Labor Relations Board dismisses cleaner’s charge

Alana Roberts

Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2003 | 10:54 a.m.

The National Labor Relations Board has dismissed an unfair labor practices charge filed by Al Phillips the Cleaner Inc. against the Union of Needletrades, Textile and Industrial Employees, while another unfair labor practice charge filed by the Las Vegas company remains under investigation.

The NLRB has also dismissed a petition filed by Al Phillips to have the workers decide if they want UNITE to represent them through a secret-ballot election instead of the union-preferred public card-check method. Under a card-check, workers are openly solicited to sign cards advocating union representation.

An attorney representing the company has said he will appeal the decisions to the NLRB in Washington D.C.

UNITE has been trying to organize roughly 120 Al Phillips employees since July through an authorization card check.

Workers had picketed the company's central plant in Las Vegas between July and early September. Union representative Connie Razza said although there is no longer any picketing, there is still a union "presence" within the company.

The company has refused to accept the validity of the card-check method favoring the secret ballot vote. The NLRB's decision could mean that workers have the chance to choose through the union-preferred card-check method.

The two dismissals were explained by NLRB Region 28 Acting Regional Director Jerome Schmidt in two Sept. 18 letters addressed to Joshua Harmon, an attorney representing Al Phillips.

In one letter, Schmidt said an election was unnecessary because Al Phillips had promised that it would recognize the validity of the union if a majority of workers accepted UNITE as their representative. He said the company did that through a voluntary recognition agreement but then reneged on the agreement.

"On July 3, 2003, the employer signed an agreement to recognize the union in the petitioned-for unit upon receipt of the evidence of majority status of the union. However, on July 8, the employer reneged on the agreement and refused to proceed with an authorization card-check," Schmidt said in the letter.

Schmidt also used the same rationalization to dismiss the one charge Al Phillips filed against UNITE. That charge alleges that the union violated the National Labor Relations Act by picketing in order to force the company to recognize and bargain with the union.

Another unfair labor practices charge against UNITE remains under investigation. That charge alleges that UNITE, "by its officers, agents and representatives has by the use of threats, vandalism and other acts and conduct, restrained and coerced employees in the exercise of rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the (National Labor Relations Act)."

Harmon said the company plans to appeal the decisions to the NLRB office in Washington D.C. He has until Oct. 2 to do so, according to Schmidt's letter.

"We've been attempting to have an election so that our employees can vote on the issue. They will be able to vote in the privacy of a voting booth, but the union won't allow our employees that right."

He said the card check procedure allows the union to taint and "browbeat" the decisions of workers.

"It's really a disgusting process. We've had reports that some of our employees who can not read English (have) been misled. We're not going to allow our employees' rights to be trampled like that," Harmon said.

Razza said an election process allows company managers to use the same tactics against workers. She said the fact that the NLRB dismissed the company's charge and petition were good signs.

"The fact that they filed this charge and this petition demonstrates again their hypocritical attempts to deny these workers their right to choose a union," Razza said.

She said the only thing standing in the way of performing a card check now is the fact that the company refuses to honor the agreement.

"Workers should have been able to do the card check on July 8. I would stress we're prepared to go forward with the card check. It's the company's insistence on breaking their word and the law that has prevented that," Razza said.

Razza said the union has also filed four unfair labor practices charges against the company, which remain under investigation by the NLRB.

Al Phillips, which has more than 16 locations throughout Las Vegas and Henderson, is a member company of the DCI Management Group (DCI), which is based in Arizona. DCI says it manages the largest group of affiliated dry cleaners in the United States, with more than 370 dry cleaning operations nationwide.