United States Gypsum Co.

In the Matter of UNITED STATES GYPSUM COMPANY, EMPLOYER and UNITED CEMENT, LIME AND GYPSUM WORKERS LOCAL UNION NO. 122, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER Case No. 20-RC-191 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION January 17, 1949 On November 22 and 23, 1948 , pursuant to the Board's Decision and Direction of Election of October 28, 1948, an election by secret ballot was conducted among the employees in the unit set forth in the De- cision. A Tally of Ballots shows that, of 55 eligible voters, 54 cast votes, and that 44 votes were cast for the Petitioner and 6 votes were cast for no union. Four ballots were challenged. By letter of November 26, 1948, addressed to the Regional Director, the Employer objected to the conduct of the election on the ground that an officer of the Petitioner was permitted to act as an observer at the election over the protest of the Employer, thus interfering with the freedom of choice of those voting. However, the Regional Director, in his Report on Objections dated December 7, 1948, found that this observor, William Hart, the secretary -treasurer of the Petitioner, was an eligible voter who cast his ballot without challenge , and that he engaged in no overt acts during the conduct of the election calculated to interfere with the exercise of the employees ' rights in an atmosphere free of restraint or coercion. He recommended that the Board over- rule the objections. Exceptions to the Report were filed by the Employer. In its excep- tions, the Employer refers to the fact that it objected to Hart's serv- ing as an observer before the election was conducted , and that its own observer qualified his certification of the Tally of Ballots by including a protest against Hart's presence at the ballot place . The Employer does not assert that Hart engaged in electioneering or any other im- proper conduct; it only argues that union officers , like supervisory offi- 81 N. L. R. B., No. 29. 197 198 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD cia]s of employers,' should be prevented from acting as observers at Board elections on the theory that a union officer's mere presence at the polling place militates against the employees' exercise of com- plete freedom of choice. We do not agree. A fellow employee of the eligible voters does not possess the disciplinary power of a supervisor, or the ability to intimidate employees, merely because he holds office in the union that is seeking to be elected as the employees' bargaining representative. We find that the Employer's objections and exceptions do not raise substantial or material issues with respect to the conduct or results of the election in this case. We hereby overrule the objections. As the Petitioner has won the election, we shall certify it as the collec- tive bargaining representative of the employees in the appropriate unit. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that United Cement, Lime and Gypsum Work- ers Local Union No. 122, A. F. of L., has been designated and selected by a majority of the employees of the United States Gypsum Com- pany, Gerlach, Nevada, in the unit found to be appropriate in para- graph 4 of our Decision and Direction of Election herein, as their rep- resentative for the purposes of collective bargaining, and pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, as amended, the said organization is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment. MEMBERS HOUSTON and GR \Y took no part in the consideration of the above Supplemental Decision and Certification. I See Matter of Paragow Rubber Co , 7 N L R. B 965 ; Matter of Harry Manaster & Bro., 6 1 N. L. R B. 1373 ; out c,,mpare Matter of Federal-Mogul Corporation , 73 N. L R. B. 339, 366