Chicago Macaroni Co.

In the Matter , of CHICAGO MACARONI COMPANY and .BAKERY & CONFECTIONERY WORKERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION or AMERICA, LOCAL 465 Case No. R-2R73.-Decided March 13, 1941 Jurisdiction : wholesale grocery and macaroni manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re- fusal to accord union recognition until certified by the Board ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and shipping em- ployees of the Company, including wholesale grocery division employees,, but excluding clerical and supervisory employees, carpenters, professional die makers, engineers, firemen, electricians, truck drivers, truck drivers' helpers, watchmen, and porters. Blanksten and Lansing, of Chicago, Ill., by Mr. Harold S. Lansing', for the Company. Mr. Joseph M. Jacobs and Mr. Phillip D. Goodman, , of Chicago, Ill., for the Union. Mr. Louis S. Penfield, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OV THE CASE On January 14, 1941, Bakery & Confectionery Workers' Interna- tional Union of America, Local 465,1 herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region (Chicago, Illi- nois) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Chicago Maca- roni Company, Chicago, Illinois, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pur- suant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On January 29, 1941, 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 'Incorrectly designated in some of the formal papers as Local 465 of the Bakery and Confectionery Workers* International Union 30 N. L. It. B., No. 44. 288 CHICAGO MACARONI COMPANY 289 Relations Board Rules-and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, or- dered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. On January 31, 1941;, ,the Regional Director issued a notice ' of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the Union. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on February 6, 1941, at Chicago, Illinois, before Charles F. McErle'an, the Trial Ex- aminer duly designatedby the Board. The Company and the Union were represented by counsel and participated in the hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, without objection by the Company, the Union moved to amend the petition to request the exclusion of truck drivers and truck drivers' helpers, watchmen, and-porters from the unit therein alleged as appropriate . for the purposes of collective bargaining. The Trial Examiner reserved ruling on this motion. The motion is hereby granted. 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. Upon the entire record in the case the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF TIIE COMPANY Chicago Macaroni Company; an Illinois corporation, is engage& in the manufacture and sale of ,macaroni and in the operation of a whole- sale,grocery business at Chicago, Illinois. The principal raw ma- terials used in the manufacture of macaroni are flour, and durum wheat. The value of such material purchased, annually by the : Com- pany is in excess of $300,000, over 90 per cent of which, by value, is purchased and shipped, to the Company from sources outside the State of Illinois. The total value of the Company's sales of manu- factured p'roducts and whole`sale' groceries is annu''ally' in excess of $900,000," 30 'to` 50' per ^ceuit of.which; by value, is sold, and shipped `'e Com- by'the'Company •to=points 'outside the State' ofIllinois'''T pany 'admits that 'it is' engaged in' interstate "co`himerce within -the meaning of the"Act. 1' I• f ,^,^ trt „ c I H •il . , {, •?,,,J-'i 's'i'r b,j, yI[ t^ , . ' ;.. .. . '^ II.' THE1 ORGANIZATION ;INVOLVED— ,,Bakery,•& Confectionery Workers', International, Union of-'America, Local" 465,''is''a;labor'o``rganizat on,afili'ted with the American Fed-, eration of Labor.-It admits to membership' all'1 employees, of the Company'''engaged ' in the' production; pifeking,and shipping' of macaroni and related, products. 290 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On October 28, 1940, the Union wrote the Company requesting a conference for collective bargaining purposes. No reply was ever received. In the middle of November 1940, a union representative telephoned the Company to inquire concerning its. failure to reply to the written request. He was informed by the president of the Company that it "wasn't interested". At a conference attended by representatives of the Union, the Board, and the Company held Jan- uary 17, 1941, in an Attempt to arrange a consent election, the Com- pany's attorney stated that the Company would not recognize the Union until a formal hearing and election were conducted by the Board and the Union was thereafter certified as the representative of a majority of the employees in an appropriate collective bargaining unit. The Trial Examiner read a statement into the record showing that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the collective bargaining unit hereinafter found to be appropriate.' 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 Union requests a collective, bargaining unit of all production and shipping employees of the Company, including wholesale grocery division employees, but ' excludi ig clerical and supervisory employees, carpenters, professional die makers, engineers, firemen, electricians, truck drivers and truck drivers' helpers, watchmen, and, porters. The Company, while not contesting the exclusions requested by the Union, contends that production and shipping- employees in the macaroni 2 The Trial Examiner stated that 76 membership'application,cards were submitted to him, 20 cards undated and 56 dated between July 1940 and January 1941, that 75 of the signa- tures on such cards appeared to be genuine original signatures and that 51 of such cards bore the names of persons appearing on.a,pay r'oll-submiffed by the Company dated Novem- her 14, 1940. Such pay roll showed the names of 163 persons in the alleged appropriate unit. - CHICAGO MACARONI COMPANY 291 and grocery divisions, respectively, should constitute separate