant to their arrangement, $5,000
on February 28, $5,000 on March 23, $5,000 on April 10, $5,000
on May 15, $3,700 on July 3, and $5,000 on November 15.
During this period of time Seregos met with Anastasio on
various union matters, as Anastasio was directly responsible for
the administration of the collective bargaining agreement with
Jackson.
In early May 1979, at Anasiasio’s office, Anastasio asked Ser-
egos if there was any money due “against the work.” Seregos
responded why now in view of the investigation. Anastasio
replied that it was all right.°
On May 8, 1979 Seregos paid Anastasio $4,000, again at the
ILA’s office.
Shortly thereafter, by telephone Anastasio asked Seregos if
he could make a contribution for the purpose of helping Scotto
* The “investigation” referred to by Seregos was apparently the criminal
investigation which culminated in eventual indictments and convictions of
Anastasio and Scotto discussed more fully infra.
57a
pay his attorney's fees. Seregos replied that it was rather diffi-
cult at that time to come up with any money. Anastasio asked
him to try, and informed Seregos that they are having an affair
at a hotel and were asking others in the industry to contribute
to pay Scotto’s attorney fees. Subsequently, Seregos obtained
$4,000 in cash and gave it to Anastasio at ILA office on July 5,
1979.
During the period between 1975 and 1979 Jackson’s business
as well as its number of employees and ILA members grew
substantially.
On November 3, 1978 Jackson and the ILA entered into a
renewal of the prior contract, with a number of changes in-
cluded therein, running from November 3, 1978 to November
2, 1981. This contract was executed by Anastasio and Joseph
Collazzo for the ILA and by Seregos on behalf of Jackson. *®
In January 1979, an indictment was handed down in the
Southern District of New York by the Grand Jury pertaining to
the receipt of certain payments by Anastasio and Scotto from
certain employers under contract to ILA, not including Jackson.
On July 31, 1979 a superseding indictment was filed adding
additional counts of such conduct by Anastasio and Scotto, in-
cluding payments made by Seregos to Anastasio from 1977-
1979. Scotto was not indicted for any dealings with Seregos or
Jackson.
Shortly after the filing of the superseding indictment, the ILA
upon recommendation of its attorney immediately removed An-
astasio from participation in any dealings or negotiations with
Jackson. The ILA also insisted upon and Jackson agreed that
Seregos be removed from any dealings or negotiations with the
ILA.
Anastasio was permitted by the ILA to remain as its Executive
Vice President and Scotto was allowed to remain as president.
* This contract as well as the prior contract was negotiated and signed by
eleven employers in the industry, including Jackson.
58a
Scotto and Anastasio were tried in Federal Court in New
York, on multiple counts of receiving unlawful labor payments
in violation of Section 302 of the Taft Hartley Act, 29 USC
Section 186(b), as well as conspiring to participate in the affairs
of the ILA through a pattern of racketeering activity, and for
failure to report and pay federal income taxes on the unlawful
amounts obtained from such activities.
After an eight week trial, both Scotto and Anastasio were
convicted in January 1980, of forty three counts under the
indictment and the jury was unable to reach a verdict on sev-
enteen other counts included therein.” Anastasio was convicted
of receiving unlawful payments from Seregos and Jackson for a
period of February 28, 1978 to July 5, 1979. Scotto as noted was
not indicted nor convicted of the receipt of any payments from
Seregos or Jackson. Anastasio was sentenced to two years in
prison, five years probation and a $5,000 fine. Scotto was sen-
tenced to five years in prision, with five years probation and
$75,000 in fines.
The sentencing occurred in February 1980, and it also in-
cluded any order by the trial court judge that Anastasio and
Scotto forfeit their Union offices. The convictions were appealed
to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. On September 2, 1980, a
three judge panel unanimously affirmed the convictions of An-
astasio and Scotto. The Court in its decision found as follows.
“Nicholas Seregos of Jackson Engineering Co., Inc. an ILA-
affiliated marine engineering company doing general ship re-
pair, paid Anastasio a 10% “commission” on business obtained
for his company with Scotto’s and Anastasio’s assistance from
Prudential Lines, Inc. and United States Lines.”
Anastasio and Scotto subsequently petitioned the Circuit en
banc for a re-hearing. At some point undisclosed by this record,
such request was denied.
egos testified for the prosecution under a grant of immunity. Anastasio
did r,t take the witness stand. Scotto did testify and denied knowledge of any
10% commission arrangement with Seregos.
