Armour and Co. of Delaware

In the Matter of ARMOUR AND COMPANY OF DELAWARE and MEAT CUTTERS & BUTCHER WORKMEN OF NORTH AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE A. F. OF L. Case No. R-2896.-Decided September 13, 1941 Jurisdiction : meat packing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re- fusal of Company to accord union recognition until certified by the Board ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em- ployees at the Knoxville , Tennessee, branch house of the Company, including truck drivers, assistant shippers , but excluding supervisory and clerical employees and outside salesmen. Mr. Paul E. Blanchard, of Chicago Ill., for the Company'-* Mr. Lee A. Jordan, of Birmingham, Ala., for the Union. Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On July 2, 1941, Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Tenth Region (Atlanta, Georgia) a petition alleging that a question affecting com- merce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Armour and Company of Delaware,' Knoxville, Tennessee, 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 July 25, 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 1 Incorrectly designated in the formal papers as Armour & Co ., and corrected by motion at the hearing. 35 N. L. R. B., No. 86. 409 410 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon' due notice. On August 13, 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 August 21, 1941, at Knoxville, Tennessee, before Earle K. Shave, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company was represented by counsel and the Union by its repersentative; both participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to ex- amine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bear- ing on the issues was afforded all parties. 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 THE COMPANY Armour and Company of Delaware is engaged in packing and distributing meats and meat products. This proceeding is con- cerned solely with the Company's branch house at Knoxville, Tenn- essee. During 1940 this branch house sold about 8,000,000 pounds of meat, 90 per cent of which was shipped to it from points outside the State of Tennessee. Approximately 15 per cent of the meats and meat products sold by the Company during this period were shipped by it to points outside the State of Tennessee. The Company admits, for the purposes of this proceeding, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of ° Labor, admitting to membership employees at the Knoxville branch house of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION During June 1941, the Union, claiming to represent a majority of the employees at the Knoxville branch house of the Company, re- quested the Company to recognize it as the exclusive representative of such employees. The Company denied this request until such ARMOUR AND COMPANY OF DELAWARE 411 time as the Union is certified by the Board. A statement of the Trial Examiner introduced in, evidence shows that the Union repre- sents a substantial number of employees in the alleged appropriate unit.2 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 Company and the Union agree that all production and main- tenance employees at the Knoxville branch house of the Company, including truck drivers, but excluding supervisory and clerical em- ployees and outside salesmen, constitute an appropriate unit. In addition, the Union seeks to exclude seven persons from the unit. The Company takes no position with respect to these seven employees. Henry Slover, Paschal Smith, and John Henry are classified by the Company as calf skinner, beef boner, and extra lugger, respec- tively. Although these three persons do not work full time for the Company, they are employed an average of 2 days per week and are always called when the Company has work for which they are quali- fied. Under the circumstances, we find that Henry Slover, Paschal Smith, and John Henry should be included in the unit. The Company has four employees classified by it as assistant shippers., The Union contends that these employees should be ex- cluded because their duties are supervisory in nature. These em- ployees are charged with the duty of checking products in and out, of the Company's branch house, and they direct the truck drivers and luggers in the delivery and storage of merchandise. It appears that they spend about 50 per cent of their time doing office work and about 50 per cent of their time actually lugging beef. We find that the assistant shippers should be included in the unit. 2 The Trial Examiner stated that the Union presented to him 17 application -for-mem- bership cards bearing the names of persons who appear on the July 16, 1941 , pay roll of the Company. There are 29 employees on this pay roll who are in the alleged appropriate unit. 412 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD We find that all production and maintenance employees at the Knoxville branch house of the Company, including truck drivers, assistant shippers, Henry Slover, Paschal Smith, and John Henry, but excluding supervisory and clerical employees and outside sales- men, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees of the Com- pany the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to col- lective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by the holding of an election by secret ballot. The Company and the Union agreed at the hearing that, in the event the Board directs an election, eligibility to vote should be determined by the Company's pay roll for the period ending -Au- gust 16, 1941. We shall direct that the employees eligible to vote in the election shall be those° in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period ending August 16, 1941, subject to such limitations and additions as are set forth in the Direction. The Union stated that it desires to appear on the ballot as "Amal- gamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America, Knox- ville Local No. 59, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor." The request is hereby granted. 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 Armour and Company of Delaware, Knoxville, Tennessee, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Sec- tion 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All production and maintenance employees at the Knoxville branch house of the Company, including truck drivers, assistant shippers, Henry Slover,, Paschal Smith, and John Henry, but ex- cluding supervisory and clerical employees and outside salesmen, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain- ing, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations 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 Rela- tions Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of ARMOUR AND COMPANY OF DELAWARE 413 National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby, DIRucTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Armour and Company of Delaware, Knoxville, Tennessee, 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 Tenth 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 maintenance employees at the Knoxville branch house of the Company who were employed during the pay-roll period ending August 16, 1941, including truck drivers, assistant shippers, Henry Slover, Paschal Smith, John Henry, 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 train- ing of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding super- visory and clerical employees, outside salesmen, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or. not they desire to be represented by Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America, Knoxville Local No. 59, affili- ated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining.