Alaska Communications Systems Holdings, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 30, 2020

369 N.L.R.B. 17 (N.L.R.B. 2020)

369 NLRB No. 17
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the
bound volumes of NLRB decisions. Readers are requested to notify the Ex-
ecutive Secretary, National Labor Relations Board, Washington, D.C.
20570, of any typographical or other formal errors so that corrections can
be included in the bound volumes.
Alaska Communications Systems Holdings, Inc. and
International Brotherhood of Electrical Work-
ers, Local 1547, AFL–CIO. Case 19–CA–241609
January 30, 2020
DECISION AND ORDER
BY CHAIRMAN RING AND MEMBERS KAPLAN AND
EMANUEL
This is a refusal-to-bargain case in which the Re-
spondent, Alaska Communications Systems Holdings,
Inc., is contesting the Union’s certification as bargaining
representative in the underlying representation proceed-
ing. Pursuant to a charge filed on May 16, 2019, by In-
ternational Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local
1547, AFL–CIO (the Union), the General Counsel issued
the complaint on August 23, 2019,1 alleging that the Re-
spondent has violated Section 8(a)(5) and (1) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act by refusing to recognize and
bargain with the Union following the Union’s certifica-
tion in Case 19–RC–226955. (Official notice is taken of
the record in the representation proceeding as defined in
the Board’s Rules and Regulations, Secs. 102.68 and
102.69(d). Frontier Hotel, 265 NLRB 343 (1982).) The
Respondent filed an answer, admitting in part and deny-
ing in part the allegations in the complaint and asserting
affirmative defenses.
On September 13, 2019, the General Counsel filed a
Motion for Summary Judgment. On September 19,
2019, the National Labor Relations Board issued an or-
der transferring the proceeding to the Board and a Notice
to Show Cause why the motion should not be granted.
The Respondent filed a response, and the General Coun-
sel filed a reply to the Respondent’s response.
Ruling on Motion for Summary Judgment
The Respondent admits its refusal to bargain, but con-
tests the validity of the Union’s certification on the basis
of its contentions, raised and rejected in the underlying
representation proceeding, that (1) its employees in the
ACS Cable Systems Group do not share a community of
interest with its employees in the existing bargaining unit
represented by the Union and therefore should not be
included in that unit; (2) the petition should have been
dismissed because the Union did not comply with Sec-
tion 102.61(a)(12) of the Board’s Rules and Regulations;
(3) the Respondent was deprived of due process because

1 The General Counsel issued an errata to the complaint on Septem-
ber 4, 2019.
the Regional Director sua sponte added two employees to
the voting group; and (4) the Board’s application of its
rules in the representation proceeding exceeded the ad-
ministrative deference afforded to it by the courts.2
All representation issues raised by the Respondent
were or could have been litigated in the prior representa-
tion proceeding. The Respondent does not offer to ad-
duce at a hearing any newly discovered and previously
unavailable evidence, nor does it allege any special cir-
cumstances that would require the Board to reexamine
the decision made in the representation proceeding.3 We
therefore find that the Respondent has not raised any
representation issue that is properly litigable in this un-
fair labor practice proceeding. See Pittsburgh Plate
Glass Co. v. NLRB, 313 U.S. 146, 162 (1941). Accord-
ingly, we grant the Motion for Summary Judgment.4
On the entire record, the Board makes the following
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. JURISDICTION
At all material times, the Respondent has been a State
of Alaska corporation with an office and place of busi-
ness in Hillsboro, Oregon (the “facility”), and has been
engaged in the business of providing telecommunication
services. During the 12-month period preceding issuance
of the complaint, the Respondent, in conducting its busi-
ness operations described above, derived gross revenues
in excess of $500,000 and purchased and received at the
facility goods valued in excess of $50,000 directly from
points located outside the State of Oregon.

