J.S. Potter Co., Inc.

In the Matter of J. S. POTTER COMPANY, INC., EMPLOYER and TEXTILE WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER Case No. 2-RC-1579.-Decided January 18,1950 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Warren H. Leland, hearing officer. 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 Reynolds]. 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 involved claims to represent certain em- ployees of the Employer. 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 appro- priate for purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All production and maintenance employees at the Employer's Pater- son, New Jersey, plant, excluding office and clerical employees, watch- men, guards, the foreman who works on the cutting machine, and all other supervisors as defined in the Act. 5. The record indicates that at the time of the hearing the employees were on strike against the Employer. The record does not reveal the 'At the hearing the Employer moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that all its employees who had designated the Petitioner by cards had left their employment volun- tarily and without cause and thus "disqualified themselves " as employees. The hearing officer referred this motion to the Board . We have held that the Petitioner 's prima facie showing of interest is a matter for administrative determination , not subject to litigation at the hearing. The Employer ' s motion is hereby denied. Decker Clothes Inc., 83 NLRB 484. 88 NLRB No. 51. 199 200 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD exact nature of the strike; no unfair labor practice charges against the Employer have been filed. This being so, we shall direct the holding of an immediate election permitting all employees to participate who were employed during the payroll period immediately preceding the date of this direction. All persons hired since the beginning of the strike2 and all strikers shall be presumptively eligible to vote, subject to challenge. The challenged ballots shall not be counted unless they affect the results of the election, in which case the question as to which ballots shall be opened and counted will await further investigation concerning the employment status of the affected individuals.3 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, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph. numbered 4, above, who were employed during the payroll period immediately preceding the date of this 'Direction of Election, including employees who did not work during said payroll 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 Textile Workers Union of America, CIO. z The record does not indicate the date when the strike began. Cocoliue Products, Inc., 79 NLRB 1426.