Forrest City Cotton Oil Mill

In the'Matter of FORREST CITY COTTON OIL MILL and LOCAL 19, UNITED CANNERY, AGRICULTURAL, PACKING AND ALLIED WORKERS OF AMER- ICA, AFFILIATED WITH CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS Case No. R-3544.Decided March .16, 1913 ORDER On February 21, 1942, the Board, following a secret ballot election which had previously been directed by the Board,, certified Local 19, United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing and Allied Workers of Amer- ica, affiliated with Congress of Industrial Organizations, herein called the Union, as the collective bargaining representative of all production and maintenance employees at the Forrest City Cotton Oil Mill,' For- rest City, Arkansas, herein called the Company.' On March 29, 1942, a petition signed by employees of the Company, some of whom were in and others outside the unit found appropriate, and requesting that the Board annul and set aside the prior certifica- tion, was filed with the Board. Before disposing of this petition, the Board proceeded to a hearing upon charges filed by the, Union, alleging that the Company had permitted, fostered, and encouraged the circulation of the above petition and thereafter refused to ba_rgt.in with the Union in violation of Section 8 (1) and (5) of the Act' At the hearing and at oral argument before the Board upon such charges counsel for the Company stated that the Company had not refused to bargain with the Union but merely postponed negotiations pending disposition of the petition by the Board. In view of such assertion by the Company we deem it necessary now to dispose of the above petition. Since the petition was circulated and signed in the plant only 5 weeks after the employees had indicated their choice of a collective bargaining representative in a secret ballot election and since some of the signatures on the petition are those of supervisory employees, we shall dismiss the petition. 1 The Forrest City plant is owned and operated by Armour and Company of Delaware, operating as Forrest City Cotton Oil Mill, Forrest City, Arkansas. 2 39 N J, R B 99 3Matter of Armour and Company of Delaware , operating as Forrest City Cotton Oil Mill and United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing and Allied Workers of America, Local No. 109, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, Case No. C-2353. 48 N. L. R. B., No. 18 90 FORREST CITY COTTON OIL MILL 91 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition to annul and set aside the prior certification of Local 19, United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing and Allied Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, as collective bargaining representative of all production and maintenace employees of the Forrest City Cotton Oil Mill, Forrest City, Arkansas, be, and it hereby is, dismissed.4 MR. JOHN M. HOUSTON took no part in the consideration of the above Order. - Since the Company has expressed its willingness to bargain with the Union upon dis- position of the petition , we shall hold in abeyance decision on the unfair labor practice charges pending before us in Case No C-2353 in order to permit resumption of bargaining negotiations betueen the Company and the Union pursuant to the prior certification. J