Legitimacy of Unfair Labor Practices Claims

Sam’s Bagel Shop and the “Food Worker’s Union” are engaged in collective bargaining over the recently expired agreement. The management wanted to change the hours of employment, but only with the consent of the Union. The changes that were proposed were a reduction in employee break time, and a requirement that employees show up for work twenty minutes before their shift. There were tensions over these measures, so the parties scheduled to meet and try to resolve these issues on September 1, 2010.

On October 31st, 2010, Alice Anderson, an employee of the Sam’s posted a message on her Facebook stating “Hey customers of Sam’s Bagel Shop: You should know that the boss is trying to force all of his employees to work MORE for LESS. As one of the employees, I’m telling you that this is stupid and won’t change the fact that Sam’s making a FAT PROFIT from food that is WAY overpriced.” She has about 900 friends and many of whom are potential customers of Sam’s.

The meeting on Sept. 1 was attended by Sam, the boss, Bob Bensen, Representative for the Union, and Carol Crane, the union shop steward and employee at Sam’s. At the meeting, Sam argued the reason he wanted employees to show up early was in order for them to “sober up” before working. Crane was upset by this statement and a mutually heated exchange persisted among all three people present. Crane then stood up and shouted at Sam: “I’ve had enough of this. You’re acting like a fascist and should shut up and grow up.”

On September 2, 2010, Sam fired Anderson for her post on Face book, which was brought to his attention by his daughter. He also fired Crane for her outburst at him during the bargaining procedure.

Questions Presented

A. Did Sam violate §8(a)(1) by discharging Alice Anderson for posting the message on her Facebook page.

B. Did Sam violate §8(a)(3) by discharging Carol Crane based on her outburst during the collective bargaining procedure?

Short Answer

A. In the matter of whether the dismissal of Alice Anderson for posting a message stating remarks about her employer and the current labor dispute on her Facebook page for a public viewing was a violation of her §7 rights, I find that based on §8(a)(1) Sam’s Bagel Shop committed an unfair labor practice by firing her.

B. In the matter of whether Sam’s Bagel Shop is guilty of a violation of §8(a)(3) in dismissing Carol Crane based on her outburst during the negotiation of a new contract, I find that the employer discriminatorily deprived Crane of her §7 rights, and therefore is guilty of an unfair labor practice.

Discussion

A.

(a) When figuring