Consumers Power Co.

In the Matter Of CONSUMERS POWER COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL 876 Case No. R-1004 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND ORDER VACATING SECOND DIRECTION OF ELECTION, AS AMENDED, AND REOPENING THE RECORD FOR THE PURPOSE OF TAKING ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE April 5,1940 On November 8, 1938, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Election' in the above-entitled proceedings. On November 23, 1938, And on December 22, 1938, the Board issued Amendments to its Decision and Direction of Election.2 The Direction of Election, as amended, directed the Regional Director for the Seventh Region, acting as agent for the Board, and subject to National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, to conduct an election by secret ballot among all employees of Consumers Power Company, herein called the Company, excluding general and assistant foremen, plant supervisors, crew foremen, and other supervisory employees except as expressly included below, office employees, office building janitors and watchmen, collectors, connected load inspectors, elec- trical, mechanical, and civil engineers, efficiency men and junior engineers, draftsmen, surveyors, chemists, architects, temporary common laborers hired for a specific job and for not more than 6 months, part-time local service men and local service men who do not perform mechanical work in the regular course of employment, and storekeepers with supervisory powers who do not ordinarily do mechanical work, but including load dispatchers, meter readers and bill distributors, plant janitors and watchmen, and storekeepers other than those excluded above, who were on the pay roll of the Company for the pay-roll period next preceding August 29, 1938, 19 N L R B 742 29 N L. R B. 751 ; 10 N. L R B. 780 22 N. L. R. B., No. 37. 726 CONSUMERS POWER COMPANY 727 except those who had since quit or been discharged for cause, to. determine whether they desired to be represented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 876, herein called I. B. E. W., or by Utility Workers Organizing Committee, herein called U. W. O. C., for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. The Direction, as amended provided for the holding of the election within 70 days of the date of the original Decision and Direction of Election. Pursuant to said Direction of Election,, as amended, the Regional, Director conducted an election by secret ballot from January 10 to January 13, 1939. In the election thus held U. W. O. C. received a plurality, though not a majority, of the votes cast.3 In accordance with its practice then in effect, the Board, on March 1, 1939, issued a Supplemental Decision and Second Direction of Election ,4 which provided for a run-off election in which the employees described in the original Direction of Election were to indicate whether or not they desired to be represented by U. W. O. C. for the purposes of collective bargaining. The holding of the second election, thus di- rected, was prevented by proceedings commenced in the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by I. B. E. W.5 Upon the termination of those proceedings, the Board, on March 4, 1940, issued a Supple- mental Decision and Amendment to Second Direction of Elections in which it provided that an election be held as directed in the Second Direction of Election of March 1, 1939, except that eligibility to vote in such election should be based on the pay roll of the Company next preceeding March 4, 1940, rather than on the pay roll originally specified. We have previously noted' that numerous changes in the Com- pany's personnel are alleged to have occurred since the date of the first election, and that : While no formal record has been made showing the exact extent of the changes, if any, in the Company's personnel within the appropriate unit, we take notice of the probability of the occurrence of such changes during the period of more than 18 months which have elapsed since August 29, 1938, as well as the apparent agreement of the parties that such changes have occurred. ° See 11 N L. R. B. 848, 849. 4 11 N L R B. 848. 15 International Brothe,hoodl of Electrical Workers v. National Labor Relations Board, 105 F (2d) 398 revereed 308 U. S 413 821 N L R B 90 7 21 N L R B 90 728 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On March 15, 1940, U. W. O. C. filed with the Board a Petition for Ruling on Eligibility and for Subpoena, in which it requested that those employees of the Company be permitted to vote, who were laid off during the 6-month period preceding the date of the pay roll upon which eligibility to vote was based. On March 30, 1940, in Matter of B. K. Le Blond Machine Tool Co., Cincinnati Electrical Tool Co. and Independent Employees Organ- ization, the Board issued a Supplemental Decision and Second Direc- tion of Elections in which it reconsidered its policy concerning run- off elections. A majority of the Board there decided that in circum- stances similar to those presented by the results of the first- election held in this proceeding, a run-off ballot should contain the names of the two labor organizations involved, without providing a space for voting for neither union. We are of the opinion that, in view of that decision, a run-off election of the type previously ordered in this proceeding should no longer be held, and that this proceeding should be governed by the principles enunciated in the Le Blond case, in the event that a run-off election is held. The Second Direc- tion of Election issued on March 1, 1939, as amended on March 4, 1940, will accordingly be vacated. We shall order that the, record herein be reopened and that a further hearing be held for the purpose of introducing evidence bearing upon any issues which may be raised concerning the holding in the future of an election for the purpose of determining representa- tives of the Company's employees for the purposes of collective bargaining. After such a hearing has been held, the Board will decide whether to hold a run-off election, affording the employees the opportunity of voting for I. B. E. W. or U. W. O. C., or to hold a new election, in which the ballot will contain, in addition to the names of the two labor organizations, a space for voting for neither union. The Board will likewise determine at that time any questions which may be raised concerning the continued appropriateness of the collective bargaining unit previously established in this case, and the qualifications for eligibility to vote. The petition of U. W. O. C., described above, is hereby denied, without prejudice to renewal before the Board at a subsequent date of the contentions made therein or the production of evidence in support of those contentions. 922N L R B 465 CONSUMERS POWER COMPANY ORDER 729 By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela- tions Act, and pursuant to National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Second Direction of Election of March 1, 1939, as amended by the direction and order of the Board of March 4, 1940, be, and it hereby is, vacated and set aside, and IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the record in the above-entitled case be reopened for all purposes and that a further hearing be held, that the case be referred to the Regional Director for the Seventh Region for the purpose of such further hearing, and that the said Regional Director be, and he hereby • is, authorized to issue notice of such further hearing. MR. WILMAINI M. LEIsERSON took no part in the consideration of the above Supplemental Decision and Order Vacating Second Direc- tion Of Election, As Amended, And Reopening The Record For The Purpose Of Taking Additional Evidence.