Central Foundry Co.

In the Matter Of CENTRAL FOUNDRY COMPANY and UNITED STEEL- WORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH C. I. O. Case No. R-3974 -Decided July 10, 194t Jurisdiction - cast iron pipe and fittings manufactuiing industry Investigation and Certification of Representatives : «heie a claim made prior to a contract does not cieate a substantial doubt conceining contiacting union's majority, the Boaid will not make a new deteimmation of representatives, where claim and showing of membeiship by iival organization is insufficient to impair a contracting union's majority, Regional Director's ieport of con- tracting union's majority based on cioss-cheek agreement between Company and contracting union, and contract entered into in reliance thereon con- stitute a bar Practice and Procedure : petition for inN estigation and cei tification of represent- atives disnzissed in absence of question concerning representation Mr. Alexander E. Wilson, Jr , for the Board. Mr L B Liles, of Anniston, Ala , for the Company. Mr Cary E Haigler and Mr E F Bacon, of Birmingham, Ala, for the Steelworkers. Mr Shelley Walden, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mr. F. Ed Long, of East Point, Ga , for the Moulders Mr J C. McGlon, of Washington, D C, for the Machinists. Mrs Augusta Spaulding, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND ORDER STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by United Steelworkers of America, Affi- liated with C I 0 , herein called the Steelworkers, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Central Foundry Company, Holt, Alabama, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Robert M Gates, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on June 22, 1942. The Company, the Steelworkers, International Moulders ,and Foundry Workers of North America, herein called the Moulders, and International Association of Machinists Lodge No. 455, herein 42NLRB,No63 265 266 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD called the Machinists, appeared, participated. and were affoided full opportunity to be heal d, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following. FINDINGS OF FACT I THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Central Foundry Company is engaged in the manufacture of cast- iron pipe and fittings The Company operates plants at Holt, Besse- mer, and Anniston, Alabama, and at Newark, Nen Jersey The Com- pany's plant at Holt is the only plant involved in this proceeding The principal raw materials used by the Company in its manufac- ture at the Holt plant are pig ion, coke, and sand, nearly all of which are obtained within Alabama A small amount of miscellaneous sup- plies and manufactured parts are brought to the plant from points outside Alabama The Company produces at the Holt plant pioducts amounting monthly to approximately 6,500 tons, of which approxi- mately 98 percent is shipped outside Alabama The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act [I TIIE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED United Steelworkers of-Ameiica is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industiiai Organizations, admitting to membei- ship employees of the Company International Moulders and Foundry Workers of North America is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company International Association -of Machinists, Lodge No 455, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admit- ting to rnennbership employees of the Company III THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Previous to December 1940 the Moulders organized employees at the Holt and Anniston plants of the Company and bargained with the Company on their behalf Although no w-iitten contracts were exe- cuted, the Company published wage rates, which were the results of its conferences with the Moulders The Company extended to em- ployees at its Bessemer plant the wage rates prevailing at the two other Alabama plants In December 1940, the Moulders entered into a written contract with the Company covering employees at the Holt CENTRAL FOUNDRY COMPANY 267 plant The contract piovided for periodic wage adjustments Sup- plemental wage adjustments were accordingly made in June and in December 1941 During this bar gaining period, the Company refused to enter into a closed-shop contract with the Moulders - On May 17, 1941, the Board certified the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, herein called the S W 0 C , as bargaining agent of the Company's employees at the Bessemer plant 1 Thereafter the Com- pany entered into a closed-shop contract with the S W 0 C covering such employees In December 1941 the Moulder s renewed its claim for a closed-shop contract for employees at the Holt plant In January 1942 the Com- pany entered into an oral agieonient iyith the Moulders for "mainte- nance of membership" in the Moulders among its Holt employees At that time, the Company's personnel director explained to the em ployees the nature of the obligation involved in the agreement No employees at the plant were discharged in 1942 for failure to maintain then membership in the Moulders, but some employees were temporar- ily laid off by their foremen for failure to pay then clues' On Maich 28, 1942, the Moulders made a written demand upon the Company for a closed-shop contract covering employees at the Holt plant Three days later a colored employee of the Company at the plant personally appealed to a representative of the S W 0 C, who was holding a meeting for employees of another company at Holt, to, bring about some changes for colored employees at the Company's plant The S W 0 C then began organizing employees at the Holt plant and on April 7 held its first organizational meeting for such employees at Tuscaloosa About 100 of approximately 1,300 employees at the Company's plant attended this meeting On April 28, since the Company had not responded favorably to its request of March 28, for a closed-shop agreement, the Moulders filed with the Board's Regional Director for the Tenth Region a petition for investigation and certification of repiesentatives of employees at the Holt plant On April 29 the Company and the Moulders entered into an agreement for a cross-check of_ the Moulders' membership records and the Company's time records, to be conducted under the supervision of the Regional Dnector, to determine whether a majority of the Company's employees in an