Great Lakes Terminal Warehouse Co.

In the Matter of GREAT LAKES TERMINAL WAREHOUSE COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, A. F. of L. Case No. R-1'7.0.Decided March 13, 1940 Warehousing Industry-Investigation of Representatives : controversy concern- ing representation of employees : rival organizations ; refusal by employer to recognize either of the unions involved as the exclusive representative of em- ployees; stipulation as to-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaininq : election to determine whether engineers desire industrial or craft union , or neither ; (Smith, dissenting ) no justification for permitting craft unit to split off from industrial unit, history of collective bargaining not sufficiently shown- Election Ordered _ Mr. Harry L. Lodish, for the Board. Mr. L. M. Ashenbrenner, and Mr. Leland L. Lord, of Toledo, Ohio, for the Company. Mr. Floyd A. LeGron, of Toledo, Ohio, for the International. Mr. Kenneth L. Cole, of Toledo, Ohio, for the United. Miss Mary Metlay, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On November 6, 1939, International Union of Operating Engineers, herein called the International, filed with the Regional Director for the Eighth Region (Cleveland, Ohio) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Great Lakes Terminal Warehouse Company, Toledo, Ohio, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On January 25, 1940, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, ordered an investigation and 21 N. L R B.. No. 55 580 GREAT LAKES TERMINAL WAREHOUSE COMPANY 581 authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. On February 1, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the International, and United Wholesale, Warehouse, and Delivery Employees of America, Local No. 363, herein called the United, a labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on February 9, 1940, at Toledo, Ohio, before John T. Lindsay, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board and the Company were represented by counsel, the International by its busi- ness agent, and the United by its president ; all participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross- examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. At the hearing, the facts and the issue& involved in the proceeding were stipulated by the parties and appear in the record as recited by Board's counsel. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Great Lakes Terminal Warehouse Company of Toledo, Ohio, an Ohio corporation, is engaged in the business of receiving, storing, handling, and distributing general merchandise and cold-storage products. In 1939 the Company received approximately 85,803,798 pounds of products of which about 75 per cent came from points outside the State of Ohio. During the same year the Company sent out approximately 76,627,402 pounds of products of which 25 per cent were shipped to destinations outside the State of Ohio. The Company is composed of 10 departments, 1 of which, the engine room, is operated by 4 engineers. All the parties agree that the Company conducts its business in interstate commerce. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Union of Operating Engineers Local No. 10 is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership all licensed engineers employed by the Company. United Wholesale, Warehouse, and Delivery Employees of America Local No. 363 is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership all employees of the Company. 2 5 3 03 2-4 1- vol 21--38 582 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION It was stipulated at the hearing by the parties that the Inter- national requested the Company to recognize it as the exclusive bar- gaining agent of the engineers employed by the Company and that the Company refused such recognition on the ground that the United also claimed to represent its engineers. We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON COMMERCE , We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The International contends that the engineers employed by the Company constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. The United contends that such employees should be included within a unit composed of all employees of the Company. The Company makes no contentions as to the appropriate unit. In 1937 the Company entered into a collective bargaining contract with the United. This contract covered only members of the United. At that time two of the four engineers employed by the Company had signed cards with the United.' In 1939 the Company entered into a "union shop" contract with the United. The Company under the terms of this contract recognized the United as the exclusive representative of its employees in the general, cold-storage, and ice departments, and the helpers in the maintenance department. It is apparent that the engineers are not covered by the terms of this contract. The International has had informal relations and discus- sions with the Company concerning its engineers since 1937 or early 1938. It has recently received signed cards from all four of the Company's engineers. Engineers are, a well-defined and highly skilled craft. The engi- neers employed by the Company are all licensed by the State of Ohio. 1 The record does not indicate whether these were membership or application caids GREAT LAKES TERMINAL WAREHOUSE COMPANY 583 In view of all the circumstances we are of the opinion that the ques- tion of the proper unit in which the engineers belong should be determined by the desires of the engineers themselves.2 We will, therefore, direct that an election be held among the engineers em- ployed by the Company to determine whether they desire to be repre- sented by the International or by the United for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. If a majority of the engineers cast their votes for the International, we shall hold that they consti- tute a separate appropriate unit and we. shall certify the Interna- tional as the exclusive representative thereof. If a majority of such employees cast their votes for the United or for neither or if the votes for the United and for neither together constitute a majority, We shall conclude therefrom that they do not desire to constitute a separate unit. In that event we will dismiss the petition.3 VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES Although the parties stipulated at the hearing that all the engineers employed by the Company had signed cards with the International, the International, the United, and the Company requested that an election be held. We shall order that an election by secret ballot be held among the engineers employed by the Company. We find that those eligible to vote in the election shall be the engineers employed by the Company during the last pay-roll period next preceding the date of this Direction, including engineers who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation and those who were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding those who have since quit or been discharged for cause. On the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire i ecord in the case, the Board makes the following : CONCLUSION OF LAW A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representa- tion of employees of Great Lakes Terminal Warehouse Company, Toledo, Ohio, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) amid (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations s Matter of Globe Machine and Stamping Co and Metal Polishers Union, Local No. 3, et al, 3 N L R B 294, and subsequent cases The United does not seek certification as the iepresentati%e of employees in the plant- wide unit which it deems appropriate. 584 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Rela- tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Great Lakes Terminal Warehouse Company, Toledo, Ohio, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction of Election,- under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Eighth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among the engineers employed by said Company during the pay-roll period next preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including those who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation and employees who were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding those who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 10, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, or by United Wholesale, Warehouse, and Delivery Employees of America, Local No. 363, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. MR. EDWIN S. SMITH, dissenting : The history of collective bargaining herein by the International is not sufficiently disclosed by the record to warrant setting up a sep- arate unit of engineers nor does it appear from the record that the United, despite the 1939 contract with the Company, has relinquished its claim to represent these employees. For the reasons given in my dissenting opinion in Matter of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Com- pany,4 I would not permit the engineers to set themselves apart in a bargaining unit separate from the industrial unit. 4Matter of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company and International Union, United' Automobile Workers of America, Local 248, 4 N. L. R. B. 159.