The American Thermos Products Co.

THE AMERICAN THERMOS PRODUCTS COMPANY 557 The American Thermos Products Company and Glass Bottle Blowers Association of the United States and Canada, AFL- CIO, Petitioner. Case No. 1-RC-4567. November 18, 1957 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS OF ELECTION Pursuant to a Decision and Direction of Election dated August 3, 1956,1 an election by secret ballot was conducted on August 29, 1956, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the First Region among the employees in the unit found appropriate in the above-mentioned Decision. The Petitioner lost this election and -.filed timely objections. On October 16, 1956, the Regional Director, having investigated the issues raised by the objections, issued and duly served upon the parties his report on objections in which he recom- mended that the election be set aside and a new election be conducted. As no exceptions were filed by the parties to this report, the Board, in its Supplemental Decision, Order, and Direction of Second Election dated November 5,1956, adopted the Regional Director's recommenda- tions. The second election was held on July 17,1957. Following this election, the Regional Director served on the parties a tally of ballots which showed that of approximately 648 eligible voters, 631 valid bal- lots were cast, of which 235 were for and 396 were against the Peti- tioner. Two challenged ballots and one void ballot were cast. On July 24, 1957, the Petitioner filed three objections to the elec- tion. In objection No. 1, the Petitioner contended that the date se- lected by the Regional Director for the second election, as well as the location of the polling place and the scheduling of times in which to vote, made the conduct of a free and fair election impossible. In objection No. 2, the Petitioner alleged that the procedure adopted for releasing employees from work in order to vote was so regimented in character that it impeded the employees' free choice. Finally, in ob- jection No. 3, the Petitioner asserted that an outing conducted by the Employer a few days before the election, at which employees were provided with free food and drink, constituted interference with the election. In accordance with the Board's Rules and Regulations, the Regional Director conducted an investigation and, on September 3, 1957, issued and duly served on the parties his report on objections in which he recommended that the objections be overruled. Thereafter, the Peti- tioner filed timely exceptions to the report on objections. I Not reported in printed volumes of Board Decisions and Orders. -119 NLRB No. 65. 558 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Objection No. 1 The Petitioner contends in this objection that the selection of the date of July 17, 1957, for the conduct of the second election, rather than in August 1957, as it requested, prevented it from effectively cam- paigning among the employees prior to the election and thus assur- ing that a representative vote would be cast because it was unable, to assign organizers and field representatives to the plant due to the press of other business. The Regional Director's investigation discloses that on January 21; 1957, the Employer executed a settlement agreement arising out of the filing of certain unfair labor practice charges by the Peti- tioner, with the agreement providing for the posting of notices to, employees for a 60-day period commencing on May 9, 1957, and ending on July 8, 1957. Shortly before July 8, the Employer noti- fied the Regional Director that the plant would be closed for 2 weeks commencing on July 20, 1957, for purposes of vacation, and that a substantial number of eligible employees would be absent the third week. The Employer therefore suggested that the election be con- ducted before July 20. The Petitioner notified the Regional Direc- tor that, because of the press of negotiations with other employers, its representatives would not be available to, engage in preelection work and requested, that the election be conducted in August 1957. The Regional Director concluded that the Petitioner was aware that a second election would be conducted at the conclusion of the posting period and that the Petitioner therefore had in excess of 2 months in which to prepare for it. He also concluded that the election, if held prior to the closing of the plant for the 2-week vacation period, would produce a more representative vote than if held in August (as suggested by the Petitioner) when a substantial number of em- ployees would still be absent from work. This conclusion was borne out by the tally of ballots which showed that of approximately 648, eligible voters, 634 ballots were actually cast. In view of the fore- going, we find that the scheduling of the second election for July 17, 1957, did not constitute an abuse of the Regional Director's discre- tion and that a representative number of employees cast their ballots. The Petitioner also contends in this objection that the location of the polling place interfered with a free and uncoerced election. The election of July 17 was conducted in a garage owned by the Em- ployer which was located inside the plant gate. At the preelection