General Box Co.

GENERAL BOX COMPANY 301 in the Franklin case where the cessation of picketing was involuntarily caused. In view of the foregoing, I would issue an order dismissing the petition in this case with the usual caveat that the Board will enter- tain a motion by the Employer requesting reinstatement of the peti- tion, in the event that the Union, within 6 months. from the date of the order, engages in conduct inconsistent with its disclaimer. General Box Company and International Woodworkers of Amer- ica,, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case No. 16--RC-X340.. January 31, 1956, DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS OF ELECTION Pursuant to a stipulation for certification upon consent election, an election by secret ballot was conducted on November 15, 1955, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fifteenth Region, among the employees in the unit described in the stipulation. At the conclusion of the election, a tally of ballots was furnished the parties. The tally shows that of 69 eligible voters, 61 cast valid ballots, of which 28 voted for and 33 against the. participat- ing labor organization. There were 5 challenged ballots. The Petitioner filed objections to conduct affecting the election which objections were mailed to the Regional Director and were postmarked 10 p. m., November 21, 1955. The Regional Director received these objections on November 23,1955. On December 1,1955, the Regional Director issued his report on objections in which he found that as the parties were provided with a tally of ballots on November 15 the Petitioner's objections received at the Regional Office in New Orleans, Louisiana, on November 23, were not timely filed. Consequently, he recommended that the objections be overruled and the results of the election be certified. The Petitioner filed timely exceptions to the Regional Director's report. The Petitioner contends that the date of filing objections should be the date when they are deposited in the mail. Furthermore, the Petitioner alleges that the objections were actually deposited in the mail 8 hours before the postmarked time and asserts that objections mailed that same day to the. Employer in a rural area 150 miles away from Montgomery, Alabama, where they were posted, were delivered on November 22, The Petitioner contends that the Regional Direc- tor did not receive the objections before November 23 because of a delay in mail delivery caused by the postal service for which the Peti- tioner should not be held responsible. . 115 NLRB No. 50. 302 DECISIONS OF_ NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ' Section 102.61 of,the Board's Rules and Regulations provides for a 5-day time limit in filing objections to elections. In the instant case the last day for filing objections was November 22. Section 102.83 of the Board's Rules and Regulations requires that for objections to be timely they must be received by the Regional Director within the specified time limit.' . Consequently, the Petitioner's objections re- ceived by the Regional Director November .23 were not timely filed. We find no merit in the Petitioner's contention that it is not respon- sible for the untimely receipt of the objections. We have previously held that it is essential to certainty in procedural matters that parties be held to strict compliance with the above rule.2 Accordingly, we hereby adopt the Regional Director's findings that the objections were not timely filed and overrule the Petitioner's objections to election. As a majority of the employees eligible to vote have not voted for the participating labor organization, we shall certify the results of the election. [The Board certified that 'a majority of the valid ballots was not cast for the International Woodworkers of America, AFL-CIO, and that this labor organization is not the exclusive representative of the employees employed at the Employer's Gilbertown, Alabama, plant, in the unit heretofore found to be appropriate.] ' Paragraph 2 of Section 102 83 reads, "when the act or any of these rules requires the filing of a motion, brief, exception, or other paper in any proceeding, such document must be received by the Board or the officer or agent designated to receive such matter before the close of business of the last day of the time limit, if any, for such filing or extension of time that may have been granted " 9 Dunn Motor Company, 100 NLRB 822. The Rath Packing Company and United Packinghouse Workers of America, AFL-CIO,' Petitioner. Case No. 16-RC-1591. Janu- ary 31, 1956 SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFI- CATION OF RESULTS OF ELECTION - Pursuant to a Decision and Direction of Election dated February 15, 1955,2 an election by secret ballot was conducted on March 3, '1955, under the direction,and supervision of the Regional Director for" the Sixteenth Region among the employees of the Employer in the unit found appropriate in that Decision. At the conclusion of the election, the parties were furnished with a tally of ballots which i The AFL and CIO having merged , we are amending the identification of the Union's affiliation 8 The Rath Packing Company, 16-RC-1591, February 15, 1955 ( not reported in printed volumes of Board Decisions and Orders). 115 NLRB No. 48.