Bunting Glider Co.

In the Matter of BUNTING GLIDER COMPANY and UNITED FURNITURE WORKERS ' QF AMERICA Case No. R-1776.-Decided April 20, 1940 Furniture Manufacturing Industry-Investigation of Representatives: con- troversy concerning representation of employees . rival organizations ; refusal by employer to recognize petitioning union in view of conflicting claims of majority designation-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production employees , except supervisory and clerical employees , and truck drivers ; agreement as to-Representatives : proof of choice : results of consent election- Certification of Representatives : upon proof of majority representation through consent election. Mr. Jerome I. Macht, for the Board. Wolf, Block, Schorr cC Solis-Cohen , by Mr. Samuel A. Goldberg, of Philadelphia, Pa., for the Company. Mr. Philip Dorfman, of Philadelphia , Pa., for the United Furni- ture Workers. Syme c6 Simons, by Mr. Benjamin R. Simons of Philadelphia, Pa:, for Bedding and Glider Workers' Union. Mr. Wendell P. Kay, Jr., of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES STATEMENT OF THE CASE On February 21, 1940, Local 65, United Furniture Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called Local 65, filed with the, Regional ^ Director for'the"Fourth Region (Philadelphia', Pennsylvania), a petition alleging that a question affecting coln- inerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Bunting Glider Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 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 1, 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, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional 22 N. L. R. B, No. 98. 1138 BUNTING GLIDER COMPANY 1139 Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. On March 6, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company , upon Local 65, and,upon Local-404, Bedding and Glider-Workers' Union, affiliated with Upholsterers' International Union, American Federation of Labor, herein called Local 404, a labor organization claiming to repre- sent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to notice a hearing was held on March 21, 1940 , before Henry J. Kent the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board, the Company, Local 65, and Local 404 were represented by counsel and participated in the hearing . At the hearing all the parties entered into a stipulation and agreement providing for a consent election to be held on April 4, 1940, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director, among all the production workers employed by the Company, exclusive of supervisory and clerical employees, and .truck : drivers, to determine whether said employees desired to be represented by Local 65 , or by Local 404, for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining, or by neither ; for certification by the Board on the basis of the election; and waiving further hearing and a direction of election by the Board. Thereafter the record was transmitted to the Board at Washington, D. C. Pursuant to the stipulation and agreement an election by secret ballot was conducted on April 4, 1940, under the direction and super- vision ofihe'Regional 'Director among all the production workers employed by the Company, exclusive of supervisory and clerical em- ployees, and truck drivers , to determine whether said employees desired to be represented by Local 65, or by Local 404, for the pur- poses of collective bargaining , or by neither . On April 6, 1940, the Regional Director, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, filed with the Board at Washington , D. C., his Election Report on the ballot and issued and duly served upon the parties copies thereof . No objections or exceptions to the Election Report have been filed by any of the parties. Upon the record of the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Bunting Glider Company is a Pennsylvania corporation operating a plant at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and engaged in the manufac- ture, sale, and distribution of gliders, metal chairs, and bed springs. The principal raw materials used at the plant in the process of manu- 1140 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD facture are steel, cotton fabrics, paint, and cartons. The gross volume of the Company's purchases of raw materials approximates $1,000,000 per year, 60 per cent of which are regularly shipped to its Philadelphia plant from points outside the State of Pennsylvania. The gross volume of the Company's sales of finished products ap- proximates $2,500,000 per year. About 75 per cent of its finished products are shipped from the Philadelphia plant to points outside the State of Pennsylvania. H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Local 65, United Furniture Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., a local of United Furniture Workers of America, is a labor organization affiliated with Congress of Industrial Organizations, a labor organization. Local 65 admits to membership all production workers employed by the Company, except supervisory and clerical employees, and truck drivers. Local 404, Bedding and Glider Workers' Union, affiliated with the Upholsterers' International Union, American Federation of Labor, is a local of Upholsterers' International Union, a labor organization affiliated with American Federation of Labor. Local 404 also admits all production workers of the Company to membership, excluding supervisory and clerical employees, and truck drivers. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION In the stipulation and agreement mentioned above, the parties thereto agreed, and we find, as follows: the Company has a closed- shop contract with Local 404 expiring April 22, 1940. At the time of the filing of the petition and at the time of the hearing, Local 65 claimed to represent a majority of the Company's employees within the unit in which the consent election was held and herein found to be appropriate. The Company then and theretofore refused to recog- nize Local 65 because of a similar claim to representation by Local 404, and because of the contract. The Company took the position that it would recognize Local 65 as the statutory representative of employees in the unit only if that organization were certified by the Board. We find that a question existed concerning representation of em- ployees of the Company at the time the petition was filed and at the time of the hearing. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON COMMERCE We find that the question concerning representation which arose, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company described in Section I above, had, and has, a close, intimate, and substantial BUNTING GLIDER COMPANY 1141 relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, and tended to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT f In the stipulation, and agreement the parties thereto agreed that all production workers employed by the Company, excluding supervisory and clerical employees, and truck drivers, constitute an appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining. We see no reason to depart from the stipulation and agreement in this regard. We there- fore find that all production workers employed by the Company ex- cluding supervisory and clerical employees, and truck drivers, consti- tute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that said unit will insure to the 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 In his Election Report of April 6, 1940, the Regional Director re- ported as follows concerning the balloting of April 4, 1940, and its results : Total eligible to vote---------------------------------------- 425 Total number of ballots cast--------------------------------- 403 Total number of votes cast for Local 65, United Furniture Work- ers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0------------------- 93 Total number of votes cast for Local 404, Bedding and Glider Workers' Union, affiliated with the Upholsterers' International Union, A F. L-------------------------------------------- 306 Total number of ballots for neither-------------------------- 4 Total number of blank and void ballots----------------------- 6 Total number of challenged ballots--------------------------- 7 As already stated, no objections or exceptions to the Election Re- port have been filed by any of the parties. Accordingly, we find that Local 404 has been designated and selected by a majority of the em- ployees in the appropriate unit as their representative for the pur- poses of collective bargaining. It is, therefore, the exclusive repre- sentative of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining, and we will so certify. 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. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of Bunting Glider Company, Philadelphia, 28363:3-41-v.1 22-73 1142 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Pennsylvania, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7 ) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All production workers employed by the Company excluding supervisory and clerical employees , and truck drivers, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining ,, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. 3. Local 404, Bedding and Glider Workers' Union, affiliated with Upholsterers' International Union, American Federation of Labor, is the exclusive representative of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining , within the meaning of Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act. 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 Rela- tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that Local 404, Bedding and Glider Workers' Union, affiliated with Upholsterers' International Union, American Federation of Labor, has been designated and selected by a majority of the production workers employed by Bunting Glider Company, Philadelphia , Pennsylvana , excluding supervisory and clerical employees , and truck drivers, as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 (a) of the Act, Local 404, Bedding and Glider Workers' Union, affiliated with Upholsterers ' International Union, American Federation of Labor, is the exclusive representative of all such em- ployees for the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment. {