American Cyanamid and Chemical Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 3, 1942

43 N.L.R.B. 919 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter of AMERICAN CYANAMID AND CHEMICAL CORPORATION and
GAS, COKE & CHEMICAL WORKERS, LOCAL No. 12119, AFFILIATED WITH-
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF GAS, COKE AND CHEMICAL WORKERS and
DISTRICT 50, UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, C. I. O.
Case No. RE-11,1.-Decided September 3, 1942
Jurisdiction : chemical manufacturing industry
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question:
refusal to recognize either of two rival unions until certified by the Board;
contract which had terminated by reason of notice given by contracting union
held no bar ; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all hourly paid production and
maintenance employees at one of Company's plants, including guards, but
excluding foremen, supervisors, office, workers, chemists and laboratory
assistants.
Mr. Robert E. Dickman, for the Board.
Mr. Henry C. Little, of New York City, for the Company.
Mr. Vernon Ford, of Chicago, Ill., for District 50.
Mr. Cecil A. Martin", of Joliet, Ill., for the National Council.
Mr. Eugene Cotton, of Washington, D. C., for Local 12119, National
Council.
Mr. Ben Law, of counsel to the'Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by American Cynamid and Chemical Cor-
poration, Joliet, Illinois, herein called the Company, alleging that a
question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation
of employees of the Company, the National Labor, Relations Board
provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before George
Bokst, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chicago, Illinois,
on July 9, 1942. The Board; the Company; District 50, United Mine
Workers of America, herein called District 50; and National Council
of Gas, Coke, and Chemical Workers, herein called the National Coun-
cil, appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be
43 N. L R. B, No. 158.
919
920 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD-
,heard, to examine>and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evi-
dence bearing upon the issues . The Trial Examiner's rulings made at
the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to notice , a hearing was duly held before the Board in
Washington, D. C., on August 6,1942, for the purpose of oral.argument.
The Company and Gas, Coke & Chemical Workers, Local No. 12119,
affiliated with the National Council of Gas,. Coke and Chemical'Work-
ers, herein called Local 12119 , National Council, appeared and par-
ticipated in the argument. ,
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY'
Atherican Cyanamid and Chemical Corporation is a Delaware cor-
poration engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of chemi-
cals, throughout the United States and in several foreign countries.
This case involves only the Company's plant located at Joliet, Illinois.
During the first 6 months of 1942, raw materials valued at more than
$50,000 were purchased for use at the Joliet plant. -About 95 percent
of such raw materials was shipped to the plant from points outside the
State of, Illinois. During the same period, finished products valued
at more than, $100,000 were produced at the Joliet plant. About 50
percent of such finished products was shipped directly to points 'outside
the State of Illinois. A substantial proportion of the remaining
finished products was sold to firths in Illinois for use, in the Inanuifac-
ture of munitions which were ultimately shipped outside the State.
About -80 percent of the production at the Joliet plant is directly
connected with the war effort.
11. TIIE bRGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Gas, Coke &, Chemical 'Workers, Local No. 12119, affiliated with
National Council of Gas, Coke and Chemical Workers, is a labor or-
ganization admitting to -membership employees of the Company.-
'-National Council- of Gas, Coke and Chemical Workers is -an inde- -
pendent labor organization.
District 50, United Mine Workers of America, is a labor organization
affiliated with the the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting
to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On February-28,1939, the Board certified.Local 12119,,Gas,-C6ke, and
Chemical Workers Union District No. 50, United Mine Workers of
AMERICAN CYANAMID AND CHEMICAL CORPORATION 921
America, herein called Local 12119, District 50, as the collective bar=
gaining representative of, employees within an appropriate unit at the
Company's Joliet plant..' Local 12119, District 50, and the Company
thereafter entered into a collective bargaining contract which was
renewed or renegotiated from time to time. On July 1, 1941, the same
parties executed a ,new contract containing the following provision as
to termination :' -
Subject to the terms hereof, this Contract shall be and remain in
full force and effect until June 30, 1942, and indefinitely thereafter
until either party shall have given the other at least thirty (30)
days written notice of its intention to terminate the same, where-'
upon this, Contract shall terminate on the date fixed in said notice,
except as hereinafter provided. .
The parties shall confer at least ten (10) days prior to the date
set by such notice for termination, for the purpose of negotiating
a new contract or a modification of this Contract and during such
negotiations this Contract shall remain in full force and effect.
On May 28, 1942, District 50 wrote to the Company that, pursuant
to sections of the contract providing for further negotiations on wage,-
rates in the event of an increase in the cost of living, it wished to
meet with the Company to discuss wages, hours, and working con=
ditions. On June 2, 1942, Local 12119, District 50, gave the Company
written notice of termination of the contract.
At a meeting on June 6, 1942, by •a vote of a majority of its mem-
bers, Local 12119, District 50, adopted the following resolution':
Be it RESOLVED, (1) that this Local hereby severs its relation-
ship with and surrenders its charter to District #50. of the
United Mine Workers of America and directs' its Local officers to
take all necessary steps for the effectuation of this severance and-
surrender; and (2) This Local Union authorizes and directs its'
officers to make immediate application for a charter of affiliation
with the National Council of Gas, Coke and Chemical Workers;
and (3) This Local Union and all its membership shall continue
in existence and operation in accordance with its rules and by-
laws heretofore adopted excepting only such changes as may he
necessary in connection with the foregoing provisions of this
resolution and this Local shall retain and continue all of its assets
and liabilities and all rights vested in it by contract or law.
