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Firing chills union campaign at Leupold & Stevens
Machinists help fired union supporter get back pay
The Machinists Union helped a
worker at Beaverton-based Leupold &
Stevens get a cash settlement and an of-
fer to return to his job after he was fired
a few weeks into a union organizing
drive.
Richard Fitzgerald, 45, a single fa-
ther of a teenage daughter, was fired
Jan. 27 — two days after he told some
co-workers that a group was getting to-
gether to discuss joining Machinists
District Lodge 24. Fitzgerald was fa-
miliar with the union, having been a
member of Machinists Lodge 63 while
working at Parman & Ellis. He took a
withdrawal card from the union after
the machine shop closed in 2001.
Fitzgerald worked at a couple of other
shops before getting hired at Leupold &
Stevens in January of 2006.
Leupold & Stevens makes rifle
scopes, binoculars, flashlights and
rangefinders. It has contracts with the
military and police departments. It has
500 employees (with a potential bar-
gaining unit of 300 to 400).
The company didn’t say they fired
Fitzgerald for supporting a union. Do-
ing so is illegal under the National La-
bor Relations Act. Instead, management
created a trumped-up charge that he
was away from his machine and having
lengthy discussions with co-workers.
Prior to that, however, Fitzgerald had
only good reports in his personnel file
regarding his production, and only one
write-up on conduct.
“It’s a textbook approach for intimi-
dating workers during a union cam-
paign,” said Bob Petroff, directing busi-
ness representative of District Lodge 24.
You be the judge.
Fitzgerald called the Machinists on
Jan. 7, 2010. After a few conversations,
he arranged a meeting with union rep-
resentatives and some co-workers from
swing shift and graveyard. Seven work-
ers attended the meeting on Friday, Jan.
22. It was a good session, and a follow-
up meeting was planned for Feb. 13.
Over the next several days, the seven
employees began talking up the Febru-
ary union meeting at work. Fitzgerald
distributed information packets about
the Machinists Union to co-workers on
Monday, Jan. 25.
Two days later, on Wednesday, Jan.
27, as Fitzgerald came to work, he was
directed to a conference room and told
he was terminated. He immediately
called the union.
The Machinists went to the National
Labor Relations Board and filed a
charge against Leupold & Stevens for
firing Fitzgerald for union activity. The
NLRB found merit in the charge, issued
a complaint against the company, and
opened an investigation.
Machinists Business Rep Joe Kear
said the firing intimidated other workers
who initially had shown support for the
union. In an interview with Kear in Dis-
trict Lodge 24’s newsletter, Fitzgerald
said he had originally contacted the Ma-
chinists because co-workers had en-
couraged him to do so.
Carroll Wikander of Machinists District Lodge 24 leaflets a swing-shift
employee at rifle scope manufacturer Leupold and Stevens. The leaflet
contained a copy of a “Notice to Employees” ordered by the National Labor
Relations Board notifying workers of their right to join a union.
“I had support from my co-workers
in advance of calling the union,” he
said. “There was support or I wouldn’t
have called.”
Nonetheless, the Feb. 13 meeting
was sparsely attended. Still, the em-
ployees who did show up decided to
hand-bill the plant to let others know
that Fitzgerald had been fired illegally.
Over the next few months the com-
pany hired the largest anti-union law
firm in Portland — Stoel Rives — and
began holding meetings with employ-
ees, telling them that a “third party”
wasn’t needed. Managers and supervi-
sors were more polite and respectful to
employees, while at the same time
keeping an eye on who was talking to
whom. Graveyard employees who ear-
lier had complained about losing shift
premium pay and overtime began to get
overtime opportunities again. And the
company announced that it would ab-
sorb most of the cost increases in its
health care plans, a move seen by many
as a result of their interest in the union.
“Management followed the usual
prescription from the union avoidance
profession — intimidating employees
with the termination, holding employee
meetings and beginning to listen to em-
ployees and address some of their is-
sues,” Kear said.
Working with the Machinists,
NLRB agent Michael Roche put to-
gether a strong case that Leupold and
Stevens had acted illegally when they
fired Fitzpatrick. A hearing was set for
June 22.
“We thought he (Fitzgerald) was sit-
uated pretty well,” Kear said.
But there were no guarantees.
On June 18, Leupold & Stevens of-
fered to settle the case without admit-
ting any guilt. Under terms of the deal,
the company agreed to offer Fitzgerald
his job back with seniority and back pay
from the date of his termination. Man-
agement also offered him cash NOT
TO COME BACK to work. The union
estimated the total buyout to be in the
neighborhood of $60,000 — $18,000 of
which was back pay.
Despite objections from the union,
Fitzgerald took the cash.
“We would have liked to see him go
back to work to show the effectiveness
of the Machinists,” Petroff said.
Leupold & Stevens also was re-
quired to revise its employee handbook
and post a notice that employees are not
restricted from distributing literature
and materials in non-work areas on
non-work time and that they were free
to join a union and would not be fired
for doing so.
The union embarked on a leafleting
campaign July 15 to let workers know
of the NLRB settlement, as well as to
gauge support. A number of employees
took literature during a shift change.
One employee who stopped to talk said
he supported the Machinists, but said
the union would have a difficult time
obtaining majority support after what
happened to Fitzgerald.
The Machinists have yet to decide
whether or not to continue the organiz-
ing campaign.
“Corporations are being ruthless in
their drive against unions. They are
ruthless against employees who attempt
to organize,” Kear said. “Richard’s story
is an important one. Our leaders in Con-
gress must be made to understand that
we need labor law reform to keep com-
panies from victimizing more employ-
ees like Richard.”
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AUGUST 6, 2010
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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