Habitant Shops, Inc.

In the Matter of HABITANT SHOPS, INC., EMPLOYER and INDUSTRIAL WORKERS UNION, LOCAL 424, AFFILIATED WITH UPHOLSTERERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, AFL, PETITIONER Case No. 7-R-2471.-Decided January 04,1947 Mr. S. A. Lambert, of Bay City, Mich., for the Employer. Mr. Joseph M. Jacobs, of Chicago, Ill., for the Petitioner. Mr. Harry Weinstock, of New York City, and Messrs. Maurice Sugar and Morton A. Eden, of Detroit, Mich., for the Intervenor. Mr. Herbert C. Kane, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND ORDER Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Bay City, Michigan, on October 25, 1946, before Woodrow J. Sandler, 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 Habitant Shops, Inc., a Michigan corporation located in Bay City, Michigan, is engaged in the manufacture and sale of wood furniture. Approximately 50 percent of the purchases of the Employer is made outside the State of Michigan while about 80 percent of its finished products is sold outside the State. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. Local 424, United Furniture Workers of America, herein called the Intervenor, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of 72 N L. R B No. 48. 263 264 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 10 Industrial Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. III. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Employer and the Intervenor contend that a presently existing collective bargaining contract is a bar to this proceeding. On October 24, 1945, the Employer and the Intervenor entered into a collective bargaining contract for a term of 1 year with provision for automatic renewal from year to year thereafter unless at least 30 days before any anniversary date either party served the other with written notice of a desire to change the terms of the agreement. On August 21, 1946, the contracting parties entered into a supplementary agree- - ment which, inter alia, extended the term of the 1945 contract to August 17, 1947. On September 24, 1946, the Petitioner mailed a letter to the Em- ployer requesting recognition as collective bargaining representative of the Employer's employees. The Employer received this letter on September 25 or 26. On September 25, 1946, the Petitioner filed its petition with the Board. Under the principle enunciated in the North- western Publishing 1 and Greenville Finishing 2 cases, a valid contract for a definite term executed before the Mill B 3 date of an existing agreement is a bar to a petition filed by a rival union, if notice of the adverse claim was'not received by the Employer and the petition was not filed until after the Mill B date of the old agreement. In such a situation the "premature renewal doctrine" is not applicable. In the present case, the Mill B date of the 1945 agreement was September 24, 1946. The Petitioner's notice to the Employer was not received nor was the petition filed until after that date. Accordingly, we find that the 1945 agreement, as extended by the supplementary agreement of August 1946, is a bar to this proceeding. We shall, therefore, dismiss the petition. ORDER The National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the petition for investigation and certification of representatives of employees of the Habitant Shops, Inc., Bay City, Michigan, filed by Industrial Workers Union, Local 424, affiliated with Upholsterers International Union of North America, AFL, be, and it hereby- is, dismissed. 1 71 N L R B. 167. 2 71 N L. R. B 436 3 See Matter of Mill B, Inc, 40 N L. R B 346.