American National Insurance Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 19, 1946

69 N.L.R.B. 745 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of AMERICAN NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY and
INDUSTRIAL AND ORDINARY INSURANCE AGENTS' COUNCIL, AFL
Case No. 20-R-1688. Decided July 19, 1946
Mr. W. L. Volger, of Galveston, Tex. ; Mr. W. B. Handley, of Dallas,
Tex.; Messrs. Knight, Boland, and Riordan, by Mr. J. W. Radii, of
San Francisco, Calif., for the Company.
Mrs. I. B. Pad'way, of Washington, D. C., and San Francisco, Calif.,
and Mr. Gene de Christo f aro, of San Francisco, Calif., for the AFL.
Mr. Richard Lewis, of San Francisco, Calif., for the CIO.
Mr. Benj. E. Cook, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by Industrial and Ordinary Insurance
Agents' Council, AFL, herein called the AFL, alleging that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of American National Life Insurance Company, Galveston,
Texas, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations
Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before
William T. Whitsett, Trial Examiner. The hearing was held at San
Francisco, California, on May 21, 1946. The Company, the AFL, the
Insurance Division, Professional Workers of America, CIO, herein
called the CIO appeared and participated. All parties were afforded
full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses,
and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Exam-
iner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and
are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded opportunity to file
briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
American National Insurance Company, a Texas corporation with
its principal place of business located at Galveston, Texas, is engaged
69 N. L. R. B., No. 88.
745
746 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
in the business of selling life insurance in 31 States of the United
States and the District of Columbia. At the close of the fiscal year
ending December 31, 1945, the Company had policies in force with a
total face value of $1,356,976,729. On December 31, 1945, the Com-
pany's total assets, consisting of cash, bonds, stocks, and mortgage
loans amounted to $176,081,229.80. The Company maintains bank
accounts in all States where it sells insurance and it purchases securi-
ties in a majority of such States. In the State of California, the only
State in which its operations are affected by this proceeding, the
Company has in force approximately 10 percent of its insurance
policies.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Industrial and Ordinary Insurance Agents' Council is a labor or-
ganization, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admit-
ting to membership employees of the Company. Insurance Division,
United Office and Professional Workers of America is a labor organi-
zation, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, ad-
mitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTON CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to the AFL as the
exclusive bargaining representative of the Company's industrial
agents until the AFL 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 Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The parties agree that the Company's industrial insurance agents,'
excluding supervisors, cashiers, and clerks, constitute a unit appropri-
ate for the purposes of collective bargaining. They disagree, how-
ever, as to the geographical extent thereof. The AFL and the Com-
pany contend that the unit should comprise the entire State of Cali-
fornia ; the CIO requests a unit limited to the district offices in Los
Angeles. The Company maintains 13 district offices in the State of
California.'
1 Only those agents engaged in the sale and handling of industrial life insurance, as
distinguished from ordinary life insurance, are involved in this proceeding.
2 The district offices are located at Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Glendale, Pasadena, San
Diego, Huntington Park, Santa Ana, Oakland, Los Angeles (two offices), Fresno, Sacra-
mento, and Long Beach.
AMERICAN NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY 747
The CIO argues that because its organizational campaign has been
confined to two of these districts and in view of the fact that previous
organization among the Company's agents has progressed on a dis-
trict basis, the two Los Angeles District offices constitute an appro-
priate bargaining unit. However, in the absence of unusual or ex-
tenuating circumstances,' and we find none in the instant case, we are
of the opinion that State-wide bargaining units for insurance agents
are more practicable for collective bargaining purposes 4 Moreover,
the Board customarily will not predicate its unit finding on the extent
of one union's organization where, as here, organization of employees
by a rival union has been effected on the basis of a broader and more
appropriate bargaining unit.5 Accordingly, we find that a less than
State-wide unit is inappropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
We find that all industrial insurance agents employed by the
Company in the State of California, excluding superintendents, as-
sistant superintendents, clerks, cashiers, and all supervisory employees
with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise
effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend
such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among employees
in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period
immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein,
subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. In
accord with the requests made by the AFL and the CIO at the hearing,
we shall designate them on the ballot as Industrial and Ordinary In-
surance Agents' Council, AFL, and Insurance Division, United Office
and Professional Workers of America, CIO, respectively.
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 9, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with American National
Cf. Matter of The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, 57 N. L. R. B. 1439.
Matter of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 56 N. L. R. B. 1635; Matter of The
National Life and Accident Insurance Company, 57 N. L. R. B. 1119.
See Matter of Minneapolis Honeywell Regulator Company, 66 N. L. R. B . 314, and
vases cited therein.
748 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Insurance Company, 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 Twentieth Region, acting in this matter as
agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article
III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among em-
ployees 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 temporarily
laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United
States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding
those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause
and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election,
to determine whether they desire to be represented by Industrial and
Ordinary Insurance Agents' Council, AFL, or by Insurance Division,
United Office and Professional Workers of America, CIO, for the
purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.