Armour & Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 24, 1939

16 N.L.R.B. 345 (N.L.R.B. 1939)

In the Matter of ARMOUR & COMPANY and. UNITED PACKINGHOUSE
WORKERS LOCAL INDUSTRIAL UNION No. 347, THROUGH P. W. O. C.,
AFFILIATED WITH THE C. I. O.
Case- No. R-1561.-Decided October 24, 1939.
Meat Pact: inj Jades fry-Investigation of Representatives : controversy con-
cerning representation of employees ; rival organizations ; refusal of the Com-
pany to recognize petitioning union as bargaining agency of employer-Unit
Appropriate for Collective Bargaining: production and maintenance employees.
including general office and dressing -room janitors and matrons , garage me-
chanics and helpers, plant storeroom employees , production and maintenance
employees at the Ashland cold storage freezer, and employees in the meat
market, but excluding supervisors , foremen, and assistant foremen , clerical and
office workers , timekeepers , steady-time checkers and scalers , firemen, police-
men, and watchmen , guides, student employees , medical-department employees,
teamsters and chauffeurs , bricklayers , safety inspectors , chemists and tech-
nicians. employees in the plant restaurant, Morris garage and parking-lot
employees , street cleaners , messengers , tel-autograph employees , lable-storage
department enmployees , and stationery -department employees-Representatives:
conflicting claims of two labor organizations-Election Ordered
Mr. Isaiah S. Dorfmnan, for the Board.
Mr. Walter C. Kirk, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company.
Mr. John J, Brownlee , of Chicago , Ill., for the United.
Mr. Redmond S. Brennan , of Kansas City, Mo., and Mr. Joseph
Stanley Sullivan, of Chicago , Ill., for the, Amalgamated.
Mr. Harry E. Selekman , of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On October 3, 1939, United Packinghouse Workers Local Industrial
Union No. 347, of the Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee,
herein called the United; filed with the 'Regional Director for the
Thirteenth Region (Chicago, Illinois) a petition alleging that a
question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representa-
tion of employees of Armour and Company, Chicago, Illinois,' herein
I Designated as "Armour & Company" in the petition and the notice of hearing.
16 N. L. R. B., No. 39.
30
346 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification
of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On October 6,
1939, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board,
acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section
3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series
2, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to
conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On October 9, 1939, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear-
ing, copies of which were duly served -upon the Company, the United,
and Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North
America, Local 661, herein called the Amalgamated. On October 10,.
1939, the Regional Director issued an amended notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the United, and
the Amalgamated. On October 12, 1939, the Regional Director issued
an order postponing the date of the hearing. Pursuant to the order,
a hearing was held on October 18, 1939, at Chicago; Illinois, before
Gustaf B. Erickson, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the,
Board. At the beginning of the hearing a petition for intervention
filed by the Amalgamated was allowed by the Trial Examiner. The
Board, the Company, the, United, and the Amalgamated were.repre-
sented by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity
to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce
evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. During the
course of the hearing, the Trial Examiner made several rulings on
motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board
has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no
prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Armour and Company, an Illinois corporation, having its principal
office and place of business at Chicago, Illinois, operates 28 meat-pack-
ing houses in 22 States and about 30 branch houses throughout the
United States. The Union Stockyards packing house at Chicago,:
Illinois, is the only plant herein involved. At this plant, the Com
pany purchases, assembles, and slaughters livestock, and processes,;
manufactures, and distributes various meat products and byproducts.
thereof.
Over 3,000,000 animals, having a -N^a1ue of approximately $66,-
000,000 were purchased and slaughtered by the Company at the
Chicago plant during the fiscal year ending October 31, 1938. The
ARMOUR & COMPANY 347
.livestock was purchased principally' through commission men doing
business in Chicago. Approximately' 60 per cent of the cattle, 40 per
cent of the calves, 60 per cent of the hogs, and 80 per cent of the sheep
originated outside Illinois.
The total volume of all products and byproducts distributed from
the Chicago plant during the aforesaid fiscal year amounted to ap-
proximately 900,000,000 pounds. About 85 per cent of such products
and byproducts were shipped outside Illinois.
Approximately 7,500 production and maintenance workers are
employed at the Chicago plant.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
.
United Packinghouse Workers Local Industrial Union No. 347,
of the Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee, is a labor organ-
ization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admit-
ting to its membership hourly paid and piece-work production and
maintenance employees of the Company at the Chicago plant.
Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North Amer-
ica, Local 661, is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor. It admits to its membership production and
maintenance employees of the Company at the Chicago plant.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On December 30, 1938, the Board certified the United as the ex-
clusive bargaining representative for the production and maintenance
employees of the Company at the Chicago plant.2 'Because of the
refusal of the Company to recognize the United as the exclusive bar-
gaining representative in the Chicago plant pursuant to that certifi-
cation, the Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee threatened
to call a national strike of the employees in all the packing houses of
the Company. In order to avert such a strike, the Secretary of Labor
held negotiations with officials of the Company and the United.
Thereafter, the Secretary of Labor notified Van A. Bittner, the chair-
man of the Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee, by a letter
dated September 20, 1939, that an understanding had been reached
with the officials of the Company whereby the Company agreed to an
election in the Chicago plant under the auspices of the Board as soon
as the terms could be worked out. On October 2, 1939, the Company
informed the Regional Director of its agreement to participate in an
2 Matter of Armour & Company and Packing house Workers Organizing Committee for
United Packi-ng House Workers, Local 31,7; Matter of Armour & Company and United
Packing House Workers Local Industrial Union 347, through Packing House Workers
Organi:in.,g Committee, affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization, 10
N. L. R. B. 891.
348 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
election provided certain conditions were met. On October 3, 1939,
the United filed its petition for investigation and certification.
Since the certification of the United, the Amalgamated, which did
not participate in the prior proceedings, has claimed that it represents
a majority of the employees of the Company and has demanded
exclusive bargaining rights.
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of
employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and
tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
In its petition the United alleged the appropriate unit to be "the
unit found to be appropriate by the Board in Case No. R-584,3 but
also including general office and dressing-room janitors and matrons;
garage mechanics and helpers; plant storeroom employees; and pro-
duction and maintenance employees at the Ashland Cold Storage
freezer." The Company raised no objections to the unit set forth
by the United. At the hearing all the parties further agreed to
include employees in the meat market in the unit. The Amalga-
mated agreed to the unit as proposed by the United, except for tiie
exclusion of the steady-time checkers and scalers. The Amalgamated
contended that such employees should be included in the unit. The
record reveals that the steady-time checkers and scalers are salaried
employees who perform mainly clerical duties and who work under
different conditions from those of other production employees. More-
over, on occasions they exercise a certain degree of supervision over
the other checkers and scalers. In view of these facts we are of the
opinion that the steady-time checkers and scalers should be excluded
from the unit.
3 The appropriate unit in Case No. R-584 was as follows : The production and mainte.
nance employees of the company, excluding supervisors , foremen , and assistant foremen,
clerical and office workers, timekeepers , steady -time checkers and scalers , general office and
dressing-room janitors and matrons , firemen , policemen , and watchmen , guides, student
employees, medical-department employees, teamsters and chauffeurs, garage mechanics and
helpers . bricklayers , safety inspectors , plant storeroom employees , chemists and techni-
cians, employees in the plant restaurant and meat market, Morris garage and parking-lot
employees , street cleaners , employees at the Ashland cold storage freezer, messengers,
tel-autograph employees, label-storage department employees, and the stationery-department
employees.
ARMOUR & COMPANY 349
We find that the production and maintenance employees of the
Company, including general office and dressing-room janitors and
matrons, garage mechanics and helpers, plant storeroom employees,
production and maintenance employees at the Ashland cold storage
freezer, and employees in the meat market, but excluding supervisors,
foremen, and assistant foremen, clerical and office workers, timekeep-
ers, steady-time checkers and scalers, firemen, policemen, and watch-
men, guides, student employees, medical-department employees, team-
sters and chauffeurs, bricklayers, safety -inspectors, chemists and
technicians, employees in the plant restaurant, Morris garage and
parking-lot employees, street cleaners, messengers, tel-autograph em-
ployees, label-storage department employees and the stationery-de-
partment employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees
of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization
and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of
the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
At the hearing, witnesses for the United testified that it had 5,600
signed membership cards but did not introduce them in evidence. The
Amalgamated claimed that it represented a majority of the employees
but introduced no membership cards in support of this statement. We
find therefore that the question which has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees can best be resolved by holding an election by
secret ballot.
