Bendix Products Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 29, 1936

1 N.L.R.B. 173 (N.L.R.B. 1936)

11
In the Matter of BENDIx PRODUCTS CORPORATION and LOCAL No. 9,,
INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE WORKERS OF AMERICA
Case No. R-8
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
January 29, 1936
The Board having found that a question affecting commerce has
arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Bendix
Products Corporation, South Bend, Indiana., within the meaning
of Section 9, subdivision (c) and Section 2, subdivisions (6) and (7)
of the National Labor Relations' Act, approved July 5, 1935, and that
an election by secret ballot should be conducted, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the
National Labor Relations Board in this case to ascertain representa-
tives for collective bargaining with the Bendix Products Corpora-
tion, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted within a period
of ten days from the date of this Direction of Election, under the
direction and supervision of L. W. Beman, Regional Director for
the Thirteenth Region, acting in this platter as agent of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9
of its Rules and Regulations-Series 1, among all employees of the
Bendix Products Corporation paid on an hourly basis, except super-
visory employees having authority to hire or discharge, clerical
employees, policemen and nurses, on the payroll on the date of the
payment of wages immediately preceding the date of this Direction,
to determine whether they desire to be represented by Local No. 9,
International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, or by
the Bendix Employees Association.
[SAME TITLE]
Decision, February 28, 1936
Automobile and Aircraft Parts Industry-Unit Appropriate for Collective
Bargaining: eligibility for membership in both rival organizations ; employees
on hourly basis-Election Ordered: question affecting commerce : confusion and
unrest among employees-controversy concerning representation of employees :
majority status disputed by employer; rival organizations ; substantial doubt as
to majority status.
173
174 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Mr. Harold A. Cranfleld and Mr. Robert Rissman for the Board.
Mr. E. H. Cassels and Mr. R. B. Johnstone , of Chicago, Ill., and
Mr. E. F. Seebirt, of South Bend, Ind., for the Company.
Mr. Arthur E. Re'/man, of Washington , D. C., for Local No. 9.
Mr. Lewis W. Hammond, of South Bend, Ind., for Bendix Em-
ployees Association.
Mr. Melvin C. Smith, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
STATEMENT OF CASE
A petition for an investigation and certification of representatives
pursuant to Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, ap-
proved July 5, 1935 , and Article III, Section 1, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, was filed with the
Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region by United Automobile
Workers Federal Labor Union No. 18347, on October 29 , 1935, alleg-
ing that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of the production employees of Bendix Products Cor-
poration , South Bend, Indiana. The National Labor Relations
Board duly authorized the Regional Director to conduct an investi-
gation pursuant to Section 9(c) of the Act . In connection therewith
the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing on November 21,
1935, setting a hearing for December 5, 1935, at South Bend, Indiana.
On November 30, 1935, an amended notice of hearing was issued by
the Regional Director , postponing the hearing from December 5, 1935
to December 12, 1935, at the same place ; and on December 9, 1935,
a second amended notice of hearing was issued by the Regional
Director, postponing the hearing from December 12, 1935, to Decem-
ber 17, 1935 , at a different place in South Bend, Indiana. All notices
of hearing were duly served . An answer and a motion to dismiss
were filed with the Regional Director by counsel for Bendix Products
Corporation ; and an answer and a motion to dismiss were likewise
filed with the Regional Director by counsel for Bendix Employees
Association.
A hearing was held on December 17, 18 and 19 , 1935, before John A.
