U.S. National Contact Point’s Final Statement on the Saint Gobain-United Autoworkers Specific InstanceBureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs The dispute between Saint-Gobain and the union which formerly represented the employees at the Worcester facility has been the subject of complaints filed at various times by the union, management, and employees who did not support the union, before the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB adjudicates labor disputes under U.S. labor law in the same areas addressed in the Industrial Relations Chapter of the OECD Guidelines. The USNCP has met with the parties concerned, exchanged letters, and had numerous phone contacts throughout its preliminary assessment. After weighing the issues carefully and consulting the NLRB and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), the USNCP on April 14, 2005 offered its good offices and encouraged the parties to consider the possibility of reengaging the FMCS mediation process that they had pursued previously. The union responded favorably to this suggestion. However, the company reiterated the view, which it has maintained throughout the USNCP's involvement, that it preferred to pursue the issues exclusively through the NLRB under U.S. labor law, and further explained that process afforded the equivalent of mediation, noting the parties mediation before the Associated Chief Administrative Law Judge for the NLRB. The USNCP took no immediate action, but indicated to both parties that it would continue monitoring developments in the dispute while considering the preparation of a final report. Pursuant to a decertification petition filed by certain Saint-Gobain employees, an election was held on January 27 and 28, 2005 to determine whether the union should be decertified as the employees' collective bargaining representative. In that election, bargaining unit employees voted by a margin of 350 to 309 to terminate the union's status as their collective bargaining representative. The union filed objections to the election with the NLRB and evidentiary hearings were held with an NLRB administrative law judge. On March 24, 2006, the administrative law judge issued a decision in which he certified the results of the election and ruled that, under applicable United States labor law, the union is no longer the exclusive bargaining representative of employees at Saint-Gobain's Worcester facility. The union issued a statement on April 28, 2006, acknowledging that its efforts to win majority support for union representation had not been successful, that it no longer represented Saint-Gobain workers, and that it had decided to close its Worcester office. As a result of these developments, the USNCP decided to discontinue its monitoring of the dispute and to prepare this final report concluding its involvement in the matter. |
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