B. F. Goodrich Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 8, 1974

209 N.L.R.B. 1175 (N.L.R.B. 1974)

B. F. GOODRICH TIRE CO.
B. F. Goodrich Tire Company, a Division of the B. F.
Goodrich Company and Chauffeurs, Teamsters,
Warehousemen and Helpers Local Union No. 414,
a/w International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of Ameri-
ca, Petitioner . Case 25-RC-5467
April 8, 1974
DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF
REPRESENTATIVE
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS
FANNING AND JENKINS
Pursuant to a Stipulation for Certification Upon
Consent Election executed by the parties on Septem-
ber 19, 1973, an election by secret ballot was
conducted on November 1, 1973, under the direction
and supervision of the Regional Director for Region
25. At the conclusion of the election, the parties were
furnished a tally of ballots which showed that of
approximately 34 eligible voters, 33 cast ballots, of
which 18 were for the Petitioner, none was for the
Intervenor,' and 15 ballots were cast against any
participating labor organizations. There were no void
or challenged ballots. Thereafter, the Employer filed
timely objections to conduct affecting the results of
the election.
In accordance with the National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations, the Regional Director
conducted an investigation, and thereafter, on
November 27, 1973, issued and duly served on the
parties his Report on Objections, in which he
recommended that the sole objection be overruled
and that a Certification of Representative be issued.
Thereafter, the Employer filed timely exceptions to
the Regional Director's report, together with sup-
porting briefs.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the Act and it will effectuate the
purposes of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein.
2. The Union is a labor organization claiming to
represent certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concern-
ing representation of certain employees of the
Employer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and
Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
I United Rubber, Cork , Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America,
AFL-CIO
2 414U.S 270 (1973).
9 163 NLRB 1019.
1175
4. The parties have agreed, and we find, that the
following employees constitute an appropriate unit
for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act:
All quality control men, draftsmen, tire construc-
tion technicians, senior lab technicians, and lab
technicians employed by the Employer at its plant
at U.S. Highway 24 East, Woodburn, Indiana;
BUI EXCLUDING all senior production technicians,
all senior quality control men, all office clerical
employees, all guards, all professional employ-
ees, and supervisors as defined in the Act,
and all other employees.
5. The Board has considered the Regional Direc-
tor's report, the Employer's exceptions together with
briefs, and the entire record in this case and hereby
adopts the Regional Director's findings, conclusions,
and recommendations for the reasons set forth
below.
In the briefs filed in support of its exceptions to the
Regional Director's report, the Employer asks us to
consider its exceptions in light of the recent Supreme
Court decision in N.L.R.B. v. Savair Mfg. C0.2 The
Regional Director based his recommendations on
our DIT-MCO, Inc.33 decision which was overturned
by the Supreme Court in Savair.
In the instant case the Employer objected to
certain conduct by the Petitioner which it felt
interfered with the employees' free choice in the
election. In his investigation, the Regional Director
found that the Petitioner had told the employees that
after the election they would be permitted to join the
Union for a fee of $10 instead of the standard $50
initiation fee. The Petitioner's secretary-treasurer
admitted that he had told the employees they could
join at this reduced rate, as it was the Union's
standard practice to accept new groups of employees
at the lower rate.
We see nothing in the Petitioner's conduct which is
objectionable under Savair, supra. The practice of
offering special reduced rates during an organiza-
tional campaign has long been one of the Union's
traditional methods of enhancing its appeal to
employees. We have never found such conduct to be
objectionable where, as here, it was an unconditional
offer not dependent upon how an employee voted.'
Neither do we feel that this position is affected by the
Supreme Court in Savair. In forbidding the union
offer of reduction or elimination of initiation fees on
condition the employee sign an authorization card
prior to the election, the Supreme Court denied
4 Weyerhaeuser Company, 146 NLRB 1: Gilmore Industries, Inc. 140
NLRB 100, The Gruen Watch Company, The Gruen National Watch Case
Company, 108 NLRB 610
209 NLRB No. 182
1176 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
unions the right to "buy endorsements and paint a
false portrait of employee support during its election
campaign." 5 However, the Court did recognize that
initiation fees could be an artificial obstacle to an
employee's endorsement of a union with which he
was in sympathy. It further recognized that the
Union had a legitimate interest in removing such an
obstacle through the waiver of its initiation fees and
that this interest could be "preserved . . . by waiver
of initiation fees available not only to those who have
signed up with the union before an election but also
to those who join after the election."6 Thus, where a
union offered to waive its initiation fees for all the
employees in the unit who joined at anytime during
the organizational stage of representation, prior or
subsequent to the election, such waiver was legiti-
mate and did not affect the election. That is the
situation presented-to us here and we find that the
Petitioner did nothing improper by informing the
employees in the unit of the reduced initiation fee.
Accordingly, as we have overruled the Employer's
objection, and the tally of ballots shows that the
Union has received a majority of the valid ballots
cast , we shall certify it as the exclusive bargaining
representative for the employees in the unit found
appropriate herein.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVE
It is hereby certified that a majority of the valid
ballots have been cast for Chauffeurs, Teamsters,
Warehousemen and Helpers Local Union No. 414,
a/w International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauf-
feurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, and
that, pursuant to Section 9(a) of the National Labor
Relations Act, as amended, the said labor organiza-
tion is the exclusive representative of all the
employees in the unit found appropriate herein for
the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to
rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, or other
conditions of employment.
5 414 U.S. at 274.
6 Id at 272, fn 4