Ingram-Richardson Mfg. Co. of Indiana, Inc.

In the Matter Of INGRAM -RICHARDSON MFG. COMPANY OF INDIANA, INC. and FEDERAL LABOR UNION 22174, AFFILIATED WITH THE A. F. OF L. Case No. R-1770.-Decided Aril 23, 1940 Porcelain and Enamel Products Manufacturing Industry-Investigation of Representatives : controversy concerning representation of employees: rival organizations ; employer's refusal to recognize petitioning union as exclusive bargaining agent until so designated by Board ; contract with certified labor organization which has run for one year and is terminable thereafter on 60 days' notice no bar; substantial showing of membership by petitioning union- Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em- ployees, exclusive of truck drivers, clerical employees , and supervisory em- ployees ; stipulated-Election Ordered Mr. Colonel C. Sawyer, for the Board. Mr. R. H. Coin, of Frankfort, Ind., for the Company. Pryor & Davidson, by Mr. Frank S. Pryor, of Frankfort, Ind., and Mr. Hugh Gormley, of Indianapolis, Ind., for Union 22174. Mr. James Robb, of Indianapolis, Ind., for the S. W. O. C. Mr. N. Barr Miller, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF TILE CASE On December 11, 1939, Federal Labor Union 22174, affiliated with the A. F. of L., herein called Union 22174, filed with the Regional Director for the Eleventh Region (Indianapolis, Indiana) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Ingram-Richardson Mfg. Com- pany of Indiana, Inc., 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 March 12, 1940, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regu- lations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and author- ized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appro- priate hearing upon due notice. 23 N. L. R. B., No. 9. 2 53034-41 -v of 23--7 85 86 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On March 15, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, upon Union 22174, upon Steel Workers Organizing Committee on behalf of Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers of North America, Lodge No. 1774, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called the S. W. O. C., a labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation, and upon International Brother- hood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen & Helpers of America, Local #746, herein called the Teamsters, a labor organization having a contract with the respondent covering the wages and working con- ditions of the Company's truck drivers. Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on March 20, 1940, at Frankfort, Indiana, before John T. Lindsay, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. At the hearing the S. W. O. C. was per- mitted by the Trial Examiner to intervene in the proceedings. The Board, the Company, Union 22174, and the S. W. O. C. were rep- resented 1 and participated in the hearing. Before the taking of testimony and again at the close of the hearing the S. W. O. C. moved that the petition of Union 22174 be dismissed. For reasons hereinafter stated the motion is hereby denied. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and to cross-examine witnesses, and to intro- duce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. The S. W. O. C. requested the privilege of filing a brief, and that privilege was granted by the Board to all parties. No briefs were filed. On April 9, 1940, a hearing for the purpose of oral argument was conducted by the Board in Washington, D. C., at which Union 22174 appeared Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF TIIE COMPANY Ingram-Richardson Mfg. Company of Indiana, Inc., is an Indiana corporation with its principal place of business located in the city of Frankfort, Indiana. The Company is engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of porcelain table tops, enameled stove and 'The Board and Union 22174 were represented by counsel The Company was repre- sented by its president, R H. Coln. and the S W 0 C by its fie]d dhector, James Robb. INGRAM-RXHARDSON MFG. COMPANY OF INDIANA, INC. 87 refrigerator parts, and frit. The raw materials used by the Company in its manufacturing operations consist of flat steel, enameling stock, acids, sands, glass, mine products, oxides; light chemicals, packing supplies, and gasoline. During the year 1937, the cost of said raw .materials amounted to $765,000, of which 85 per cent were shipped to the Company from points outside the State of Indiana. During the same year, the Company produced 448,000 pieces of metal; 270,000 porcelain table tops ; 5,,330,000 square feet of enameled steel stove parts; and 10,700,000 pounds of'frit. The estimated value of such finished products amounted to approximately $900,000. Approxi- mately 75 per cent of,the finished products were shipped to points outside the State of Indiana. It was stipulated at the hearing by the Company and the Board, and we find, that the current operations and business' of the Company were substantially the same as set forth above.2 The Company admits that it is engaged in interstate commerce within the meaning of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. II. THE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Federal Labor Union 22174 is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to its membership all production and maintenance employees of the Company, excluding employees in a supervisory capacity as direct representatives of management, foremen, office employees, truck drivers, and watchmen .3 Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers of North America, Lodge No. 1774, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership all production and maintenance employees of the Company, exclusive of truck drivers, clerical employees, and supervisory employees. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Since June 8, 1937, the Company has continuously had contracts with the S. W. O. C. covering wages and working conditions. On October 14, 1938, the Board certified the S. W. O. C. as the exclusive -bargaining agent of all production and maintenance employees of the Company, exclusive of truck drivers, clerical employees, and supervisory employees, on a showing of 116 membership cards out of 226 employees in the unit. Following certification the S. W. O. C. and the Company executed a new contract, as of November 1, 1938, recognizing the S. W. O. C. as the exclusive bargaining agent for all 2 The facts set forth in the preceding paragraph wve, e found be the Board of Matter of Ingram-Richardson Mfg Co of Indiana, Inc. and Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers, Local 17711, 9 N. L R. B. 200, decided October 14, 1938. a A representative of Union, 22174 stated at the hearing that watchmen were excluded from membership if they had "police powers " 88 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the employees in the appropriate unit. By its terms the contract was to be effective until November 1, 1939, and thereafter to con- tinue indefinitely unless changed by law or on 60 days' notice by either party. This contract is currently in force. Union 22174 began to organize in October 1939 and was chartered on October 19, 1939. On October 21, 1939, a representative of Union 22174 notified the Company by letter that that organization rep- resented a majority of the employees within the established unit and requested a conference