Lapp, Trial Examiner duly designated by order of the Board. Ben-
dix Products Corporation, Bendix Employees Association, and
United Automobile Workers Federal Labor Union No. 18347 were
each represented at the hearing by counsel and participated in the
proceedings. Counsel for United Automobile Workers Federal Labor
Union No. 18347 filed a motion for leave to amend its petition , stating
that subsequent to the filing of its petition its name and designation
had been changed from " United Automobile Workers Federal Labor
Union No. 18347 " to " Local No. 9, International Union, United
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 175
Automobile Workers of America ". The motion for leave to amend
was granted . The motion to dismiss filed by Bendix Products Cor-
poration and Bendix Employees Association were denied . Briefs
were submitted on behalf of Bendix Products Corporation , Bendix
Employees Association , and Local No. 9, International Union, United
Automobile Workers of America, and a reply brief was submitted on
behalf of Bendix Products Corporation . Subsequently , a hearing
was held before the Board , in Washington , D. C., on January 28, 1936,
at which counsel for the parties made oral arguments.
The Board now affirms the rulings of the Trial Examiner denying
the motions to dismiss.
Upon the evidence adduced at the hearings and from the entire
record now before it the National Labor Relations Board promulgates
the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Bendix Products Corporation , hereinafter referred to as the
Corporation , is a Corporation organized under and existing by vir-
tue of the laws of the State of Indiana, having its plant and prin-
cipal office in South Bend, St. Joseph County , Indiana. The Cor-
poration is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bendix Aviation Cor-
poration , incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware with
its principal executive offices located in Chicago, Illinois, and South
Bend, Indiana. The Corporation was incorporated in 1931 , and was
organized by the Bendix Aviation Corporation to acquire manu-
facturing assets and to take over manufacturing operations of Ben-
dix Brake Company, Bendix-Cowdrey Brake Tester , Inc., Bendix
Stromberg Carburetor Company, and Bragg-Kliesrath Corporation.
According to the application for registration filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission by the Bendix Aviation Corporation, the
latter companies now function in sales capacities only; whether they
function as such for the Corporation is not stated.
2. The Corporation is now and has continuously been engaged
since 1931 in the manufacture and sale of automobile and air craft
parts, consisting principally of carburetors and brakes and parts
therefor.
3. A substantial majority of the raw materials used by the Cor-
poration in the manufacturing of its products are obtained from
points without the State of Indiana . These raw materials consist
principally of steel , zinc, brass , aluminum, lumber , coal, sand, acid,
oil, scrap iron, salt , and brick . The total amount of raw materials
purchased during the period January 1 , 1935, to November 30, 1935,
was approximately 43,000,000 pounds obtained from points within
Indiana, and approximately 103,000,000 pounds obtained from points
without Indiana. Of these amounts steel comprised the largest
,176 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
volume, i. e., approximately 25,000,000 pounds obtained from within
Indiana, and approximately 35,000,000 pounds obtained from with-
out Indiana, principally Illinois; and coal comprised the second
largest volume, i. e., approximately 14,000,000 pounds obtained from
within Indiana, and approximately 24,000,000 pounds obtained from
without Indiana. All of the zinc, brass, aluminum and lumber was
obtained from points without the State of Indiana during the same
period.
The raw materials are purchased both by contracts for specific lots
and contracts for continuing shipments, and are shipped to the plant
by means of railroads and trucking companies. Certain of the raw
materials, steel for example, are shipped to the plant in a continuing
stream as needed, but others, zinc for example, are purchased and
shipped to the plant in large quantities several times each year.
4. The Corporation's plant is highly mechanized and the ordinary
course of manufacture is similar to that in other such mechanized
factories, i. e., the raw materials are cast, shaped and formed into
their respective parts, and by successive steps the parts are processed
and combined into the finished product. The record clearly indi-
cates that the various materials flow through the plant in a steady
stream in the course of the manufacturing process, and the finished
products are thence shipped to various customers. However, during
slack seasons a substantial supply of parts is manufactured and
stored for future use.