At the hearing the Company stated that a pay roll no older than
four weeks from the time of the election should be used to determine
the eligibility of the employees, and that no employee who had been
laid off, and therefore whose name would not appear on the pay roll
adopted by the Board, should be allowed to vote. The United con-
tended that all employees who were laid off and still retained their
seniority rights should be allowed to participate in the election.
The pay roll of the Company for the week ending September 30,
1939, which was produced at the hearing, contained the names of
approximately 7,277 production and maintenance employees. W. S.
Renfro, the general superintendent of the Chicago plant, testified that
this pay roll was a representative one. None of the parties disputed
this testimony: By adopting this pay roll to determine eligibility of
the employees to vote, the contention of the United that laid-off em-
ployees should be included, is obviated as to all employees laid off
subsequent to September 30, 1939. As to the employees laid off prior
to that date the record reveals that employees who have been laid
off for a period of less than 60 working days retain their seniority
1350 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
rights and privileges in the Company's employ. In view of the inter-
mittent fluctuations. in the size of the Company's working.force we
regard such employees as entitled to participate in the selection of
representatives. We shall direct that employees of the. Company
within the appropriate unit who were employed by the Company dur-
ing the pay-roll period of September 30,1939, including employees who
did not work during the pay-roll period because they were ill or on
vacation and those who had been laid off prior to said pay-roll period
but who have not been laid off for a period of 60 consecutive working
days prior to'the date of the Direction of Election herein, but exclud-
ing any such employees who have since quit or been discharged for
cause, shall be eligible to vote in the election.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Armour and Company, Chicago, Illinois,
within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The production and maintenance employees of Armour and Com-
pany, Chicago, Illinois, including general office and dressing-room
janitors and matrons, garage mechanics and helpers, plant storeroom
employees, production and maintenance employees at the Ashland
cold storage freezer, and employees in the meat market, but excluding
supervisors, foremen, and assistant foremen, clerical and office work-
ers, timekeepers, steady-time checkers, and scalers, firemen, policemen
and watchmen, guides, student employees, medical-department em-
ployees, teamsters and chauffeurs, bricklayers, safety inspectors,
chemists and technicians, employees in the plant restaurant, Morris
.garage and parking-lot employees, street cleaners, messengers, tel-
autograph employees, label-storage department employees, and the
stationery-department employees, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
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 Rela-
. tions Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of
National. Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2. it
.is hereby .
ARMOUR & COMPANY 351
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with Armour
and Company, Chicago, 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 of Election, under the direction and.
supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region, acting.
in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and
subject to. Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations,
among the production and maintenance employees, including general
office and dressing-room janitors and matrons, garage mechanics and.
helpers, plant storeroom employees, production and maintenance em-
ployees at the Ashland cold storage freezer, and employees in the
meat market of the Company, who were employed by the Company
during the pay-roll period of September 30, 1939, including employees
who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill
or on vacation and those who had been laid off prior to said pay-roll
period and who had not been laid off for a period of 60 consecutive
working days prior to the date of the Direction of Election, but
excluding supervisors, foremen, and assistant foremen, clerical and
office workers, timekeepers, steady-time checkers and scalers, firemen,
policemen, and watchmen, guides, student employees, medical-depart-
ment employees, teamsters and chauffeurs, bricklayers, safety inspec-
tors, chemists and technicians, employees in the plant restaurant,
Morris garage and parking-lot employees, street cleaners, messengers,
tel-autograph employees, label-storage department employees, the sta-
tionery-department employees, and employees who have since quit
or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be
represented by United Packinghouse Workers Local Industrial Union
No. 347, of the Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee, or by
Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North Amer-
ica, Local 661, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
[SAME TITLE]
AMENDMENT TO DECISION AND DIRECTION OF
ELECTION
October 27, 1939
On October 24, 1939, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the
above-entitled case. The Direction of Election provided that the
election should be held as soon as possible but not later than thirty
(30) days from the date of the Direction of Election among the
16 N. L. R. B., 39a.
352 DECISIONS OF -NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
employees of Armour and Company, Chicago, Illinois, herein called
the Company, who were employed by the Company during the pay-
roll period ending September 30, 1939, in the unit found appropriate
therein, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director
for the Thirteenth Region (Chicago, Illinois). The Regional Di-
rector has notified the Board that the use of the September 30, 1939,
pay-roll period to determine eligibility to vote is no longer feasible.
