Rick White is out of a job.

The former technical engineer and union organizer will not be reinstated at Endicott Interconnect Technologies. The U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. ruled in favor of Endicott Interconnect, saying the company can dismiss White for insubordination based on what were alleged to be harmful comments made about his employer in the Press & Sun-Bulletin and a newspaper-sponsored Internet forum.

The court termed White's statements about the fledgling technology company, the successor to the Endicott portion of IBM Microelectronics, "disloyal, disparaging and injurious." The court said his allegations that the company was mismanaging its business were not protected as a part of his union organizing efforts, reversing a decision by the National Labor Relations Board and an administrative law judge.

The decision by a three-judge panel deals a setback to White, 56, who was dismissed by Endicott Interconnect in December 2002 for making what Endicott Interconnect management deemed were critical statements about the company. An administrative law judge and the National Labor Relations Board both ruled that White must be reinstated because his comments were protected as a union organizer. But the district court decision overturns both those decisions, and allows White's termination to stand.

"It's a huge shock and a huge disappointment," White said Tuesday afternoon. "I'm not going to backtrack and say that I was wrong because I don't believe that."

However, the decision by the three-judge panel represents a surprising victory for Endicott Interconnect, which was told to rehire the technical engineer and make him whole for lost salary and benefits in the two earlier decisions.

"We are pleased by the decision reached by the United States Court of Appeals regarding the NLRB case brought on behalf of Rick White," said James F. Sullivan, vice president of human resources at Endicott Interconnect. "We have maintained, since his separation, that our dismissal of Rick White was justified based upon the public statements he made which served to undermine the company during a critical time."

White was a 27-year IBM veteran who was transferred to Endicott Interconnect in November 2002 when Big Blue sold its Endicott operations to local investors. White is now trying to assess his next move.

Though an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is the likely step, he's not sure that the nation's highest court will even consider the case or rule in his favor given some of the court's recent decisions.

"This is political decision," White said. "Workers' rights are being rolled back and being defeated across the whole country because of this hostile political environment."

He noted that Endicott Interconnect appealed the case to the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington D.C., where he alleged the judge's conservative leanings may have influenced the decision. He said the company intentionally avoided the federal district court in New York, where, he said, the case should have been reviewed.

"I won twice and both decisions were strongly in my favor," White said. "This district court judge is an extreme conservative. If you've got enough money and you've got enough time, you can find a judge that will rule in your favor."

In testimony delivered at a June 10, 2003 hearing at the Federal Building in downtown Binghamton, William R. Maines, then Endicott Interconnect chief executive, maintained White was fired solely because of his critical comments about Endicott Interconnect management.

Maines said White's comments damaged Endicott Interconnect's reputation in the community, and with existing and prospective customers.

Maines and his family, along with a group of local investors, bought the 4.1 million-square-foot IBM plant in November.

They also acquired IBM's microelectronics business, renaming it Endicott Interconnect Technologies, and inherited the unit's 2,000 workers. Investors received state incentives and earnings tax credits to help with the sale, Maines said in his testimony.

White, Maines said at the hearing, was warned once about making public statements critical of the company after he was quoted in a Press & Sun-Bulletin story following the November layoff of 200 people at the company.

White's subsequent posting on a pressconnects.com Internet forum, alleging mismanagement at the company, was in direct violation of his order, the chief executive said.

Maines vehemently denied during his testimony that the discharge had any connection to White's organizing efforts with Alliance@IBM.

Maines said White was fired for insubordination. His position with the union, Maines said, was no factor in the discharge.

White, in his Dec. 1 Internet posting, alleged Endicott Interconnect was "being tanked by a group of people that have no good ability to manage it."

Maines acknowledged that his staff was monitoring the Internet forums. Maines received printed copies of selected postings, including White's message.

The technical engineer was called into Maines' office on Dec. 19, where the executive questioned White about the posting. White was fired by Maines after acknowledging that he was the author of the Internet posting that contained his name.

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