Ralston-Purina Co.

In the Matter of RALSTON-PURINA COMPANY and AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR & ITS AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS Case No. R-5028.-Decided •March 30; 1943 Jurisdiction : grain processing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : dis- pute as to the appropriate unit; employees in the armed forces who present themselves in person at the polls, held eligible to vote ; employee alleged to have been discriminatorily discharged, held eligible to vote and in the event his ballot is necessary to a result, it is to be impounded pending disposition of the charges; immediate election directed when union waived objection thereto on basis of charges which it had filed Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all employees, excluding office em- ployees, watchmen, outside truck drivers, and supervisory employees; stipula- tion as to. Mr. Lawrence B. Murdock, of St. Louis, Mo., for the Company. Mr. William J. Becker, of Clayton, Mo., for the Union. Mr. Arthur Leff, of counsel to the Board. DECISION- - AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon asecond amended petition duly filed by American Federation of"Labor & Its Affiliated Organizations, herein called, the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Ralston-Purina Company, St. Louis, Missouri, herein called' the Company, the National' Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Lawrence H. Whitlow, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at St. Louis, Missouri, on March 16, 1943. The Company and the Union appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and io introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's. rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. 48 N L. R. B., No. 98. 840 RALSTON-PURINA COMPANY 841' Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Ralston-Purina Company, having its principal place of business at St. Louis, -Missouri, is a Missouri corporation engaged in the business of processing and selling grains and feed. It operates over 22 plants throughout the United States. Only the Company's St. Louis plant located at 8th and Gratiot Streets, St. Louis, Missouri, and its ware- house known as the'Union Avenue Warehouse, also located in said'city, are involved in this proceeding. During the fiscal year ended Septem- ber 30, 1942, the Company purchased outside the State of Missouri and transported into said State materials and supplies of the approximate value of $9,500,000. During the same period the total sales made by the Company from the afore-mentioned plant and warehouse amounted to approximately $13,500,000, and of this amount approxi- mately $12,000,000 represented sales made to points outside the State of Missouri. We find that the Company is engaged in commerce within the mean- ing of the National Labor Relations Act. 11. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED The American Federation of Labor is a labor organization ad- mitting to membership, directly and in its affiliated organizations, employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On or about February 1, 1943, the International Longshoremen's Association, a labor organization affiliated with the American Federa- tion of Labor, requested the Company to recognize it as the exclusive bargaining representative for employees engaged in production work. Thereafter divers other labor organizations affiliated with the Ameri- can Federation of Labor, respectively claiming to represent certain craft groups of employees engaged in maintenance work at the Com- pany, likewise requested exclusive bargaining rights. The Company, taking the position that all its production and maintenance employees employed at its plants herein involved constituted a single appropriate unit, refused to accede to the request of the American Federation of Labor affiliates. The said affiliates then filed the amended petition upon which this proceeding is predicated. 842 DECISIONS OF 'NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS 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 At the hearing the parties stipulated and agreed, and we find, that all of the employees of the Company at its main mill located, at 8th and Gratiot Streets, St. Louis, Missouri, and at its Union Avenue Warehouse located in the same city but excluding office employees, watchmen, outside truck drivers, supervisors who spend more than 50 percent of their time in supervisory activities, and supervisors of higher rank, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of col- lective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Company moved to have its employees who are now in the armed forces of the United States declared eligible to vote . , In ac- cordance with our established practice we shall direct that all such employees in the appropriate unit who present themselves in person at the polls shall be permitted to vote. Referring to certain charges 2 which have been filed by the Interna- tional, Longshoremen's Association against the Company alleging that an, employee , Fred Smith , was discharged by the Company in viola- tion of the Act, the Union requests that the Board grant this employee the right to vote at the election . We shall direct that said Fred Smith be permitted to vote subject to challenge . In the event that his ballot is necessary to a result, it, will be impounded pending disposition of the charges. We shall direct that the question concerning -representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em- ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay- roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elec- ' The Regional Director reported that the Union submitted 94 designation cards, 90 of which bore apparently genuine original signatures ; that they were dated ' from January 5, 1943, to March 4, 1943 ; that the names of 79 persons whose signatures appeared on the .cards were listed on the Company's pay roll of January 27, 1943, which contained 197 persons in the unit alleged to be appropriate At the hearing the Union presented 4 addi- tional designation cards bearing apparently genuine original signatures , but only 1 of said additional cards contained the signature of a person whose name appearing on said pay roll had not previously been checked off by the Regional Director. 2 Case-No. XIV , C-756. The Union has waived the,right to object to any election ordered in this proceeding on the basis of said charges. RALSTON-PURINA COMPANY 843, tion 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 Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations 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 Ralston-Purina Company, St. Louis, Missouri, 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 Fourteenth 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 employed 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 tempo- rarily 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 American Federation of Labor & Its Affiliated Organizations for the purposes of collective bargaining.