Town & Country Cadillac, Inc.

DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Town & Country Cadillac, Inc. and Automobile Me- chanics, Local 701, International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case 13-RC-16089 15 August 1983 ORDER DIRECTING HEARING BY CHAIRMAN DOTSON AND MEMBERS JENKINS AND HUNTER Pursuant to authority granted it by the National Labor Relations Board under Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a three- member panel has considered the objection to an election held on 3 November 19821 and the Re- gional Director's report recommending disposition of same. The Board has reviewed the record in light of the exception and brief and is of the opinion that the allegations in the objection, and the evidence submitted in relation thereto, raise material issues which can best be resolved by a hearing. In its objection, the Employer contends that the Petitioner interfered with the election by an im- proper offer to reduce initiation fees in violation of the principles established in NLRB v. Savair Manu- facturing Co., 414 U.S. 270 (1973). According to the Regional Director's report, the Employer of- fered evidence that during an organizational meet- ing a representative of the Petitioner told the em- ployees that the regular initiation fee for a shop al- ready organized was more than $100 but that "new shops" were charged $25. The Petitioner's repre- sentative, in contrast, stated that the offer was for a reduced initiation fee remaining open to all em- ployees in the bargaining unit until a collective-bar- gaining agreement was reached with the Employer. The Regional Director accepted the evidence of- fered by the Employer as true, but found that the offer was not linked with a showing of preelection support and was not so ambiguous as to make such an interpretation likely. He, therefore, found that the offer was not impermissible under Savair Manu- facturing Co., supra, and recommended that the ob- jection be overruled. In its exception, the Employer contends that, be- cause the offer could reasonably be interpreted as ending with the election, it was impermissibly linked with a showing of preelection support and thus is the kind of offer found objectionable in Savair Manufacturing Co., supra. The Employer at- taches an employee affidavit where the employees states that at a union meeting a representative of the Petitioner told the employees "if our shop were i The election was conducted pursuant to a Stipulation for Certifica- tion Upon Consent Election. The tally was: six for, and four against, the Petitioner, with no challenged ballots. 266 NLRB No. 33 already a union shop, it would cost one hundred and some dollars to join, but since it's not yet, the initiation fee would be $25.00." We find merit to the Employer's exception. In Smith Company of California, Inc., 215 NLRB 530 (1974), the Board found a similar initiation fee offer to be impermissibly ambiguous. There, the union representative told the employees that there would be no initiation fee "during a new organization" but "anyone who would come in after the plant became union" would have to pay the $30 initi- ation fee. In that case, however, evidence was credited that the union representative clarified to the employees that the offer was open until the parties reached a collective-bargaining agreement. On that basis, the Board overruled the objection. Here, too, there is evidence that the Petitioner's representative clarified the above-described offer to reduce initiation fees. To this extent, the affidavit of the Petitioner is inconsistent with that submitted by the Employer. There are, therefore, inconsistent statements on a material point. Because we find that material and substantial issues have been raised concerning the contents of the initiation fee offer, we find that a hearing is necessary. Accordingly, we shall order a hearing on the issues raised by the Employer's objection. ORDER It is hereby ordered that a hearing be held before a duly designated hearing officer for the purpose of receiving evidence to resolve the issues raised by the Employer's objection. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the hearing officer designated for the purpose of conducting such hearing shall prepare and cause to be served on the parties a report containing resolutions of the credi- bility of witnesses, findings of fact, and recommen- dations to the Board as to the disposition of said objection. Within the time prescribed by the Na- tional Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula- tions, Series 8, as amended, any party may file with the Board in Washington, D.C., eight copies of ex- ceptions thereto. Immediately upon the filing of such exceptions, the party filing the same shall serve a copy thereof on each of the other parties and shall file a copy with the Regional Director. If no exceptions are filed thereto, the Board will adopt the recommendations of the hearing officer. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the above-entitled matter be, and it hereby is, remanded to the Re- gional Director for Region 13 for the purpose of conducting such hearing, and that the said Region- al Director be, and hereby is, authorized to issue notice thereof. 172