L&J Equipment Company was engaged in the surface mining of coal, with its principal site in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, and six satellite sites in other parts of western Pennsylvania. In early 2001, the United Mine Workers of America began organizing L&J’s mining employees. A few days after the first organizing meeting, a company-owned truck was destroyed by fire. Authorities determined the fire had been deliberately set. Three weeks later, the United Mine Workers filed a petition for an election. The date set for the election was November 4, 2001.

During the intense election campaign, promanagement employees were threatened. A week before the election, a company-owned barn burned to the ground. The United Mine Workers won the election by a vote of 39–33.

L&J refused to bargain. The union filed a Section 8(a)(5) charge, and the Board found that L&J was guilty of an unfair labor practice. L&J appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, claiming that the Board abused its discretion in certifying the union in light of its preelection improprieties.

How should the appellate court have ruled on this challenge? See NLRB v. L&J Equipment Co.

[745 F.2d 224, 117 L.R.R.M. 2592 (3d Cir. 1984)].