Mason Can Co.

In the Matter of MASON CAN COMPANY and UNITED PAPER,NOVELTY & Toy WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION Case No.,R-IF9$4.-;laecicled March f4,1943 Jurisdiction :, oil filters manufacturing industry. Investigation , and Certification of, Representatives : existence of question • re- fusal to recognize the union until certified by the Board ; usual pay-roll date to determine eligibility although union desired eligibility to be based upon the,pay-roll, date nearest in time to its claim to recognition because subsequent to its claim company had hired new, employees; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all employees for the company at one of-its plants, excluding supervisory and office employees; stipulation as to. Mr. Don B. Sharpe, of Kalamazoo, Mich., and Mr. E. E. Eady, of' Otsego, Mich., for the Company. 'Mr.-Ralph, E.4evagler, of Kalamazoo, Mich.,, for, the Union. Mr. Glenna L. Moller, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by United Paper, Novelty & Toy Workers International Union, herein called the Union, alleging 'that a quest'i'on affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em- ployees of Mason Can Company, Otsego, Michigan, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an ap- propriate hearing upon due notice before Frederick P. Mett, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was -held -at Otsego, Michigan, on March 10, 1943. The Company and the Union appeared, participated, and were afforded full- opportunity to be.,heard, ,to examine , alld„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. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT - I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Mason Can Company is a Rhode Island Corporation engaged in the manufacture and sale of parts for oil filters. • _The Company's main plant is located in East Providence, Rhode Island, but the Otsego 48 N L. R B., No. 57. - , 486 MASON Ca1v COMPANY 487 plant, the only one of th6 Cofpai►y'goperations here involved, is operated entirely separate from the. Company's other operations. The Company employs at its Otsego plant about 65 employees. The ,principal raw material used at the Otsego plant is a metal known as black plate, almost 100 percent of which is shipped to the plant from points outside the State of Michigan. The raw materials used at the plant annually exceed $25,000 in value. The Company's finished ,products annually exceed $50,000 in value, all of which is sold to a company located within the State of 'Michigan. All the finished products are used in war production. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED United Paper, Novelty & Toy Workers International Union, af- filiated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On or about December 1 and on December 11, 1942, the Union re- quested recognition from the Company, but the Company made no reply. At the hearing the Company stated that it is unwilling to extend recognition to the Union until there has been a certification by the Board. A statement of the Regional Director, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.' - 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 In accordance with the stipulation of the parties, we find that all employees of the Company at its Otsego, Michigan; plant, but ex- cluding supervisory and office employees 2 and watchmen, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. I The Regional Director reported that the Union submitted 34 application for member- ship cards, all of which bore apparently genuine signatures, 31 of which are the names of persons appearing on the Company's pay roll of February 19, 1943. The pay roll indi- cates that there are 65 employees within the appropriate unit. The testimony at the hearing established that the 65 names include those of 6 employees who the parties agreed should be excluded. ,2 The parties agreed that a shipping clerk, J. G. Parsons, and one Marion Lindsey, who does some clerical work, but who works in the production section of the plant, should be included in the unit. 488 DECISIONS OF 'NATIO'NAL', LAB0R,,-RELATIONS' BOARD V. THE' DETERMINATION .-OF, REPRESENTATIVES The Union desires that eligibility, to participate in an _electionl ,shall, be_ based upon thd, pay-roll date nearest in time to the Union's ,claim for recognition. ' The,Union cointend's that subsequent to its claim for recognition a number of. new, employees have been hired, thereby' endangering the Union's majority. The evidence reveals that only about 10 additional ' employees have been hired since the Union made its claim and the ,Company does not contemplate hiring more. than.a very few additional employees. Under the circumstances ,we see no reason for departing from our usual practice concerning the date as of which eligibility to vote should be governed. 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 Relation's 'Act, and' pursuant to Article III,' Section 9,, of National Labor Re, lations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as- amended, it' is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of tie investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of, collective bargaining with Mason-Call Company, Otsego, Michigan, an election by secret ballot shall be con- ducted 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 in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were'em- ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction; including 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 those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they, desire, to be represented by United Paper, Novelty & Toy Workers International Union; -affiliated with the --Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collective bargaining. , . ,