Acme Wire Products Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 11, 1976

224 N.L.R.B. 701 (N.L.R.B. 1976)

ACME WIRE PRODUCTS CORP
Acme Wire Products Corporation and Dura-Coat, Inc
and Miscellaneous Warehousemen , Drivers & Help-
ers Local 986, International Brotherhood of Team-
sters, Chauffeurs , Warehousemen & Helpers of
America, Petitioner. Case 21-RC-14359
June 11, 1976
DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF
REPRESENTATIVE
By MEMBERS FANNING, PENELLO, AND WALTHER
Pursuant to a Stipulation for Certification Upon
Consent Election, an election by secret ballot was
conducted on January 8 and 9, 1976, among the em-
ployees in the stipulated unit described below The
tally of ballots furnished the parties showed that of
approximately 102 eligible voters, 100 cast ballots, of
which 65 were for and 32 against the Union, and 3
were challenged The challenged ballots were not suf-
ficient in number to affect the results of the election
Thereafter, the Employer filed objections asserting
that the Union's leaflets prevented a free and un-
trammeled choice of the bargaining representative
In accordance with the National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations, the Regional Director
conducted an investigation and, on February 24,
1976, issued and duly served on the parties his Re-
port on Objections wherein he found as follows
In support of its objections, the Employer present-
ed only one leaflet which was distributed to the em-
ployees by the Union on or about October 14, 1975
In that leaflet, it stated that "having representation
by the [Union] mean[s] having a written contract"
which provides for elimination of merit reviews and a
diversity of benefits, including job security, wage in-
creases, a variety of health, welfare, and pension ben-
efits, sick leave, and more holidays
The principal thrust of the Employer's objections
to the statements made by the Union is that such
representattions are false, fraudulent, materially de-
ceptive, and otherwise illegal
With respect to the benefits which the Union is
alleged to have promised, it is clear that the state-
ments made by the Union do not exceed the bounds
of privileged campaign propaganda Employees are
generally able to understand that a union cannot ob-
tain benefits automatically by winning an election,
but must seek to achieve them through collective bar-
gaining However, assuming arguendo that there were
misrepresentations made by the Union in the leaflet,
701
the Employer had almost 3 months before the elec-
tion to reply thereto
With respect to other material mailed or otherwise
conveyed to the employees by the Union, the latter
furnished copies thereof to the Regional Director
who found nothing therein which would be in con-
flict with the Board's guidelines in Hollywood Ceram-
ics Company, Inc, 140 NLRB 221 (1962), Modme
Manufacturing Company, 203 NLRB 527 (1973), and
subsequent cases
The Employer filed exceptions which were limited
to the Regional Director's disposition of its objec-
tions with respect to the leaflet discussed above
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au-
thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board
finds
1 The Employer is engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the Act and it will effectuate the pur-
poses of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein
2 The Union is a labor organization claiming to
represent certain employees of the Employer
3 A question affecting commerce exists concern-
ing the representation of the employees of the Em-
ployer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and Sec-
tion 2(6) and (7) of the Act
4 The parties stipulated, and we find, that the fol-
lowing employees of the Employer constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 8(b) of the Act
All production and maintenance employees,
coaters, packers and finishers, shipping and re-
ceiving employees, warehousemen, and truck-
drivers employed by the Employer at its facility
located at 12822 Monarch Street, Garden
Grove, California, but excluding all other em-
ployees, office clerical employees, professional
employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in
the Act
5 The Board has considered the objections, the
Regional Director's report, and the exceptions, and
hereby adopts the Regional Director's findings, con-
clusions, and recommendations t
Accordingly, as the tally shows that the Union ob-
tained a majority of the valid ballots cast, we shall
certify it as the exclusive bargaining representative of
the employees in the unit found appropriate
As noted above, the Employer excepted to the Regional Directors dis-
position of the objections concerning the leaflet but not as o his findings
concerning other campaign material of the Union
224 NLRB No 105
702 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVE men & Helpers of America, and that, pursuant to
Section 9(a) of the National Labor Relations Act, as
amended, the said labor organization is the exclusive
It is hereby certified that a majority of the valid representative of all the employees in the unit found
ballots have been cast for Miscellaneous Warehouse- appropriate herein for the purposes of collective bar-
men, Drivers & Helpers Local 986, International gaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of
Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehouse- employment, or other conditions of employment