Section 29(1)(b)
MISCONDUCT, Strike related activity
CITE AS: Winters v Severance Tools Inc., unpublished per curiam Court of Appeals, June 20, 1995 (Case No. 164032).
Appeal pending: No
Claimant: Ken Winters
Employer: Severance Tools Inc.
Docket No: B90-14939-117439W
COURT OF APPEALS HOLDING: Claimant's intimidation of a part-time worker who crossed a picket line during a strike was disqualifying misconduct.
FACTS: Claimant's bargaining unit went on strike against the employer and the members were picketing the employer. A sixteen year old co-op employee crossed the picket line after leaving work just as the claimant arrived at the picket line. Two fellow strikers got into the claimant's truck and told him to follow another truck of strikers because the driver of the other truck was going to get into a fight. Claimant followed the truck to the co-op employee's home. When the co-op employee arrived at his home he got out of his vehicle. Both the claimant and the other driver slowed their vehicles. The driver of the other truck yelled threats at the co-op employee. They drove past the home. They came by the home a second time and the other driver knocked over the co-op employee's trash cans with the truck he was driving.
DECISION: Claimant is disqualified for misconduct under Section 29(1)(b) of the Michigan Employment Security Act.
RATIONALE: The obvious inference from the claimant's admitted conduct is that the claimant followed the truck to assist the other driver in intimidation of an employee who had crossed a picket line. Even assuming the claimant did not personally threaten the employee, the claimant intimidation of the employee who crossed picket line was sufficient to find disqualifying misconduct.
7/99
20, 19, d12: E