Thompson Products, Inc.

n^ In the Matter of THOMPSON PRODUCTS , INC. and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE , AIRCRAFT AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO) Case No. R-4745.-Decided February 15, 1943 Jurisdiction : automotive parts manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: recog- nition refused because of existing contract with -a union certified as the statutory representative less than a year before; prior certification in effect less than one year held no bar when under circumstances involved date parties renewed a yearly contract following the election but prior to the certification of the contracting union was considered the controlling factor in Board's determination as to whether another election should be held ; renewed yearly contract about to expire held no bar; usual pay roll rather than pay roll preceding strike urged by one of the unions directed to de- termine eligibility ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all hourly rate and production em- ployees at company's Detroit plant, with specified exclusions ; stipulation as to. Stanley & S'noyer, by Mr. Harry Sawyer, of Cleveland, Ohio, for' the Company. Mr. Maurice Sugar and Mr. Jack N. Tucker, of Detroit, Mich., for the C. I. O. - Mr. Robert 0. Brown, of Detroit, Mich., for the Society. -Mr: Arthur Leff, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by International Union, United Auto- .mobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO), herein called' the C. I. -O., alleging that a question affecting Commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Thompson Products, Inc. Detroit, Michigan, herein called the Company, the, National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Robert J. Wiener, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held', in Detroit, Michigan, on 47 N. L. R. B., No. 83. 619 620 1 , DEIOI'SaONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD January 11, 1943. The Company, the C. I. 0., and Society of Tool and' Die Craftsmen of America, herein called the Society, appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard; to ex- amine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at, the hearing are,free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.' The Com- pany has filed a brief, which has been considered by the Board. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY 'Thompson Products, Inc., is an Ohio corporation with its principal office and place of business at Cleveland, Ohio. It maintains a plant at Detroit, Michigan, where it manufactures, sells,,and distributes divers parts used in the' automobile, truck, tractor, aircraft, and marine engine industries. In the year- 1942 the Company purchased materials valued at approximately $1,600,000, for use in its Detroit plant, 20 percent of which was purchased from sources located outside the State of Michigan. During the same period it manufactured at its Detroit plant products of the approximate value of $3,690,000, 22 ,percent of which was sold by it outside the State of Michigan. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. Society of Tool and Die Craftsmen of America is an unaffiliated labor organization admitting to membership employees of 'the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On October 1, 1942, and again on December 29, 1942, the C. I. O. requested the Company to recognize it as the exclusive bargaining 1 At the hearing the Trial Examiner reserved for Board ruling a motion made by the 'C. I. 0. to incorporate in the record of, this case the Board's formal file in Case No . R-2834 (reported 'in 35 N. L. R. B. 323), in which the Company , the C. I. 0., and the Society were parties ', The expressed purpose was to'show tl •e'length of time which elapsed 'between'the Direction of Election and the Certification of Representatives in that case . In view of the fact that the Board 's Supplemental ' Decision and Certification of Representatives in Case R-2834 is in evidence in this case and shows on its face the sequence of events , the said motion is hereby denied. THOMPSON PRODUCTS, INC.. - - - , - T ' 621• representati' e of the Company's employees in the Detroit plant. - The Company denied this request upon,the ground that it had, a contract With-the Society covering the employees in its Detroit plant, and upon the further ground that the Society had been certified by the Board as statutory representative on September 14, 1942.2 The Board's certification, issued on September 14, 1942, was based upon, the, results of a. run-off election- which had been conducted on- October 24,' 1941. ' Prior to the election, and on April29, 1941, the Company and the Society had entered, into a collective bargaining agreement for a term of 1 year. On April 29, 1942; following the run- off election, but prior to the issuance of the certification, the Company and the Society entered into an agreement, extending the term of their previous agreement and making certain substantive changes therein with respect to wage rates,. and vacation privileges. for• the year 1942. After the Society was certified on September 14, 1942, the Company and the Society, in the approximately 4-month period which elapsed between that date and the date of the hearing, did- not nego- tiate a new contract nor agree to any modification of their contract already in effect. While the language of the extension agreement is not'free from ambiguity and fails to state explicitly the period of the extended term, it appears to have been the intention of the parties to renew their