Armour & Company

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 30, 1938

10 N.L.R.B. 912 (N.L.R.B. 1938)

In the Matter of ARMOUR & COMPANY and AMALGAMATED MEAT CUT-
TERS AND BUTCHER WORKMEN OF NORTH AMERICA, LOCAL No. 235
Case No. R-1040.-Decided December 30, 1938
Meat Packing Industry-Investigation of Representatives: controversy con-
cerning representation of employees: controversy concerning appropriate unit;
employer's refusal to grant recognition of union-Unit Appropriate for Collec-
tive Bargaining: production and maintenance employees, including extra em-
ployees, but excluding supervisors, clerical employees, truck drivers, watchmen,
and extra hide employees-Elections Ordered
Mr. William A. Babcock, for the Board.
Mr. Arthur L. Capps, of Spokane, Wash., for the Company.
Mr. Alfred B. Jussett, of Seattle, Wash., for the Amalgamated.
Mr. R. W. Atkinson, of Seattle, Wash., for the United.
Mr. Harry E. Selekmzan, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On May 19, 1938, Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Work-
men of North America, Local No. 235, herein called the Amalga-
mated, filed with the Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region
(Seattle, Washington), a petition alleging that a question affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of
Armour & Company, Spokane, Washington, herein called the Com-
pany, and requesting an investigation and certification of representa-
tives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,
49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On September 24, 1938, 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 1,
as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional
Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice.
On September 27, 1938, the Regional Director issued a notice of
hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the
10 N L. R. B., No. 80.
912
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 913
Amalgamated, and the United Packing House Workers Local Indus-
trial Union No. 763, herein called the United, a labor organization
claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation.
Pursuant to the notice, a hearing v. as held on October 3, 1938, at
Spokane, Washington, before Martin Raphael, the Trial Examiner
duly designated by the Board. The Board, the Company, the Amal-
gamated, and the United were represented 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 Ex-
aminer made several rulings on motions and on objections to the ad-
mission 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 & Company, an Illinois corporation, operates at Spokane,
Washington, a meat-packing plant, at which it purchases and slaugh-
ters livestock, and processes and distributes various products and by-
products. About 31 per cent of the livestock processed at the plant
originates in Idaho, Oregon, and Montana. The Company sends out-
side of Washington about 40 per cent of the finished products. Ap-
proximately 275 production and maintenance workers are employed
by the Company at the Spokane plant.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North Amer-
ica, Local No. 235, is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, admitting to its membership production and
maintenance employees of the Company, excluding supervisors, cleri-
cal employees, and truck drivers.
United Packing House Workers Local Industrial Union No. 763 is
a labor organization affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Or-
ganization. It admits to its membership production and maintenance
employees of the Company, excluding supervisors, clerical employees.
and watchmen.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
During the months of April, May, June, and July, 1938, the Com-
pany had several meetings with officials of the Amalgamated. At
914 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
these conferences the Amalgamated claimed it represented a majority
of the employees of the Company and submitted a contract providing-
for the recognition of the Amalgamated as the exclusive bargaining
agent of all the employees of the Company. The Company refused to,
grant this right to the Amalgamated until it was certified by the
Board. To prevent a strike which the Amalgamated threatened to,
call on July 24, the Company granted certain demands of the Amal-
gamated.
On September 22, 1938, the United sent a letter to the Company stat-
ing that it represented the employees of the Company and requesting
that the Company sign a national wage contract with the Packing
House Workers Organizing Committee., The Company denied the
request of the United in a letter from R. H. Cabell, the president of
the Company, to Van A. Bittner, chairman of the Packing House
Workers Organizing Committee.
We find that a question has arisen concerning 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 re-
lation 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
All parties agreed at the hearing that the appropriate unit should
include the production and maintenance employees, exclusive of
supervisors and clerical workers. It was also agreed that employees
classified on the pay roll as extra employees 2 should be included
within the unit and that employees designated as extra hide em-
ployees 9 should be excluded from the unit. The parties differ, how-
ever, with regard to the inclusion or exclusion of watchmen and
truck drivers.
'Although the letter sent by the United States requested a Nation-wide contract with the
Company , officials of the United asserted at the hearing that they assented to a bargaining
unit composed of employees at the Spokane plant for the purposes of this proceeding
2 The record shows that the Company maintains a seniority list of such employees ; that
