National Labor Relations Board v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 46

Robert Witty joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 46, affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO (the Union) in 1980. Until May of 1983, he was employed by Commercial Electrical Contractors (CEC) as an electrician and/or operations manager.

David Sabey owned a majority of the stock of both CEC and a newly-formed electrical contracting firm that provided services for general contractors, PAC, Inc. Sabey offered Witty the position of president of PAC. Witty accepted and resigned from CEC on April 15, 1983, effective May 14, 1983. He became President and Operations Manager/Administrator of PAC. Witty did not own any of the stock of PAC, nor did he share in its profits; he was paid by a fixed salary. Along with performing other duties for PAC, Witty established labor relations, set wage rates, hours of employment and benefits for employees, addressed wage or discrimination claims on behalf of PAC, and made final hiring decisions.

On April 14, 1983, Witty requested a “participating” withdrawal card from the Union which enabled him to remain eligible for death and pension benefits. The Union approved his request a…