Reference no: EM132243043

Bobby Wagner had been employed for eighteen months as a guard for Blinx, the armored car company, following his graduation from Cal Poly Pomona. He wanted to become a deputy in the Riverside County Sheriff’s department like his father and uncle. A chief reason for becoming a deputy was the excellent benefits it provided for retirement and health care. Blinx paid well but provided virtually no benefits. There was no pension and the only healthcare provided was an HMO with very limited coverage. During lunch and over beers after work Bobby increasingly complained to his fellow guards and said that nothing would improve unless they had a union negotiating for them. He pointed out how much better the benefits were for his dad and uncle and credited their union for them. Also, he said that his dad could put them in touch with an organizer with the Teamsters. The others agreed to a meeting and Bobby reached out to his dad’s contact to schedule one at the Pomona YMCA. Bobby also criticized the firm’s work rules with a particular focus on safety. Blinx policy provided that while the driver is required to stay behind in the truck at all times, the other guard must go out alone to pick up or deliver valuables and immediately return to the truck. He thinks that each truck should have three guards with two guards leaving the truck for added safety. Last summer, when his truck picked up receipts from a department store in a tough neighborhood, he persuaded the other guard to leave the truck and accompany him into the store for added protection. After the pickup, they stopped into a Starbucks for coffee and sandwiches before returning to the truck (they had skipped lunch in order to remain on schedule, a common practice for Blinx guards). All trucks are wired for video surveillance. Shift supervisors review samples from the video each month as part of the firm’s quality assurance program. The custom for years has been that when rule infractions are detected, drivers are given an informal, oral warning and a written warning for a second offense. No guard has ever been suspended, demoted or fired. Alicia Dixon, Bobby’s supervisor, learned about the Teamsters meeting with Blinx guards from a poster at the YMCA where she exercised and noticed Bobby’s name at the bottom of the poster. She said nothing to Bobby but began monitoring tape from his truck every week. When Dixon noticed the night when Bobby and his partner left the truck and could see them bringing coffee and sandwiches back, she immediately called Bobby into her office. Dixon stressed the importance of strictly adhering to the rules for the protection of client property and immediately fired him. Bobby files an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB. Did Blinx commit an unfair labor practice by firing Bobby (specify the section of the NLRA that the general counsel will allege was violated, name the appropriate test the NLRB uses to evaluate discharge cases and analyze the facts to determine whether all of the elements of that test will be proven). Assuming that the general counsel can prove all elements needed to prove the charge, what is the best defense Blinx could prove? Be sure to explain your answer.