59a
Meanwhile, shortly after the conviction, an action was brought
by Scotto and Anastasio in the New York State Supreme Court
for a declaratory judgment that the term “conviction” under the
New York and New Jersey Waterfront Compact, means after all
appeals are exhausted.* The Waterfront Commission moved for
judgment in its favor claiming that “conviction” under the statue
applies to the date of sentencing. The Supreme Court rules in
favor of the Commission in September 1980, and directed that
Anastasio and Scotto be removed from office. Upon application,
the Appellate Division stayed the order of the Court, pending
an expedited appeal from the Court’s judgment. Said appeal was
filed and in late October 1980, the Appellate Division unani-
mously affirmed the decision of the Supreme Court. The record
does nut disclose whether or not any appeal was filed from this
decision to the New York State Court of Appeals.
The record does disclose however that the ILA permitted
Anastasio and Scotto to remain as officers of the ILA until the
exhaustion of their appeals from these various proceedings. New
elections were conducted by the ILA in May 1981, and new
individuals were elected to fill the positions previously held by
Scotto and Anastasio.
Portions of the testimony given by Seregos in the Federal
Court trial were stipulated into evidence by the parties and
forms the basis for my findings set forth above with respect to
Seregos’ dealings with Anastasio and Scotto. The portions of his
testimony included in this record are sketchy and somewhat
unclear in certain areas, and my findings set forth herein are
based on what I perceive to be a fair reading of such testimony.
The parties are in substantial agreement as to the above facts
with the exception of one area. Respondents assert that the
record establishes that the unlawful arrangement between Ser-
egos and Anastasio was entered into after the ILA organized
* Under the Waterfront Compact Act, a Waterfront Commission was estab-
lished to regulate and control the affairs of longshoremen and labor organiza-
tions representing such workers in New York and New Jersey. The Act
provides that upon conviction of a crime, any officer of such a labor organiza-
tion must be removed.
a ee eee
60a
Jackson’s employees and after the memorandum of understand-
ing and/or contract was executed by the parties in September
and November 1975. Although Seregos’ testimony is particu-
larly uncertain on this subject, I am persuaded that my findings
set forth above, accurately reflect his testimony and a reasonable
conclusion as to the true facts.
Respondent Union points to Seregos’ testimony that Anastasio
after having been approached by Seregos about his becoming a
Union shop, insisted upon speaking to Jackson's employees to
see if they wished to sign up. Such a meeting did occur accoré-
ing to Seregos, and Respondent Union argues that this meeting
must have been in September when the authorization and
checkoff cards were executed by Jackson employees. Thus, it is
argued since Seregos testified that the arrangement for pay-
ments was made after Anastasio met with his employees, that
perforce the arrangement was not made until the contract or at
least the memorandum of understanding was signed.
I do not agree with this analysis of Seregos’ testimony how-
ever, and believe that General Counsel's position that the ar-
rangement was agreed to prior to the execution of the
memorandum and contract, more accurately reflects Seregos’
testimony as weil as the record evidence. I note that with
respect to the meeting held by Anastasio with Jackson employ-
ees after his initial conversation with Seregos, there is no record
testimony as to what was said therein, and in fact Seregos
indicated that no materials were distributed by Anastasio to his
employees at that time. More significantly, Seregos sent a letter
to Prudential dated July 11, 1975, which was received by Pru-
dential on July 15,° asserting that Jackson was an ILA shop and
requesting business. This letter was sent pursuant to the in-
structions of Anastasio, and was sent two months prior to the
execution of any contract or memorandum. Since Anastasio
* Although Seregos in direct testimony was unsure of when he mailed the
letter to Prudential and suggested the possibility that the letter may have been
backdated, when confronted on cross examination by the original letter with a
Prudential date stamp reading July 15, he recalled that it was sent in July and
that he had orally agreed to recognize the Union prior to sending such letter.
6la
made it clear to Seregos that he would not refer Jackson any
business unless it became an ILA shop, I find that he would not
have suggested a letter to Prudential unless he had a committ-
ment from Seregos to become a Union shop.
Therefore, I am convinced that Seregos and Anastasio entered
into their agreement for the 10% commission payment for busi-
ness referred in July, at least two months before any memoran-
dum contract was executed or any authorization cards obtained.
At the same time as noted, I find that Seregos orally agreed with
Anastasio that he would become an JLA shop.
B. Jackson’s Acquisition of the Staten Island Facility
Jackson has been made and is engaged in the business of
major shop repairs, overhauls and renovations, both at its own
and leased locations, as well as at sites where vessels are docked
and berthed. Jackson owned and operated a machine shop in
Hoboken, New Jersey, and leased facilities at Columbia Street
and Pier 12 on the Brooklyn, New York waterfront, alongside of
which were berthed vessels worked upon by its employees.
Jackson’s employees also would travel to make ship repairs upon
vessels tied up at other parts along the coast.
This type of operation that Jackson was engaged in was known
in the industry as a pierside operation, as contrasted with dry-
dock work’ operations, which rwpair ships at their own facilitie
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