for the purpose of negotiating a contract. The Company replied by letter on October 25 that it was under contract with the S. W. O. C., a union certified by the Board, and suggested that Union 22174 file a petition with the Board for the purpose of establishing its claim to recognition as the exclusive bargaining agent of the Company's employees. Thereafter, on De- cember 11, 1939, Union 22174 filed its petition with the Board. At the hearing the S. W. O. C. filed its motion to dismiss the petition because of the contract currently in effect 4 We are of the opinion that the contract is no bar to our determination of repre- sentatives at this time. The contract has run for more than a year and by its terms is terminable at any time after November 1, 1939, upon 60 days' notice by either party. We find that the current con- tract between the Company and the R. W. O. C. does not prevent an investigation and certification of representatives at this time.s The factory pay roll of the Company for March 16, 1940, indicates that there are 291 employees within the unit which we have found in Section V, infra, to be appropriate. Union 22174 submitted 71 mem- ership cards to the Regional Director for the Eleventh Region and to the Trial Examiner as evidence that it had a substantial member- ship among the Company's employees. Most of these cards were signed in October or November 1939. At the hearing representatives of Union 22174 testified that that organization had 200 additional membership cards which were unavailable because D. E. Smith, president of Union 22174, who was the custodian of those cards, had left the city the latter part of February 1940 without turning them over to any other officer of the union, and that no one had yet been able to communicate with him by mail in order to obtain them. Ac- cording to the testimony, all of the missing cards were signed between October 1939 and sometime in February 1940. Witnesses for Union .22174 testified that various members of that organization distributed and collected membership cards which were then turned over to 4 A second ground stated for dismissal is that the petitioner of Union 22174 misstates the facts as to the number of eligible employees on the pay roll and the number of employees who had designated Union 22174 as their bargaining agent 5 Matter of Todd-Johnson Dry Docks, Inc. and Industrial Union of Marine and Ship- building Workers of America, Local No. 29, 10 N L It. B. 629 INGRAM-RICHARDSON MFG. COMPANY OF INDIANA, INC. 89 Smith. Two members of Union 22174 testified that they had obtained approximately 60 to 65 signed membership cards which they turned over to Smith, but the two witnesses were uncertain whether any of these cards were among the 71 still in the possession of Union 22174 or whether they were among the 200 cards which Smith failed to turn over to the union. The S. W. 0. C. asserted that it had 212 members among the Com- pany's employees on November 1, 1939; 173 on March 2, 1940, and 189 on March 20, 1940, the day on which the hearing was held. The only evidence of membership submitted for examination to the Re- gional Director was a typewritten list of 173 names which the S. W. 0. C. stated were paid-up members for the month of January 1940. . This list was signed by the financial secretary of the S. W. 0. C. and his signature witnessed by three persons. We are of the opinion that on the basis of all the evidence Union 22174 has made a sufficient showing of substantial support among the Company's employees to raise a question concerning representation at this time." We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of the 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 At the hearing the 'parties stipulated that the unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining should consist of all production and maintenance employees of the Company, exclusive of truck drivers, clerical employees, and supervisory employees.7 This- is the unit which we found appropriate in a previous in- vestigation and determination of the representatives of employees of 6 See Matter of R. C. A. Manufacturing Company, Inc. and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers B-957, 16 N. L. R. B., 883. Cf Matter of North American Aviation, Inc. and United Automobile Workers of America, Local No 228, C I. 0., 19 N. L R B. 222; Matter of General Electric Company and The G. E. Industrial Union of The Bridgeport Works, Incorporated, 15 N. L. R. B., 1018. 'In connection with the stipulation it was stated at the hearing that all the parties agreed that dock hands were within the appropriate unit and were not to be excluded as within the classification of truck drivers. 90 ' DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD this Company." We find that all production and maintenance em- ployees of the Company, exclusive of truck drivers, clerical employees, and supervisory employees constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self- organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES Neither Union 22174 nor the S. W. O. C. sought to be certified on the basis of evidence submitted at the hearing. Representatives can therefore best be determined by an election by secret ballot. The parties stipulated that in the event of an election the pay roll of March 16, 1940, should be determinative of the eligibility of em- ployees to vote. We shall so direct. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. Federal Labor Union 22174, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers of North America, Lodge No. 1774, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, are labor organizations within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the rep- resentation of employees of Ingram-Richardson Mfg. Company of Indiana, Inc., Frankfort, Indiana, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 3. All production and maintenance employees of the Company, ex- clusive of truck drivers, clerical employees, and supervisory em- ployees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) 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 Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations- Series 2, as amended, it is hereby 8 Matter of Ingram -Richardson Mfg. Co. of Indiana, Inc. and Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tan Workers, Local 1774, 9 N. L. R. B 200. INGRAM-RICHARDSON MFG. COMPANY OF INDIANA, INC. 91 DIRECTED that, as a part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with Ingram-Richardson Mfg. Company of Indiana, Inc., 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 Eleventh Region, acting in this matter as the agent for the Na- tional Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among all production and mainte- nance employees who were on the Company's pay roll of March 16, 1940, including employees who did not work during the period covered by that pay roll because they were ill or on vacation, and employees who were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding truck drivers, clerical employees, supervisory employees, and em- ployees who have since March 16, 1940, quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining by Federal Labor Union 22174, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, by Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers of North America, Lodge No. 1774, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or by neither.