The Hills Brothers Co.

In the Matter of THE HILLS BROTIIERS COMPANY and FOOD, TOBACCO, AGRICULTURAL AND ALLIED WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, C. I. O. Case No. 10-R-1385.-Decided February 6, 1945 Mr. Alexander E. Wilson, of Atlanta, Ga., for the Company. Miss Anne Mathews and Mr. John G. Lackner, of Winter'Haven, Fla., for the Union. Mr. Thomas A. Ricci, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon an amended petition duly filed by Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union of America, C. I. 0., herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen con- cerning the representation of employees of The Hills Brothers Com- pany, Bartow, Florida, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Paul S. Kuelthau, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Bartow, Florida, on January 12, 1944. The Company and the Union appeared and participated. All parties were, afforded full oppor- tunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. At the hearing the Com- pany moved-to dismiss the petition. The Trial Examiner referred the motion to the Board for determination. For reasons set forth in Section III, infra, the motion is hereby denied. The Trial Ex- aminer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board. - Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Hills Brothers Company, a New York corporation, is engaged in the processing of citrus fruits and the manufacture of fruit bars. -64'N. L. R. B., No. 88. 459 460 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD This proceeding solely concerns certain'of the Company's employees at its plant located at Bartow, Florida. At that plant the Company annually packs and ships products valued in excess of $500,000, more than,50 percent of which is shipped to points out"side that State. For use at its Bartow plant the Coinpany annually purchases `supplies valued in excess of $150,000, of which approximately 25 percent is ob- tained from points outside the State of Florida. We find that the Company is engaged in commerce within the. meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union of America,. affiliated with the Congress of Industrial 'Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On December 12, 1944, the Union, then calling itself the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing & Allied Workers of America, de- manded recognition from the Company as the collective bargaining agent of its Bartow plant employees, and, on the same day, filed a petition for investigation and certification of representatives. Dur- ing the week of December 20, 1944, at its annual convention, the Union changed its name to Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union of America, C. I. 0., and on December 30, 1944, filed the amended petition herein under its new name. On December 26, 1944, the Company acknowledged the Union's demand, but did not state that it accorded the recognition sought. At the hearing the Trial Examiner stated that the Union had sub- mitted, to a Board Field Examiner, 229 applications for membership, purportedly signed by persons within the unit hereinafter found ap- propriate. The Trial Examiner also stated that at the, hearing the Union submitted to him 13 additional designation cards bearing ap- parently genuine signatures. The record discloses that on December 1, 1944, there were 639 employees in the unit hereinafter found appro- priate. We find 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.' ' The Company moved to dismiss the petition on the following grounds • (1),that the de- mand of December-12 was not made in the name of the petitioner" , (2) that the demand was inadequate because it did not state that the Union represented a majority of the employees it sought to represent ; (3) that in its amended petition the Union stated that it represented less than a majority of the employees in the proposed unit ; (4) that the cards submitted by the Union were not examined and checked against the Company's pay roll ; and, (5) that THE HILLS BROTHERS COMPANY IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT 461 We find, in accordance with the Union's unopposed request and upon the entire record, that all employees of the Company's Bartow, Florida, plant, except office and clerical employees, the office janitor, superin• teudents and foremen, and all other supervisory employees with au- thority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such ac- tion, constitute•a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar- gaining within the meaning of Section,9 (b) of the Act. V. TILE DETERMINATION OF'REPRESENTATIVES 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- 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 Labor Relations -Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela- tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as, amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with The Hills Broth- ers Company, Bartow, Florida, an election by secret b'all'ot 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 Tenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Ar- ticle III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who there is pending an unfair labor practice charge against the Company filed with the Board by the Union ( Case No 10-C-1626 ) We find no - merit in any of these contentions As to the first ground, the identity of the Union was in no way altered by its change of name Conceining the second and third grounds we are of the opinion that the Union's demand and the Company 's failure to accord the recognition sought are sufficient to raise a question concerning representation . Matter of Semon Bache ct Company , 39 N. L. R B 1216. As to the fourth ground , as noted above, we are satisfied that the Union represents a substantial number of , employees in the unit found appropriate "The submission of cards is an expedient adopted by the Board to determine for itself whether or not a ques- tion concerning representatives has arisen It is a part of the Board 's administrative pro- cedure . . Matter of Buffalo Arms Corporation, 57 N. L It B . 1560. With respect to the last ground, inasmuch as the Union has waived the filing of any objections to any election directed herein, predicated upon the issues in the' pending unfair labor practice case, we see no reason to withhold a direction of election at this time. See Eighth Annual Report of the National Labor Relations Board, p 49. 462 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during the said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or tem- porarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but ex- cluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether or not they desire to be.represented by Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union of America, C. I.O., for the purposes of collective bargaining.