Gunite Foundries Corp.

In the Matter of GUNITE FOUNDRIES CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and UNITED AUTO-I013ILE WORKERS , A. F. L., PETITIONER Case No. 13-R-413(9.-Decided February 26, 194118 Messrs. E. J. Falzy, 0. 0. Anderson, and F. IV. Thayer, all of Rock- ford, Ill., for the Employer. Messrs. Saul Cooper, of Dlilwaukee,Wis., and Alex Peterson of Rock- ford, Ill., for the Petitioner. Messrs. Lee Turner, of Chicago, Ill., and E. V. Roose, of Rockford, Ill., for the Intervenor. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Rockford, Illinois, on August 7, 1947, before Gustaf Erickson, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prej- udicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board 1 makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER Gunite Foundries Corporation, an Illinois corporation, manufac- tures gunite malleable and steel castings at its plant in Rockford, Illinois. The Employer's annual purchases of raw material exceed $100,000, of which over 50 percent represents shipments from points outside the State of Illinois. Its annual sales exceed $100,000, and more than 70 percent thereof represents shipments to points outside the State. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. I Pursuant to the pi ovisions of Section (b) of the National Laboi Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Boai d -Members [ Houston, Murdock. and Gray] 76 N L. R B., No . 54. 393 394 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 11. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, herein called the Intervenor, is a labor organization affiliated with the Con- gress of Industrial Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNI NG REPRESE NTATION The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the representa- tive of its employees until the Petitioner has been certified by the Board. At the hearing and in its brief, the Employer moved to dismiss the petition on the grounds, in effect, that (1) the present petition is part of a "campaign of attrition" by Which the Petitioner hopes to gain recognition from the Employer, (2) the pendency of unfair labor practice charges by the Petitioner against the Employer prevents a fair election, (3) no request was made by the Petitioner for recogni- tion, a prerequisite to raising a question of representation under the amended Act, and (4) on all the facts, the Board should require of ,the Petitioner a majority showing of interest instead of the usual 30 percent. With respect to the first contention, the Employer points to the facts that, in both a consent election held in January 1945 and in a Board- directed election conducted in January 1946, a majority of the pro- duction and maintenance employees voted against representation by a labor organization; 2 that a petition for an election among these employees filed in February 1947, 3 months before the present petition, was dismissed by the Regional Director and no appeal was taken there- from; 3 and that other attempts had been made to organize these employees, none of which met with success or culminated in an elec- tion. However, inasmuch as no election has been held among these employees for almost 2 years, we perceive no obstacle to a current election on this ground. Concerning the frequency with which elec- tions may be held, Section 9 (c) (3) of the amended Act provides that "No election shall be directed in any bargaining unit or any sub-divi- sion within which, in the preceding 12-month period, a valid election shall have been held." Case No. 13-R-2784 and Case No 13-R-3134, respectively In both cases. Interna- tional Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, C. I 0 , was the only union on the ballot Case No. 13-R-4260. The participating labor organizations were United Automobile Woikers of America, A P L , as petitioner, and International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workem s, C 1 0 , and International Molder and Foundry Workers Union of North America, A. F. L, as intervenors GUNITE FOUNDRIES CORPORATION 395 As to the second ground, we have frequently held that where the charging union files a waiver, as in this instance, an unfair labor practice charge will not bar an election pending disposition of that charge.4 In any event, the charges have since been dismissed. With reference to the third ground, the Board recently rejected a, similar contention where, as here, the Employer stated at the hearing that it would refuse to recognize the Petitioner as the representative of its employees until the Petitioner was certified by the Board.5 And as to the final ground, it is now well settled that the requirement of proof of substantial interest is purely an administrative expedient and is not subject to attack by any of the parties .13 It is also well settled that a union need not establish its majority status in advance of an election.' We therefore find no merit in any of these contentions and we hereby deny the motion to dismiss the petition. Accordingly, we find that a question affecting commerce exists con- cerning the representation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT We find, in substantial agreement with the parties, that all pro- duction and maintenance employees at the Rockford, Illinois, plant of the Employer, including production clerks, shipping clerk, and station wagon driver, and those employed in the categories or depart- ment set forth in Schedule A, but excluding office and clerical em- ployees in the main office, engineers, draftsmen, the nurse, time-study men, the research metallurgist, guards, watchmen,8 timekeepers, as- sistant foremen, the production manager, the superintendent and supervisors, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.' DIRECTION OF ELECTION 10 As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Gunite Foundries Corporation 'Matter of Carrollton Fu,n,ture Manufaeturrnq Company, 75 N L R B 710 and cases cited therein. Matter of The Buckeye Steel Castinge Company. 75 N L R B 982 "Matte, of Westinghouse Electric Corporation (East Springfield wosbs), 73 N L R. B 818. 7 Matter of Landis Machine Company, Inc, 71 N L It B 282 s At hearing the parties agreed, in effect, that if the amended Act affected the category of watchmen the agieement as to their inclusion should be discounted For the reasons stated by its in Hatter of C V Hill & Company, Inc , 76 N L R B 158, we are ex- cluding watchmen from the unit in the instant case 1 Except for watchmen, this unit is the same as that established by the Boaid in Matte, of Gunute Foundries Cotpetation, 65 N L R B 43 io It having failed by Octobei 31, 1947, to achieve compliance, or to initiate steps for compliance, with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f), (g), and (h), of the Act, as amend-A, the Intervenor will not be accorded a place on the ballot. 396 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD at Rockford, Illinois, 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 Director for the Thirteenth Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula- tions-Series 5, 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 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 ex- cluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by United Automobile Workers, A. F. L., for the purposes of collective bar- gaining.