Bordo Products Co.

In the Matter of BORDO PRODUCTS COMPANY, EMPLOYER and CITRUS, CANNERY WORKERS AND FOOD PROCESSORS UNION, LOCAL 24473, PETITIONER Case No. 39-RC-56.-Decided May 10, 1949 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Charles Y. Latimer, hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.' Pursuant to the provisions of Section (3) (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Gray]. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. The labor organization named below claims to represent employees of the Employer.2 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. In accordance with an agreement of the parties, we find that the following employees constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes ' At the hearing and in its brief, the Employer moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that the petition incorrectly designated the name and business of the Employer. As the petition was amended to indicate the correct name and business of the Employer, and the Employer made no showing of prejudice and participated fully in the hearing, the motion to dismiss is denied Matter of La Salle-Crittenden Press, Inc., 72 N. L. R. B 1166. The Employer also moved to dismiss the petition on the grounds that the Petitioner 's show- ing of interest was not adequate , and that the Petitioner's representative had no authority to file the petition herein The motion is hereby denied. As we have repeatedly stated, authorization cards and other matters of prima facie showing of interest serve only as administrative expedients and are not subject to attack. Matter of Stokely Foods, Inc., 78 N L. R B. 842 ( and cases cited therein ). As to the authority of the Petitioner's rep- resentative, the record shows and we are satisfied that the Petitioner 's representative was authorized to file the petition herein. 2 Although .the Employer refused to stipulate that the Petitioner is a labor organization, the record shows that the Petitioner is a Federal labor union chartered by and directly affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and clearly is a labor orgnalzation within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the Act. 83 N. L. R. B., No. 73. 461 462 _ DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act : All production and maintenance employees at the Employer's Mis- sion, Texas, plant, excluding office and clerical employees, professional employees, guards, watchmen, and all supervisors as,defined in the Act. 5. The Employer is engaged in the business of canning citrus fruits and citrus juices. The Employer's operations, which are of a seasonal nature, begin about December 1 and conclude about May 1 of each year. At the beginning of the season the Employer employs approxi- mately 20 employees. From about February 15 to April 15 the Em- ployer operates 2 shifts. Peak employment is reached during the month of March at which time there are approximately 50 employees. During the closed season, between May and December, the Employer employs approximately 4 maintenance men and repairmen. We be- lieve that to hold the election*at or about the peak of the next canning season will result in making the franchise available to the greatest number of employees having an interest in the selection of a bargaining representative. We shall therefore direct that the election be held at or about the peak of the canning season, on a date to be determined by the Regional Director, among the employees in the appropriate unit who are employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the issuance of Notice of Election by the Regional Director.3 DIRECTION OF ELECTION As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted on a date to be selected by the Regional Director, subject to the instruction'set forth in paragraph numbered 5, above, 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 Regu- lations-Series 5, as amended, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the issuance of Notice of Election by the Regional Director, including em- ployees 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, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining by Citrus, Cannery Workers and Food Processors Union, Local 24413. 8 Matter of Babdantine Produce Co ., Inc., 81 N. L. R B. 629.