Union Oil Company of California, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

The Union Oil Company petitions us for review of a National Labor Relations Board order directing the company to bargain with an employee unit certified by the Board. The Board cross petitions for enforcement of the order. The issue is whether three of the company’s computer operators should have been classified as confidential employees by the Board because of their access to restricted company information. We find substantial support for the Board’s determination to deny confidential status to the employees, and we conclude the Board’s order should be enforced.

In 1976 the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers International Union (Oil Workers) filed a petition seeking to represent the seventeen clerical employees of the compa ny’s Wilmington refinery. Three employees were computer operators responsible for both entry and extraction of computer information. The data consist mostly of customer and personnel information, although some data regarding capital and operating expenses are also maintained. Personnel data include actuarial statistics, wage information, and employment history. The employment information is distributed on a limited basis and only five or six supervisorial…