The Western Foundry Co.

In the Matter of THE WESTERN FOUNDRY COMPANY and STEEL WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, AFFILIATED WITH C.1'0'. Case No. R-3771.-Decided May 26,194. Jurisdiction : iron casting manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : re- fusal to accord petitioner recognition ; contract terminated by party thereto held no bar; employees alleged to have been discriminatorily discharged permitted to vote, but their ballots impounded pending disposition of the charges ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance employees of one of Company's plants, exclude supervisory, office, clerical, and sales employees, chemists and technicians, watchmen, outside truck drivers, licensed firemen, and students ; agreement as to. Jacobson, Merrick, Nierman cC Silbert, by Mr. David Silbert, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company. Mr. John J. Brownlee and Mr. Harry N. Harper, 'of Chicago, Ill., for the S. W. O. C. 'Mr. Walter Knutson, of Chicago, Ill., for the Molders. Mr. Robert E. Tillman, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petitions duly filed by Steel Workers Organizing Committee' affiliated with C. I. 0., herein called the S. W. O. C., alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of The Western Foundry Company, Chicago, Illinois," herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board pro- vided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before William J. Isaacson, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chicago, Illi- nois, on April 24, 1942. The Company, the S. W. O. C., and Inter- national Molders &, Foundry Workers Union of North America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the Molders, appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity ' The Company's name appears as it was amended at the hearing 41 N. L. R. B., No. 63. I 301 I 302 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial errors and are hereby affirmed. On May 8, 1942, the parties filed a stipulation correcting errors in the transcript, which is hereby approved and made a part of the record of the proceeding. - Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT ' I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Western Foundry Company, an Illinois corporation, has its principal office at Chicago, Illinois. It' operates plants at Holland, Michigan, and at Morris and Chicago, Illinois, where it is engaged in the manufacture and sale of iron castings for machinery. Only the Chicago plant is involved in this proceeding. During the year 1941, the -Company purchased for use at this plant raw materials and supplies consisting,of scrap iron, pig iron, sand, and coal, valued at approximately $370,000 of which- approximately 20 percent was de= livered from points outside the State 'of Illinois. During the same period the Company sold products manufactured by the Chicago plant valued at more than $1,000,000, of which approximately '40 percent was shipped to points outside the State of Illinois. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Steel Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with C. I. 0., is a labor organization 'admitting to membership employees of the Com- pany. - International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of North Amer- ica, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. HI. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The S. W. O. C., by letter dated March 31, 1942, stating that the Molders no longer represented a majority of the Company's employees, requested the Company to recognize the S. W. O. C. as the exclusive bargaining representative of such employees.2 -No reply was received from the Company. The Company now contends that there is a contract between it and the 'Molders which bars a,present determination of representatives. 2 After having filed charges against the Company on April 20, 1942, the S. W. O. C. on April 21, 1942, signed a waiver of any right, power, or privilege to protest any election held in the instant case on any ground set forth in Case No. XIII-C-1849. THE WESTERN FOUNDRY COMPANY 303 This 'contract, executed on March 10, 1941, contains a provision -to the effect that it shall remain in force "until April 1, 1942, and from year to year thereafter until either party'notifies the other, not less than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration" date, of its desire to terminate. The Company's position is that there was no such notice, and hence the contract was automatically renewed before any claims were made by the S. W. 0. C. In February 1942, more than 30 days prior to April 1, 1942, the Company received a letter dated February 23, 1942, from the Molders. Counsel for the Company stated that he was unable to produce this letter because it had been lost by him. 'The Molders failed to make a copy of it. The secretary-treasurer of the Company, and counsel for the Company, testifying as to the con- tents of said letter, stated that it requested negotiation of new wage agreements under the existing contract and made no reference to termination of the contract. The parties stipulated that if the Acting Regional Director and the Field Examiner, who had previously examined the letter, were called to testify as to the contents, they would testify that the Molders requested the Company to negotiate a new agreement, and that no mention of wages was made in the letter. The district representative of the Molders testified that he sent the letter in question to the Company and stated therein that the Molders were asking for a new contract, and that the letter said nothing about, wages. The Molders and the Company have engaged in negotiations since the Company received the above-mentioned letter. The Company