Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board, 536 F.2d 461, 1st Cir. (1976)

536 F.
2d 461
92 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2904, 78 Lab.Cas. P 11,468
STONE & WEBSTER ENGINEERING CORPORATION,

Petitioner,
v.
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Respondent.
No. 75-1411.
United States Court of Appeals,

First Circuit.
Argued March 4, 1976.
Decided June 10, 1976.
William G. Meserve, Boston, Mass., with whom John V. Woodard and

Ropes & Gray, Boston, Mass., were on brief, for petitioner.
David F. Zorensky, Washington, D. C., Atty., with whom John S. Irving,
Jr., Gen. Counsel, John E. Higgins, Jr., Deputy Gen. Counsel, Elliott
Moore, Deputy Associate Gen. Counsel, and Aileen Armstrong, Atty.,
Washington, D. C., were on brief, for respondent.
ON PETITION FOR REVIEW AND CROSS-APPLICATION FOR
ENFORCEMENT OF AN ORDER OF THE NATIONAL LABOR
RELATIONS BOARD
Before ALDRICH, McENTEE and CAMPBELL, Circuit Judges.
McENTEE, Circuit Judge.
In a decision dated April 28, 1975, an administrative law judge of the National
Labor Relations Board found that Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation
had engaged in certain unfair labor practices in violation of 8(a)(1) and (3) of
the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. 151 et seq. ("the Act"). She
issued a cease and desist order and also ordered the reinstatement of the eight
complainants. The decision and order of the administrative law judge was
adopted by the Board with a relatively minor modification, 220 N.L.R.B. No.
124, and this appeal followed.
The disputed conclusions of the administrative law judge may be summarized

as follows:
3 The termination on August 2, 1974, of eight named employees the complainants

1.
before the Board was effected by Stone & Webster "in order to discourage
membership in and activities on behalf of the Union"1 and constituted discrimination
"against employees in regard to their hire or tenure of employment" and therefore
was an unfair labor practice within the meaning of 8(a)(3) and (1) of the Act.
4 "By following employees in the plant to prevent employee conversations about
2.
the Union" and "by maintaining surveillance of the conversations and activities of
employee Union organizers," Stone & Webster interfered with, restrained, and
coerced its employees in the exercise of their 7 rights and thereby engaged in
unfair labor practices within the meaning of 8(a)(1) of the Act.2
5
We deal with these two sets of conclusions in order.
Stone & Webster is a large engineering firm with many employees in Boston
and in other parts of the country. It is engaged in the design and construction of
heavy industrial projects including nuclear power facilities. Because of the
importance of reports, drawings, and specifications to its work, it maintains
several "reproduction departments" in Boston and elsewhere. One such
reproduction department was established at 401 Summer Street in Boston in
January, 1974. At this facility, Stone & Webster employed some 85-90 people
before the contested terminations. All the events which constituted the
background of this case involved only the Summer Street facility.
On or about July 22, 1974, certain Stone & Webster employees at the Summer
Street location decided that they wanted union representation, contacted a
Union representative, and began an organizational campaign.3 On Friday,
August 2, ten employees at the Summer Street facility were informed4 that,
effective immediately, their employment was terminated. The Union charged
Stone & Webster with an unfair labor practice in dismissing eight of these ten
employees, noting that all eight had participated, in varying degrees in the
union organizational campaign. The company maintained that the terminations
were simply the result of a necessary reduction in its workforce and did not
represent antiunion discrimination.
The basic issue in this dispute is whether these terminations were the result of a
business judgment based on economic necessity or of an impermissible decision
to snuff out incipient unionism through a show of force. The administrative law
judge and the Board concluded that Stone & Webster's economic justification
for these terminations was not persuasive. As in all cases where motivation
must be assessed, there is no substitute for close scrutiny of the factual context
in which the disputed actions occurred.
9
Our standard of review in considering the conclusion of the administrative law

judge and the Board that the complainants were terminated in order to
discourage membership in or activity on behalf of the Union is that of
substantial evidence. "(T)his court's limited function . . . is merely to determine
whether on the record as a whole there is substantial evidence to support the
Board's findings." NLRB v. Universal Packaging Corporation, 361 F.2d 384,
387 (1st Cir. 1966). In making this determination, however, we must be
mindful of the burdens of proof which the law imposes on the Board in cases of
this nature. In the first place, the Board has the burden of showing that the
employer had knowledge of the union activity. NLRB v. Gotham Industries,
Inc., 406 F.2d 1306, 1310 (1st Cir. 1969). If the Board sustains that burden, it
then has the burden of "affirmatively show(ing) that the discharges were
improperly motivated." NLRB v. Patrick Plaza Dodge, Inc., 522 F.2d 804, 807
(4th Cir. 1975). In the event that the employer had a permissible reason for
discharging the employee (e. g. economic considerations) and an impermissible
reason (antiunion animus), "the Board must show an 'affirmative and
persuasive reason why the employer rejected the good cause and chose a bad
one.' " Id., quoting NLRB v. Billen Shoe Co., 397 F.2d 801, 803 (1st Cir.
1968). See also NLRB v. Fibers International Corp., 439 F.2d 1311, 1312 & n.
1 (1st Cir. 1971).
10
While we give due weight to the privileged vantage point of the administrative
law judge as the fact-finder and also to the Board's "vast experience in dealing
with labor disputes," Editorial "El Imparcial," Inc. v. NLRB, 278 F.2d 184, 187
(1st Cir. 1960), we simply are not persuaded that in this case the Board has
sustained its burden5 as to improper motivation.6
11
At the hearing before the administrative law judge, there was testimony by F.
Lawrence Doherty, vice president and senior personnel manager of Stone &
Webster, that economic considerations had required the company to effect a
reduction in force in the Summer of 1974:
12 the investor owned electric power generating industry there have been very very
"In
substantial commitments made financially to finance large nuclear power stations,
and some fossil and hydroelectric power stations.
13 we came to the end of the first half of 1974 these companies encountered some
"As
difficulties in not only obtaining new financing for new projects; but continued
financing for projects they already committed themselves to in contracts with

companies like Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation; and this was true even at
the exorbitant interest rates that were being charged by the lenders at that time.
14 is a matter of public knowledge. This has been discussed in the Wall Street
"This
Journal; discussed in the professional trade journals; the New York Times; and I've
read articles about it in the Boston newspapers. The information is in the public
domain.
15
"Early
in July 1974 Savannah Electric Company asked us to stop work on a fossil
power station known as Effingham I, and by stopping work that meant to
discontinue all engineering; all design; and procurement which had impact on the
work of the reproduction department.
16 July 9, 1974 Niagara Mohawk Power Company directed us to slow down
"On
engineering; design; and construction; and purchasing work on a plant we are
constructing for them known as Nine Mile II.
17
"Nine
days later on July 18, 1974 the same company, Niagara Mohawk, instructed
us to stop work and discontinue all expenditures on another fossil plant we're doing
for them known as Oswego VI."
18
Mr. Doherty's testimony continued in the same vein, referring additionally to

stop and slow orders received from other clients such as Long Island Lighting
Company (two nuclear power projects) (July 24, 1974) and Virginia Electric
and Power Company (six nuclear power projects) (July 24, 1974). He testified
that the estimated completed construction cost for the projects on which they
had received stop and slow orders by July 24 was $3,000,716,207. Mr. Doherty
testified that, as a result of this situation, Stone & Webster "went from a
company that was terribly short of technical professional support manpower
almost overnight to a company that had too much manpower" and consequently
a decision was made on July 24 that some reductions in force would have to be
made. Mr. Doherty also testified concerning terminations actually effected by
the company in several of its operations centers and construction sites in
various parts of the country. We need not quote in detail his testimony in this
regard, but his summation is worthy of note: "In total, through the end of
November starting with the 24th of July, we have terminated due to reduction
of force 884 people in all locations or a total of 9% of our work force."7
19
Although this highly specific and empirical testimony was unrefuted, the
administrative law judge found the testimony of (Stone & Webster's) witnesses
"unconvincing" and "vague, inherently inconsistent, and contradictory"; she
concluded that the company had failed to show "that these terminations were
required by economic conditions." She went on to itemize some of the

