Copeland Refrigeration Corp.

COPELAND REFRIGERATION CORPORATION 533 COPELAND REFRIGERATION CoRPOR ATION I and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIA- TION OF MACHINISTS , AFL, PETITIONER. Case No. 8-RC-2336. Febl' u'iy 7,1955 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 Carroll L. Martin, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. 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 organizations involved claim to represent employees of the Employer. 3. One of the Intervenors, United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, Local 776, herein called UE, contends that the current contract with the Employer which is effective until June 8, 1955, is a bar to this proceeding. The Petitioner, herein called AFL, and the other Intervenor, International Union of Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers, CIO, herein called IUE-CIO,2 assert that the con- tract is not a bar because of a schism within the ranks of the contract- ing union. A committee composed of the members of the contracting union's local, Local 776, LIE, who were employed by the Employer was formed to consider disaffiliation from the UE. A meeting was called by this committee to consider disaffiliation from the UE and affiliation with the AFL. The prime motivation for this action was the alleged Com- munist domination of the UE. A newspaper advertisement and circu- lars were utilized to give notice of the meeting. On September 22, 1954, 2 meetings were held ; 1 meeting was held for the day shift and 1 for the night shift. A secret ballot on the motion to disaffiliate from the UE and affiliate with the AFL showed that 243 members of the local were in favor of the motion; 68 members were not in favor; and 6 ballots were void. At the time of the meeting 850 of the Employer's employees were members of the local. No member of the AFL attended the meeting. The only aid given. to the disaffiliation committee by the AFL was to compose the circu- lars announcing the meeting and to mimeograph such circulars and the ballots used for the disaffiliation vote. The Board has held under circumstances comparable to those in the present case, that the expul- sion of a labor union bar its parent coupled with the later disaffiliation action on the local level for reasons related to the expulsion; creates 1 The Employei s name appeals as amended at the heating IUE-CIO was allowed to intervene on the basis of a showing of interest 111 NLRB No. 84. 534 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD a schism which warrants the holding of an election despite a contract existing between the local and the employer.3 Accordingly, for this reason we find that the contract between the Employer and the Inter- venor, UE, does not bar the instant proceeding .4 4. The parties stipulate and we find that the following employees of the Employer constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All production and maintenance employees at the Employer's plants in Sidney, Ohio, including truckdrivers and group leaders, but excluding office and clerical employees, nurses, draftsmen, designing engineers, development engineers, timekeepers, shipping and receiv- ing clerks, watchmen, superintendents, general foremen, foremen, as- sistant foremen, chief inspectors, chief of stock control, and all other supervisors as defined in the Act. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] IA. C. Lawrence Leather Company, 108 NLRB 546; General Electric Apparatus & Serv- ice Shop, 110 NLRB 1054. 4 Member Rodgers concurs in the direction of election herein, but finds it unnecessary to decide whether there has been a schism. Instead, he would refuse to recognize the contract of the Intervenor as a bar for reasons of broad public policy. Local 776's parent organization, the UE, was expelled from the Congress of Industrial Organizations because of Communist domination Under these circumstances, the availability of the Board's processes to the Intervenor would not, in Member Rodgers' opinion, effectuate the policies of the Act nor properly serve the interests of national security. JEWETT & SHERMAN CO., PETITIONER and WAREHOUSE EMPLOYEES LOCAL UNION No. 570, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS. CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL. Case No. 5-RM-268. February 7, 1955 Supplemental Decision and Certification of Results of Election Pursuant to a Decision and Direction of Election issued herein on November 8, 1954,1 an election by secret ballot was conducted herein on November 16, 1954, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fifth Region, among the employees in the unit found appropriate by the Board. At the conclusion of the elec- tion, the parties were furnished with a tally of ballots. The tally showed that of approximately 102 eligible voters, 91 valid ballots were counted, of which 33 were for the Union and 58 against. In addition, 9 ballots were challenged. On November 22, 1954, the Union filed objections to conduct affect- ing the results of the election. The Regional Director investigated the objections and on December 8, 1954, issued his report on objections in 1 110 NLRB 806. 111 NLRB No. 80.