Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp.

In the Matter of CONSOLIDATED VULTEE AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, EM- PLOYER and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTWORKERS OF AMERICA, UAW--CIO, PETITIONER Case No. 21-1-3931 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES September 10, 1948 On March 5, 1948, pursuant to the Board's Decision and Direction of Elections,) a run-off election by secret ballot was conducted under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Twenty- first Region (Los Angeles, California). Upon the completion of the election a Tally of Ballots was issued and served upon the parties. The Tally showed that of the approximately 6,978 eligible voters, 6,851 cast valid ballots, of which 3,414 were for the International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, UAW-CIO, herein called the Petitioner ; 3,437 were cast for the International Association of Machinists, Aeronauti- cal Lodge No. 1125, herein called the IAM; there were 1 challenged, and 43 void ballots. On March 11, 1948, the Petitioner filed with the Regional Director Objections to the Conduct of the Election, and to Conduct Affecting the Results of the Election.2 Thereafter, on March 12, 1948, the Peti- tioner filed a supplement to Objections to the Conduct of the Election and to the Conduct Affecting the-Results of the Election, and on March 31, 1948, filed a second supplement thereto. Thereupon, in accordance with the Board's Rules and Regulations, the Regional Director con- ducted an investigation, and issued and served upon the parties a Re- port on all said objections, dated April 15, 1948. Exceptions to the Report were filed by all parties. On May 14, 1947, the Board, having 1 75 N. L. R. B 1276. 2 Although the objections were filed 6 calendar days after the election , since a Saturday and Sunday intervened, said objections were nevertheless timely filed See Matter of The National Lime and Stone Company, 62 N. L. R. B. 282. 79 N. L. R. B., No. 78. , ^,L . _ ._; 590 •. CONSOLIDATED VULTEE AIRCRAFT CORPORATION :591 considered all the Petitioner's objections, the Regional Director's Re- port,thereon,•and all the exceptions thereto, directed that a hearing be held on all the issues raised by the Petitioner's objections. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held from June 21 through July 1, 1948, in San Diego, California, before John A. Eadie, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from preju- dicial error and are hereby affirmed. The Objections to the Election The Petitioner, in the main, raises the following objections : (1) persons, not employees of the Employer, voted fraudulently at the instigation of the IAM; (2) employees were permitted to vote without being properly identified; (3) during the election differently colored .ballots were used; (4) prior to, and during the election, the Employer abandoned its role of neutrality; (5) Board agent handled the election with extreme negligence and irregularity. In support of its first objection, the Petitioner sought to introduce .into evidence the affidavits of three individuals, not employees of the Employer, who were not available at the hearing for cross-examination by the opposing parties. The affiants, in substance,, stated in their affidavits that a representative of the IAM engaged them to vote fraud- ulently in the election. The Petitioner further sought to elicit testi- mony from two clergymen to the effect that the affiants had related to them, in person, the incidents revealed in the affidavits. Without pass- ing upon the admissibility of the evidence proffered, in view of the unavailability of the affiants for cross-examination, and the further fact that the statements contained in the affidavits were uncorroborated by any direct testimony, we conclude that the proffered evidence is not .of sufficient probative value to warrant our consideration. Accord- ingly, the objection is overruled. The second objection is based upon the fact that certain employees were permitted to vote without presenting Employer-issued identifi- cation cards. It appears, however; that representatives of all parties had agreed that employees appearing at the polling place without such identification cards would be permitted to vote upon presentation of other suitable identification documents. The Employer and the IAM urge the Board to dismiss this objection upon the grounds that this practice had been agreed upon by all parties, including the Peti- tioner, and if, as implied by the Petitioner, invalid-ballots were cast, it was incumbent upon it to challenge such ballots; and having failed to do so, the Petitioner waived said objection. This argument has merit. We therefore overrule the objection. - -592 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL' LABOR, RELATIONS BOARD The third objection rests on the fact that the Boaral agent used bal- lots which had been prepared during the 'election. It appears that a shortage of blank ballots occurred,-,and the Board agent "dittoed" on ,the Employer's duplicating machine several hundred blank -ballots .on white paper, whereas the original blank ballots furnished by the Regional Office were printed on' blue paper. It`further appears-that all the employees in certain departments used the white ballots in vot- ing. The Petitioner contends that because the white ballots were con- spicuous and easily distinguished from those furnished by the Re- gional Office, the secrecy of the balloting was violated. We believe this objection to have little merit, since no individual voter could be identified by the use of the white ballots. The objection is hereby overruled. - The fourth objection rests primarily on (1) a speech given by a vice president of the Employer over the plant's loud-speaker the day before the election; (2) allegedly permitting campaigning by representatives of the IAM, without granting the same privilege to the Petitioner; and (3) allegedly granting strategic raises at a time and to such em- ployees as to influence them in voting for the IAM. The speech con- sisted, in substance, of an exhortation to the employees to vote freely so that the interests of the Employer would not be jeopardized one way or another, and made it clear that the employees were free to vote as they chose. We believe that the subject matter of the speech was well within the protected area of "free speech." The second allegation is based upon isolated instances, whereby representatives of the IAM came into the plant without first applying to the Employer's labor relations office. However, there is no affirma- tive evidence that the Employer would not permit representatives of the Petitioner to enter the plant on the same basis. It further appears that the Employer, upon learning of this practice, took appropriate steps to discontinue it. With respect to the third allegation, it appears that certain wage in- creases were made in the interval between the election of February 27 and the run-off election of March 5, 1948. However, the Employer, in so doing, followed the usual procedure in granting raises to employees who had been working during the last 6 months. The notices of such raises were given to the employees affected just prior to the election because the necessary rate changes had been processed late by the Employer. In this posture, the objection is overruled. With respect to the fifth objection, the Petitioner disapproved gen- erally of the manner in which the Board agent conducted the election. Specifically, the Petitioner disapproved'of (1) the Board agent carry- ing tally sheets and ballots during the election without representatives CONSOLIDATED VULTEE AIRCRAFT CORPORATION 593 of the Petitioner being present; (2) Board agent's alleged carelessness in allowing marked and unmarked ballots to lie about without proper safeguards; (3) balloting booths being so located that persons other than those voting could look into them and see how a person was casting-his.ballot; and (4)- the polling place, instead of being closed, as agreed;,at 111: 30 p. in. on March- 5, 1948, was kept open until. 1,12): 45 a. in., March 6, 1948. The evidence offered in support of this.-objection reveals no such substantial-deviation-from Board pi etices as would" mater-iallyaffect the results of the-election. We therefore^overrule"this objection. Inasmuch as the tally shows that a majority of all the ballots cast were for the IAM, and the one challenged ballot is insufficient to affect the results of the election, we shall certify the IAM as the collective bargaining representative of the employees in the appropriate unit. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES- It is hereby certified that the International Association of Ma- chinists, Aeronautical Lodge 1125, has been. designated and. selected by a majority of the employees of Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Cor- poration, San Diego, California, in the unit heretofore found by the Board to be appropriate,-as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, the said organization is the exclusive representative of all the em- ployees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment and other con- ditions of employment. MEMBER REYNOLDS took no part in the consideration of the above Supplemental Decision and Certification of Representatives. I ,