The Company raises two additional agency-related arguments regarding only Brown. First, the Company argues Brown had apparent authority to act for the Union. Apparent authority “exists where the
principal engages in conduct that[,] reasonably interpreted, causes the third person to believe that the principal consents to have the act done on his behalf by the person purporting to act for him.”
Overnite Transp. Co., 140 F.3d at 266 (emphasis added). “[W]hile it may be the case that several employees ... believe [a coworker] acted on behalf of the union, the union cannot be held responsible for [his] conduct [when] it did nothing to confer apparent authority on him.”
Id. Though it is quite clear that many SAMs thought Brown represented the Union—and that Brown may have fancied himself a Union representative—there was sufficient evidence in the record for the ALJ and the Board to conclude that the Union never engaged in any conduct that would reasonably create that impression. The Union never held out Brown as its representative; by contrast, the Union held out Littlejohn, its own organizer, as its duly authorized representative. It was Littlejohn, not Brown, who personally created and initiated the distribution of leaflets and authorizing cards. Those cards bore Littlejohn's name and telephone number, not Brown's, thus indicating to employees that he was the sole contact person for the Union. Finally, Littlejohn, not Brown, arranged and presided over informational meetings, alone in front of an audience of SAMs which often included Brown.