insists that these conferences dealt solely, with changing the' wage schedules under the 1941 contract. The district representative of the Molders, however, stated 'that wage schedules are always taken up first in negotiating new contracts and that other clauses are considered thereafter. The parties reached an impasse on the wage changes, culminating in a resort to the arbitration and conciliation services of the Department of Labor. As of the' time of the hearing, the matter remained unsettled. Upon .the entire record, we find that notice of termination within the provision of the 1941 contract was given by the Molders, and that, therefore, there is no contract to operate as a bar to a present 'investigation of the question concerning representation. The statement of the Acting Regional Director introduced in evi- dence after the hearing indicates that the S. W. 0. C. represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate s 3 The Acting Regional Director stated that the S. W. O. C had submitted to him 147 designation cards ; that 141 bore apparently genuine signatures , of which 120 were names of persons on the Company's pay roll of April 18 , 1942, which listed 392 persons within the unit alleged to be appropriate The Molders submitted no cards but 'relies on its past and present bargaining relations with the Company to show its interest. 304 DECISIONS OF' NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of-employees of the Company , within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 -(6) - and (7)• of the National- Labor Relations Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT We find, in accordance with a stipulation -of the parties , that all production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Kedzie and .Albany Avenue plant in Chicago, excluding supervisory, office; clerical, and sales employees , chemists and technicians , watchmen, outside truck drivers, licensed firemen, and students , constitute a unit -appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES In connection with the charges which the S. W. O. C. has filed against the Company, the S. W-0. C. alleges that William Snowden, Fred Cosack, Fred Verlot, and Lorenzo Musklino were discharged for union activity. It requests the Board to grant these employees the right to vote if an election is ordered . We shall direct that these employees be permitted to vote, subject to challenge. In the event such ballots are necessary to a result , they will be impounded pending disposition of the charges. We shall further direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot among the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of Election, subject to the limitations and additions set forth therein. DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the ' power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat . 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section '8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with The Western Foundry Company ,, Chicago, 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 of Election, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations THE WESTERN FOUNDRY COMPANY 305 Board and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regula- tions, among all employees of the Company in the unit found, ap- propriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including William Snowden, Fred Cosack, -Fred Verlot;'and Lorenzo Musklino, and employees who did not work, during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or training of the United States , or temporarily laid off, but excluding, those employees who have since quit or been dis- charged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by Steel Workers Organizing Committee , affiliated with C. I. 0., or by International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of North America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor , for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. MR.. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election. 463892 -42 - -vol 41--20 In the Matter of THE WESTERN FOUNDRY COMPANY and STEEL WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, AFFILIATED WITH C. I. O. Case No. R-3771 AMENDMENT TO DIRECTION OF ELECTION I / June 30, 19f2 On May 26, 1942, the National Labor Relations Board issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the above-entitled proceeding., In the election directed therein, the Board placed upon the ballot the names of Steel Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with C. I. 0., herein called the S. W. O. C., and International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of North America, affiliated with the Ameri- can Federation of Labor. On June 17, 1942, the parties filed a joint motion with the Board, stating that the S. W. O. C. had at conven= tion on May 19, 1942, changed its name to United Steelworkers of America, affiliated with C. I. 0., and requesting the Board to amend the aforesaid Direction of Election by substituting the S. W. O. C.'s present name for its former name. The Board accordingly hereby amends the aforesaid Direction of Election by striking therefrom the words "whether they desire to be represented by Steel Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with C. I. 0., or by International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of North America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor," and substituting therefor the words "whether they desire to be repre- sented by United Steelworkers of America, affiliated with C. I. 0., or by International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of North America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor." 1 41 N. L. R B. 301 41 N. L. R. B., No. 63a. 306