National Labor Relations Board v. Bell Manufacturing Division, Di Giorgio Leisure Products, Inc.

The Board seeks enforcement of its order which was based on findings that the respondent company had violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act. Respondent argues that enforcement should be denied, asserting that the trial examiner erred in his rulings on the admissibility of evidence and was guilty of misconduct in handling the three-day hearing; that a fair hearing was denied; that the findings of fact are • not supported by credible testimony; and that the Board’s order to bargain was error.

At oral argument, counsel for respondent argued with some vigor that the bias of the trial examiner was evident from his rulings on evidentiary questions, from his impatience and from his comments, on and off the record. Our review is limited to what is on the record.

The Board found that, after a majority of the employees (at least 28 of them) had signed union authorization cards, the company began an anti-union campaign. It threatened discharge of employees who talked about unionizing. It threatened to close the plant and to reduce the number of employees and shorten the work week. It granted a wage increase to induce employees to abandon the union. These and other findings were supported by…