2 The Respondent asserts as affirmative defenses in its answer that
the complaint does not state a claim for which relief may be granted
under the Act, that the actions alleged in the complaint are not illegal
under the Act, and that its purported conduct does not have a reasona-
ble tendency to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the
exercise of rights guaranteed by Sec. 7 of the Act. The Respondent has
not offered any explanation or evidence to support these bare asser-
tions, beyond its previously litigated contentions stated above. Thus,
we find that these affirmative defenses are insufficient to warrant denial
of the General Counsel’s Motion for Summary Judgment in this pro-
ceeding. See, e.g., George Washington University, 346 NLRB 155,
155 fn. 2 (2005), enfd. mem. per curiam No. 06–1012, 2006 WL
4539237 (D.C. Cir. Nov. 27, 2006); Circus Circus Hotel, 316 NLRB
1235, 1235 fn. 1 (1995).
3 The Respondent contends that the Board’s recent decision in Boe-
ing Co., 368 NLRB No. 67 (2019), represents special circumstances
that warrant de novo reexamination of whether the Respondent’s em-
ployees in the ACS Cable Systems Group share a community of inter-
est with its employees in the existing bargaining unit represented by the
Union. We find no merit in the Respondent’s contention that Boeing
requires us to reexamine the decision made in the representation pro-
ceeding. See Davidson Hotel Co., LLC (Chicago Marriott at Medical
District/UIC), 368 NLRB No. 110, slip op. at 1 fn. 3 (2019).
4 The Respondent’s request that the complaint be dismissed is there-
fore denied.
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD2
We find that the Respondent is an employer engaged
in commerce within the meaning of Section 2(2), (6), and
(7) of the Act, and that the Union is a labor organization
within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
II. ALLEGED UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
A. The Certification
Following a self-determination election held by mail
ballot from January 2 to January 30, 2019, the Regional
Director for Region 19 issued a certification of repre-
sentative on February 7, 2019,5 certifying the Union as
the exclusive collective-bargaining representative of the
employees in the voting group described below (the ACS
Cable Systems Group), as part of the existing bargaining
unit of the Respondent’s employees across 50 job classi-
fications located in the State of Alaska:
All full-time and regular part-time Network Operations
Specialists, Senior Network Operations Specialists,
Senior Team Leads, and Senior Administrative Assis-
tants employed by Alaska Communications Systems
Holdings, Inc. in its Cable Systems Group at its facili-
ties throughout the State of Oregon and the Diamond D
facility in Alaska; but excluding all Cable Network
Operations Supervisors and guards and supervisors as
defined in the Act.
The Union continues to be the exclusive collective-
bargaining representative of the unit employees, includ-
ing the employees in the ACS Cable Systems Group,
under Section 9(a) of the Act.
B. Refusal to Bargain
About April 29, 2019, the Union requested, via email,
that the Respondent meet and bargain collectively with it
as the exclusive collective-bargaining representative of
the employees in the ACS Cable Systems Group. About
May 7, 2019, the Respondent, via email, informed the
Union that it would not bargain with the Union regarding
the employees in the ACS Cable Systems Group pending
the Board’s decision on the Respondent’s request for
review. Since May 7, 2019, the Respondent has failed
and refused to recognize and bargain with the Union as
the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the
employees in the ACS Cable Systems Group, as part of
the existing bargaining unit represented by the Union.
We find that the Respondent’s conduct constitutes an
unlawful failure and refusal to recognize and bargain
with the Union in violation of Section 8(a)(5) and (1) of
the Act.

5 By unpublished order dated June 27, 2019, the Board denied the
Respondent’s request for review of the Regional Director’s Decision
and Direction of Election.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
By failing and refusing since about May 7, 2019, to
recognize and bargain with the Union as the exclusive
collective-bargaining representative of the employees in
the ACS Cable Systems Group as part of the appropriate
unit, the Respondent has engaged in unfair labor practic-
es affecting commerce within the meaning of Section
8(a)(5) and (1) and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
REMEDY
Having found that the Respondent has violated Section
8(a)(5) and (1) of the Act, we shall order it to cease and
desist, to bargain on request with the Union, and, if an
understanding is reached, to embody the understanding
in a signed agreement.6
ORDER
The National Labor Relations Board orders that the
Respondent, Alaska Communications Systems Holdings,
Inc., Hillsboro, Oregon, its officers, agents, successors,
and assigns, shall
1. Cease and desist from
(a) Failing and refusing to recognize and bargain with
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local
1547, AFL–CIO (the Union) as the exclusive collective-
bargaining representative of the employees in the ACS
Cable Systems Group, as part of the existing bargaining
unit represented by the Union.
(b) In any like or related manner interfering with, re-
straining, or coercing employees in the exercise of the
rights guaranteed them by Section 7 of the Act.
2. Take the following affirmative action necessary to
effectuate the policies of the Act.
(a) On request, bargain with the Union as the exclu-
sive collective-bargaining representative of the employ-
ees in the following appropriate unit, as part of the exist-
ing bargaining unit of the Respondent’s employees
across 50 job classifications located in the State of Alas-
ka, concerning terms and conditions of employment and,
if an understanding is reached, embody the understand-
ing in a signed agreement:
All full-time and regular part-time Network Operations
Specialists, Senior Network Operations Specialists,
Senior Team Leads, and Senior Administrative Assis-
tants employed by Alaska Communications Systems