5. A substantial majority of the finished products manufactured
by the Corporation are sold and transported to points without the
State of Indiana. These finished products consist principally of
carburetors and brakes, and parts therefor, for use in the manu-
facture of airplanes and automobiles, and thus, the Corporation's
finished products are sold principally to aircraft and automobile
companies. The total amount of sales during the period January
1 to November 30, 1935, measured in terms of pounds, was appro ci-
mately 26,000,000 pounds shipped from the Corporation's plant to
points within Indiana.and approximately 74,000,000 pounds shipped
from its plant to points without Indiana. A large proportion of
the 26,000,000 pounds shipped to points within Indiana consists of
scrap iron which is shipped to plants in Kokomo, Indiana; Gary,
Indiana ; and Indiana Harbor, Indiana, for resmelting, and the
finished products actually comprise approximately forty per cent
thereof, or approximately 10,000,000 pounds. Whether the re-
smeltered scrap iron is shipped back to the Corporation is not shown
by the record.
A large portion of the Corporation's finished products are sold
to General Motors Corporation and Ford Motor Company and are
shipped mainly to Detroit, Michigan, and other points within the
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 177
State of Michigan. The Corporation also sells to automobile com-
panies engaged in the manufacture of Studebaker and Auburn auto-
mobiles, whose plants are located within the State of Indiana. The
sales of automobile and aircraft parts are usually made on a con-
tinuing basis, the understanding with the purchasing companies
being that a certain number of such parts will be supplied at a
given rate over some specific period of time. However, there is
apparently not in every instance a stipulated number of such parts
that must be furnished on definite dates; to some customers a vary-
ing supply is furnished on demand from week to week or month to
month.
6. The aforesaid operations of the Corporation constitute a con-
tinuous flow of trade, traffic and commerce among the several states.
7. United Automobile Workers Federal Labor Union No. 18347,
a labor organization, was organized in the summer of 1933 and
obtained its charter from the American Federation of Labor on
July 28, 1933. On October 1, 1935, the said Union became affiliated
with the International Union, United Automobile Workers of
America, which is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
and changed its name to " Local No. 9, International Union, United
Automobile Workers of America ", hereinafter referred to as Local
No. 9. All employees of the Corporation, paid on an hourly basis,
except supervisory and clerical employees, policemen and nurses,
are eligible to membership in Local No. 9.
8. The Bendix Employees Association, hereinafter referred to as
the Association, was organized about September, 1933, and employees
of the Corporation paid on an hourly basis are eligible to become
members thereof. No evidence was offered by the Association to
show whether it excludes from membership the same groups ex-
cluded by Local No. 9. The Association collects no initiation fees
or dues, but obtains its finances from contributions, and from pro-
ceeds of entertainments.
9. In view of the above, and in view of the fact that no issue
has been raised in this matter relative to the appropriate unit for
the purposes of collective bargaining, we find that the unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining consists of all em-
ployees of the Corporation paid on an hourly basis, except super-
visory and clerical employees, policemen and nurses.
10. In December, 1935, at the time this case was heard before
the Trial Examiner, there were approximately 3,450 employees in
the production departments,of the Corporation paid on an hourly
basis. Of this number Local No. 9 claims approximately 2,500
members, and the Association claims a membership of 2,549 em-
ployees. Local No. 9 has a duly elected Executive Committee and
the Association has a duly elected Executive Board. Both
178 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
groups, representing Local No. 9 and the Association, respectively,
meet separately from time to time with the management of the
Corporation.
11. On and before September 17, 1935, certain of the employees of
the Corporation, members of Local No. 9, were laid off in their
respective departments according to seniority. Attempts were made
by the Executive Committee of Local No. 9 to obtain employment
for these employees in other departments in which the Corporation
had hired new men, with apparently no success. At a meeting of
Local No. 9 on September 17, 1935, the Executive Committee was
given the power to put into effect a strike vote which had been taken
several months previous, in the event the controversy could not be
settled within forty-eight hours. On the night of September 18,,
1935, the Corporation began to move some of its machinery out of
the plant in order to set up a reserve plant at some distant point
to be used in the event of any extensive labor disturbance. On
September 19, 1935, the management met with all its employees in
its auditorium and all employees decided to remain at work. Subse-
quent thereto the management met with the President of Interna-
tional Union, United Automobile Workers of America, and the Ex-
ecutive Committee of Local No. 9, and agreed to bring the machinery
back to the plant and put back to work at one place or another the
employees who had been previously laid off and were waiting to
be recalled.
