Alladin Plastics, Inc.

64 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Alladin Plastics , Inc , Employer and Chauffeurs, Sales drivers & Helpers Local 572, International Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America , Petitioner Case 31-RC-1 179 April 21 1970 DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVE By CHAIRMAN MCCULLOCH AND MEMBERS FANNING AND JENKINS Pursuant to a Stipulation for Certification Upon Con- sent Election executed on September 9, 1969, an election by secret ballot was conducted on October 28 and 29, 1969 under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for Region 31 among the employees in the stipulated unit At the conclusion of the election, the parties were furnished with a tally of ballots which showed that of approximately 120 eligible voters, 111 cast ballots, of which 62 were for, and 47 against, the Petitioner, I was challenged, and I was void The challenged ballot was not sufficient in number to affect the results of the election Thereafter, the Employer filed timely objections to the conduct of the election and to conduct affecting the results of the election In accordance with the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, the Regional Director conducted an investigation and, on December 10, 1969, issued and duly served upon the parties his Report on Objections, in which he recommended that the objec tions be overruled in their entirety and that the Petitioner be certified as the collective-bargaining representative in the appropriate unit Thereafter, the Employer filed timely exceptions to the Regional Director's Report and a brief, and the Petitioner filed a brief Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the National Labor Relations Board has delegated its powers in con nection with this case to a three-member panel Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds I The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act and it will effectuate the purposes of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein 2 The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming to represent certain employees of the Employer 3 A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) and 2(6) and (7) of the Act 4 The parties stipulated, and we find, that the follow- ing employees constitute a unit appropriate for the pur- pose of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act All production and maintenance employees, includ- ing plant clerical employees, machine shop employ- ees, working foremen and leadmen, shipping, receiving and warehouse employees, and truckdri vers employed by the Employer at the plant located at 1415 West 178th Street, Gardena, California, excluding office clerical employees, outside sales- men, guards, supervisors and professionals as defined in the Act 5 The Board has considered the Regional Director's Report, the Employer's exceptions thereto, and the briefs and hereby adopts the Regional Director's findings and recommendations t As more fully detailed in the Regional Director's Report the election in this case was initially set for October 23 and 24 1969 As a result of an error by the Board agent assigned to conduct the election, it was not held on the specified date, but rather was rescheduled for, and held on, October 28 and 29, 1969 In its exceptions the Employer contends, inter aha, that the election should be set aside because there was insufficient time in which to overcome a plant rumor to the effect that the Employer had "bought off" the National Labor Relations Board to delay the election We agree with the Regional Director that, under the circumstances herein, the existence of such a rumor does not afford an adequate ground for setting aside the election The Employer had ample opportunity to reply to the rumor and, in fact, did so repeatedly There was no claim that the Petitioner originated, author ized, or approved the circulation of the rumor On the contrary, the Petitioner gave prompt and wide disse- mination of a bulletin to all employees wherein it was prominently stated that the Employer, as well as the Petitioner was not responsible for the election's delay The Employer recognizing the effectiveness of the Peti tioner's statement as to the causes of the delay, made copies thereof and posted them on bulletin boards throughout the plant Therefore as both parties took vigorous and forthright measures to inform employees as to the true reason for the election's postponement, we cannot find the existence of the rumor sufficiently prejudicial to justify sustaining the objection It is further asserted, in the Employer's exceptions, that before rescheduling the election, the Regional Director should have afforded it the right to a hearing and direction of election, as its prior waiver of such rights was conditioned on the election being held on the date originally specified This contention was not made in the Employer's objections to the conduct of the election, and the initial assertion thereof in its excep tions is not timely Furthermore, even if timely, such position has no merit See Southern Bleachery & Print Works, Inc 79 NLRB 624 The Employer also alleges that the election should be set aside because the Regional Director, in connection with the rescheduling of the election, erred in failing to prepare and supply copies of a new Notice of Election We do not agree The time and place of the rescheduled election was thoroughly brought to the attention of the employees through leaflet distributions employee ' The Employers exceptions in our opinion raise no material or substantial issues of fact or law which would warrant reversal of the Regional Director s findings and recommendations The Employer s request for a hearing is therefore denied 182 NLRB No 13 ALLADIN PLASTICS, INC meetings , and bulletin board postings , including an amended copy of the original Notice of Election In addition , the Employer has presented no specific allega- tion that any employee was unaware of the rescheduled time and place of the election or that the election was rescheduled at such a time as to render it difficult or impossible for anyone to vote See N L R B v Conlon Bros Mfg Co , 187 F 2d 329 (C A 7) Finally, we note that had all nine of the nonvoting eligible employees in the unit voted and had they all cast ballots against the Petitioner , the Petitioner ' s majority would not have been affected thereby Accordingly , as the tally shows that the Petitioner has obtained a majority of the valid ballots cast, we shall certify it as the exclusive bargaining representative of the employees in the appropriate unit CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVE 65 It is hereby certified that Chauffeurs, Salesdrivers & Helpers Local 572, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America has been designated and selected by a majority of the employees of the Employer in the unit found appropriate herein as their representative for the purpos- es of collective bargaining and that, pursuant to Section 9(a) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended the said labor organization is the exclusive representative of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other terms and condi- tions of employment