With respect to predictions as to the effect of unionization, the Court held that whether such predictions violate section 8(a)(1) will depend upon two factors: the extent to which the prediction is based on demonstrable probabilities; and the extent to which the adverse consequences warned of are within the employer's control. Id. at 618, 89 S.Ct. at 1942; see Mon River Towing, Inc. v. NLRB, 421 F.2d 1, 9-11 (3d Cir. 1969) (deference to Board expertise on whether threat implied; Gissel not limited to organizational campaign context). The question before this court is whether the statements made in this organizational campaign constituted threats of adverse consequences prohibited by section 8(a)(1) of the Act.

" Mon River Towing, Inc. v. N.L.R.B. (3d Cir. 1969) 421 F.2d 1, is the most recent case of this character. A United Mine Workers local became the certified representative elected by four classifications of employees of the towing company.

Local 636, 287 F.2d at 361. See also Mon River Towing, Inc. v. NLRB, 421 F.2d 1, 8 (3d Cir. 1969) (recognizing that the involvement of supervisory union members in union affairs conflicts with "the need to assure the complete devotion of union negotiating teams to employee interests"); NLRB v. International Typographical Union, 452 F.2d 976 (10th Cir. 1971) (concluding that employer interfered with free exercise of employees' rights where supervisors interfered in collective bargaining process in violation of Section 8(a)(2)); Bausch Lomb Optical Co. and United Optical Instrument Workers of Am., Local 678, 108 NLRB 213 at 1555, 1559, 1561 (1954) (union that simultaneously represented employees of company and was business competitor of employer "drastically change[d] the climate at the bargaining table from one where there would be reasoned discussion in a background of balanced bargaining relations * * * to one in which, at best, intensified distrust of the [u]nion's motives would be engendered"). In Powers Regulator Co. v. NLRB, 355 F.2d 506 (7th Cir. 1966), this Court conside

Likewise, it is clear that once a union member is promoted to a supervisory position, a conflict of interest exists. Mon River Towing Inc. v. NLRB, 421 F.2d 1, 8 (3rd Cir. 1969). Accordingly, it was recognized in National Association of Letter Carriers, 240 N.L.R.B. 519 (1979), that a union member "who accepts a position as a temporary supervisor clearly aligns himself with the interests of management."

(footnotes omitted)Mon River Towing, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 421 F.2d 1, 9-10 (3d Cir. 1969). This requirement of sustaining the Board's findings of fact if supported by substantial evidence applies to inferences as well as to evidentiary facts.

The record supports the Board's conclusion that the employer violated section 8(a)(1) by threatening to terminate its "outside" service work if the Union should win the election. See NLRB v. Gissel Packing Co., 395 U.S. 575, 618-20, 89 S.Ct. 1918, 23 L.Ed.2d 547 (1969); Textile Workers v. Darlington Manufacturing Co., 380 U.S. 263, 274 n. 20, 85 S.Ct. 994, 13 L.Ed.2d 827 (1965); Mon River Towing, Inc. v. NLRB, 421 F.2d 1, 9-11 (3d Cir. 1969). With a service mechanic working within hearing distance, supervisor Desnoyers instructed supervisor Schactele to delay having Eagle's service trucks lettered because the vehicles might be used elsewhere in the company (presumably in the parent company, Somerset) if the Union won the election.

Whether an employer's actions meet that test is a question of fact for the Board and its determinations are conclusive if supported by substantial evidence. See Mon River Towing, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 421 F.2d 1, 9-10 (3d Cir. 1969). Considering the record as a whole, we conclude that the Board's order with respect to the Section 8(a)(1) violations is supported by substantial evidence and will be enforced.

See note 12 supra.See, e.g., Mon River Towing, Inc. v. NLRB, 421 F.2d 1, 9 n. 24 (3rd Cir. 1969); NLRB v. Standard Container Co., 428 F.2d 793, 794 (5th Cir. 1970). NLRB v. Gissel Packing Co., 395 U.S. 575, 617, 89 S.Ct. 1918, 23 L.Ed.2d 547 (1969).

The burden has been placed upon the employer to justify such statements by objective evidence. NLRB v. Sinclair Co., 1 Cir., 397 F.2d 157, 161 (1968), aff'd sub nom. NLRB v. Gissel Packing Co., supra; Mon River Towing, Inc. v. NLRB, 3 Cir., 421 F.2d 1, 11 (1969). Since Zim's made no attempt to meet this burden before the Board, we conclude that its finding of a § 8(a)(1) violation is supported by substantial evidence.

"[T]he expertise of the Board is particularly relevant to the determination of whether a latent threat lies hidden in the words of an employer." Mon River Towing, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 421 F.2d 1, 9 (3d Cir. 1969). See also N.L.R.B. v. General Industries Electronics Co., 401 F.2d 297, 300 (8th Cir. 1968); Dubin-Haskell Lining Corp. v. N.L.R.B., 375 F.2d 568, 571 (4th Cir. 1967); Daniel Construction Co. v. N.L.R.B., 341 F.2d 805, 811 (4th Cir. 1965); cf. Conolon Corp. v. N.L.R.B., 431 F.2d 324, 327-28 (9th Cir. 1970).