Wheeling Corrugating Co.

In the Matter of WHEELING CORRUGATING COMPANY and INTERNA- TIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS, LOCAL UNION No. 541, AFFILIATED WITH THE AMER- ICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR Case No. R-2825.-Decided August 15,1941 Jurisdiction : metal products warehousing and selling industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: Com- pany refused to accord union recognition until certified by the Board; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all manual labor warehouse em- ployees and truck drivers, excluding office, clerical, and supervisory em- ployees, salesmen, watchmen, and janitors ; stipulation as to. Mr. George A. Neal, of Wheeling, W. Va., and Mr. W. Wamsley, of Kansas City, Mo., for the Company. Mr. J. M. Joyce, of Kansas City, Mo., for the Union. Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On June 12 and 21, 1941, respectively, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers, Local Union No. 541, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Seventeenth Region (Kansas City, Missouri) a petition and an amended petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Wheeling Corrugating Company, Kansas City, Missouri, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Sec- tion 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On July 11, 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 Notional Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an in- vestigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. 34N.L R B,No.51 309 451269-42-vol. 34--21 310 . DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On July 23, 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 July 30, 1941, at Kansas City, Missouri, before Clarence D. Musser, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company and the Union were represented and participated in thb hearing. Full oppor- tunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing 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 evdience. 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 Wheeling Corrugating Company is a West Virginia corporation with its principal office at Wheeling, West Virginia. This proceeding is concerned solely with one of its warehouses located at North Kansas City, Missouri, where it is engaged in the warehousing, selling, and distributing of sheet metal, sheet metal products, wire, and wire products. During the first 6 months of 1941, the Company shipped to its North Kansas City, Missouri, warehouse products valued in excess of $450,000, over 80 per cent of which were shipped from points outside the State of Missouri. During the same period, merchandise valued in excess of $500,000, constituting about 90 per cent of the Company's total sales from its North Kansas City warehouse, were shipped from the North Kansas City warehouse to points outside the State of Missouri. The Company admits that it is engaged in interstate corn- merce within the meaning of the Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehouse- men and Helpers, Local Union No. 541, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. It admits to mem- bership employees at the North Kansas City warehouse of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On June 11, 1941, the Union, claiming to represent a majority of the employees at the North Kansas City warehouse of the Com- pany, requested the Company to recognize it as the exclusive repre- WHEELING CORRUGATING COMPANY 311 sentative of such employees. The Company denied this request until such time as the Union was certified by the Board. A statement of a Field Examiner, introduced in evidence at the hearing, shows that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit alleged 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 Company and the Union stipulated at the hearing, and we find, that all manual labor warehouse employees and truck drivers at the North Kansas City warehouse of the Company, excluding office, clerical, and supervisory employees, salesmen, watchmen, and janitors, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain- ing. We further find that such 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 can best be resolved by the holding of an election by secret ballot. We shall direct that all employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to such limita- tions and additions as are set forth in the 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 Wheeling Corrugating Company, Kansas 1 The Field Examiner reported that the Union presented 16 application for membership cards bearing the names of persons who appear on the Company 's pay roll of June 21, 1941. There are 22 employees on this pay roll who are in the alleged appropriate unit. 312 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD City, Missouri, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 ( 6) and ( 7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All manual labor warehouse employees and truck drivers.at the North Kansas City warehouse of the Company, excluding office, clerical, and supervisory employees, salesmen, watchmen, and janitors, 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, 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 Wheeling Corrugating Company, Kansas City, Missouri, 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 Seven- teenth 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 manual labor warehouse employees and truck drivers at the North Kansas City warehouse of the Company who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including 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 office, clerical, and supervisory employees, salesmen, watchmen, janitors, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by International Brotherhood of Team- sters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers, Local Union No. 541, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining. Mu. EDWIN S. SDIITH took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election.