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Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union v. Labor Relations Com'n2/4/1997
Labor, Public employment, Unfair labor practice. Labor Relations Commission.
O'CONNOR, J. The plaintiff, Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union (union), filed a charge with the defendant, Labor Relations Commission (commission), alleging that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had engaged in a prohibited practice within the meaning of G. L. c. 150E, § 10 (a) (1). After investigating the union's charge, the commission issued a complaint alleging that the Commonwealth, as employer, had engaged in a prohibited practice by precluding a union representative from questioning an employee of the Department of Correction (department), at an investigative interview conducted by the department. The matter was heard by an administrative law Judge, who concluded that the alleged prohibited practice had been established. The department appealed to the full commission. The commission concluded as follows: "In the totality of the circumstances, the Commonwealth's prohibition of the Union representative's direct questioning of Robinson, whom the Union was present to represent, is insufficient for us to conclude that the Commonwealth interfered with, restrained or coerced Robinson in the exercise of her rights guaranteed under the Law because the Commonwealth permitted Robinson an opportunity to have [the union representative] fully and fairly represent her." The commission dismissed the case. The union appealed to the Appeals Court and we transferred the appeal here on our own initiative. We affirm the commission's decision.
We summarize the undisputed facts found by the administrative law Judge and adopted by the full commission. Michael Phaneuf and Donna Robinson are correctional officers at the Southeastern Correctional Center in Bridgewater. The union is the certified exclusive collective bargaining representative for all employees in Phaneuf and Robinson's bargaining unit. On June 9, 1990, Robinson reported to her superior that Phaneuf was sleeping on an inmate's bed. Pursuant to his investigation of the reported incident on behalf of the department, Captain Richard Daugirda interviewed Robinson.
At Robinson's request, Jerel Poh, the union vice-president, served as Robinson's union representative during the interview. Poh asked Daugirda at the outset of the interview if the interview could result in discipline against Robinson, to which Daugirda responded that he could not guarantee that Robinson would not be disciplined. Daugirda posed eight questions to Robinson about her observations of Phaneuf on the day at issue.
After Robinson responded to Daugirda's questions, Daugirda asked Robinson if she wished to add anything relative to the Phaneuf incident. Robinson requested an opportunity to consult with Poh outside the interview room, which was granted. When Robinson and Poh returned from their meeting, Poh attempted to question Robinson to elicit additional information, but Daugirda did not allow Poh to question Robinson.
Daugirda told Poh, however, that he could question Robinson outside the interview room and then return to provide a summation of Robinson's position. Poh objected, asserting that he would file an unfair labor practice charge with the commission for the department's violation of his right to question Robinson directly during the interview. Poh then provided Daugirda with a summation of information he had gleaned from his private Discussion with Robinson.
General Laws c. 150E, § 2, provides, "Employees shall have the right of self-organization and the right . . . to engage in lawful, concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, free from interference, restraint, or coercion
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