Bassick Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 13, 1946

71 N.L.R.B. 1056 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of BASSICK SACK DIVISION OF BASSICK COMPANY, INC.,
EMPLOYER and UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS,
CIO, PETITIONER
Case No. 5-R-25410-Decided December 13,1946
Mr. William W . Miller, of Chicago, Ill., for the Employer.
Messrs. Henry Fiering and George Gough , of Winston-Salem, N. C.,
for the Petitioner.
Mr. David C . Buchalter , of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
Upon a petition duly filed, the National Labor Relations Board on
August 28, 1946, conducted a prehearing election among employees of
the Employer in the alleged appropriate unit, to determine whether
they desired to be represented by the Petitioner or by the International
Association of Machinists, Lodge 641, I. A. M., herein called the IAM
for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
At the close of the election a Tally of Ballots was furnished the
parties. The Tally shows that, of the 135 eligible voters, 133 cast
valid ballots, of which 93 were for the Petitioner; none were for the
IAM; 27 were for neither, and 13 were challenged.
Thereafter, a hearing was held at Winston-Salem, North Carolina,
on October 22, 1946, before Harold M. Weston, hearing officer.2 The
hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial
error and are hereby affirmed. ^
The Employer contends that the Board exceeded its authority in
ordering an election before the time of hearing but advances no show-
ing that this procedure operated to the prejudice of any party by
depriving it of a full opportunity for an appropriate hearing. We
have previously considered a similar contention in analogous cases
and, as in those cases, find it to be lacking in merit.3
' These challenges, which do not affect the results of the election, were resolved by agree-
ment of the parties at the subsequent healing The stipulated unit stated in Section IV,
infra, reflects that agreement
2 The TAM did not appear , nor seek to intervene , at the hearing.
3 Matter of Salant it Salant, Inc, 71 Ni L R B 661 Mattei of E R Squibb d Sons, 67
N. L R. B 557, Inland Empire Distract Council Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union v.
Millis, et al , 325 U. S 697.
71 N L. R. B., No. 177.
1056
BASSICK SACK DIVISION OF BASSICK COMPANY, INC. 1057
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board ir}akes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Bassick Company , Inc., a Connecticut corporation , manufactures
fine furniture hardware at its plant at Winston -Salem, North Caro-
lina, known as the Bassick Sack Division , which is solely involved
herein. For the period of 1946, preceding the hearing the Employer
used at the Bassick Sack Division , raw materials valued at approxi-
mately $15,000 monthly, of which 95 percent represented shipments to
it from points outside the State of North Carolina. During the same
period the Employer's finished products at this plant were valued at
$35,000 monthly , of which approximately 75 percent represented ship-
ments to points outside the State.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress
of Industrial Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the
Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer in the alleged
appropriate unit.
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer , within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
We find, in accordance with the agreement of the parties, that all
production and maintenance employees of the Employer at its Bas-
sick Sack Division , including watchmen , receiving and shipping clerks,
and the stock room attendant but excluding floor inspectors, the stock
chaser, the stock keeper, office and clerical employees, and all super-
visory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, disci-
pline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or ef-
fectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the
1058 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b)
of the Act 4
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The results of the election held previous to the hearing show that
the Petitioner received a majority of the votes cast, irrespective of the
counting of the challenged ballots. We shall, therefore, certify the
Petitioner as the collective bargaining representative of the employees
in the appropriate unit.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that United Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers, CIO, has been designated and selected by a majority of all
production and maintenance employees at the l1assick Sack Division
of Bassick Company; Inc., Winston-Salem, North Carolina, including
watchmen, receiving and shipping clerks and the stock room attend-
ant but excluding floor inspectors, the stock chaser, the stock keeper,
office and clerical employees, and all supervisory employees with au-
thority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect
changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such ac-
tion, as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining,
and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, the said organization
is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the purposes
of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of
employment, and other conditions of employment.
4 The election was held among employees in this unit.