weaknesses which she saw in Stone & Webster's case:
20
"(Stone
& Webster) introduced no original documentary evidence to show the
economic need for these terminations. . . . Nor does the testimony adduced by (Stone
& Webster) as to the stop and slow orders establish the economic necessity for the 8
terminations. . . . (Stone & Webster) presented no evidence as to new contracts
obtained during this period; as to existing contracts that were unaffected by stop or
slow orders; as to arrangements that were made to resume work on projects which
(it) was committed by contract to complete by certain dates; or as to what impact, if
any, these orders had on the specialized operations performed in the the
Reproduction Department. . . .
21 is apparent, from the record as a whole, and I find that (Stone & Webster's)
"It
assertions that it terminated the employees here involved for economic reasons are
unsupported by probative or credible evidence. . . ."
22
This evaluation of Stone & Webster's defense, however, reflects a

misconception of the respective evidentiary burdens of the parties in cases of
this nature. The Board has the burden of affirmatively showing improper
motivation on the part of the company. See NLRB v. Patrick Plaza Dodge, Inc.,
supra at 807. But even "(w)hen the evidence of the charging party has raised a
reasonable inference of discrimination, that inference may still be rendered
unreasonable by the employer's excuse or justification . . . so that more
evidence must be produced to establish the alleged discrimination." NLRB v.
Whitin Machine Works, 204 F.2d 883, 885 (1st Cir. 1953) (citations omitted).
In the instant case, Stone & Webster through the testimony of Mr. Doherty did
present a substantial amount of basically unrefuted evidence as to the business
reasons which they claimed motivated the decision to terminate these
employees. It is true that Stone & Webster offered no original documentary
evidence to complement the oral testimony. But it was not required to do so.
Sayen v. Rydzewski, 387 F.2d 815, 819 (7th Cir. 1967); Allen v. W. H. O.
Alfalfa Milling Co., 272 F.2d 98, 100 (10th Cir. 1959); Herzig v. Swift & Co.,
146 F.2d 444, 446 (2d Cir. 1945) (Frank J.). Mr. Doherty was subjected to
cross-examination; his testimony was not contradicted, and it was not
inherently improbable. Under these circumstances, the administrative law
judge's rejection of this important evidence concerning economic necessity was
not justified. White Glove Building Maintenance, Inc. v. Brennan, 518 F.2d
1271, 1273-76 (9th Cir. 1975); NLRB v. Ray Smith Transport Co., 193 F.2d
142, 146 (5th Cir. 1951); Stone v. Stone, 78 U.S.App.D.C. 5, 136 F.2d 761, 764
(1943). See also Kelly v. Jackson, 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 419, 425, 8 L.Ed. 523
(1832). The Board neither directly challenged the accuracy of the evidence
concerning economic necessity nor affirmatively showed that it was a cloak for
actual discriminatory motivation.8

23
The administrative law judge did point out several circumstances which she
believed led to the inference of discriminatory motivation. In particular she
noted: the fact that Stone & Webster advertised for new employees subsequent
to the contested terminations; the precipitate manner in which the terminations
were effected; and the failure of the company "to give those terminated any
reasonably consistent explanation." But these facts, whether viewed jointly or
in isolation, do not support an inference of discriminatory intent. The
advertising was contracted for before the acuteness of the economic crunch was
realized, and in any event no one was hired as a result of it; the news of the
dismissals may have come as an abrupt shock to the employees concerned, but
there was testimony that management officials had been contemplating such a
decision for several days; and similarly there was unrefuted testimony,
discussed supra, to support the company's explanation for the terminations viz.
a general reduction in force as a result of economic problems.9 Having
examined the entire record, we are unable to say that the Board had substantial
evidence upon which to base a finding of improper motivation so as to rebut the
business justification asserted by Stone & Webster.
24
As for the individuals actually selected for termination, we need not discuss in
detail here the factual basis for each selection. Given our reading of the record
as showing a company faced with the reasonable possibility of substantial loss
of revenue and the Board's failure to prove discriminatory motivation in the
decision to reduce the Summer Street workforce, it suffices for us to state that
we are persuaded that there were adequate business reasons used in the process
of selecting those to be discharged. The company asserts that the principle
criteria that it used were tardiness, absenteeism, poor productivity, and (to some
extent) seniority. It is clear from the record that one or more of these traits
characterized each of the complainants, to a greater or lesser degree. To be sure,
if we had been making the selection at Summer Street we might have used
different criteria or weighted differently the criteria actually used or more
carefully scrutinized the personnel records but that is not the norm for
evaluating what Stone & Webster actually did. Absent proof of bad faith or
discriminatory motivation, it certainly is not our role to second guess the
business judgments of private companies. The Act was not intended to
guarantee that business decisions be sound, only that they not be the product of
antiunion motivation. NLRB v. United Parcel Service, Inc., 317 F.2d 912, 914
(1st Cir. 1963).
25
We turn now to the two remaining 8(a)(1) violations which were found by the
administrative law judge and sustained by the Board. These were: (1) Stone &
Webster's following of employees in the plant to prevent conversations about

the Union; and (2) the company's surveillance of conversations and activities of
employee union organizers in order to discourage membership in or activities
on behalf of the Union.
26
The first of these findings is based on the undisputed fact that Roland Cunniff
(one of the discharged employees and a union activist) was followed10 by
George Marsden (assistant manager of the reproduction department at Summer
Street) when he returned to the plant on August 8 to clean out his locker.11
Stone & Webster argues that Marsden followed Cunniff to prevent possible
damage to valuable equipment by the discharged employee and that in doing so
Marsden was adhering to established company policy. The administrative law
judge, however, noted that such a policy had never been reduced to writing nor
announced to employees and that not all terminated employees were followed in
this manner; she concluded that the reason for Marsden's action was to prevent
Cunniff from discussing the Union with the employees. In the light of our
holding that the Board did not sustain its burden as to discriminatory motivation
for the discharges, we do not believe that this conclusion can be sustained.
Even if it were not in writing or consistently adhered to, there would be nothing
inherently discriminatory in a company policy which permitted supervisors to
decide on a case-by-case basis which discharged employees might be
potentially disruptive and therefore merit close scrutiny during a post-discharge
visit to the plant. Marsden's following of Cunniff strikes us as being within the
scope of a legitimate business judgment and we do not believe that the record
contains substantial evidence to support a finding that it was done to interfere
with the exercise of the employees' 7 rights.
27
As for the remaining 8(a)(1) violation found by the administrative law judge
and sustained by the Board, which involved the company's alleged surveillance
of the conversations of one Raia (a union organizer),12 we note that the finding
was based in large part on the unrefuted testimony of Raia. This testimony was
summarized by the administrative law judge as follows:
28
"Raia's
testimony is undisputed . . . that in one such instance (of supervisors'
attempts to overhear his telephone conversations) he said to Genaris, a supervisor,
that he did not like the idea of supervisors trying to overhear his conversations, to
which Genaris replied, 'Well we don't want you guys calling the other building
trying to solicit votes for the Union.' . . . "
29
The administrative law judge credited Raia's testimony and observed that it was
unrefuted; on this basis and "on the totality of the evidence," she found that the
supervisors had "maintained a close watch over employees, particularly Raia,
for weeks preceding the election . . . (and) that this was not work-related but in
order to discourage any conversation or other activity on behalf of the
Union." 13 Because this finding is largely grounded on the fact finder's judgment
concerning the credibility of the witness and on unrefuted testimony, we
conclude that it was supported by substantial evidence and should not be
disturbed.
30
The Board's order is enforced with respect to the company's surveillance of

