Moulton Ladder Manufacturing Co.

In the Matter of MOULTON LADDER MANUFACTURING COMPANY and UNITED FURNITURE WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL 136-B (C. I. 0.) Case No. R-2J47.Decided May 8, 1941 Jurisdiction : ladder, clothes dryer, and rigging manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re- fusal to accord union recognition ; persons hired during strike and retained as permanent employees after strike settled and strikers reinstated, entitled to vote in election ; election necessary. - Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em- ployees, including shipping employees, blacksmiths, watchmen, engineers, and yardmen, and excluding executives, supervisory employees, clerical em- ployees salesmen, truck drivers, and Worcester Division employees. Mr. Edward Schneider, for the Board. Mr. George A. McLaughlin, of Boston, Mass., for the Company. Mr. Sidney S. Grant, of Boston, Mass., for the Union'. Mr. Sidney L. Davis, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OR ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On March 3, 1941, United Furniture Workers of America, Local 136-B (C. I. 0.), herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the First Region (Boston, Massachusetts) a petition, and on March 10, 1941, an amended petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em- ployees of Moulton Ladder Manufacturing Company, herein called the Company, at, its plant at Somerville, Massachusetts, and re- questing 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 26, 1941, the National Labor Re- lations 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, or- dered an investigation and ,authorized the Regional Director to con- duct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. 31 N. L. R. B., No. 108. - 665 666 DECISIONS OF,NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On March 27, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the Union. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on April 3, 1941, at Boston, Massachusetts, before Gustaf B. Erickson, the Trial Ex- aminer duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Board, the Company, and the Union were represented by counsel and par- ticipated in the' hearing.,' Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. At the close of the hearing, the Company moved to dismiss the petition.. Ruling thereon was referred to the Board. The motion is hereby denied. During the course of the hearing, the Trial Examiner made various rulings on other mo- tions 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. After the hearing, the Company and 'the Union submitted briefs which the Board has considered. On April 22, 1941, upon request of the Company, and pursuant to notice duly served upon the parties, a hearing for the purpose of oral argument was held before the Board at Washington, D. C. The Company and the Union appeared, presented oral argument, and otherwise participated in the hearing. Upon the entire record in the case the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Moulton Ladder Manufacturing Company, a Massachusetts cor- poration with its principal office and plant at Somerville, Massa- chusetts, is engaged in the, manufacture, sale, and distribution of ladders, ladder products, clothes driers, casters, and rigging. It has a small branch at Worcester, Massachusetts, and an affiliate in New York City. In 1939 the Company purchased materials and supplies in the amount of $185,000, 94 per cent of which were purchased and received from outside the State of Massachusetts. The total value of finished products during that year was $384,000, of which 57 per cent were shipped to places outside the State of Massachusetts. At the hearing, the Company stipulated that at the present time its business and op- erations, including its purchases and sales within and without the State of Massachusetts, are substantially the same as they were during 1939. i MOULTON LADDER MANUFACTURING CO. H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED 667 United Furniture Workers of America, Local 136-B (C. I. 0.) is a labor organization affiliated with United Furniture Workers of America, which is in turn affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations. It admits to membership employees of the Company at its plant at Somerville, Massachusetts. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On August,31, 1940, the Board directed an election among the employees of the Company to determine whether or not they desired representation by the Union.- Upon the basis of the results of that election, the Board, on November 29, 1940, dismissed the petition filed by the Union.2 Thereafter the Union attempted to secure additional members, and on March 1, 1941, it notified the Company by letter that it represented a majority of its employees and requested a conference for the purpose of negotiating an agreement and settling a strike which had been called by the Union on February 26 and was then in progress. The Company did not reply to ,this letter. -Thereafter the Union filed its petition and amended petition herein. 'There was introduced in evidence a report prepared by the Field Examiner for the Board showing that the Union represents a sub- stantial number of employees in the unit found below to be ap- propriate 3 f 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, occuring 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. 'Matter of Moulton Ladder Manufacturing Company and United Furniture Workers of America, Local 136-B (C. I. 0.), 27 N. L. R. B. 40., 2Id., 28 N. L. it. B., No. 35. The Field Examiner reported that 40 of 70 employees within the appropriate unit on the Company's pay roll of February 21, 1941 , had signed a petition reaffirming their membership in the Union. 668 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD V. TAE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Company and the Union agree that the production and main- tenance employees, including shipping employees, blacksmiths, watchmen, engineers, and yardmen, and excluding executives, super- visory employees, clerical employees, salesmen, truck. drivers, and Worcester Division employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. The Board found this unit to be appropriate' in its prior decision involving the same parties 4 We find that the production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Somerville plant, including shipping employees, blacksmiths, watchmen, engineers, and yardmen, and excluding execu- tives, supervisor employees, clerical employees, salesmen, truck driv- ers, and Worcester Division employees, 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- organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen cari best be resolved by the holding of an election by secret ballot. As noted above, the Union called a strike on February 26, 1941. On March 31, while the strike was still in progress, the Company hired 10 additional employees. Upon the termination of the strike on April 15, the Company reinstated all the strikers, except one who had been previously discharged for alleged inefficiency. How- ever, the Company also retained as permanent additions to the staff the 10 persons hired during the strike.' The Union requests that the employees hired during the strike should not be allowed to vote, and that a pay roll immediately preceding the strike be used for deter- mining eligibility to vote in the election. Considering all the cir- cumstances, we are of the opinion that the employees hired during the strike are entitled to participation in the election.5 We' shall use, as the date for determining the eligibility of employees to vote, the pay roll next preceding the date of the Direction of Election, subject to such limitations and additions as are set forth in the Direction. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact, and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: ' See footnote 1, supra. 5 See Matter of National Mineral Company and Chrome Furniture Handlers and Mis- cellaneous Crafts Union, Local of the Upholsterers' International Union, affiliated with the Amertoan Federation of Labor, etc ., 25 N. L R. B. 3. MOULTON LADDER ' MANUFACTURING CO. 669 CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees at the Somerville plant of Moulton Ladder Manufacturing Company, Somerville, Massachusetts, within the meaning of-Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. The production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Somerville plant, including ' shipping employees, blacksmiths, watchmen, engineers, and yardmen, and excluding executives, super- visory employees, clerical employees, salesmen, truck drivers, and Worcester Division 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, 49 Stat. 449, 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 Moulton Ladder Manufacturing Company,, Somer- ville, Massachusetts, 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 of Election, under the direction and supervi- sion of the Regional Director' for the First Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and sub- ject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among the production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Somerville plant, who were employed during the pay-roll period next preceding the date of this Direction, including shipping em- ployees, blacksmiths, watchmen, yardmen, engineers,'and employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or training of the- United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, and also' excluding executives, supervisory employees, clerical employees, salesmen, truck- drivers, and Worcester Division employees, to- determine whether or not such employees desire to be represented by United Furniture Workers of America, Local 136-B (C. I. 0.), for the purposes of collective bargaining. -