NLRB dismisses union's initial complaint against Seaport

Mystic - The National Labor Relations Board has issued a "conditional dismissal" of an unfair labor practices complaint filed against Mystic Seaport by the union seeking to organize the museum's employees.

The board dismissed the union's charges that a Seaport ban on union organizing activity was overly broad and that the Seaport had unfairly prohibited lobbying in favor of union affiliation while allowing union opponents to lobby against affiliation, Dan McFadden, a Seaport spokesman, said.

The board's decision indicated that the union, the American Federation of Teachers, Connecticut, withdrew its charge that the Seaport had engaged in "improper surveillance" by posting a supervisor in the employee break room at all times to discourage union activity, McFadden said.

The board's dismissal of the complaint will become final in six months provided no new charges surface, McFadden said.

"Obviously, we are pleased with the NLRB's decision, and, in particular, that it expressly concluded that there have been 'no unlawful effects on employees' terms and conditions of employment,' " he said.

A union spokesman said the NLRB decision did not entirely clear the Seaport.

"They (Seaport management) may think they were found innocent, but this decision clearly spells out that it's like being put on probation," Eric Bailey said. "If they do anything wrong in the next six months, we'll file another complaint that will bring this all back to roost."

Bailey said the union withdrew its "improper surveillance" charge at the NLRB's urging.

"The board let us know that it didn't have any merit and suggested we drop it, so we did," Bailey said.

The AFT filed the complaint in May. The decision will not affect a union election scheduled for Aug. 17. At that time, Seaport employees will vote whether to affiliate with the union. All roughly 250 non-management Seaport employees - full-time, part-time and seasonal - will be bound by the outcome of the majority vote.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com