Saginaw National Mattress Co.

In the Matter Of S AGINAW NATIONAL MATTRESS COMPANY, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO), PETITIONER Case No. 7-R-2450.Decided January 16, 194,7 DIr. E. A. Pancake, of Saginaw, Mich., for the Employer. Mr. Fane T. Rogers, of Saginaw, Mich., for the Petitioner. Mr. Leonard J. Mandl, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES Upon a petition duly filed, the National Labor Relations Board conducted on December 5, 1946, a prehearing election among em- ployees of the Employer in the alleged appropriate unit to determine whether or not they desired to be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining by the Petitioner or by Upholsterers Inter- national Union of North America, AFL, hereinafter called the AFL, or by neither. At the close of the election a Tally of Ballots was furnished the parties. The Tally shows that, of the approximately 18 eligible voters, 15 cast ballots, of which 13 were for the Petitioner, 1 was for the AFL, and 1 was challenged. Thereafter, a hearing was held at Saginaw, Michigan, on December 5, 1946, before Harry N. Casselman, 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: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER 2 Saginaw National Mattress Company, a Michigan corporation, is engaged in the business of manufacturing mattresses and box springs 1 Although served with notice, the AFL did not appear at the hearing. z The name appears in the caption as amended at the hearing. 72 N. L. R. B., No. 32. 188 SAGINAW NATIONAL MATTRESS COMPANY 189 at its plant in Saginaw, Michigan. Between July 1, 1945, and July 1, 1946, the Employer purchased for use m its business raw materials valued at approximately $100,000, of which about 95 percent repre- sented shipments to it from points outside the State. During the same period it manufactured products valued at about $160,000, of which approximately $1,600 represented shipments to points outside the State. We find that the Employer is engaged in commerce within the mean- ing of the National Labor Relations Act. II. TIIE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization 'affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. Upholsterers International' Union of North America is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claim- ing to represent employees of the Employer. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Employer refuses to recogmze.the Petitioner as the exclusive bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the Peti- tioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. We find that a question affecting 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 accordance with the agreement of the parties at the hear- ing, that all employees at the Saginaw, Michigan, plant of the Em- ployer, excluding office employees, the plant manager, and all or any other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, dis- charge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of em- ployees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appro- priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The results of the election held before the hearing show that the Petitioner has received a majority of the valid votes cast irrespective 190 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD of the counting of the challenged ballot.3 Under the circumstances, we shall certify the Petitioner as the collective bargaining represen- tative of the employees in the appropriate unit. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES IT Is HEREBY CERTIFIED that International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW- CIO), has been designated and selected by a majority of all employees at the Saginaw, Michigan, plant of Saginaw National Mattress Com- pany, Saginaw, Michigan, excluding office employees, the plant man- ager, and all or any other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, as their represent- ativ-e for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act the said organization is the exclusive repre- sentative of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates, of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment. No testimony was adduced at the hearing with respect to the challenged ballot In any event a determination as to whether the ballot should be opened and counted is unnecessary because it is insufficient to affect the election results