Montgomery Ward & Co., Inc.

In the Matter Of MONTGOMERY WARD & CO., INCORPORATED and MAIL ORDER, WAREHOUSE AND DISTRIBUTION WORKERS UNION, I. L. W. U., C. I. O. Case No. B-5200 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND DIRECTION OF RUN-OFF ELECTION August 30, 1943 On July 1, 1943, pursuant to the Decision and Direction of Election issued by the Board herein on June 7, 1943,1 an election by secret ballot was conducted at the Company's Baltimore mail order house, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fifth Region (Baltimore, Maryland). Thereafter, on July 3, 1943,- in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Board, a Report on Ordered Election in Case No. R-5200, covering the aforesaid election was issued and served upon the parties. As to the balloting and its results among the employees in- volved, the Regional Director reported as follows : Approximate number of eligible voters---------------------- 1, 022 Total ballots cast----------------------------------------- 534 Total ballots challenged----------------------------------- 20 Total void ballots----------------------------------------- 3 Total valid votes counted--------------------------------- 511 Votes cast for American Federation of Labor---------------- 26 Votes cast for Mail Order, Warehouse and Distribution Workers, I. L. W. U., C. I. 0----------------------------- 224 Votes cast for United Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Employees of America, C. I. 0--------------------------- 15 Votes cast for none--------------------------------------- 246 Thereafter, on August 23, 1943, the Regional Director issued a Sup- plemental Report on Ordered Election, reporting that further investi- gation into the challenges noted in the original report revealed that the names of at least five of the persons whose ballots were challenged did not appear on the Company's pay roll for the period ending July 1 56 N. L. R. B. 163. 52 N. L. R. B., No. 44. 336 !MONTGOMERY WARD & co.,'I NC. 337 3, 1943, the pay roll by which eligibility to vote was determined, and therefore recommended that said challenges be sustained. No objections to the Report on Ordered Election or to the Supple- mental Report on Ordered Election have been filed by any of the parties. The aforesaid challenges are hereby sustained. It appears, therefore, that none of the choices on the ballot could constitute a majority of the valid votes cast. Mail Order, Warehouse and Distribution Workers Union, I. L. W. U., C. I. 0., referred to herein as the ILWU, has requested a run-off election, on the ground that the report of the election revealed that none of the unions received a majority of the votes and that,the total of those voting for no union constituted less than a majority of the votes cast. At the time of the election it was our policy to dismiss the peti- tion for investigation of representatives whenever a plurality of the votes cast in the election was cast against representation by any of the competing labor organizations.2 However, we have recently estab- lished a new policy with respect to run-off elections, which policy has been set forth in an amendment to our Rules and Regulations.$ We believe that the purposes of the Act can best be effectuated by applying that policy to the instant case.4 Accordingly, in conform- ance therewith, we shall direct that a run-off election be held to deter- mine whether or not the employees in the appropriate unit desire to be represented by the ILWU for the purposes of collective bargaining. On August 7, 1943, the ILWU filed a petition requesting that the Board,, in view of the length of time which has elapsed since the elec- tion and the unusually high rate of turn-over among the Company's employees, adopt a current pay-roll date to determine eligibility to vote in any run-off election. Our new Rule governing the conduct of run-off elections provides that only employees who were eligible to vote in the original election shall be eligible to vote in the run-off election. However, the Rule contains other provisions designed to eliminate delay between the original election and the run-off, and thus to obviate such situations as that which has arisen in this case.5 Under the circumstances, since it is impossible to direct an election 2 The Regional Director 's recommendation in his Report on Ordered Election that a run-off election be directed by the Board "in accordance with its usual policy in such cases," er- roneously stated our policy as of that time. i Article III, Section 11, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations- Series 2, as amended, effective August 23, 1943, states, in part . The ballot in the run-off election shall provide for a selection between the two choices that received the largest and the second largest number of valid votes cast In the election, except as provided in this subsection. None of the exceptions is applicable to the instant situation 4 See Matter of Glenn L Martin Company, 52 N L. R B. 183. 5 The new Regulation provides , in part, that when the election returns justify a run-off election, the Board's agent in charge of the election shall promptly conduct a run-off election without further order of the Board, upon written application to him by any representative entitled to appear on the run -off ballot. 338 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD in literal conformance with the procedure provided in Section 11 (b) of the new Rule, without defeating the Board's underlying purpose to expedite the holding of run-off elections before substantial employee turn-over has occurred, we will grant the ILWU's request. We believe that the pay roll next preceding the date of this Decision will provide a more representative list of employees and better effectuate the purposes of the Act. Accordingly, we shall permit all persons who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding this Supplemental Decision and Direction of Run-Off Election to vote in said run-off election, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction herein. DIRECTION OF RUN-OFF 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, Sections 9, 10, and 11, 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 Montgomery Ward & Co., Incorporated, Baltimore, Maryland, 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 Fifth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regula- tions, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in our original Decision and Direction of Election, 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 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 Mail Order, Warehouse and Distribution Workers Union, chartered by Interna- tional Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining. CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above Supplemental Decision and Direction of Run-Off Election.