conversations and activities of employee union organizers, but in all other
respects the order is set aside.
Boston Local No. 300 and Boston Local No. 16-B, Graphic Arts International
Union, AFL-CIO, are referred to as "the Union" throughout this opinion
The administrative law judge also found that Stone & Webster had violated
8(a)(1) "by promulgating and enforcing a rule prohibiting conversations about
the Union during working hours for the purpose of discouraging Union
membership and activities." The Board, however, did not sustain this part of the
administrative law judge's decision
This campaign ultimately resulted in an election on September 19, the results of

which have been challenged but are not before us on this appeal
Some of the affected employees were on vacation on August 2 and were

informed of their discharge either by mail or personally upon their return from
vacation
This burden cannot be satisfied by suspicion or surmise. NLRB v. Patrick Plaza

Dodge, Inc., 522 F.2d 804, 807 (4th Cir. 1975); NLRB v. Shen-Valley Meat
Packers, Inc., 211 F.2d 289, 292 (4th Cir. 1954). It can, however, be satisfied
by reasonable inferences
Although the question of Stone & Webster's knowledge of the union

organizational activity was hotly disputed, the administrative law judge did find
that the company "had knowledge, before August 2, of the Union drive at the
Summer Street location of the Reproduction department." Because of our
resolution of the motivation issue, we need not pass on the accuracy of this
finding
The total reduction by the end of November, including that resulting from
attrition as well as termination, was 1762 people or 18% of Stone & Webster's
workforce
It should be emphasized that we by no means are implying that economic hard

times give an employer carte blanche to engage in discrimination, under the
guise of generalized reductions in the workforce. On the contrary, if a
discriminatory motive coexists with a non-discriminatory motive, a discharge
would be improper if the discriminatory motive predominates. See NLRB v.
Whitin Machine Works, 204 F.2d 883, 885 (1st Cir. 1953)
It is true that the company had experienced "peaks and valleys" in the past and
had not dismissed reproduction department personnel while in the valleys.
While such evidence of past behavior is undoubtedly of some value in
assessing subsequent action, that value is largely dependent on the similarity
between the past occurrences and the present circumstances. Here the facility in
question had only been in existence for seven months, and the company was
confronted with a particularly steep economic downturn
10
There is some dispute as to whether Marsden "followed" Cunniff or

"accompanied" him as he moved about the plant on August 8. The
administrative law judge used the verb "follow," but the point is irrelevant to
our determination
11
Cunniff did not receive notification that he had been terminated until his return
from vacation on August 5. He returned to the Summer Street facility on
August 8 for the purpose mentioned in the text
12
The essence of the charge was that for about three weeks before the election,
Raia's supervisors had maintained close surveillance over his activities and
attempted to overhear his conversations on the pay telephone in the plant
13
The administrative law judge implied that prior to the pre-election period
employees had been free to use the telephone without interference. Raia's rights
would not have been violated had there been, for example, a pre-existing rule
against use of the telephone except in emergency situations

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536 F.

STONE & WEBSTER ENGINEERING CORPORATION,

United States Court of Appeals,

William G. Meserve, Boston, Mass., with whom John V. Woodard and

The disputed conclusions of the administrative law judge may be summarized

3 The termination on August 2, 1974, of eight named employees the complainants

We deal with these two sets of conclusions in order.

Our standard of review in considering the conclusion of the administrative law

financing for projects they already committed themselves to in contracts with

Mr. Doherty's testimony continued in the same vein, referring additionally to

required by economic conditions." She went on to itemize some of the

This evaluation of Stone & Webster's defense, however, reflects a

actual discriminatory motivation.8

Webster's following of employees in the plant to prevent conversations about

The Board's order is enforced with respect to the company's surveillance of

This campaign ultimately resulted in an election on September 19, the results of

Some of the affected employees were on vacation on August 2 and were

This burden cannot be satisfied by suspicion or surmise. NLRB v. Patrick Plaza

Although the question of Stone & Webster's knowledge of the union

It should be emphasized that we by no means are implying that economic hard

There is some dispute as to whether Marsden "followed" Cunniff or

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