Rowe Manufacturing Co.

In the Matter of ROWE MANUFACTURING COMPANY and LOCAL UNION No. 1692, UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE A. F. of L. Case No. R-5153 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES July 3, 1943 On May 5, 1943, the National Labor Relations Board issued its Decision and Direction of Election in the above-entitled proceeding.' On May 12, 1943, Rowe Manufacturing Company, herein called the Company, filed a petition for a rehearing together with objections to the holding of an election until after its petition was acted upon by the Board. On May 18, 1943, the Board denied this petition. Pur- suant to the Direction of Election, an election by secret ballot was conducted on- May-25, 1943, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region. On May 26, 1943, the Regional Director acting pursuant to Article III, Section 10, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations- Series 2, as amended, issued and duly served upon the parties an Election Report. As to the balloting and its results, the Regional Director reported as follows : Approximate number of eligible voters ------ --------------- 235 Total ballots cast------------------------------------------- 218 Total ballots challenged------------------------------------- 2 Total void ballots------------------------------------------- 1 Total valid votes counted----------------------------------- 215 Votes cast for Local Union No. 1652, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, affiliated with the A. F.°of L--------------------------------------------------- 134 Votes cast against Local Union No. 1692, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, affiliated with the A. F. of L--------------------------------------------------- 81 Thereafter the Company filed Objections to said Election Report. The Objections contain 12 numbered specifications. Of these, the first 9 are addressed to the Decision and Direction of Elections and 149 N. L R. B. 472. 51 N. L. R. B., No. 17. 63 64 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD not to the conduct of the ballot or the Election Report. The tenth specification alleges that the Board failed to post notices prohibiting the solicitation of votes and election compaigning upon the premises of the Company. The eleventh specification alleges that certain un- named employees while on company time and premises solicited votes and otherwise campaigned for the Union both prior to and at the time of the election, and that certain eligible voters, as a result of intimi- dation and coercion practiced upon them by unnamed persons, re- frained from voting against the Union. The twelfth specification merely contains a request for a hearing upon the objections. On June 18, 1943, the Regional Director, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 10, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula- tions-Series 2, as amended, issued a Report on Objections.2 in which he found that the matters complained of in each of the objections raised no substantial or material issue regarding the conduct of the ballot or the Election Report. With respect to the tenth specification of the Company's objections the Regional Director reported that on May 19, 1943, there was forwarded to the Company for posting election notices bearing the following language : "Electioneering will not be permitted at or near the polling place"; that the Field Examiner conducting the election warned both the Company and the Union against such elec- tioneering; and that although requested by the Field Examiner to report any violations of this prohibition, no complaint was made by the Company at any time during the election. With respect to the eleventh specification of the Company's objections, the Regional Direc- tor reported that, although requested by the Field Examiner assigned to the case to do so, the Company refused to produce witnesses or fur- nish any evidence in support of its allegation, stating that it, would do so only if a formal hearing was held on the Objections. We have considered the Objections and the Report on Objections. As already noted, the first nine specifications contained in the Objec- tions allege no irregularity in the conduct of the ballot or in the Elec- tion Report, and, therefore, are not properly raised at this time. Moreover, these objections in substance were urged by the Company in its briefs submitted prior to our Decision and Direction of Election and in its motion for a rehearing, and, after due consideration by us, were decided adversely to the Company. We do not find any merit to the contention of the Company that there was impropriety in the failure of the Board to post a notice pro- hibiting solicitation or campaigning on the company premises gener- ally. As noted in the Regional Director's Report,'the Board did make provision for the posting of notices prohibiting electioneering "at or 2 On June 24, 1943, the Company filed exceptions to the Report on Objections which the Board has considered. ROWE MANUFACTURING COMPANY 65 near the polling places." There is no allegation in the Company's pleading that this rule was violated, and, as reported by the Regional Director, no complaints of any such violation were made by the Com- pany at any time during the election. We are not persuaded that elec- tioneering conducted on company time and premises, but away from the neighborhood of the polls, creates an impediment to the fair con- duct of an election which is held by secret ballot and is subject to the scrutiny of interested parties.' Under Article III, Section 10, of the Board's Rules and Regula- tions-Series 2, as amended, a hearing is provided on objections to an election 'report only where it appears, after due investigation by the agent conducting the ballot, that the objections raise substantial and material issues. In view of the refusal of the Company, upon request, to submit to the Board's agent substantiating proof in support of its allegations of union interference with the conduct of the ballot, we do not have any evidence before us to support a conclusion that the Company's objections charging such interference raise substantial and material issues which would warrant the Board in ordering a hearing thereon.4 Moreover, with respect to the allegation that certain eligible voters were induced by means of intimidation to refrain from voting, the Election Report shows that out of 235 eligible voters, only 17 employees failed to vote. Had all 17 voted against the Union their votes,.would not have changed the results of the election. For the foregoing reasons we concur with the conclusion of the Regional Director that the Company's Objections do not raise substan- tial or material issues with respect to the Report on Ordered Election dated May 26, 1943, and accordingly hereby overrule said Objections. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES 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, and pursuant to Article III, Sections 9 and 10, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, IT Is EERrBY CERTIFIED that Local Union No. 1692, United Brother- hood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., has been designated and selected by a majority of all employees of the Rowe Manufacturing Company at Galesburg, Illinois, includ- ing the employees named in Appendix A of the Decision and Direction of Election in this proceeding, but excluding executives, superintend- ents, office clerical employees, guards who are sworn into the Auxiliary Military Police, and the employees named in Appendix B of the Deci- ' Cf. Matter of National Sugar Refining Company of New Jersey, 4 N. L R. B 276, 279. Cf. Matter of Thompson Products, Inc., 43 N. L. R B 1379. 66 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD sion and Direction of Election in this proceeding, as their representa- tive for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, Local Union No. 1692, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the purpose of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment.