Wilson & Co., Inc.

In the Matter of WILSON & COMPANY, INC and WAREHOUSE AND DISTRI- BUTION WORKERS ' UNION, I. L. W. U.. CIO Case No. 15-R-1311.-Decided June 2.5, 1945 .11r. R C. Winkler. of Chicago, Ill., for the Company. ilHr. Andrews Nelson, of New Orleans, La., for the Union. 1Ir Jack iblantel, of counsel to the Board DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF TIIE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by Warehoue and Distribution Workers' Union, I I. NN7 U., CIO. herein called the Union , alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Wilson & Company , inc . New Orleans. Louisiana , herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon clue notice before Walter Wilbur, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at New Orleans. Louisiana , on May 1, 1945 The Com- pany and the Union appeared and participated . All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard . to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence hearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner 's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed \11 parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board. Upon the entire record in the case , the Board snakes the following FINDINGS OF FAC"I I THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Wilson & Company , Inc.. a Delaware corporation , is engaged in process- ing, selling, and distributing meat and meat products at New Orleans, Louisiana The Company operates as a branch of Wilson & Co , Inc.. which has its principal office and place of business in Chicago, Illinois . The Coin- pany purchases approximately 20.000 tom of beef and pork a week, most 62 N,L. R B, No 110 895 896 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, of these products being shipped to New Orleans from points outside the State of Louisiana The Company's annual sales amount to approximately $200,000, of which approximately 3Y2 to 4 percent represents shipments to points within the State of \Mfississippi. We find, contrary to the contention of the Company, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor P elations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Warehouse and Distribution Workers' Union, I. L. W. U., affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations , is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as the exclu- sive bargaining representative of its employees until the Union has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. The Company contends that according to the constitution of the Union, the latter cannot admit to membership the employees herein concerned, since a local union has not been established as provided for in the Union's constitution. We find it unnecessary to determine the exact extent of the Union's constitutional jurisdiction, since there is no showing that the Union will not accord adequate representation to all employees included within the unit hereinafter found appropriate Although the petition was filed by the international union, its representative at the hearing stated that it was filed on behalf of its Local Union No. 207. A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.' We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the*Company, within the meaning of Sec- tion 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union seeks a unit of all production and maintenance employees, including truck drivers. but excluding all office clerical and supervisory employees The Company contends that the truck drivers should be ex- cluded, and that the office clerical employees should be included in the unit. The Company employs four or five truck drivers who deliver products i See Matter of 11'ilson & Co, Inc, 61 N L R B 617 and cases cited theieiii 2 The Board agent ieportcdcthat the Union submitted 20 membership applications; that the names of 11 persons appearing on the applications weic listed on the Company s pay roll for the period ending April 14, 1945, which contained the n.mtes of 29 employees in the appropiiate tinit. Amal- ganiated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, AFL, and International Brother- hood of Teamsters, St.ihlenicn & Tielpeis of Ameiwa, Local 270, AFL, were requested in writing to submit evidence of icpiesentation, but have failed to do so WILSON & COMPANY, INC. 897 to customers located in and around the vicinity of New Orleans They col- lect money and prepare proper receipts; they do not have regular hours, but are through for the clay when they have completed their deliveries ; and they are paid by the week, whereas the other production and maintenance employees work on an hourly basis Since the truck drivers constitute a dis- tinct and separate group of employees whose interests and conditions of employment are not altogether the same as those of the other employees, and since the parties are in dispute as to their inclusion, we shall e-xclude them from the unit.' There are nine office clerical employees who perform secretarial and stenographic duties, maintain records of the Company's volume of business, keel) pay-roll time cards, and perform other routine office functions. The Company would include the clericals for the reason that, like the produc- tion and maintenance employees, they work under direct and constant supervision However, in view of their clerical duties, the contention of the Company presents no valid reason for departing from our established prac- tice of excluding office clerical employees from production and maintenance units. Accordingly, we shall exclude them. We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Company, excluding truck drivers, office clerical employees, and all supervisory em- ployees with authority to hire. promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain- ing within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V TILE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We shall -direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period imme- diately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions, set forth in the Direction. DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, and pursuant to Article TII, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with-Wilson & Company, Inc., New Orleans. Louisiana, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possoble, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this 3 Sec Matter of Knigan & Co, Incoi poatcd, 61 N. L It B 1222 898 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fifteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appro- priate in Section IV, above, who were employed dluring the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during the said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, 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 elec- tion, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Ware- house and Distribution Workers Union, 1 L W. U., CIO, for the purposes of collective bargaining.