Saturday, March 23, 2002

Court allows IBM union signs
By Craig Wolf
Poughkeepsie Journal

A high court handed IBM Corp. a defeat Friday by ruling that the National Labor Relations Board was right in ordering IBM to let employees post large pro-union signs on their cars.

The 2nd Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals, issued a summary
order in a case involving two IBMers who were organizing with the Communications Workers of America by displaying large pro-union signs, one of them on a bedsheet, on their vehicles in IBM's Poughkeepsie parking lots.

A three-judge panel in Manhattan denied IBM's petition to review a decision by the labor board in which the agency found in favor of the workers and the union. It simultaneously granted the labor board its petition for enforcement.

That means IBM must now do what Administrative Law Judge
Raymond Green had ordered: post notices affirming it will not interfere with workers exercising their rights under labor law. In 1999, the union filed improper labor practice charges against IBM and a hearing was held by Green. Green dismissed some charges but upheld the one on signs. IBM appealed to the labor board itself, and having lost there, went to court.

Tom Steed, a union organizer who has worked on the case, said Friday, "The board ruled as an independent agency that they (IBM) violated the National Labor Relations Act and we're just asking them to acknowledge the fact that the board ruled in the union's favor."

Laura Keeton, an IBM spokeswoman, said she was not aware of any further action IBM would take and said, "We will comply with the court's order."

"For many years, IBM has had a policy against individuals
displaying large signs on our property," Keeton said. "We continue to believe this is a reasonable policy ... ensuring that all activities on our property are conducted in a professional and businesslike manner."

The appeals court said, "We find the problem is not IBM's rule in itself, but rather the manner in which it was applied. On its face, the rule only bans signs used for commercial solicitation or advertising. The pro-union posters ... do not fall within the reach of the rule. Thus, the labor board's cease-and-desist order is perfectly reasonable because it only addresses IBM's extension of its rule to restrict employees' display of union posters."

"IBM has failed to present evidence sufficient to show that
extending its rule from 'commercial solicitation or advertising' to union solicitations is justified by 'special circumstances.'"