No explanation for complaint withdrawal
NLRB closed discrimination case a day after Times Union revealed its existence
A federal labor law complaint that was filed in late March by a General Electric Co. factory worker against Local 301, the union that represents blue-collar workers at GE’S Schenectady turbine and generator plant, has been dropped without explanation.
The National Labor Relations Board, which had been investigating an allegation of discrimination by the union, moved to withdraw the complaint, officially known as a “charge,” on April 27, a day after the Times Union reported that Local 301 was the subject of an investigation by the agency.
At the time the story was published, the NLRB had withheld documents associated with the case from the Times Union, forcing the newspaper to file a Freedom of Information Law request with the agency to obtain copies of the original charge, filed March 30 by an unknown GE employee.
By the time the NLRB released highly redacted versions of the case documents to the Times Union on April 29, the NLRB’S regional director in Buffalo, Linda Leslie, had withdrawn the charge and closed the case without explanation.
Questions remain about why the case was closed so soon after the Times Union story ran and what exactly Local 301 was being investigated for, although the charging document, at least the part that was not blacked out by NLRB staff, indicated that it was a discrimination case.
“In the last six months, the union has caused or attempted to cause the employer to discriminate against [BLANK],” the March 30 charging document obtained by the Times Union states. All other identifying information on who filed the charge was blacked out as well.
The NLRB also didn’t have much to say after the case was withdrawn.
“The parties don’t need to submit a reason for withdrawal to the NLRB so you should follow up with them,” NLRB press secretary Kayla Blado told the Times Union, although the NLRB won’t reveal the identity of the person who filed the complaint.
GE, which was not accused of any wrongdoing, has denied knowing about the circumstances of the complaint, even though a company labor relations specialist based in Schenectady was notified of the complaint in a letter dated March 30 signed by Leslie.
Local 301, which represents 800 union GE workers, has not responded to the Times Union’s requests for comment on the case. The Times Union does not know the identity of the person who brought the allegations to the NLRB, which had assigned an Albany-based field examiner to investigate the charge.
Charges filed with the NLRB are usually withdrawn or settled, according to the NLRB, which says it receives about 20,000 charges a year. Last year, only 678 made it to the formal complaint stage, which would involve a hearing before an administrative judge assigned to decide the case.
The NLRB investigates violations of the National Labor Relations Act that protects union and worker rights at companies across the U.S.
Charges can be filed by workers against either the company or the union that represents them. The administrative judges can’t order penalties against companies found to have violated the law, but they can order remedies such as forcing companies to get rid of illegal work rules, rehire workers or pay back wages.