conference, the Petitioner requested that the election be held in a company-owned garage situated outside the gate, contending that the former location was in view of the Employer's executive offices and personnel department. The Regional Director's investigation re- vealed that the polling place selected by him, which, was also satis- THE AMERICAN THERMOS PRODUCTS COMPANY 559 *factorily used for the conduct of the first election, was located some 310 feet from the building which housed the personnel offices, and that the executive office building, though nearer to the polling place, did not permit observation of the voting inside the garage from any of its windows. Other than alleging that the proximity of the polling place to the personnel and executive offices interfered with the election, the Petitioner has advanced no other grounds in sup- port of its contention. We find that this mere proximity affords no basis for concluding that voters were coerced in their selection of a: bargaining agent. Accordingly, we find that this aspect of the Petitioner's objection is without merit. Finally, the Petitioner contends that the schedule of times for vot- ing established by the Regional Director precluded a free and fair election. Prior to the first election, the parties agreed to a voting schedule which permitted eligible employees the choice of voting either during working hours or on their own time. This arrange- ment was adopted for the second election with but one exception. This related to some eight employees who worked away from the plant and who were required to cast their ballots during working time to avoid administrative expense in the conduct of the election. The Petitioner argues that the failure to permit all eligible voters to cast their vote on their own time destroyed the laboratory conditions under which Board elections should be conducted and therefore interfered with the election. However, apart from this naked assertion, the Petitioner has offered no evidence to show in what manner, if at all, the scheduling of voting times prevented a free and unimpeded elec- tion. Accordingly, we find no merit in the Petitioner's exceptions to the Regional Director's recommendation that the Petitioner's ob- jection No. 1 be overruled. We therefore adopt his recommendation. Objection No. 2 The Petitioner alleges that the Employer established a schedule for releasing employes from work to vote which provided insufficient time to cast.their ballots, and that the procedure in releasing the em- ployees so regimented them as to influence their free choice. The Regional Director's investigation reveals that the schedule and man- ner of releasing employees to vote during working times did not dif- fer from those adopted for the first election which proved wholly adequate and were in accord with established Board practice. The Petitioner offered no evidence to substantiate its allegations that in- adequate time was afforded in which to vote or that the voters were so herded to the polls as to affect their free choice of a bargaining representative. Under the circumstances, we find no merit in the Petitioner's exceptions to the Regional Director's recommendation 560 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD that objection No. 2 be- overruled. We therefore shall adopt his recommendation in this connection. Objection No. 3 The Petitioner asserts that the Employer, by conducting an outing for employees 3 days before the election at which employees were afforded free entertainment, food, and drink, improperly influenced the outcome of the election. The Regional Director's investigation disclosed that this affair constituted the 18th annual outing held by the Employer for its employees. At the previous outings, the Em- ployer made available to each employee tickets valued at $1.50 for the purchase of food and drink. As a result of a request made by an employees' outing committee on April 12, 1957, some 3 months before the election, the Employer increased the value of the tickets to $2.50. The Regional Director concluded that this increase, having been de- cided upon long before the determination of the date for the second election, had a possible influence too insignificant, speculative, and remote to justify setting the election aside. We concur in his con- clusion and adopt his recommendation that the Petitioner's objection No. 3 be overruled. Having overruled the Petitioner's objections to the second election conducted in this proceeding, we shall certify the results of the election. [The Board certified that a majority of the valid ballots was not cast for Glass Bottle Blowers Association of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, and that the said Union is not the exclusive representative of the employees in the unit heretofore found appropriate.] CHAIRMAN LEEDOM and MEMBER JENKINS took no part in the con- sideration of the above Supplemental Decision and Certification of Results of Election. Columbiana Seed Company and Local Union No. 525, Interna- tional Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case No. 14-RC- 3136. Novevzber 18,1957 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 Joseph H. Solien, hearing 119 NLRB No. 66.