they are repeatedly called by the Company during busy seasons ; and that they are given
work before any new employees are taken on
8 These persons are employed by the Company about eight times a year but for periods
of only 2 or 3 weeks. - -
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 915;
The United and the Company desire the truck drivers included
within the unit, whereas the Amalgamated desires such employees-
excluded. The United states that the truck drivers are members of-
Its organization , that vacancies in driver positions are filled by the-
production employees, and that under the old Conference Board
Representation Plan the truck drivers were represented along with-
the other employees. In support of its contention , the Amalgamated
urges that the truck drivers are ineligible to its membership and_
that they are salaried employees with hours of work differing from-
those of the production employees.
The positions of the parties are reversed as regards the watchmen..
The United and the Company desire such employees excluded from-
the unit, whereas the Amalgamated wants them included. The-
United bases its contention on the ground that the watchmen are-
salaried employees having the power to recommend the dismissal of
employees for infractions of the Company 's rules. The Amalgamated
states in support of its position that the watchmen are eligible to its,
membership.
Under all the facts, we feel that the interests of the truck drivers-
and watchmen are such that they might appropriately be included in
a unit with the general production and maintenance employees in the-
absence of any objection on the part of a labor organization which is
a party to the proceedings . We also feel , however, that such em-
ployees occupy a status differing somewhat from that of the other
employees and that they should not be included in a unit with the
other employees where, as in the instant case, one of two rival labor
organizations object to their inclusion within the unit. We shall,_
therefore , exclude the truck drivers and watchmen from the unit.
We find that all the production and maintenance employees of the
Company, including extra employees, but excluding supervisors , cler--
ical employees , truck drivers , watchmen , and extra hide employees,,
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the-
full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bar-
gaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
At the hearing the Company introduced in evidence two pay rolls,-
one for May 9, 1938 , and one for October 1 , 1938. The_ Amalgamated
and the United agreed that the .pay ,roll of October 1, '1938, might
appropriately be used for the purposes--of this proceeding. The
Company raised no objection to the use of the pay roll -of October 1,.
1938, which contains the names of 339 employees within the appro-
priate unit.
916 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Amalgamated submitted in evidence a list containing the names
of 178 persons, who had signed either membership cards or peti-
tions designating the Amalgamated as their bargaining representa-
tive. The United submitted in evidence a list containing the names
of 93 persons who were declared to be members of the United. A
comparison of the two lists and the pay roll of October 1, 1938,
shows that the names of 37 persons within the appropriate unit ap-
pear on both lists and on the pay roll; that the names of approxi-
mately 111 persons within the appropriate unit appear only on the
Amalgamated's list and on the pay roll; and that the names of ap-
proximately 56 persons within the appropriate, unit appear only on
the United's list and on the pay roll. It is clear, therefore, that
neither the Amalgamated nor the United has clearly established that
it represents a majority of the employees within the appropriate unit.
We find, therefore, that the question which has arisen concerning the
representation of employees of the Company can best be resolved
by the holding of an election by secret ballot. The persons eligible
to vote in the election shall be those employees of the Company
within the appropriate unit who were employed by the Company
during -the pay-roll period of October 1, 1938, excluding those who
have since quit or been discharged for cause.
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 & Company, Spokane, Washing-
ton, 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, including extra em-
ployees, but excluding supervisors, clerical employees, truck drivers,
watchmen, and extra hide 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 1, as
amended , it is hereby
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 917
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation ordered by the Board to
ascertain representatives for the purpose of collective bargaining with
Armour & Company, Spokane, Washington, an election by secret
ballot shall be conducted within fifteen (15) days from the date
of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional
Director for the Nineteenth 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 main-
tenance employees of the Company who were employed during the
pay-roll period of October 1, 1938, including extra employees, but ex-
cluding supervisors, clerical employees, truck drivers, watchmen, and
extra hide employees, and those who have since quit or been dis-
charged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented
-by Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North
America, Local No. 235, or by United Packing House Workers Local
Industrial Union No. 763, for the purposes of collective bargaining,
or by neither.
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