General Foods Corp.

IGLEHEART BROTHERS DIVISION, GENERAL FOODS CORPORATION1O055 a whole, we are satisfied that the multiemployer unit sought to be con- tinued by the Council and Local 1010 is now appropriate, rather than the single-employer units requested by the other two unions involved. - Accordingly, we find that all production and maintenance employees of the members' of the Furniture Employers' Council of Southern California, Inc., Los Angeles, California, excluding truck drivers em- ployed by International Furniture Company, S. Karpen & Brothers Division, and Brown-Saltman Furniture Company," administrative, office and clerical, and professional employees, and all supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (a) of the Act, [Text of Directioli of Election omitted from publication in this volume.] 4 See footnote 2. E These employees , totaling three, have been and are now covered by a contract with Local Union No. 196, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehouse- men & Helpers of America, AFL. IGLEHEART BROTHERS DIVISION, GENERAL FOODS CORPORATION and UNITED PACKINGHOUSE WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER. Case No. 35-RC-50. October 19,1951 Decision and Direction of Election Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Lloyd R. Fraker, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.- Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a, three-member panel [Members Houston, Reynolds, and Styles]. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. Pursuant to a stipulation for certification upon consent election executed by the Petitioner and the Employer on July 28, 1950, an election was conducted on August 22, 1950, among the employees in- volved herein 2 On December 8, 1950, the Board certified that the I The Employer moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that it was untimely filed. For the reasons set forth in paragraph numbered 3, infra, the motion is hereby denied. 2 35-RC-414. The dates of this stipulation for certification upon consent election and the last election are contained in the files of the Board, of which we take administrative notice. 96 NLRB No. 149. 1006 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Petitioner had not received a majority of the valid votes cast and was not the exclusive representative of the employees concerned. The petition herein was filed on July 2, 1951. The Employer contends that the instant petition is untimely be- cause it was filed within a year of the certification that no bargaining representative had been selected in the last election. This contention is without merit. The election directed herein will not be held until more than a year after the 1950 election. As we have previously held, a petition filed at or near the close of the year after an election in which no bargaining representative was selected is timely.3 Section 9 (c) (2) of the Act, relied upon by the Employer, does not compel a contrary result .4 We find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of the employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The parties agree generally that all production and maintenance employees at the Employer's First Avenue, Evansville, Indiana, plant, including truck drivers, but excluding office clerical employees, cafe- teria employees, professional employees, laboratory employees, truck grain purchasing employees, student trainees, seasonal employees, guards and supervisors, constitute an appropriate unit. However, they are in apparent disagreement as to the personnel discussed below, whom the Petitioner would exclude from, and the Employer would include in, the unit. Plant clericals: The Employer employs a storekeeper, storeroom record clerk, receiving and shipping clerk, and cash sales and sack patcher. The storekeeper works in the maintenance department in a section separated from other employees by a wire screen. His duties are to store and replenish the storeroom supplies, issue material requisi- tioned by the maintenance and electrical employees, and maintain a record of the supplies taken from his section. He is under the same supervision as the maintenance and electrical employees, is hourly paid, and receives the same vacation, sickness, and other benefits as the production and maintenance employees. The storeroom record clerk works with the storekeeper and has about the same duties as the latter. He spends from 40 to 50 percent of his time keeping an in- ventory record of the storeroom supplies and performs physical tasks during the remainder of his time. The receiving and shipping clerk performs loading and unloading operations and the clerical work nec- essary for incoming and outgoing shipments. He- works under the supervision of the warehouse foreman, who also supervises the ware- house employees admittedly included in the unit. The cash sales and , See e. g., Alaska Salmon Industry, Inc., 90 NLRB 168; Fruitvale Canning Company, 85 NLRB 684 ; Victor Chemical Works, 85 NLRB 495. Cf. Swift & Company, 94 NLRB 917. 