Phelps Dodge Wins Round in NLRB Case : Hearing Officer Urges Decertification of Union

A National Labor Relations Board administrative judge has recommended that the board overrule union objections to elections in which non-striking Phelps Dodge Corp. workers voted to oust copper unions as their bargaining agents.

The ruling by hearing officer Earldean Robbins said complaints by the striking unions of improper election-related conduct by NLRB officials and by the company were not substantiated.

“I concluded that neither the employer, its agents nor agents of the board have engaged in conduct which would warrant the setting aside of the election,” her decision said.

“Accordingly, I recommend that the results of the election herein be certified,” she added.

NLRB Regional Director Milo Price said Tuesday that concerned parties had 13 days from June 28, the day the decision was formally issued by Robbins, to file objections with the NLRB in Washington.

“If there are exceptions, the board will consider them,” Price said. “That could take a few weeks for the board to consider the entire record and the recommendations.”

Likely to Agree

Otherwise, the board likely will accept Robbins’ recommendations, Price said.

Michael Keenan, the lawyer representing the United Steelworkers and other unions, said no decision has been made on whether to appeal the latest ruling.

Jack Ladd, labor relations director for Phelps Dodge, said: “Hopefully, this will put an end to the legal maneuvering and delaying the unions have used to prolong the inevitable.”

Robbins held a hearing in May in Phoenix on the union objections to the elections, conducted last year.

The 13 unions went on strike July 1, 1983, over economic issues after the company demanded concessions in negotiations for a new three-year contract.

After the strike began, the company continued operating its smelters and mines and implemented its last contract offer, including lower wages for new hires and reduced fringe benefits.

The non-striking workers, casting ballots in 30 bargaining units, voted 1,906 to 87 to oust the unions.

The unions’ objections included an allegation that Price overstepped his authority by ordering votes from a similar decertification in El Paso to be counted on one of the days in October when the elections were held in Arizona.

The El Paso votes had been impounded pending a decision on union appeals, which were dismissed Oct. 2 by the NLRB general counsel.

The unions also alleged that company officials engaged in improper electioneering, that management personnel taunted workers and that company campaign literature contained veiled threats that the unions would become violent if they were not decertified.