F. W. Woolworth Co.

In the Matter of F. W. WOOLWORTH COMPANY, EMPLOYER and RETAIL CLERKS INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AFL, PETITIONER Case No. 9-RC-403 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND ORDER DIRECTING HEARING ON OBJECTIONS TO ELECTION September 20, 1,949 . Pursuant to a Decision and Direction of Election in the above- entitled case, issued May 8, 1949,1 an election by secret ballot was held on June 7, 1949, at Cincinnati, Ohio, under the direction and super- Sion of the Regional Director for the Ninth Region. At the close of the election, the parties were furnished with a Tally of-Ballots which indicates that there were 28 eligible voters and that 26 votes were cast, of which 8 were for'the Petitioner, 15 against the Petitioner, and 3 challenged. On June 10, 1949, the Petitioner filed timely objections to conduct affecting the results of the election wherein it alleged that: (1) some of the 14 part-time employees whose names appeared on the eligibility list and who cast ballots in the election were casual employees and hence ineligible to vote; (2) that representatives of the Employer escorted part-time employees into the office where they were coerced into voting against the Petitioner; and (3) the store manager and assistant store manager generally engaged in coercing employees in order to compel them to vote against the Petitioner. On August 26, 1949, following an investigation, the Regional Di- rector issued and duly served upon the parties his Report on Objec- tions wherein he recommended that the objections as contained in the allegations numbered 1 and 2, above, be dismissed. With respect to allegation 1, he stated that inasmuch as the Decision and Direction of Election of the Board stated that all regular part-time employees were eligible to participate in the election, and as the Petitioner did not challenge the ballots of any of the part-time employees, there was no merit to the post election charge that they were ineligible voters. In connection with allegation 2, the Regional Director stated that no 183 N. L. R. B. 439. 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 [Members Houston, Reynolds, and Murdock]. 86 N. L. R. B., No. 9. 36 F. W. WOOLWORTH COMPANY 37 evidence supporting this contention was disclosed by his investigation. He further found that allegation 3, and the investigation conducted thereunder, raised substantial and material factual issues regarding the results of the election and recommended that a hearing be held on those issues. Thereafter, on August 31, 1949, the Employer filed an Exception to the Report on Objections in which it alleged that it had not been served with copies of the Petitioner's objections in conformance with Section 203.61 of the Board's Rules and Regulations, and that the objections and the petition herein should therefore be dismissed. The Employer did not take exception to the factual findings of the Regional Director insofar as they pertained to the allegations contained in the objec- tions. Furthermore, the Employer admits receipt of a copy of the Petitioner's letter addressed to the Regional Director and stating its objections to the election. However, the Employer contends that proper service had not been made because the copy sent to it did not also contain copies of three notarized statements, the originals of which were submitted to the Regional Director as attachments to the Petitioner's letter of objection. We find no merit in this exception. The Employer was properly advised of the substance of Petitioner's objections and no showing of prejudice resulting from the failure to enclose statements sent to the Regional Director to facilitate his inves- tigation, was made. Moreover, we have previously held that the fact that an employer does not receive a copy of objections to an election, in the absence of other factors, is immaterial.2 As no valid exceptions to the Regional Director's Report on Objec- tions have been filed by either of the parties, we hereby adopt the find- ings and recommendations made by the Regional Director in his report. Accordingly, we shall dismiss the objections as contained in allega- tions 1 and 2 and shall direct that a hearing be held on the factual issues regarding the results of the election which are raised by allega- tion 3, above. ORDER DIRECTING HEARING ON OBJECTIONS TO THE ELECTION IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that a hearing be held on the aforesaid objec- tion, and, IT Is FURTHER ORDERED that the above-entitled proceeding be, and it hereby is, remanded to said Regional Director for the purpose of con- ducting such hearing, and that the Regional Director be, and he hereby is, authorized to issue notice thereof. ' See Matter of Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company, 81 N. L. R. B. 557. 867351-50-vol. 86---4