agreed unit wished to be repre- sented by the Moulders as their bar gaming agent The Company and the Moulders each advised the Regional Director that so far as it knew no other labor organization then claimed to represent any employees in the agreed unit' On May 2,1942, the Company's pay roll and time I See Matter of The Central Found)p Company and Steel WotIe+s 0mgani ing Commtittee, 23 N L Ii B 914 - 2 The Machinists claim to iepiesent , and ha'.e bargained ton, a separate group of employees at the Holt plant 268 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD records and the Moulders' dues book and membership records were received at the Board's Regional Office On May 9 the Company received a letter flour the S W 0 C , dated May 8, advising the Company that "a considerable number of your employees at the Holt plant have organized a local union" and that two such employees at the plant had been laid off because they failed to'pay their dues and maintain good standing in the Moulders The S. W 0 C requested that these employees be ieinstated with com- pensation for their lay-off. The personnel directoi of the Company, who received the letter in the absence of the manager, investigated and 'ascertained that the men whose lay-off was the subject of the letter were then at work at the plant and assumed that the matter of their stand- ing with the Moulders had been satisfactorily adjusted. Neither the Company nor the S W 0 C did anything fuithei in the matter. On May 15 the Acting Regional Diiectoi issued and duly served upon the Company and the Moulders a repoit on the cioss-check, re- porting that of 1,246 employees on the eligibility list, 843 of the 1,041 employees claimed as members by the Mouldeis were in good stand- ing, and certifying that the Moulders had been designated and selected by a majority of the employees in the agreed unit as their exclusive bargaining representative On May 20 the Company and the Moulders entered into a closed-shop contract On the same day the Steel- workers 3 made a protest to the Board's Regional Attorney concern- ing the certification issued by the Regional Directoi upon the cross- check This was the first notice given to the Regional Office that the S. W 0 C. or its successor, the Steelwoikers, had any interest among employees of the Company at the plant here involved On May 27 a coloied employee was temporarily laid off at the Holt plant Other colored employees refused to work until he was rein- stated When these men collected their pay checks on Friday, May 27, they were advised that they could not woik on the following Mon- day unless they were in good standing with the Moulders After May 27, for one reason or another, the great majority of colored em- ployees, who constituted about 70 percent of employees at the plant, did not report for woik. On June 1, the plant operated with a skeleton force. On this day the Steelworkers filed the petition in this proceeduig.4 sOn May 19 , 1942, at a consention in Cleveland , Ohio, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee became United Steelworkers of America , heren called the Steelwoikeis, the petitioner in this proceeding On June 3, 1942, while this proceeding was pending before the Board , the matter was certified to the National War Labor Board On June 10, 1942, the National War Labor Board , having held beatings on June 8 and 9, issued a directive order that dues collected by the Moulders from emplo3 ees at the Holt plant claiming to be members of the Steel- workeis be held in escrow by the Moulders , pending the Board's decision on the issues herein, prodding that such dues be refunded to emplo3ees if the contract of May 10, 1942, be held invalid and that they otherwise be retained by the Moulders On or about June 10, colored employees returned to work at the plant CENTRAL FOUNDRY COMPANY 269 The Steelworkers contends that, under these circumstances, the cross- check conducted by the Regional Director, pursuant to the agree- ment between the Company and the Moulders, and the resulting certification of the Moulders are invalid and that the contract be- tween the Company and the Moulders, signed on May 20, does not constitute a bar to a determination of representatives at this time. We find no merit in this contention. The Moulders has represented employees at the Holt plant under written contract with the Company- since December 1940 It entered into a "maintenance of membership" agreement in January 1942, thus stabilizing the labor conditions at the plant. Such agieements are urged by unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.and by,unions affiliated with the Con- gress of Industrial Organizations and have been generally approved by the National War Labor Board. The results of the cross-check announced by the Regional Director on May 15 disclosed the very considerable majority of the Company's employees who, pursuant to the maintenance of membership agreement of January 1942, were then members of the Moulders in good standing. The Company had de- sired such assurance of the Moulders' considerable majority before entering into a closed-shop contract. The Moulders and the Company then entered into the contract, noted above. The steelworkers does not claim that it represented a majority of the Company's employees on or before May 15 6 Under these ciicumstances, we find that the contract entered into between the Company and the Moulders on May 20 constitutes a bar to a determination of representatives at this time.' - We find that no question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company within the meaning of Section 9 (c) of the Act. We shall, accoi chmgly, dismiss the petition filed by the Steelworkers. ORDER Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the petition for investigation and certification of representatives of employees of Central Foundry Com- pany, Holt, Alabama, filed by United Steelworkers of America, affili- ated with C I. 0 , be, and it hereby is, dismissed. Ali? GERARD D REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Order. 6 In support of its petition the Stee] hw of kers submitted to the Board's agent authorization cards, of which 177 were dated on of before Apiil 30, 1942, and 153 were dated between May 1 and May 15, 1942 The May 2, 1942, payroll lists 1,246 employees in the agreed appropriate unit 6 Cf Matter of The Hettr ici, Manufactei ing Company and Textile-Workers Union of America, 25 N L R B 722