NLRB Tosses Faux-Paisano Pizza Protesters' Complaint

Mama Mia! Da NLRB a-rule against mia protest!

Late last month, we wrote about the head-turning sight of burly union carpenters dressed as Italian pizza chefs. The theatrical protest in front of Amici's East Coast Pizzeria in Mission Bay disguised a convoluted, modern-day Rashomon, complete with brawls, Ferraris, and calzone.

Here it is, with brevity: The Carpenters' Local 22 was "handbilling" outside Amici's because the pizza place has used Pacific Construction to build its new restaurants. Local 22 charges the Burlingame-based construction company with roughing up a union member who inspected a San Francisco Ferrari dealership where work was going on, and filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board late last year. Tim Eastman, the principal of Pacific, told a different story. He claimed three liquored-up union men set upon the site after hours and pushed around his employee. He filed a countercomplaint with the NLRB.

This contentious back and forth may have ended late last week, when the NLRB dismissed both the union's complaint and Pacific's subsequent countercomplaint (which, for the record, is just what Eastman predicted would happen).

From the ruling:

"Although the superintendent is alleged to have been rough with one of the union representatives as he escorted him toward the exit, his conduct did not rise to the level of physical violence. Even assuming it did, any employee witness to the event could not have reasonably believed that a similar fate might befall them ... There is no evidence the superintendent mentioned, much less denigrated, the Union ..."

Messages for the union and Eastman querying whether they will appeal the ruling have not yet been returned.

UPDATE: 10:38 a.m. -- Eastman says he has no interest in appealing the decision -- but "probably will" if the union does.

Read the entire NLRB ruling here:

NLRB_ruling.pdf