Brown Paper Goods Co.

In the Matter of BROWN PAPER GOODS Co. and UNITED PAPER NOvELTY & Toy WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL 148 (C. I. 0.) Case No. R-^'^^1.-•Decided August 02, 1941 Jurisdiction : envelope and glassine bag manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re- fusal to accord union recognition because of doubt that union represented majority ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : compositors, pressmen and feed- ers, cutters, machine adjusters, machine operators, maintenance men, porters, shipping and receiving room employees, and stock handlers at one of two buildings of the Company, excluding supervisory, office and clerical employees ; Company's contention that unit include employees at second building rejected because only one building organized by union. Mr. Otto A. Jaburek, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company. Mr. Burt J. Mason, of Chicago, Ill., for the Union. Miss Marcia Hertzmark, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On May 16, 1941, United Paper Novelty & Toy Workers Interna- tional Union, Local 148 (C. I. 0.), herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for-the Thirteenth Region (Chicago, Illinois) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Brown Paper Goods Co., Chicago, Illinois, 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 5, 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. 34 N. L. R. B., No. 93. 743 744 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On July 8, 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 23, 1941, at Chicago, Illinois, before Russell Packard, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company and the Union were represented by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full op- portunity 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 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 Brown Paper Goods Co., an Illinois corporation with its principal place of business at Chicago, Illinois, is engaged in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of envelopes and glassine bags. It operates in two buildings in the city of Chicago , one at 900 West Lake Street, where envelopes are manufactured, and another at 218 North May Street, where glassine bags are manufactured . During the year 1940, 80 per cent of the raw materials used in the manufacture of envelopes were purchased outside the State of Illinois and shipped to the Com- pany's plant in Chicago. During the same period 75 per cent of the raw materials used in the manufacture of glassine bags were pur- chased outside the State of Illinois , and shipped to the Company's plant. The gross sales of the Company for the year 1940 amounted to $800,000, of which amount 25 per cent represented products of the Company shipped to points outside the State of Illinois. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED United Paper Novelty & Toy Workers International Union, Local 148, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION During the spring of 1941 the Union began organizing the em- ployees of the Company's West Lake Street building. On April 30, 1941, the Company and the Union arranged a meeting to be held on May 6, 1941. On the following day the Company addressed a letter BROWN PAPER GOODS CO. 745 to the Union, stating that it did not believe that the Union repre- sented a majority of its employees and for that reason the Company would not enter into bargaining negotiations with the Union. There was introduced in evidence a statement by the Regional Director which indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of employees of the Company.' 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 contends that the appropriate unit should include all compositors, pressmen and feeders, cutters, machine adjusters, machine operators, maintenance men, porters, shipping- and receiving-room employees, and stock handlers, exclusive of supervisory, office, and clerical employees, at the West Lake Street building of the Company. The Company contends that the unit should include the same types of employees at both the West Lake Street building and the North May Street building of the Company. It appears that machine adjusters, machine operators, shipping- room employees and stock handlers are employed at the North May Street. building, and that the employees at North May Street are eligible for membership in the Union. Printing, billing, and pur- chasing for both plants are done at, the West Lake Street building. There would appear, therefore, to be merit to the Company's conten- tion that the employees of both buildings constitute an appropriate bargaining unit. However, the Union has organized only the em- ployees at the West Lake Street building, being currently engaged in a drive to organize envelope workers in the City of Chicago. Under these circumstances, we see no reason for depriving the em- 1 The Regional Director's statement shows that the Union submitted 32 applications for membership cards, all of which appear to be genuine. Twenty of the 32 names appear on the Company's pay roll for the week ending May 22, 1941. On the July 17, 1941, pay roll of the Company there are 51 production and maintenance employees, exclusive of super- visory and office clerical employees , at the West Lake Street building, and 50 at the North May Street building, 746 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ployees at West Lake Street of the benefits of collective bargaining until' such time as the employees at North May Street may be or- ganized also.2 Our determination herein as to the appropriate unit, however, is no bar to a later revision in accordance with changes in the status of self-organization of the Company's employees. We find that all compositors, pressmen and feeders, cutters, machine adjusters, machine operators, maintenance men, porters; shipping- and receiving-room employees, and stock handlers at the West Lake Street building of the Company, excluding supervisory, office, and clerical 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 can best be resolved by holding an election by secret ballot. The Company and the Union agreed that a current pay roll shall be used to determine those eligible to vote. - Persons eligible to partici- pate in the election shall be the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period next preceding this Direction, subject to such limitations and additions as are set forth in the Direction hereinafter. 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 at the West Lake Street building of Brown Paper Goods Co., Chicago, Illinois, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All compositors, pressmen and feeders, cutters, machine ad- justers, machine operators, maintenance men, porters, shipping- and receiving-room employees, and stock handlers, excluding supervisory, office, and clerical employees, employed at the West Lake Street building of the Company, constitute a unit appropriate for the pur- poses of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2 See Matter of Foster-Grant Co., Inc. and Local No 60, Molders Union of Leominster, affiliated to United Paper, Novelty and Toy Workers International Union ( C. I. 0.), 32 N. L R. B . 486, and cases cited therein. BROWN PAPER GOODS CO. 747 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 Brown Paper Goods Co., 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 compositors, pressmen and feeders, cutters, machine adjusters, machine operators, maintenance men, porters; shipping- and receiving-room employees, and stock handlers in the West Lake Street building of the Company who were employed dur- ing the pay-roll period next 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 services or training of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but exclud- ing supervisory, office, and clerical employees, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by United Paper Novelty & Toy Workers International Union, Local 148 (C. I. 0.), for the purposes of collective bargaining. MR. EDWIN S. SMITH took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election.