Douglas Aircraft Co., Inc.

In the Matter of DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT COMPANY, INC. (EL SEGUNDO DIVI- SION) and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS AERONAUTICAL DISTRICT LODGE 22 In the Matter of DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT COMPANY, INC. and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLE- MENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO) Cases Nos. R-5188 and R-5189 respectively.Decided July 8, 1943 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION SECOND DIRECTION OF ELECTION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES On June 8, 1943, pursuant to the Decision and Direction of Elections issued by the Board herein on May 17, 1943,1 and an amendment there- to on June 5, 1943, separate elections by secret ballot were conducted at the Company's El Segundo Division and Vernon plant, respectively, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Twenty-first Region (Los Angeles,' California). Thereafter, on June 8, 1943, in accordance with the Rules and Reg- ulations of the Board, a Report on Ordered Election in Case No. IR-5188, covering the election held at the El Segundo Division of the Company, was issued and served upon the parties. As to the ballot- ing and its results among the employees involved in Case No. R-5188, the Regional Director reported as follows : Percentage of those eligible casting ballots_________________ 88.2 Percentage of ballots cast that were counted as valid votes 4_ - 94.9 Percentage of votes cast for International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-00) --------------------------------- 16.0 Percentage. of votes cast for International Association of Machinists, Aeronautical District Lodge 22_______________ 39.3 Percentage of votes cast for neither_______________________ 44.7 149 N. L.R.B 819 2 The Report states that a certain number of the ballots cast were challenged and that an additional number were void ballots. The number of such ballots, approximating 5.1 percent of the total ballots cast, has been omitted herein. ° 51 N. L. R. B., No. 36. 161 162 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On or about June 16, 1943, the International Association of Ma- chinists, herein called the I. A. M., filed a motion with the Board for a new election, or in the alternative, for a run-off election. In sup- port of its motion for a new election, the I. A. M. alleged that con- fusion had resulted in the balloting as a result of the following circumstances : After the issuance of the Decision and Direction of Elections herein, and on or about May 31, 1943, the I. A. M. withdrew its affiliation from the American Federation of Labor. The Board, hav- ing been advised of this action by the international president of the I. A. M. and having been requested by him on behalf of said organ- ization "that in all matters in which the International Association of Machinists is involved and which are presently before the Board, the Board refers to our organization as the International Associa- tion of Machinists, making no reference to affiliation with the Amer- ican Federation of Labor," on June 5, 1943, amended the Direction rof Elections to conform with this request. It appears that the local representatives of the I. A. M. at El Segundo had no advance notice that this amendment had been requested, and first received notice of the amendment on the afternoon of Saturday, June 5, 1943. Prior to the amendment, the I. A. M. had been notified by a representative of the Board's Regional Office that the designation "A. F. L." would have to appear with its name on the ballot, and sample ballots con- taining such designation had been posted at the plant. In view of the fact that the election had been scheduled for June 8, 1943, there was insufficient time to print new sample ballots, and, upon receipt of notice of the amendment, the Regional Office posted supplemen- tary notices alongside of the posted sample ballots, stating that at the request of the I. A. M., "the letters `A. F. L.' will not appear on the official ballot to be cast at the election." The I. A. M. con- tends that the posting of these supplementary notices coupled with the failure to delete the letters "A. F. L." from the sample ballots (although they were deleted from the official ballot) caused great uncertainty among employees. The I. A. M. states that its affiliation with the A. F. L. had been stressed throughout its organizational campaign which began in April 1942; that members of A. F. L. affiliates had been assured that they would be permitted to trans- fer their membership to the I. A. M. without the payment of addi- tional fees; and that in the brief space of time which elapsed be- tween its withdrawal from the A. F. L. and the election, it did not have sufficient time to make a complete report to its membership concerning the effect ofeits withdrawal action. The I. A. M. sub- mitted documentary proof indicating that following the amendment to the Direction, the C. I. O. in its election campaign emphasized DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT COMPANY, INC. 163 the deletion of the letters "A. F. L." from the I. A. M. space on the ballot. The I. A. M. claims that in view of the intervening Sunday during which printing establishments were closed and the fact that it had signed an agreement with the C. I. O. not to dis- tribute any literature on or after midnight June 7, 1943, it was unable to issue any printed matter clarifying its position between late Saturday, June 5, 1943, when notice of the amendment was first received by its local representatives, and the date of the election. On June 7, 1943, the I. A. M. requested a representative of the Board to postpone the election date for several days, but this request was denied. Under all the circumstances, we are of the opinion that employees may have been misled by the deletion of the letters "A. F. L." from the ballot and that the I. A. M. may not have been afforded suffi- cient opportunity to explain this deletion. We shall consequently direct that a new election by secret ballot be held in Case No. R-5188 among the employees at the Company's El Segundo Division in the unit at said division heretofore established by the Board in its Decision and Direction of Election herein, dated May 17, 1943. We shall further provide that those,eligible to vote will be those in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period im- mediately preceding the date of this Second Direction of Election, subject to the limitations and additions set forth therein. The motion of the I. A. M. for a run-off election is hereby denied. On June June 8, 1943, in accordance with the Rules and Regu- lations of the Board, a Report on Ordered Election in Case No. R-5189, covering the election held at the Vernon plant of the Com- pany, was issued and served upon the parties. As to the balloting and its results among the employees involved in Case No. R-5189, the Regional Director reported as follows : Percentage of those eligible casting ballots_________________ 86.9 Percentage of ballots cast that were counted as valid votes'-- 99 0 Percentage of votes cast for International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO) -------------------------------- 60:9 Percentage of votes cast for International Association of Machinists, Aeronautical District Lodge 22_______________ 13.9 Percentage of votes cast for neither_______________________ 25.2 In view of the fact that no objections to the said Report, or to the conduct of the ballot, have been filed by any of the parties, and the motion of the I. A. M., to which reference was made above, does not relate to the election held at the Vernon plant, we shall issue a Certification of Representatives in Case No. R-5189. 3 There were no challenged ballots One percent of the ballots cast were void ballots. The number of void ballots, set forth in the Election Report, is omitted herein. 540612-44-vol 51-12 164 -DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD SECOND 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 Rela- tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain represent- atives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Douglas Air- craft Company, Inc., El Segundo, California, 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 Twenty-first Re- gion, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees of the El Segundo Division of the Company in the unit found appropriate in Section IV of the De- cision and Direction of Elections in this proceeding, dated May 17, 1943, who were employed in the pay-roll period immediately pre- ceding the date of this Second Direction of Election, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the, United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by International Association of Machinists, Aeronautical District Lodge 22, or by International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO), for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National La- bor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Sections 9 and 10, of National La- bor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, IT Is IIEREBY CERTIFIED that International Union, United Automo- bile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO) has been designated and selected by a majority of all production and maintenance employees at the Company's Vernon plant, including plant clerks, but excluding oxyacetylene, oxyhydro- gen, and electric are welders employed to do fusion welding as gas- torch cutters, and helpers and apprentice welders, executives, admin- istrative, professional, office clerical, technical and engineering de- DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT COMPANY, INC. 165 partment employees, guards, and supervisory employees above the classification of leadman A, as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, the said organization is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment.