Ever Ready Label Corp.

In the Matter of EVER READ] LABEL CORPORATLON, EnI'Lovim and LOCAL 16. UNITED OFI'ICE AND PROFESSIONAL WORKriis OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER Case No. 2-R-6818.-Decided September 27, 1946 Cullen c6 Dyhman, by dlr. J1animilian 111oss, and Messrs. Samuel M. Birnbaum and Sidney Hollander., of New York City, for the Employer. Mr. Samuel A. Sacher, of New York City, for the Petitioner. Messrs. Charles A. 1llcNally and Vincent Killorin, of New York City, for the AFL. .rift. Sidney Grossman, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at New York City, on September 5, ls)I6, before Vincent M. Rotolo, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board makes the following: F INDi NGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE, EMPLOYER Ever Ready Label Corporation, a New York corporation, has its office and plant in New York City, where it is engaged in the manufac- ture, sale, and distribution of gunlnled and ungununed labels and kindred specialty printing. The principal raw materials used by the Employer in its manufacturing operations are paper and ink. During the past year, the employer's purchases of raw materials were in excess of $250,000 in value, of which i n excess of 75 percent was secured from sources outside the State of New York. During the same period, its sales were in excess of $1,000,000 in value, of which in excess of 33 per- cent was shipped and transported to States other than the State of New York. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 71 N. L. R B, No. 16 139 140 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the Em- ployer. New York Joint Council of International Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union of North A'inerica, herein called the AFL, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claim- ing to represent employees of the Employer. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On about July 23, 1946, the Petitioner requested recognition of the Employer as the bargaining representative of the employees it here seeks to represent . The Employer refused to accede to the Petitioner's request until the Petitioner is certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. On November 25, 1944, as the result of a consent election conducted under the auspices of the Board, the AFL was designated by the Re- gional Director as the collective bargaining representative of the Em- ployer's shop employees. Thereafter, on August 27, 1945, the Employ- er and the AFL executed a collective bargaining contract covering such employees. The duration of the contract is governed by Article XII, which, in part, reads as follows : This contract shall remain in full force and effect until August 30, 1946, and to continue to be in operation thereafter until such time as a new agreement has been reached, .. . In July 1946 , prior to the expiration of the 1945 contract and pur- suant to its provisions,' the AFL gave the Employer notice of a desire to negotiate a new contract , but because of the Petitioner's representa- tion claim the contracting parties did not enter into any negotiations. The AFL urges that the 1945 contract operates as a bar because, by its terms, the contract continues to remain in full force and effect until such time as a new agreement is reached. The Employer adopts a neutral position with regard thereto. There is no merit to the AFL's contention inasmuch as after August 30, 1946, the contract became one of indefinite duration and, as such, cannot preclude a present determi- nation of representatives.2 Article XVI of the 1945 contract reads as follows : The parties hereto agree that thirty ( 30) days before expiration of this contract they shall enter into negotiations looking into the renewal or modification , if any, of this contract. ' See Matter of Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co , 63 N. L. R. B. 679 ; Matter of Great Bear Logging Company, 59 N. L R B . 701 ; Matter of National Carbide Corporation, 58 N. L. It. B. 1430. EVER READY LABEL CORPORATION 141 We find that a question effecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT We find, in substantial accord with the agreement of the parties, that all shop employees engaged in production work, including mainte- nance employees and working foremen, but excluding officers of the Company, managerial employees, and the plant superintendent, con- stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Petitioner requests that eligibility be established as of the time it filed its petition. The record does not disclose any reason for de- parting from our usual eligibility practice and, accordingly, we shall deny the Petitioner's request. DIRECTION OF ELECTION As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Ever Ready Label Corporation, New York City, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Di- rector for the Second Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Sections 203.55 and 203.56, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations Series 4, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vaca- tion 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 election, to determine whether they desire to be repre- sented by Local 16, United Office and Professional Workers of America, CIO, or by New York Joint Council of International Print- ing Pressmen and Assistants' Union of North America (AFL), for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.