Gatke Corp.

In the Matter of GATKE CORPORATION and FEDERAL LABOR UNION #22421 OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR Case No. R-2334.-Decided March 2., 1941 Jurisdiction : asbestos friction products, brake lining, timing gear, and non- metallic bearing manufacturing industry Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re- fusal to accord union recognition in the absence of certification by the Board; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em- ployees excluding supervisory and clerical employees. Mr. J. Edward Headley, of Warsaw, Ind., and Fyffe c Clarke, by Mr. John Harrington, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company. Mr. Stanton A. Sweeney and Mr. Hugh Gormley, of Indianapolis, Ind., for the Union. , Mr. Robert D. Allen, of counsel to,the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On December 18, 1940, Federal Labor Union #22421 of the Ameri- can Federation of Labor, herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Eleventh Region (Indianapolis, Indiana) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce -had' arisen con- cerning the representation of employees of Gatke Corporation, War- saw, Indiana, herein called the Company, and requesting an investi- gation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On February 3, 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 Relations Board_Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. On February 6, 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 .18, 30 N. L. R. B., No 75. 514' GATKE CORPORATION 515, 1941, at Warsaw, Indiana, before Arthur R. Donovan, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Com- pany and the Union were represented by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross- examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing upon the issues was afforded all parties. During the'course ofthe hearing-the Trial Examiner made several rulings on objections to the admission of evi- dence. 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 THE COMPANY Gatke Corporation is engaged at its plant at Warsaw, Indiana,, in the manufacture of asbestos friction products, brake lining, tim- ing,gears, and non-metallic bearings. ..In the manu<facturing.process the Company uses raw materials consisting of compounds, crude rubber, crude asbestos, cotton cloth, asbestos cloth, and asbestos yarn. More than 50 per cent of these raw materials are obtained by the Company outside the State of Indiana. More than 50 per cent of the Company's finished products are sold by it and shipped to pur- chasers outside the State of Indiana. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Federal Labor Union #22421 of the American Federation of Labor is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On or about December 5, 1940, a meeting was held between officials of the Company and the Union at which the Company refused the Union's request for recognition as the collective bargaining repre- sentative of its employees in the absence of certification by the Board. It appears from a statement made by the Trial Examiner at the hearing that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit herein after found to be appropriate.' ' The Trial Examiner stated that 60 signed membership application cards, the signa- tures on which appeared to be genuine , original signatures , had been submitted to him by the Union and that the Company had submitted$its pay roll of January 31, 1941 ; that 48 of the cards appeared to be signed by persons whose names appeared on the pay roll ; and that of those 48, 42 were dated in August and September 1940 and 6 were undated. The pay roll contained the names of 123 employees 440135-42-Vol 30-34 .516 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD We find that a question has arisen concerning representation of ,employees of the Company.' IV.. THE , EFFECT OF TIIE 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 rela- tion 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 In its petition the Union stated that the unit appropriate- for the -purposes of collective bargaining consists of all production a.nd maintenance employees, excluding supervisory and clerical employees. At the hearing it appeared that by the term "clerical emlloyees" the Union meant office clerical employees and that the Union does not ,desire to exclude from the unit any employees connected directly with production and maintenance whose work might be of a clerical nature. The Company makes no contention with respect to the unit. We find' that the production and maintenance employees of the `Company, excluding supervisory and office clerical employees, con- stitute 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. 7 HE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. The Company requests that if the Board directs an election, eligi- bility of employees to vote therein should be determined by the Com- pany's pay roll nearest to the date of such election. The Union asks that the pay roll for the period ending December 31, 1940, be used to determine those eligible to vote. The record shows that between December 5, 1940, and February 18, 1941, the number of the Com- pany's employees at the Warsaw, Indiana, plant, increased by from 10 to 12 per cent and that the Company anticipated, a further gradual increase. . Under these 'circumstances we see no reason for departing from our usual practice., We shall direct that the employees within the appropriate unit who were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of GATKE CORPORATION 517 Election, with the inclusions and exclusions noted in our Direction, shall be eligible to vote. 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 Gatke Corporation, Warsaw, Indiana, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. .2. The production and maintenance employees of the Company, excluding supervisory and office clerical employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the 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, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor 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 Gatke Corporation, Warsaw, Indiana, 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 super- vision of the Regional Director for the Eleventh 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 the production and maintenance employees of Gatke Corpo- ration, Warsaw, Indiana, who were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including those who did not work during such,pay-roll period because they were ill or'on vacation or absent because called for military service, and those who were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding supervisory and office clerical employees, and those who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Federal Labor. Union #22421 of the ,American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining. ,