Baumer Foods, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 28, 1971

190 N.L.R.B. 690 (N.L.R.B. 1971)

690 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Baumer Foods , Inc. and Transportation Employees
Association , a/w District 2, National Marine Engi-
neers' Beneficial Association , AFL-CIO, Peti-
tioner . Case 15-RC-4563
May 28, 1971
DECISION ON REVIEW
BY MEMBERS FANNING, JENKINS, AND KENNEDY
On March 18 , 1971, the Regional Director for Re-
gion 15 issued a Decision and Direction of Election in
the above-entitled proceeding . Thereafter , the Em-
ployer filed a timely request for review of such Decision
and Direction of Election on the ground , inter alia, that
the Regional Director had erred in excluding from the
unit certain employees classified as "seasonals" at the
Employer 's food processing operation at New Orleans,
Louisiana.
On April 23, 1971, the National Labor Relations
Board by telegraphic order granted the request for re-
view and stayed the election pending decision on re-
view . The Employer and the Petitioner filed briefs on
review.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended , the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to
a three-member panel.
The Board has reviewed the entire record in this case
with respect to the issues under review , including the
briefs on review , and makes the following findings:
As above indicated the Employer contends that the
only appropriate unit of its production and mainte-
nance employees must include the seasonal employees
at its plant in New Orleans.' We agree.
The Employer operates its vegetable and fruit pro-
cessing plant in New Orleans on a year -round basis
with a work force of approximately 50 regular em-
ployees. During the period from early June to early or
mid-December of each year the Employer augments its
work force with some 130-170 additional employees,
who, along with some of the regular employees , process
' The Employer also contends that seasonal employees at its Pon-
chatoula, Louisiana, operation should be included in the unit The Employer
operates this plant 6-8 weeks during the strawberry season in May and June
and some 50 employees which it hires locally As the Ponchatoula plant is
located some 60 miles from New Orleans, and there is virtually no inter-
change of employees between New Orleans and Ponchatoula, we affirm the
Regional Director's exclusion of the Ponchatoula seasonals from the unit
the okra (June-September) and sweet potato (Septem-
ber-December) crops which are harvested during that
time. At the end of the sweet potato season in early or
mid-December all of the seasonal employees are laid
off. These seasonal employees, who are mostly women
from the New Orleans area, perform the same work
under the same supervision as do the regular em-
ployees. They work with the regular employees and
receive the same pay as about 50 percent of the regular
employees.
Although the Employer does not maintain a recall
list of seasonals, it gives hiring preference to former
seasonals who apply for work. In 1968 the Employer
hired 168 seasonals; in 1969 the Employer hired 133
seasonals, including 92 who had worked for the Em-
ployer in 1968; and in 1970 the Employer hired 131
seasonals, including 71 who had worked for the Em-
ployer in one or more previous years.
In the circumstances of this case, and particularly as
the Employer draws from the same labor market each
year and gives preference in hiring to former seasonals,
as many return each year, and as they work with the
regular employees and perform the same duties under
common supervision, we find that the seasonal em-
ployees at the Employer's New Orleans plant have a
reasonable expectation of substantial seasonal employ-
ment from year to year. We find therefore that they
possess sufficient interest in employment conditions to
warrant their inclusion in the unit.'
Accordingly, the case is hereby remanded to the Re-
gional Director for Region 15 for the purpose of hold-
ing an election pursuant to his Decision and Direction
of Election, as amended herein, except that the payroll
period for determining eligibility shall be that immedi-
ately preceding the date below.'
' Kelly Brothers Nurseries, Inc, 140 NLRB 82, California Vegetable
Concentrates, Inc, 137 NLRB 1779, Knouse Foods Co-operative, Inc, 131
NLRB 801
' In order to assure that all eligible votes may have the opportunity to be
informed of the issues in the exercise of their statutory right to vote, all
parties to the election should have access to a list of voters and their ad-
dresses which may be used to communicate with them Excelsior Underwear
Inc, 156 NLRB 1236, N . L R B. v Wyman-Gordon Co, 394 U S 759
Accordingly, it is hereby directed that a revised election eligibility list,
containing the names and addresses of all the eligible voters, must be filed
by the Employer with the Regional Director for Region 15 within 7 days
of the date of this Decision on Review The Regional Director shall make
the list available to all parties to the election No extension of time to file
this list shall be granted by the Regional Director except in extraordinary
circumstances Failure to comply with this requirement shall be grounds for
setting aside the election whenever proper objections are filed
190 NLRB No. 137