American Forge Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 6, 1942

44 N.L.R.B. 826 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter Of AMERICAN FORGE COMPANY and SPECIAL OFFICERS,
GUARDS-AND WATCH,MEN'S-UNION; LOCAL 'No. 243, BU11LDING SERVICE
EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION OF AMERICA
Case No. R-4305.Decided October 6, 1942
Jurisdiction : forgings manufacturing industry
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to accord union recognition until certified by the Board; election unneces-
sary to resolve question when union submitted application cards and Company
agreed that it might be certified without the necessity for an election.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all guards and watchmen ; stipu-
lation as to.
Mr. F.M. McAuliffe, of San Francisco, Calif., for the Company.
Mr. Frank E. Dubois, of Oakland, Calif., for the Union.
Dlr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board. .
DECISION
AND
r
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
STAIEME cT OF THE CASE •
Upon petition duly filed by Special Officers, Guards and Watchmen's
Union, Local No. 243, Building Service Employees International
Union of America, herein called the Union, alleging that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of American Forge Company, Berkeley, California, herein
called the Company, the National Labor Relations-Board providecl'for-
an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Gerald P. Leicht, Trial
Examiner. Said hearing was held at San Francisco, California, on
September 21, 1942. The Company and the Union appeared, partici-
pated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and
cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the
issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
44 N. L. R. B., No. 162.
826 .
11
AMERICAN FORGE COMPANY 827
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
American Forge, Company Is 'a California corporation with its
principal place of business at Berkeley, California, where it is engaged
in the manufacture of large forgings. During the first 6 months of
1942, the Company purchased raw materials valued at about $650,000,
approximately 20 percent of which was shipped to it, from outside Cali-
fornia. During the same period, the Company sold finished products
valued at about $1,200,000, approximately 5 percent of which was
shipped out of California. The Company admits, for the purpose of
this proceeding, that it is engaged in conunerce within the meaning
of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Special Officers, Guards and Watchmen's Union, Local No. 243,
Building Service Employees International Union of America, is a
labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. 1 HE QUESTION CON CER\ ING REPRE SENTATION
The Company refuses to recognize the Union as the exclusive
representative of certain of its employees until such time as the
Union is certified by the Board.
A statement 'of the Trial Examiner, read into evidence during the
hearing, discloses that the Union represents a majority of the em-
ployees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate.1
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) ' and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
We find, in accordance with a stipulation of the parties, that all
guards and watchmen at the Berkeley plant of the Company con-
stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining,
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
The Trial Examiner reported that the Union presented four authorization cards bearing
apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear on the Company 's pay roll
of September 19, 1942 There are six employees i n the unit hereinafter found to be
appropriate.
828 DECISIONS OF -NATIONAL LABOR =RELATIONS BOARD
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Union and the Company agreed at the hearing that the Union,
if it should present application cards to the Trial Examiner -signed
by a majority of the employees in the appropriate unit, might be
certified as, the exclusive representative of all such employees with-
out the necessity, of an election., As stated hereinaboye, the Union
presented four application cards to the Trial Examiner bearing the
signatures of persons who are in the appropriate unit. There are
six employees in the appropriate unit. The Union is, therefore, the
exclusive representative of all-employees in such unit for the purposes
of collective bargaining, and we shall so certify.
CERTIFICATION' OF REPRESENTATIVES
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 CERTIFIED that Special Officers, Guards and Watch-
men's Union, Local No. -243, Building Service Employees Interna-
tional Union of America, affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, has been designated and selected by a majority of all guards
and watchmen at the Berkeley plant of American Forge Company,
as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining, and
that; pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 (a) of the'Act, Special
Officers, Guards and Watchmen's Union, Local No. 243, Building Serv-
ice Employees International Union of America, affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor, 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. '