col- lectivebargaining agreement, subject to certification of the Society by the Board, for an additional term of 1 year, i. e., until April 29, 1943. This conclusion finds support in the omission of the parties to reopen collective bargaining negotiations after the certification was issued. We find, therefore, that the term of the' present contract between the Company and the Society will not expire until April 29, 1943. From their conduct in, modifying and extending their prior con- tract, on April 29, 1942, and' their failure to take any steps toward, altering their existing contract following the ;issuance- by 'the Board on September 14, 1942, of its certification, it is, evident that, the Company, aand' the Society did not consider themselves under, a dis- ability, with, respect to collective bargaining by reason of the delay, in, the issuance of certification, and that their bargaining relationship was neither impeded nor impaired during the 11-month period which elapsed between the run-off election and the issuance of the certifica- tion. ' As a general rule, we do not entertain, a new petition within 1 year from a prior certification. Where a contract for a reasonable term, has been entered into with a certified representative, in the interest of stability we refuse to disturb the, contractual relations. until' the 2 Matter of Thompson Products, -Inc. and International Union, United Automobile _Workers of America, Afll-2ated with the C. I. 0., 35 N. L R. B 323; 43 N. L R. B. 1379. 622 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD -initial period of the contract is about to expire. Where, as here, the parties renew a yearly contract after an election but prior to certification, and where the contracting union is thereafter certified as the exclusive representative, the term of the renewed contract rather'than the date of certification becomes the controlling factor in our determination as to whether another election should be held., We therefore find that the certification of September 14, 1942, is not a bar to this proceeding. In view of the proximity of the expiration date of the renewed contract, we find that it does not constitute a bar to a present determination of representatives for the purpose of negotiating a new agreement for the period following April 29, 1943. A statement of the Field Examiner, introduced in evidence during the hearing, indicates that the C. I. 0. represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate.3 We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT We find, in accordance with a stipulation of the parties, that all hourly rate and production employees at the Detroit plant of the Company, excluding, supervisory employees , foremen, assistant fore- men, watchmen, and office and confidential employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining , within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.4 V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The C. I. 0. contends that only those employees within the appro- priate unit whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of Decem- ber 27,1942, should be,eligible to vote. The Company and the Society, oppose this position. In support of its contention, the C. I. 0. adduced evidence tending to show that on December 29, 1942, a strike occurred at the Company's Detroit plant, and that on January 2, 1943, following the termination of the strike, 13 employees who were members of the C. -I. 0. com- mittee'were discharged by the Company. The record does not clearly disclose the cause of the strike. There is nothing in the record which indicates that the 13 employees were discharged as a result of any unfair labor practice proscribed by the Act. It does not appear that 8 The Field Examiner reported that the C. I. 0 submitted 276 authorization cards bear- ing apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of October 18, 1942. There are 689 names on that pay roll. The Society did not present any evidence'of membership , but rests 'on its contract with the Company as determining its interest in this proceeding. 4 This is the same unit previously found appropriate by the Board. 0 THOMPSON PRODUCTS, INC. 623 any charges have been filed with the, Board alleging that the em- ployees have been discriminatorily discharged. It appears that since December 27, 1942, `the Company has hired additional employees who would be disenfranchised if the eligibility date proposed by the C. I. O. were selected. Under the circumstances, we are of the opinion, and therefore find, that there is no reason for departing from our usual rule concerning the date of employment as of which eligibility to vote should be governed. Accordingly, we shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela- tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Thompson Prod- ucts, Inc., Detroit, Michigan, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Seventh Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 10, of said'Rules and Regulations, among the employees- of the Detroit,, Michigan, plant of Thompson Products, Inc., within the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this. Direction, including any such employees who did not work during said pay- "roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have? since,quit or'-been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by International Union, United Automo- bile, Aircraft, and Agricultural 'Implement Workers of America- (UAW-CIO),'or by Society of Tool and Die Craftsmen-of America, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by. neither. C I