Cite as: 510 U. S. 317 (1994)
Opinion of the Court
certiorari to consider whether Manso's misconduct should have precluded the Board from granting him that relief.
I
Manso worked as a casual dockworker at petitioner ABF Freight System, Inc.'s (ABF's) trucking terminal in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from the summer of 1987 to August 1989. He was fired three times. The first time, Manso was 1 of 12 employees discharged in June 1988 in a dispute over a contractual provision relating to so-called "preferential casual" dockworkers.1 The grievance Manso's union filed eventually secured his reinstatement; Manso also filed an unfair labor practice charge against ABF over the incident.
Manso's return to work was short lived. Three supervisors warned him of likely retaliation from top management— alerting him, for example, that ABF was "gunning" for him, App. 96, and that "the higher echelon was after [him]," id., at 96-97. See also ABF Freight System, Inc., 304 N. L. R. B. 585, 592, 597 (1991). Within six weeks ABF discharged Manso for a second time on pretextual grounds— ostensibly for failing to respond to a call to work made under a stringent verification procedure ABF had recently imposed upon preferential casuals.2 Once again, a grievance panel ordered Manso reinstated.
1 ABF at this time had three dockworker classifications: those on the regular seniority list, nonpreferential casuals, and preferential casuals. ABF Freight System, Inc., 304 N. L. R. B. 585, 589, n. 10 (1991). A supplemental labor agreement ABF negotiated with the union in April 1988 created the preferential casual dockworker classification with certain seniority rights. Id., at 585-586.
2 The policy required preferential casuals—though not other dockworkers—to be available by phone prior to a shift in case a foreman needed them to work. A worker who did not respond risked disciplinary action for failing to "protect his shift"; two such failures authorized ABF to discharge the worker. Id., at 597. ABF issued a written warning to Manso on May 6, 1989, after he failed to respond to such a call. On June 19, a supervisor again asked a regular dockworker to summon Manso to work just prior to 6 a.m. for the 8:30 a.m. shift. When Manso did not
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