Court Upbraids Postal Service on Anti-Union Threat by Supervisor

By ARI PAUL

A Federal appeals court has upheld a National Labor Relations Board decision that a U.S. Postal Service supervisor wrongly threatened to sue a worker who had filed an NLRB complaint.

The USPS had argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th District that the supervisor's statements were protected under the First Amendment.

Bobby Cline, a USPS worker, filed a complaint against his supervisor, Bobby Powers, for "interfering with union activity," the May 2 decision stated.

Beration and a Threat

"Upon receiving a copy of the charge, Powers telephoned Cline during a work day to discuss the charge with him," it stated. "After Cline informed Powers of the basis for the charge, Powers began to yell at Cline. According to the Board's decision and order, Powers told Cline that he was going to be sorry for filing the charge, that Cline 'had better get a good attorney, because he was going to sue,' and that he, Powers, 'already had a good attorney.' After making this statement, Powers slammed the phone down."

The three judges in the case rejected the position that the supervisor was exercising his right of free speech, finding that he was acting on the behalf of an employer.

"Cline reasonably could have believed that Power's admonition that Cline would be sorry, followed by his threat to sue, amounted to a threat of retaliation for Cline filing a labor charge," the decision said. "And, because an employer's threat of retaliation against an employee for engaging in protected conduct violates [the National Labor Relations Act], Powers's statements do not enjoy Speech Clause immunity. The Supreme Court has made clear that illegal speech is not protected under the First Amendment."