The Pilliod Cabinet Co.

11 In 'the Matter Of THE PILLIOD CABINET COMPANY and PILLIOD Box MAKERS ASSOCIATION Case No. 8-R-1885.-Decided January 31, 1946 Mr. T. J. Pilliod, of Swanton, Ohio, and Mr. Alan B. Loop, of Toledo, Ohio, for the Company. Messrs. Aloysius M. Gillen and Bert B. Walton, and Elizabeth Bloom, all of Swanton, Ohio, for the Association. Messrs. David Guberman, James Crowley, and Ralph Brown, all of Toledo, Ohio, for the CIO. Mr. Angelo J. Fiumara, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by Pilliod Box Makers Association, herein called the Association, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of The Pilliod Cabinet Company, Swanton, Ohio, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before George F. Hayes, Trial Examiner. The hear- ing was held at Toledo, Ohio, on October 9, 1945. The Company, the Association, and Local 996, International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (CIO), herein called the CIO, appeared and participated. 'All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross- examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. At the hearing, the CIO made two motions to dismiss the petition. Ruling on the motions was reserved for the Board. For reasons set forth in Sections II and III, infra, the motions are hereby denied. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded an oppor- tunity to file briefs with the Board. 65 N. L. R. B., No. 115. 668 THE PILLIOD CABINET COMPANY 669 Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Pilliod Cabinet Company, an Ohio corporation with its office and place of business at Swanton, Ohio, is engaged in the manufacture of cabinets, boxes, and wood chests. The Company annually uses raw materials valued at approximately $133,000, about 75 percent of which comes from points outside the State of Ohio. The finished products manufactured by the Company during a similar period are valued at approximately $533,000, about 75 percent of which represents ship- ments outside the State. We find that the Company is engaged in commerce within the mean- ing of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Pilliod Box Makers Association, unaffiliated, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company? Local 996, International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admit- ting to membership employees of the Company.2 III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Association as the exclusive bargaining representative of certain of its employees until the Association has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. 'i At the hearing, the CIO moved for a dismissal of the petition, alleging that the Asso- ciation is not a labor organization for the purposes of collective bargaining Although the Association does not have some of the attributes generally associated with labor organ- izations, the record does disclose that the Association was organized for the purpose of negotiating in behalf of its members with respect to wages and working conditions and is seeking to function in that capacity We, therefore, find that the Association is a labor organization within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the Act. See Matter of Gielow, Incorporated, 60 N. L. R B. 1477 ; Matter of Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company (Marine Department), 63 N L. R. B 674; and Matter of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, 63 N. L. R B. 1387. 2 At the hearing, the Company contended that the CIO had ceased to be a labor organi- zation. We do not agree The record discloses that the CIO and the Company were in contractual relationship from June 1$42 to February 1, 1944, that proceedings involving both parties were thereafter had before the war Labor Board, that the CIO actively par- ticipated in those proceedings which continued through the first half of 1945, and that, as late as August 27, 1945, the National War Labor Board issued an Order in those pro- ceedings. Although the Company points to the resignation of the president of the CIO and his surrender of the organization's books and charter to the auditor of the parent organization , the record is barren of any proof as to whether this surrender was authorita- tively made , nor is there any showing that a formal dissolution of the CIO has been voted Accordingly, under all the circumstances, we find that the CIO is a functioning labor organi- zation within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the Act 670 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD As statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear- ing indicates that the Association represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate .3 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 Act.4 IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT We find, in accordance with the agreement of the parties, that all employees of the Company at its Swanton, Ohio, plant, excluding firemen, watchmen, maintenance men, salesmen, office workers, and all supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, 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 We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em- ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay- roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. 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 A ct, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela- tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with The Pilliod Cabinet Company, Swanton, Ohio, an election by secret ballot shall be con- ducted 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 Eighth Region, acting in this matter as 3 The Field Examiner reported that the Association submitted petitions dated November 21, 1944, and June 29, 1945, listing the signatures of 105 persons , and that 72 names appearing on the petitions were listed on the Company 's pay roll of June 23, 1945, which contained the names of 84 employees in the appropriate unit The CIO relies upon its expired contract with the Company and the proceedings before the war Labor Board as proof of its interest in this processing 4 For the reasons stated in footnote 1, supra, we find no merit in the CIO 's motion to dismiss the petition apparently on the ground that the petition , because of the Associa- tion 's alleged lack of status as a labor organization , does not raise a question concerning representation R The Association 's petition was amended at the hearing to exclude the salesmen. THE PILLOID CABINET COMPANY 671 agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, 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, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether they desire to be represented by Pilliod Box Makers Asso- ciation, or by Local 996, International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (CIO), for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. 679100-46-vol. 65-44