The Cudahy Packing Co.

.- -.. 1', ,. In the Matter of THE CUDAHY PACKING COMPANY and, UNITED PACKING HOUSE WORKERS LOCAL INDUSTRIAL UNION- No. 389 In the Matter of THE CUDAHY PACKING COMPANY and U. P. H. W., L. I. U. No. 873, AFFILIATED WITH P . W. O. C. AND 'C. I. O. Cases Nos. 'C-901 and R-1134 SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES September 7, 1940 On September 26, 1939, the National -Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, issued its Decision, Order, and Direction of Election in the above-entitled proceedings ,3 finding that The Cudahy Packing Company, Sioux City, Iowa, herein called the Com- pany, had engaged in and was engaging in certain unfair labor practices, ordering it to cease and desist from such practices and to take appropriate affirmative action,2 and directing an election among the employees of the Company in the appropriate unit at such time in the future as the Board should direct. On June 29, 1940, the Board issued a Supplemental Decision and Amended Direction of Election in the above-entitled proceedings,3 granting a motion sub- stituting the name "Local Union No. 70, United Packinghouse Work- ers of America, of Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations," 4 for the name "United Packing House Workers Local Industrial Union No. 873, affiliated with Packing House Workers Organizing Committee and the Committee for Industrial Organization," wherever the latter name appeared in the Direction of Election issued on September 26, 1939; and directing that an election by secret ballot be conducted within thirty (30) days. Pursuant to the Amended Direction of Election, an 115 N L R B 676 2 The Company has not complied with the Board 's Order. An appeal is now pending before the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. 324 N L . R B 1127. This was preceded by a notice, dated June 8, 1940, and served upon the parties , to show cause why the above motion should not be granted. 4 Herein referred to as the Union 27 N. L R. B., No. 29. 108 THE CUDAHY PACKING COMPANY 1091 election by secret ballot was conducted on July, 29, 1940, under, the, direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Eighteenth Region (Minneapolis, Minnesota )-. On July 31, 1940, the Regional Director, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, 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 ballots cast_______________________________ 760 Total number of ballots counted___ _________________________ 752 Total number of votes for Local Union No. 70, United Pack- inghouse Workers of America, P. W. 0. C. and C. I. 0______ 671 Total number of votes against above organization ----------- 81 Total number of blank ballots _____________________________ 2 Total number of void ballots_______________________________ 2 Total number of challenged ballots -------------------------- 4 On August 3, 1940, the Company filed herein its Objections to the conduct of the election and to the Election Report. On August 19, 1940, the Regional Director issued a Report on Objections, which was duly served on all parties, reporting his investigation of the matters set forth in the Objections of the Company, and recommending that the Board overrule said Objections in their entirety. . The Company challenges the Election and the report of the Regional Director on four grounds: (1) an alleged impropriety in the method used to determine the eligibility of voters; (2) an alleged refusal of the Regional Director to allow the Company to investigate the eligi- bility of voters; (3) an alleged unfairness of the form of ballot used; and (4) an alleged incompetency of the notaries public who functioned at the polls. The first objection of the Company attacks the use of^affidavits to establish the eligibility of employees who voted in the election. On July 25, 1940, four days before the election was scheduled, the Regional Office of the Board requested the Company to submit a pay roll for the purpose of determining eligibility. The Company refused to furnish its pay roll on July 26, 1940. The Regional Director thereupon pre- pared affidavits for the employees to execute when they came to the polls. These affidavits were given to persons only after they had been identified as employees of the Company by observers, and in all cases the executed affidavits were delivered into the possession of the Board prior to the casting of the ballots. The observers who identified the persons who were given affidavits ' to execute were representatives of the Union. The Company did not avail itself of its right to have observers present at the polls. The use of affidavits to' determine the eligibility of voters under circumstances such as are here presented was recently approved by the Board in Matter of The Cudahy°Packing rio DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Company v. United Packing House Workers Local Industrial Union, No. 194.5 The Company's second objection is based on the assertion that the Regional Director deprived it of an opportunity to determine whether the persons voting were eligible employees. On August 2, 1940, the Company proposed that it examine the affidavits, taking therefrom a list of the voters for comparison with its pay roll. - On August 5, 1940, the-Regional Director suggested to the Company that it send its pay- roll clerk and pay roll to the Regional Office to compare the names of the voters with the pay roll in the presence of an agent of the Board. This procedure was again offered to the Company on August 10, 1940, but the Company declined to follow it. It is to be noted that prior to the election the Company refused to submit its pay roll, thereby eliminating the normal and most obvious way of checking eligibility. It refused to have observers present at the polls to pass on the eligibility of voters. Finally, it refused the Regional Director's offer of a comparison of the voters with its pay roll. Under those circumstances, we find that the Com- pany had ample. opportunity to investigate the eligibility of voters. The Board's order directed a secret ballot as provided by the- Act. The Company's proposal that it be allowed to take a list of the voters from the affidavits, if followed, would have violated the secrecy of the ballot.' The Company's third objection attacks the form of the ballot on the ground that its word usage encouraged the voters to designate the Union. There is no merit in this contention.7 5 26 N L R B 749 6.,1L similar request by the Company was considered, by the Board in tire Cudahy, case, supra, where as here , there had been no compliance with the Board ' s Order to cease and desist from certain unfair labor practices and to take certain affirmative action to effectuate the policies of the Act. We stated Because of the nature of the election , in which 813 out of approximately 870 ballots cast were for the United , to have permitted the Company to make and take a list of the names of those employees who participated in the election , as contained in their affidavits of eligibility , would be to place in the Company's possession a document identifying substantially the group of 'employees who are adherents of the United, or at least rendering such group of employees suspect of such adherence , and thus to expose employees in such group to acts of employer interference, restraint, and coercion of the kind previously committed by the Company This language is equally applicable to the instant case, since 671 out of 752 ballots counted were for the Union. i7 The ballot was as follows : OFFICIAL BALLOT To determine the exclusive representatives for collective bargaining for certain em- ployees of The Cudahy Packing Company, Sioux City, Iowa 1 This is a secret ballot 2 Make your choice by marking "x" in one squaie only. 3 Do not sign your name 4 If you spoil your ballot , return it to the Board 's agent and get a new one. THE CUDAHY PACKING COMPANY 111 The Company's fourth objection attacks the competency of the notaries public who took the affidavits ot the voters on the ground that they were not acquainted with all the voters. A similar con- tention was overruled by the Board in the Cudahy case, supra. We find that the objections do not raise substantial and material issues with respect to the conduct of the ballot or the Election Report. 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, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Sections 8 and 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that Local Union No. 70, United Packing- house Workers of America, of Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, has been designated and selected by a majority of all hourly paid and piece-work production and maintenance employees of The Cudahy Packing Company, Sioux City, Iowa, exclusive of superin- tendents, assistant superintendents, foremen, subforemen, clerical and office workers, scalers, watchmen, ,tiipekeehers; truck drivers,' employees in the salvage department, and all supervisory employees, as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, Local Union No. 70, United Packinghouse Workers of America, of Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, 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. 5. Fold your ballot to conceal the "x" you have made and deposit it personally in the ballot box in the presence of the Board' s agent I DESIRE LOCAL UNION NO 70, UNITED PACKINCIIOUSE WORKERS OF AMERICA, OF PACKINGHOUSE WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, AFFIL- IATED WITH THE CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS, TO REPRE- SENT ME AS MY EXCLUSIVE AGENT IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. YES q NO q