6 The General Counsel requests that the Board extend the certifica-
tion year pursuant to the Board’s decision in Mar-Jac Poultry Co., 136
NLRB 785 (1962). Such a remedy, however, is inappropriate where, as
here, the underlying representation proceeding involved a self-
determination election. See Winkie Mfg. Co., 338 NLRB 787, 788 fn. 3
(2003), affd. 348 F.3d 254 (2003); White Cap, Inc., 323 NLRB 477,
478 fn. 3 (1997) (citing cases).
ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS HOLDINGS, INC. 3
Holdings, Inc. in its Cable Systems Group at its facili-
ties throughout the State of Oregon and the Diamond D
facility in Alaska; but excluding all Cable Network
Operations Supervisors and guards and supervisors as
defined in the Act.
(b) Within 14 days after service by the Region, post at
all of its facilities in the State of Oregon and its Diamond
D facility in the State of Alaska copies of the attached
notice marked “Appendix.”7 Copies of the notice, on
forms provided by the Regional Director for Region 19,
after being signed by the Respondent’s authorized repre-
sentative, shall be posted by the Respondent and main-
tained for 60 consecutive days in conspicuous places,
including all places where notices to employees are cus-
tomarily posted. In addition to physical posting of paper
notices, notices shall be distributed electronically, such
as by email, posting on an intranet or an internet site,
and/or other electronic means, if the Respondent custom-
arily communicates with its employees by such means.
Reasonable steps shall be taken by the Respondent to
ensure that the notices are not altered, defaced, or cov-
ered by any other material. If the Respondent has gone
out of business or closed the facility involved in these
proceedings, the Respondent shall duplicate and mail, at
its own expense, a copy of the notice to all current em-
ployees and former employees employed by the Re-
spondent at any time since May 7, 2019.
(c) Within 21 days after service by the Region, file
with the Regional Director for Region 19 a sworn certifi-
cation of a responsible official on a form provided by the
Region attesting to the steps that the Respondent has
taken to comply.
Dated, Washington, D.C. January 30, 2020
______________________________________
John F. Ring, Chairman
______________________________________
Marvin E. Kaplan, Member
________________________________________
William J. Emanuel, Member

7 If this Order is enforced by a judgment of a United States court of
appeals, the words in the notice reading “Posted by Order of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board” shall read “Posted Pursuant to a Judg-
ment of the United States Court of Appeals Enforcing an Order of the
National Labor Relations Board.”
(SEAL) NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
APPENDIX
NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
An Agency of the United States Government
The National Labor Relations Board has found that we
violated Federal labor law and has ordered us to post and
obey this notice.
FEDERAL LAW GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO
Form, join, or assist a union
Choose representatives to bargain with us on
your behalf
Act together with other employees for your bene-
fit and protection
Choose not to engage in any of these protected
activities.
WE WILL NOT fail and refuse to recognize and bargain
with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local 1547, AFL–CIO (the Union) as the exclusive col-
lective-bargaining representative of the employees in the
ACS Cable Systems Group, as part of the existing bar-
gaining unit represented by the Union.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner interfere
with, restrain, or coerce you in the exercise of the rights
listed above.
WE WILL, on request, bargain with the Union and put
in writing and sign any agreement reached on terms and
conditions of employment for our employees in the fol-
lowing bargaining unit, as part of the existing bargaining
unit of our employees across 50 job classifications locat-
ed in the State of Alaska:
All full-time and regular part-time Network Operations
Specialists, Senior Network Operations Specialists,
Senior Team Leads, and Senior Administrative Assis-
tants employed by us in our Cable Systems Group at
our facilities throughout the State of Oregon and the
Diamond D facility in Alaska; but excluding all Cable
Network Operations Supervisors and guards and su-
pervisors as defined in the Act.
ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
HOLDINGS, INC.
The Board’s decision can be found at
www.nlrb.gov/case/19-CA-241609 or by using the QR
code below. Alternatively, you can obtain a copy of the
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD4
decision from the Executive Secretary, National Labor
Relations Board, 1015 Half Street, S.E., Washington,
D.C. 20570, or by calling (202) 273-1940.