Federal-Mogul Corp.

NATIONAL SEAL DIV. OF FEDERAL-MOGUL 619 National Seal Division of Federal-Mogul Corporation and International Union of District 50, United Mine Workers of America, Petitioner. Case 8-RC-7331 June 12, 1969 DECISION ON REVIEW AND ORDER By MEMBERS FANNING, JENKINS AND ZAGORIA On December 31, 1968 , the Regional Director for Region 8 issued a Decision and Direction of Election in which he found the existing collective-bargaining agreement between the Employer and the Intervenor ' not to be a bar on the ground that its union -security provisions failed to provide the requisite 30-day grace period to nonmember incumbent employees and/or new employees following its execution date . Thereafter, in accordance with Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as amended, the Employer and the Intervenor filed timely requests for review on the grounds, inter alia, that the Regional Director erroneously failed to apply Paragon Products Corporation, 134 NLRB 662, and misapplied Standard Molding Corporation, 137 NLRB 1515. The Intervenor also requested oral argument. On January 30, 1969, the Regional Director , in response to matters raised in the requests for review, issued a Supplemental Decision On Reconsideration more fully explicating his reasons for concluding that the contract was not a bar . Thereafter, the Employer filed a supplemental request for review incorporating therein its on inal request for review . The Board, by telegraph Order dated March 6, 1969, granted the requests for review and stayed the election. The Petitioner and the Intervenor filed briefs on review. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel. The Board has considered the entire record in this case with respect to the issues under review, including the requests for review and the briefs,' and makes the following findings: The petition herein was filed on November 13, 1968, for a unit of all production and maintenance employees employed by the Employer at its Van Wert, Ohio factory. The Employer and the Intervenor contended that the petition was barred by their most recent collective-bargaining agreement3 which by its terms was made and entered into on May 20, 1968,' effective from May 20, 1968 through July 31, 1970, but not memorialized in a signed formal document until June 10, 1968.' The Petitioner asserted that the agreement was not a bar because the union-security provisions failed to accord nonmember incumbent employees and new hires the 30-day grace period required by law for obtaining union membership subsequent to the execution date of the agreement . The Regional Director concluded that the difference between the effective date of the agreement and the date on which it was signed made the contract retroactively effective and rendered the union -security provisions "incapable of a lawful interpretation" under Standard Molding. The Employer and the Intervenor contend, inter alia, that he erred in finding the contract to be retroactively effective. We find merit in this contention. In Standard Molding the Board found that the contract involved showed on its face that it was retroactively effective . In the instant case, it is clear from the terms of the contract itself that it was made and entered into on May 20, 1968, that it was effective on that date , and that the formal written agreement was signed by the parties on June 10, 1968. In these circumstances, we conclude that the contract was not retroactively effective. Accordingly, the case of Standard Molding is inapplicable. As the union-security provision of the contract is not clearly unlawful on its face, we find that the contract may operate to bar the instant petition which was untimely filed after its execution date.' Accordingly, we shall dismiss the petition. ORDER It is hereby ordered that the petition filed herein be, and it hereby is, dismissed. 'United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America, AFL-CIO, CLC and its Local Union No. 426, United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America , AFL-CIO. 'As the parties' requests for review and briefs, and the record adequately present the issues under review, and the positions of the parties, the Intervenor's request for oral argument is hereby denied. 'The previous contract extended from May 1, 1966 until April 30, 1968. The 48-page printed document states in a preamble "Agreement" section : "This Agreement made and entered into this 20th day of May, 1968, by and between the Van Wert, Ohio, Plant of the National Seal Division of Federal-Mogul Corporation, hereinafter referred to as the 'Company', and Local No. 462, United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America, hereinafter referred to as the 'Union: " 'The following appears before the signatures of the parties. "IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have hereunto set their hands this 10th day of June, 1968." 'Paragon Products Corporation, supra 176 NLRB No. 87