In the Matter of Universal Camera Corporation

Imre Chairman (plaintiff) worked for Universal Camera Corporation (Universal) (defendant) as a maintenance engineer supervising an evening shift of maintenance mechanics. A group of maintenance mechanics joined a union, and the union filed a petition for the election and certification of representatives. Having worked at Universal for only a few months and despite warnings from his supervisor that it was a bad idea, Chairman testified at the representation hearing. His testimony supported the union’s position rather than Universal’s position. Chairman received hostility from Universal in response, especially from Chief Engineer George Kende, who was the supervisor of Chairman’s supervisor. The day after the hearing, Kende launched an investigation into Chairman, seeking grounds for dismissing him. Evidence showed that the investigation was motivated by animosity over the hearing and that Kende was merely looking for a pretext to fire Chairman. Kende’s investigation proved unsuccessful, and Chairman remained employed. About a month later, Chairman had a dispute with another manager. Although the dispute was heated, the men shook hands and agreed to put it behind them before the shift ended. Three and a half weeks later, Kende fired Chairman ostensibly for gross insubordination reflected in a complaint filed by the manager. No credible explanation was offered for why the manager waited so long to file the complaint. Chairman believed that he was really fired for testifying at the representation hearing. He filed a charge against Universal with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which resulted in an NLRB complaint against Universal alleging that Universal engaged in unfair labor practices. The trial examiner found no unfair labor practices and recommended dismissal of the complaint. The NLRB reviewed the trial examiner’s report and recommendation.