Jell-Well Dessert Co.

In the Matter Of JELL-WELL DESSERT COMPANY, EMPLOYER and VIR- GINIA M. DONATO, EMPLOYEE, PETITIONER and GROCERY WAREHOUSE- MEN'S UNION, LOCAL No. 595, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN & HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL, UNION Case No. 21-RD-66.-Decided March 15, 1949 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition for decertification duly filed, a hearing in this case was held at Los Angeles, California, on January 25, 1949, before a hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer permitted the interrogation of the representative of the peti- tioning employees to show among other things that the petition had been typed in the Employer's office and circulated during working hours. This evidence was offered in order to prove that the Em- ployer had instigated the filing of the petition. A motion by the Union to dismiss the petition, on the ground that it was instigated by the Employer, w'as referred by the hearing officer to the Board. In accordance with well-established practice to exclude from representa- tion proceedings all matters relating to unfair labor practices, the Union's motion is denied. For the same reason, all testimony with respect to such matters is hereby stricken from the record.,. The hear- ing officer's other rulings are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board 2 finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 1Matter of Century Ribbon Mills, Inc., 78 N. L. R. B. 933, and cases cited therein, foot- note 2; see Matter of Westinghouse Electrw Corp., 78 N. L. R. B. 10, fn. 1. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board Members [Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Murdock]. 82 N. L. R. B., No. 8. 101 838914-50-vol. 82-8 102 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 2. The Petitioner asserts that the Union is no longer the bargaining representative of the employees of the Employer as defined in Section 9 (a) of the Act .3 The Union was certified on November 19, 1947, as exclusive bargain- ing representative of the employees in the unit described below, fol- lowing an election held pursuant to a Stipulation for Certification on Consent Election." 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section (2) (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The following employees of the Employer constitute a unit ap- propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All employees at the Employer's plant at 4440 E. District Blvd., Vernon, California, excluding office em- ployees, guards, and supervisors as defined by the Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur- poses of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than 30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among the em- ployees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vaca- tion 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, and also excluding em- ployees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by Grocery Warehousemen's Union, Local 595, Interna- tional Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, AFL. ' Although the petition was filed by Mary Bowman, an employee, the hearing officer treated the petition as filed by Virginia M Donato, an employee who had been a supervisor during World War I but who has no present power to hire , discharge, or effectively recommend either, and no authority to give other than ordered directions . As Donato is no longer a supervisor as defined in the Act, nor otherwise a management representative , the petition herein would be appropriately filed even if in fact it had been filed by her. Matter of The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, 78 N. L. R B. 838; cf. Matter of Clyde J. Merril, 77 N. L. R B. 1375. Case No. 21-RC-24.