Pursuant to the foregoing resolution, on or about June 8, 1942,
officers of Local 12119 applied for a charter from the National Council
and on June 12, 1942, they returned to District 50 the latter's charter
1 Matter of American Cyanamid and Chemical Corporation and Local 12119, Gas, Coke and
Chemical Workers Union , District No 50, United Mine Workers of, America , 11 N L It B 803.
922 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and seal. Thereafter, Local 12119 received a charter, dated June 15,
1942, from the National Council. On June 17, 1942, Local 12119,
National Council, notified the Company of the resolution adopted on
June 6, 1942, by Local 12119, District 50. Following its receipt of the
foregoing communication, the Company informed both District 50 and
Local 12119, National Council, that it would not bargain with either as
the representative of employees at its Joliet plant until. the question
concerning representation had been settled by the Board. On June 22,
1942, the Company filed-its petition herein.
A report prepared by the Regional Director, and introduced in
evidence at the hearing, indicates that Local 12119, National Council,
represents a substantial number of the employees in the unit herein-
after found appropriate.' District 50 contends, inter alia, that the
contract of July 1, 1941, is now in effect and operates as a bar to this
proceeding. We find that the contract terminated 30 days after the
notice of termination given by Local 12119, District 50, and that the
contract is therefore no bar to a present determination of representa-
tives. Even 'if it be assumed, however, as District 50 contends, that
the contract continued, it is now terminable, by its terms, at any time
upon 30 days' notice by either party. Such a contract does not pre-
clude the Board from determining a question concerning representa-
tion., I -
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meanilig
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor
Relations Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
I
All parties agreed at the hearing that the appropriate unit should
include all hourly paid production and maintenance employees at the
Company's Joliet plant, exclusive of foremen, supervisors, office work-
ers, chemists, and laboratory assistants. The only question raised is as
2 The Regional Director reported that ( a) Local 12119 . National Council , submitted to
him 149 cards bearing the following designation form •.
I hereby request and accept membeislup of my own free will, in the Local Union com-,
posed of employees of the American Cyanamid' and Chemical Coipoiation, at its Joliet
Plant, with whatever National or International affiliation voted upon by that body-
------------------------------ -------------------------- - ----
Date - Signature
(b) All of the 14(1 cards bore appauently genuine original signatures and were signed
after Local 12119 took action to disaffiliate itself from District 50 and before it was
chartered by the National Council ,
(c) One hundred and forty-four of the 149 cards bear signatures corresponding with
names appearing on the Company's pay roll for June 18, 1942, which lists 148 employees
within the unit alleied in the petition to be appropriate
District 50 stated at the hearing that it did not submit punof of repiesentation because it
considered that it was party to a valid, existing contract with the Company
3 Matter of Phelps Dodge Ilefieing Lo) porn atlon and Intern national Limon of Mine, Mill and
Smelter Workers , C. 1. 0 , 40 N L It B 1159 , and cases cited therein.
AMERICAN CYANAMID AND CHEMICAL CORPORATION 923
to the inclusion of guards, whose duty it is to protect the premises
and equipment at the plant. Four such guards were employed by the
Company at thetime of the hearing. The evidence shows that, during
the past -6 months, ,the Company has placed the guards in uniform and
has been required to certify to the Department of War or the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, that they are citizens of the United States,
physically fit, capable,of the use of firearms, and that they guard the
plant as premises engaged in war production. The Company desires
their exclusion from the unit on the ground that war-time conditions
place them in a position of great importance in the effective prosecution
of the war program on the production front. Both District '50 and
the National Council desire that the guards be included in the unit.
The four guards in the Company's employ at-the time of the hearing
were the same persons employed in that capacity prior to the war and
their duties have remained essentially the same. They were included
in the unit under the contracts between the Company and Local 12119,
District 50. Prior to June 1942, all the guards were members of Local
12119, District 50, and they thereafter joined Local 12119, National
Council. We sllaltinclude'the guards in the unit.
We find that all hourly paid production and maintenance employees
at the Company's plant in Joliet, Illinois, including guards, but ex-
cluding foremen, supervisors, office workers, chemists, and laboratory
assistants, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.,
V. TILE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of our Direction, of Elec-
tion herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in said,
Direction.
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 Relations 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 to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with American Cyana-
mid and Chemical Corporation, Joliet, 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
924 ,DECISIONS OF, NATIONAL .LABOR RELATIONS BOARD_
in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and
subject to Article III, Section 9, of'snid Rules and Regulations, among
the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who
were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the
date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during
said 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 employees who have since quit or been dis-
cha"rged-for cause,•to determine whether 'they desire to be represented
by District 50, United Mine Workers of America, or Gas, Coke &
Chemical Workers, Local No. 12119, affiliated with the National
Council of Gas, Coke and Chemical Workers, for the purposes 'of
collective bargaining, or by neither.