4 Cf. Felton Oil Company, 78 NLRB 1033. IGLEHEART BROTHERS DIVISION, GENERAL FOODS CORPORATION1007 -sack patcher is employed mainly to fix grain sacks and spends about -40 percent of her time operating a sewing machine. She also refers customers to the group leader of the shipping department, collects money for cash sales, and makes a record of such sales. She is assigned to the bagging and shipping department, working under the same supervision as the flour and feed packers and warehousemen who are admittedly included in the unit, and she is subject to employment con- ditions comparable to those of other production and maintenance em- ployees. It is apparent from the foregoing, and the entire record, that the storekeeper, storeroom record clerk, receiving and shipping clerk, and -cash sales and sack patcher are in the nature of plant clericals, with interests closely related to those of the production and maintenance employees. In accordance with our usual practice, we shall include them in the unit as plant clerical employees .5 Firemen-watchmen: The six employees in this category are em- ployed to fire boilers and perform the related duties of firemen, and to watch the Employer's property. While the record indicates that the `firemen-watchmen as a group spend less than 50 percent of their time performing guard duties, it further appears that a number of indi- viduals in this category may devote more than 50 percent of their time to such duties. Accordingly, we shall exclude as guards those firemen- watchmen who spend more than 50 percent of their time performing guard duties." The remaining firemen-watchmen shall be included in the unit. Relief foremen: About six production workers, James Brown, John T. Oran, Joe Wolf, Louis Butsch, Joe Gregovich, and Edward Graen- ing, substitute for their respective foremen 7 when the latter are ill or ,on vacation. Another production worker, William Gordon, who is training to become a foreman, likewise substitutes for foremen on such occasions. The record specifically shows that at least Brown, -when acting as foreman, is not vested with authority effectively to recommend the hire, discipline, discharge, or promotion of any em- ployee. There is no contrary evidence with respect to the authority of any of the remaining so-called relief foremen. As it does not appear that the relief foremen possess supervisory authority when acting as foremen and, in any event, in view of the sporadic and infrequent -occasions when they so act, we find that they are not supervisors .s We shall, therefore, include them in the unit. d Foster Wheeler Corporation, 94 NLRB 211; United Screw & Bolt Corporation, 89 NLRB 953; Biggs Antique Company, 85 NLRB 554. d Mid-States Steel and Ware Company, 94 NLRB 199. - It is apparently uncontroverted that these foremen are supervisors. s The Ann Arbor Press, 85 NLRB 946; Victor Chemical Works, supra. Although Gordon is in training to become a supervisor at some indefinite future time, this circumstance is insufficient to warrant his exclusion from the unit. The Peal Manufacturing Company, 80 NLRB 827. 1008 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS $OARD We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Employer at its First Avenue, Evansville, Indiana, plant, including truck drivers, plant clerical employees, firemen-watchmen,a and relief foremen, but excluding office clerical employees, cafeteria employees, professional employees, laboratory employees, truck grain purchasing employees, student trainees, seasonal employees, guards, and super- visors as defined in the Act, constitute an appropriate unit for the pur- poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. 5. The determination of representatives : The Employer would include among those eligible to vote, and the Petitioner would exclude, the approximately six probationary em- ployees. The record indicates that the Employer considers new employees to be in a probationary status for almost 6 months, after which they are deemed regular employees. About 90 percent of the probationary employees become regular employees. We find that the probationary employees have a reasonable expectation of permanent employment and are eligible to vote.10 At the hearing, a further question was raised as to the voting eligi- bility of Alta Miller, who, although laid off from the plant approxi- mately 1 year ago, retains her seniority. It appears that she is presently working for the Employer on a part-time basis as a cafeteria employee, an excluded category. While the Employer indicated that it may recall this individual as a plant employee at some time in the future, no fixed date for such recall has been established. We find that Alta Miller is ineligible to vote.- [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this volume.] 9 Included as firemen-watchmen are those employees who spend no more than 50 percent of their time as guards. Those who spend more than 50 percent of their time as guards are excluded. 11 Gerber Products Company, 93 NLRB 1668. 11 Cf. Standard Oil Company of California, 93 NLRB No. 112. METRO GLASS BOTTLE Co. and FEDERATION OF GLASS, CERAMIC AND SILICA SAND WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER. Case No. 2-BC-3684. October 19,1951 Decision and Direction of Election Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before I. L. Broadwin, hearing of- ficer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. 96 NLRB No. 150.