12. As a direct result of the above-mentioned threatened labor
difficulties the business of the Corporation was substantially de-
creased. The General Motors Corporation withdrew approximately
20 per cent of its usual volume of business, and the Ford Motor-
Company decreased its usual amount of business by approximately
50 per cent.
13. At meetings between the management of the Corporation and
the Executive Committee of Local No. 9 held during the second week
of July, 1935, and on September 17 or 19, 1935, the Executive Com-
mittee informed the management that Local No. 9 represented a ma=
jority of ^ the employees, and requested the management to bargain
with it as the sole bargaining agent of the employees. It is not
clear what statement, if any, the management made at the July
meeting, but at the meeting in September the management replied
that it did not know that Local No. 9 actually represented a majority
of the employees of the Corporation. Since July the management,
has stated on several occasions that it will continue to meet with
both Local No. 9 and the Association.
14. It appears that the Corporation has not only made a practice
of meeting with representatives of both Local No. 9 and the Asso-
ciation, but also meets with individuals and other groups of em-
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 179
ployees. It has never actually made any agreement with any group
of its employees, or organization purporting to represent its em-
ployees. On numerous occasions the Corporation has considered
grievances and suggestions which had been presented to it and de-
cided to act favorably thereto; however, upon publicly announc-
ing such action the same was declared to be the "policy" of the Cor-
poration, and no organization was given credit therefor, although
on several such occasions Local No. 9 was the sole proponent of such
new plan or working condition. As a result thereof considerable
rivalry exists between Local No. 9 and the Association, and a spirit
of unrest prevails generally among the employees of the Corporation.
15. The unrest and rivalry existing among the employees of the
Corporation is of long standing as is evidenced by the fact that on
September 14, 1934, United Automobile Workers Federal Labor
Union No. 18347 filed with the Regional Labor Board, Tenth Dis-
trict, of the old National Labor Relations Board, a petition for an
election in the Corporation's plant, with a view to determining the
representatives of the employees for the purpose of collective bargain-
ing within the meaning of Section 7(a) of the National Industrial
Recovery Act and the Code of Fair Competition for the Automotive
Parts and Equipment Manufacturing Industry. Hearings were
subsequently conducted in this matter on October 11, 1934, and Janu-
ary 14, 1935, and a decision and order of election were issued by the
old National Labor Relations Board on January 25, 1935, finding
that it was in the public interest that an election be held of all the
employees of the Corporation paid upon the basis of hourly wages.
The Corporation thereupon obtained an injunction in a Federal dis-
trict court restraining that Board from conducting an election.
The Corporation thereafter filed a petition for review in the appro-
priate Circuit Court of Appeals. However, the case was dropped
when the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its
decision in A. L. A. Schechter Poultry Corporation, et al. v. United
States, 295 U. S. 495.
16. A question has arisen concerning the representation of the em-
ployees of the Corporation paid on an hourly basis, except super-
visory and clerical employees, policemen and nurses.
17. This controversy is one which has led and tends to lead to
labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow
of commerce.
18. A secret ballot should be taken among the said employees of the
Corporation to ascertain their representatives for the purposes of
collective bargaining. By a Direction of Election, dated January 29,
1936, we have already directed that such a secret ballot should be
taken.
180 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Upon the basis of the above findings, the following conclusions of
law are made by the Board:
1. The employees of the Corporation paid on an hourly basis,
except supervisory employees having authority to hire or discharge,
clerical employees, policemen and nurses, constitute a unit appropri-
ate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of
Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of the Bendix Products Corporation, within
the meaning of Section 9 (c) of the Act.