A. Gross Candle Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 20, 1947

72 N.L.R.B. 879 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter of A. Gross CANDLE COMPANY, INC., EMPLOYER and
CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS, PETITIONER
Case No. 5-R-P2832.-Decided February 20,19417
Messrs. Joseph T. Brennan and Charles Ruzicka, of Baltimore, Md.,
for the Employer.
Messrs. Frank J. Bender and Robert J. Brylke, of Baltimore, Md.,
for the Petitioner.
Mr. Jerry Wohlmuth , of counsel to the Board.
DECISION -
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
Upon a petition duly filed, the National Labor Relations Board on
November 13, 1946, conducted a prehearing election among employees
of the Employer in the alleged appropriate unit to determine whether
or not they desired to be represented by the Petitioner for the purposes
of collective bargaining.
At the close of the election, a Tally of Ballots was furnished the
parties. The Tally shows that, of the approximately 80 eligible voters,
67 cast ballots, of which 51 were for the Petitioner, 8 were cast against
Petitioner, 7 ballots were challenged, and 1 ballot was void. There-
after, a hearing was held at Baltimore, Maryland, on December 27,
1946, before Earle Shame, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings
made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
A. Gross Candle Company, Inc., is a Delaware corporation operating
its sole plant and offices in Baltimore, Maryland, where it is engaged
in the manufacture of church candles. Raw materials utilized
annually by the Employer are valued in excess, of $100,000, of which
72 N L. R. B, No. 148.
879
731242-47-vol 72-57
880 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
50 percent originates outside the State of Maryland. Finished
products manufactured annually by the Employer are valued in excess
of $150,000, approximately 50 percent of which is shipped to points
outside the State.
H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Congress of Industrial Organizations is a labor o'r,0,,l1l1Zat loll
admitting to membership employees of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the
Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The parties are generally in agreement that the appropriate unit
should be composed of all production and maintenance employees,
excluding office clericals, maintenance engineers, powerhouse engineers
and powerhouse relief engineers , watchmen and supervisory em-
ployees. They are in dispute, however, as to the status of certain
employees hereinafter discussed.
Petitioner challenged the ballots of Anna Karpiewicz, Josephine
Szczpanik, Jessie Kordek, and Henry Harmen on the grounds that
they possess supervisory authority. However, pursuant to a stipula-
tion between the parties, the challenges were withdrawn and no evi-
dence was introduced to indicate that these employees possess super-
visory status within the Board's customary definition thereof.
Accordingly, we shall include the four above-named employees in the
init.
We find that all production and maintenance einployees,1 excluding
office clericals, manhtenance engineers, pmverhouse engineers and pow-
erhouse relief engineers, watchmen, and all supervisory employees with
authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect
changes iii the status of employees, or effectively recommend such
action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
Indu ing Anna Karpiew l ez, Josephine Szczpanik, Jessie Kordek, and Henry Harmer
A. GROSS CANDLE COMPANY, INC. 881
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPIIESENTATIVES
The Employer objects that the election should not have been held
until unfair labor charges previously filed by the Petitioner against
the Employer had been disposed of by the Board. Inasmuch as, the
Petitioner filed a waiver of any right to urge any of the matters con-
tained in these charges as the basis for objections to any election, or
to the result thereof, we find no merit in this contention.' l
We also reject the Employer's contention that the election should
be set aside for the reason that the clay before the election the Peti-
tioner distributed a circular to the employees which stated that the
Employer owned another plant in Newark, New Jersey, and that
better working conditions prevailed there than in Baltimore as a
result of a bargaining agreement with the C. I. O. The evidence
adduced at the hearing indicates that the Petitioner acted in good
faith in assuming the Employer still controlled the Newark Plant,
since the Employer's letterhead, which is still in use, displays the
picture and address of this plant. Moreover, the objection otherwise
lacks merit because the Board held that, absent such statements as
would prevent the employees from exercising a free choice in an
election, it does not function to weigh the truth or falsity of mere
campaign propaganda, or to censor the enthusiastic efforts of union
adherents to win others to their cause.3
1 Inasmuch as the results of the election held prior to the hearing
show that the Petitioner has received a majority of the valid votes
cast and that the challenged ballots are insufficient in number to affect
the results of the election, we shall not direct that the challenged
.ballots be opened and counted, but will certify the Petitioner as the
bargaining representative of the Employer's employees.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
IT Is AEIIEBY CERTIFIED that the Congress of Industrial Organizations
has been designated and selected by a majority of all production and
maintenance employees of A. Gross Candle Company, Inc., Baltimore,
Maryland, excluding office clericals, maintenance engineers, power-
house engineers and powerhouse relief engineers, watchmen, and all
".]latter of Teesdale lllanufoctv,ing Company, 71 N L It B 932
Matter of May/wood Aosicry. Inc, 64 N L R B 146
4 With respect to the three ballots challenged by the Employer. the parties stipulated at
the hearing that two of these challenges should be sustained because they involve em-
ployees who had been discharged poor to the election The Employee withdrew the chal-
lenge to the ballot cast by Anthony Buda, since investigation disclosed that his name was
inadvertently left off the eligible list
882 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, disci-
pline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effec-
tively recommend such action, as their representative for the purposes
of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the
Act, the said organization is the exclusive representative of all such
employees for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to
rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of
employment.
CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Certification of Representatives.