Accordingly, we hereby amend our Decision by striking therefrom
the second and third paragraphs in Section VI and substituting
therefor the following paragraph :
At the hearing, W. S. Renfro, the general manager of the
Company, testified that the September 30, 1939, pay roll was a
representative one. None of the parties disputed this assertion.
It further appears that the parties agreed that, in case another
pay roll should be chosen to determine the eligibility of the em-
ployees to participate in the election, the Regional Director
might be allowed to select the pay roll for any pay-roll period
ending not more than 30 days prior to the date of the election.
We shall adopt the terms of this agreement and provide that the
election must be held within 30 days from the date of the Direc=
tion of Election. The record reveals that employees who worked
60 days acquired seniority rights which they retained until they
had been laid off for a period of 60 consecutive working days.
The Company argued that any laid-off employee whose name did
not appear on the pay roll adopted by the Regional Director
should not be allowed to vote. The United contended, however,
that the employees who had been laid off but who still retained
their seniority rights should be allowed to participate in the elec-
tion. In view of the intermittent fluctuations in the size of the
Company's working force, we regard such laid-off employees as
entitled to participate in the selection of representatives. We
shall, therefore, direct that employees of the Company within
the appropriate unit, who were employed during the pay-roll
period to be designated by'the Regional Director (provided that
the designated pay roll shall be for a pay-roll period ending not
more than 30 days prior to the election), including employees
who did not work during the designated pay-roll period because
they were ill or on vacation, and also including employees who
had acquired seniority rights but who did not work during the
designated pay-roll period and who had been laid off during,
but not more than, 60 working days prior to the date of the elec-
tion, but excluding any such employees who have since quit or `
been discharged for cause, shall be eligible to vote in the election.
^t^RMOL711 ,& COMPANY 353
The Board, having further considered the matter, hereby amends
the third sentence of Section V of its Decision to read :
At the hearing, all of the parties further agreed to include
employees in the meat market in the unit and to exclude garage
mechanics and helpers.
The Board hereby amends the second paragraph of Section V of
its Decision and the second numbered conclusion of law thereof, so
that the appropriate unit shall be defined therein as:
the production and maintenance employees of the Company,
including general office and dressing-room janitors and matrons,
plant storeroom employees, production and maintenance employ-
ees at the Ashland cold storage freezer, and butchers in the retail
meat market, but excluding supervisors, foremen, and assistant
foremen, clerical and office workers, timekeepers, steady-time
checkers and scalers, firemen, policemen, and watchmen, guides,
student employees, medical department employees, teamsters and
chauffeurs, garage mechanics and helpers, bricklayers, safety in-
spectors, chemists and technicians, employees in the plant restau-
rant, Morris garage and parking lot employees, street cleaners,
messengers, tel-autograph employees, label storage department
employees, and the stationery department employees.
In accordance with the foregoing amendments to its Decision, the
Board hereby amends its Direction of Election to read:
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, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section
8, of National Labor' Relations Board Rules and Regulations-
Series 2, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the
Board to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with
Armour and Company, Chicago, 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 of Election,
under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for
the Thirteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the
National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sec-
tion 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among the production and
maintenance employees, including general office and dressing-
room janitors and matrons, plant storeroom employees, produc-
tion and maintenance employees at the Ashland cold storage
freezer, butchers in the retail meat market of the Company, who
were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period to be
designated by the Regional Director (provided that the desig-
354 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Hated pay roll shall be for a pay-roll period ending not more
than thirty (30) days prior to the election), including employees
who did not work during the designated pay-roll period because
they were ill or on vacation, and also including employees who
had acquired seniority rights but who did not work during the
designated pay-roll period and who had been laid off during,
but not more than, sixty (60) working days prior to the date of
the election, but excluding supervisors, foremen, and assistant
foremen, clerical and office workers, timekeepers, steady-time
checkers and scalers, firemen, policemen, and watchmen, guides,
student employees, medical-department employees, teamsters and
chauffeurs, garage mechanics and helpers, bricklayers, safety in-
spectors, chemists and technicians, employees in the plant res-
taurant, Morris garage and parking-lot employees, street clean-
ers, messengers, tel-autograph employees, label-storage department
employees, the stationery-department employees, and employees
who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine
whether they desire to be represented by United Packinghouse
Workers Local Industrial Union No. 347, of the Packinghouse
Workers Organizing Committee, or by Amalgamated Meat. Cut-
ters and Butcher Workmen of North America, Local 661, for
the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.