Gam Sales Co.

In the Matter of GAM SALES COMPANY, EMPLOYER and INTERNA- TIONAL PRINTING PRESSMEN AND ASSISTANTS' UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, LOCAL UNION No. 68, AFL, PETITIONER Case No. 13-R-4457.-Decided December 15, 1947 Mr. Jay J. Alloy, of Peoria, Ill., for the Employer. Mr. R. C. Stevens, of Louisville, Ky., for the Petitioner. Mr. R. E. Haskin, of Chicago, Ill., for the Intervenor. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Peoria, Illinois, on July 22, 1947, before Gustaf B. Erickson, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from preju- dicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board makes the following : ° FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER Morris G. Sax, Phil A. Sax, and George D. Sax, doing business as Gam Sales Company, are partners engaged in the manufacture of printed specialties such as baseball record sheets, dice sheets, and tip and baseball tallies at their plant in Peoria, Illinois. During the past 12 months, the Employer purchased raw materials valued in excess of $60,000, of which approximately 5 percent was obtained out- side the State of Illinois. During the same period, the Employer distributed from this plant finished products valued in excess of $350,000, of which about 50 percent represented sales to customers outside the State. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 75 N. L. R. B., No. 63. 536 GAM SALES COMPANY II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED 537 The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Em- ployer. International Brotherhood of Bookbinders, herein called the In- tervenor,l is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federa- tion of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On January 11, 1947, the Employer and the Intervenor entered into a collective bargaining agreement covering the employees herein concerned. The agreement is to remain in full force and effect until January 11, 1948, subject to automatic renewal from year to year thereafter, in the absence of notice in writing by either party at least 3O days prior to the anniversary date of a desire to terminate or to modify the agreement. A supplemental agreement, which implements the 1947 agreement, was executed simultaneously. By its terms, the latter agreement was to take effect upon ratification by the union members. On or about April 26, 1947, the Petitioner notified the Employer by letter of its claim to representation. The Employer promptly replied stating that while it was willing to recognize any union which repre- sented its employees, in view of its present agreement with the Inter- venor, it would defer recognition pending Board action. The petition herein was filed May 23, 1947. The Intervenor contends that its agreement with the Employer is a valid agreement and constitutes a bar to this proceeding. The Employer, while affirming the existence of a bona fide agreement with the Intervenor, asserts that it is not a bar. The Petitioner, on the other hand, maintains that the 1947 agreement is not valid since it was not ratified, and that although the supplement thereto was signed, the 1947 agreement itself was not signed. We need not determine the issue as to the validity of the 1947 contract since, assuming it to be i Because of an alleged failure of the Intervenor to provide needed assistance , in such matters as parliamentary procedure, to its newly formed Local No. 239, which comprised the employees involved herein, the membership of said Local by unanimo us vote on April 21, 1947, withdrew from the intervenor 's organization Soon thereafter, the Intervenor was advised by letter of the action taken by the Local , and the charter which it issued in No- vember 1946 as retuuied to it Dues have not been paid by the Local since the vote to withdraw In a letter dated May 14, 1947, the Intervenor, without mentioning the notifi- cation of withdrawal, advised the Local,that it was delinquent in the payment of dues for the month of Apiil and that it would be suspended if said dues were not paid by the end of the month 538 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD valid, it may now be terminated inless than 1 month upon notice by either party thereto. Accordingly, we find that the 1947 contract does not bar a determination of representatives within the next 30 days pursuant to our usual Direction of Election.2 We find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning .of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. TiE APPROPRIATE UNIT In accordance with an agreement of the parties, we find that all production employees at the Employer's Peoria, Illinois, plant, ex- cluding the printing pressmen, foremen, assistant foremen, floorladies and assistant floorladies, maintenance employees,3 all office employees, and all other supervisors constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION 4 As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur- poses of collective bargaining with Gam Sales Company, Peoria, I11i- nois, 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 Thirteenth Region, and subject to Sections-203.61 and 203.62, of Na- tional Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, 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 temporarily laid off, but excluding 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 they desire to be repre- sented by International Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union of North America, Local Union No. 68, A. F. of L., or by International Brotherhood of Bookbinders, A. F. of L., for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining, or by neither. CHAIRDIAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election. 2 See Matter of the 0lover Corp, 72 N L. R B 841 ; Matter of Ellis Canning Company, 67 N L. It. B 384 3 This category includes watchmen , janitors , porters, machinists and carpenters 4 Any participant in the election herein may. upon its prompt request to, and approval thereof by , the Regional Director, have its name removed from the ballot.