City Auto Stamping Co.

In the Matter of CITY AUTO STAMPING COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE WORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE C. I. O. In the Matter of THE CITY AUTO STAMPING COMPANY and INTERNA- TIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL No. 11, A. F. L. Cases Nos. R-1531 and R-1531, respectively SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES December 11,1939 On October 11, 1939, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, issued a Decision and 'Direction of Election 1 in the above-entitled proceeding. Pursuant to the Direction of Election, an election by secret ballot was conducted on October 19, 1939, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Eighth Region (Cleveland, Ohio). On October 24, 1939, the Regional Direc- tor, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, issued and duly served upon the parties his Election Report. As to the balloting and its results, the Regional Director reported as follows : Total number of employees eligible___________________________ 566 Total number of ballots cast_________________________________ 518 Total number of votes for International Union, United Auto- mobile Workers of America, Local No. 12 (C. I. 0.) ---------- 235 Total number of votes for International Union, United Automo- bile Workers of America, Local No. 11 (A. F. of L.) ---------- 271 Total number of votes for neither organization---------------- 2 Total number of blank ballots________________________________ 0 Total number of void ballots ------ ------------------------ 4 ___ 0 Total number of challenged votes_____________________________ 10 The Regional Director .also reported that, in addition to the above 518 ballots cast, ballots were cast by 29 persons whose names do not appear upon the eligibility list used in the election, and who, the Regional Director found, were ineligible to vote in the election, and 115 N. L. R. B. 1032. 18 N. L. R. B., No. 41. 257 258 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD whose ballots were for this reason excluded from the tally. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the action of the Regional Director in excluding the votes of those 29 persons from the tally. Since the 10 challenged votes, even if counted, would not affect the result of the election, we find it unnecessary to rule upon the challenges. On October 24, 1939, International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called Local No. 12, filed with the Regional Director its objections to the conduct of the ballot, alleging, in substance, that (1) the determination or eligibility to vote had not been made in accordance with the Board' Decision and Direction of Election; 2 (2) International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, Local No. 11, A. F. of L., herein called Local No. 11, employed fraud and intimidation by gangsters to threaten and coerce those eligible to vote into voting for Local No. 11; (3) the Board agent who conducted the election refused to allow eligible members of Local No. 12, who were then in nearby hospitals, to vote by absentee ballot or under the supervision of a Board repre- sentative; and (4) two of the officials of City Auto Stamping Com- pany, herein called the Company, Superintendents Robert Millard and James Young, were permitted to interview each of the persons voting in the election. On November 13, 1939, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, the Regional Director issued his Report on Objections, wherein he re- ported that he had investigated the matters set forth in the objections. With respect to the first objection, the Regional Director reported that the determination of eligibility to vote had been made in accord- ance with the Board's Decision and Direction of Election. With respect to the second objection, the Regional Director reported that the individuals claimed by Local No. 12 to have been gangsters did not arrive at the scene of the election until about 5 p. in., at which time at least 500 of the 518 persons casting ballots had already voted ; that there is no evidence that any of the claimed gangsters were used or employed by Local No. 11 for the purpose of intimidation or coercion; and that counter-charges of coercion, intimidation, and electioneering at the scene of the election were made by Local No. 1.1 against Local No. 12. With respect to the third objection, the Regional Director reported that the question as to the right of the employees who were then in the hospital to vote was raised by Local No. 12 and that the Board agent who conducted the election did not refuse the request, but stated that it would be necessary for both unions to agree to the requested ' This same objection was contained in a letter to the Board from counsel for Local N9. 12, dated October 18, 1939, protesting the holdirg of the election. CITY AUTO' STAMPING COMPANY 259 procedure and to have observers present. Thereafter, the question was dropped by all parties. With respect to the fourth objection, the Regional Director reported that the two named superintendents did stand near the election booth from 9:00 to 10: 00 a. m. on the day of the election and that they moved away when requested to do so by the Board agent. There is no evidence to indicate that either of them attempted to influence the voters. Their stated purpose in being present was to send the men back to work as quickly as possible after voting, as the Company did not dock the employees' wages for the time spent in voting. The Board has considered the Objections and the Regional Direc- tor's Report thereon. With respect to the first objection, we find that the determination of eligibility to vote was made in accordance with our Decision and Direction of Election. In our Direction of Election, we provided that those eligible to vote would be the Company's em- ployees "whose names appear on the Company's current seniority list .s of the date of this Direction of Election, . . . excluding those who did not work for the Company at any time during the 9 consecu- tive months immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, not including general lay-offs or shut-downs, . . ." The phrase "not including general lay-offs or shut-downs" does not, as contended by Local No. 12, confer eligibility upon employees whose employment was terminated by a general lay-off or a shut-down prior to the 9-month period immediately preceding the date of the Decision and Direction of Election. This phrase has reference solely to the method of computation of the 9-month period. By the words "not including general lay-offs or shut-downs" we intended that computa- tion of the 9-month period referred to was not to include periods of general lay-offs or shut-downs which may have occurred during the 9 consecutive months immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election. None of the 29 persons hereinabove referred to, whose names were not placed upon the eligibility list used in the election and whose ballots were for this reason excluded from the tally, had worked for the Company at any time during the 9-month period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election. Under the terms of our Direction of Election, therefore, neither they nor any other employees of the Company who last worked prior to the 9-month period preceding the date of the Direction of Election were eligible to vote. The other objections raised by Local No. 12 also appear to be without merit. We find that neither the first objection nor the other objections filed by Local No. 12 raise substantial or material issues with respect to the conduct of the ballot or the Election Report and they are hereby overruled. 260 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Sections 8 and 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that International Union, United Automo- bile Workers of America, Local No. 11, A. F. of L., has been selected by a majority of the employees of City Auto Stamping Company, Toledo, Ohio, including group leaders, but excluding supervisory and clerical employees, foremen, and assistant foremen, as their representa- tive for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, Local No. 11, A. F. of L., is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment.