Barrett Equipment Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 7, 1948

76 N.L.R.B. 1219 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of BARRETT EQUIPMENT COMPANY, EMPLOYER and
MERRILL W. KNIPMEYER AND GEORGE W. SCOTS, EMPLOYEES, PETI-
TIONERS and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS DISTRICT
No. 9, AND INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, UNIONS
Case No. 14-RD-3.-Decided April 7, 1948
Messrs. Charles H. Spoehrer and John Chura, of St. Louis, Mo., for
the Employer.
Messrs. Merrill W. Knipmeyer and George W. Scots, of St. Louis,
Mo., for the Petitioners.
Mr. Cody Quinn, of St. Louis, Mo., for the Machinists.
Mr. Melroy Horn, of St. Louis, Mo., for the Teamsters.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon decertification petition duly filed, hearing in this case was
held at St. Louis, Missouri, on January 8, 1948, before Harry G.
Carlson, hearing officer.' The hearing officer's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Barrett Equipment Company, a Missouri corporation, has its office
and principal place of business in St. Louis, Missouri, where it is
engaged in the manufacture and sale of automotive brake service
equipment.
During the past year the Employer purchased, for use in its opera-
s ions at the St. Louis plant, raw materials valued in excess of $500,000,
' Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case
to a three-man panel consisting of Board Members Houston, Reynolds, and Gray.
76 N. L. R. B., No. 173.
1219
781902-48-vol 76-78
1220 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
of which approximately 25 percent was received from points outside
the State of Missouri. During the same period the Employer sold
from the St. Louis plant finished products valued in excess of $1,000,-
000, of which approximately 90 percent was shipped to points outside
the State of Missouri.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE PARTIES INVOLVED
The Petitioners, employees of the Employer, assert that the unions
named below are no longer the representatives of the Employer's
employees as defined in Section 9 (a) of the Act, as amended.
International Association of Machinists District No. 9, an un-
affiliated labor organization, herein called the Machinists, and Inter-
national Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and
Helpers of America, a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, herein called the Teamsters, are the recognized
bargaining representatives of the employees of the Employer. The
Machinists and the Teamsters collectively are called the Intervenors
herein.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On May 22; 1947, the Employer and the Intervenors entered into a
collective bargaining contract for the period to November 15, 1947,
renewable, thereaf ter for 1 year unless written notice was given by
either the Employer or the Intervenors at least 30 days prior to such
termination date of a desire to amend or cancel the contract. On
September 15, 1947, the Employer notified the Intervenors that it
desired to terminate the contract, and on September 16, 1947, the
Intervenors notified the Employer that they desired to amend the
contract. No further negotiations were conducted between the Em-
ployer and the Intervenors. On November 14, 1947, the instant peti-
tion for decertification was filed with the National Labor Relations
Board.
We are of the opinion that the Employer's notice of a desire to
terminate the contract stayed the operation of the automatic renewal
clause and effected a termination of the contract as of November 15,
1947. Accordingly, this contract cannot be considered as a bar to a
present election.
We find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
BARRETT EQUIPMENT COMPANY 1221
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
We find, in accordance with the agreement of the parties, that all
production and maintenance employees at the Employer's St. Louis
plant, including shipping and receiving employees and porters, but
excluding office and clerical employees, sales employees, guards, execu-
tives, professional employees, and supervisors, constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of
Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Barrett Equipment Company,
St. Louis, Missouri, 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 Fourteenth Region, and subject to Sec-
tions 203.61 and 203.62, of National Labor Relations Board Rules
and Regulations-Series 5, among the employees in the unit found ap-
propriate 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, 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, and
also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstate-
ment, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by
International Association of Machinists District No. 9, and Inter-
national Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and
Helpers of America, A. F. L., for the purposes of collective bargaining.
MEMBER REYNOLDS took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.