col- lective bargaining units. The Company's business is carried on in two adjoining buildings, hereinafter called the old and the new building, respectively. In the old building the Company manufactures, packs, and stores macaroni and related products, while in the new building it carries on a general wholesale grocery business. However, a macaroni drying room and a shipping and receiving room are also located in the new building. The macaroni division is comprised of approximately 135 persons engaged in various operations connected with. the manufacture of macaroni and related products, and the packing, storing, and moving of such finished products. The grocery division is comprised of approximately 14 persons engaged in filling orders received from retail grocers from a stock of approximately 1,200 groceries and of approximately 10 other persons employed in the shipping and receiv- ing room who handle groceries received for storage, and shipments from the plant of both groceries and macaroni. While the wages and hours of employees in the two divisions vary slightly, no essential differences exist, with respect to the maiiagement of the two divisions. Purchases for both divisions are made, and labor policies for all employees are directed, by a single officer. Macaroni used to fill orders, from retail grocers is sent to the grocery division without adjustment in any accounts kept by either division. Shipping-room employees handle the shipment of all products sold by the Company. Retail grocery orders filled by the other grocery-division employees may be comprised in whole or in part of macaroni and related prod- ucts manufactured in the Company's macaroni division. The Union admits to membership all persons connected with the production and shipping of macaroni, which in this case includes the employees in the grocery division, and has organized, and secured a contract cover- ing employees in. both the, macaroni and grocery divisions of another company in Chicago. There is no history of collective bargaining between *the Company and the Union or any indication that any other union is seeking or has sought, to organize any employees in either division. Under the circumstances we are of the' opinion that a unit composed of the employees in both the macaroni and grocery divisions is appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. We find' that all production and shipping employees of the Com- pany, including wholesale grocery-division employees, but excluding clerical and supervisory employees, carpenters, professional die mak- ers, engineers, firemen, electricians, truck drivers and truck drivers' helpers,: watchmen,, and porters, 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- 4401'35-42-Vol 30--20 292 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR''RELATIONS BOARD organization and to collective bargaining, and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question which has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees in the unit which we have found to be appro- priate can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. The Union requested that in the event the Board directs an elec< tion it select November 14, 1940, as the pay-roll date for' determining eligibility to vote. The Company requested that eligibility be de= termined by a current pay roll. Certain employees have been laid off subsequent to November 14th but approximately the same number of persons are on the pay roll at the present time as were' employed on that date and we find nothing in the record to warrant a de- parture from our usual practice. Accordingly, we find that those eligible to vote in the election shall be the employees in th'' appro- priate unit who were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, including employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or absent because called for military_ service, and employees who were then, or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding employees `who have since quit or been discharged for cause. Upon the basis of the above finding's 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 Chicago Macaroni Company, Chicago, Illi- nois,, within the meaning of Section 9 (c), and Section 2, (6) and (7) of the National Labor,Relations Act. 1 , „ -- , , 2. All production and,shipping employees of the'Company, includ-' ing wholesale grocery-division employees, but excluding clerical, and supervisory employees; carpenters, professional die makers, engineers, firemen, electricians, •tr ack drivers and, truck, drivers'. helpers, -watch- men, and porters constitute a unit appropriate for the , ,purposes of collective bargaining, within,the meaning of Section,;9 (b): Of,, the National Labor Relations Act. t DIRECTION OF ; ELECTION j' By' virtue "of and 'pursuant'to• the power vested in'•the' National Labor Relations' Board by Sec'tion.9''(c) of 'the National La5it Re1ii- tion"s'Act, and'pu'rsuant to Article III, Section 8, of National^Lab'or CHICAGO MACARONI COMPANY , 293 Relations 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 Chicago Macaroni Company, Chicago, Illinois, 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,'under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth 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 all production and shipping employees of the Company, in- cluding wholesale grocery-division employees, whose names appear on the pay roll of the Company immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election, including employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on, vacation or absent because called for military service, and employees who were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding clerical and supervisory employees, carpenters, professional die makers, engi- neers, firemen, electricians, truck drivers and truck drivers' helpers, watchmen, and porters, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Bakery & Confectionery Workers' International Union of America, Local 465, for the purposes of collective bargaining.