82 N.L.R.B. 269 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

Best Motor Lines

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsMar 23, 1949

82 N.L.R.B. 269 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of BEST MOTOR LINES, EMPLOYER and JEAN MCCONNELL, PETITIONER and DALLAS GENERAL DRIVERS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS, LOCAL UNION No. 745, AFFILIATED WITH INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL, UNION Case No. 16-RD-3.3 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS OF ELECTION March 23,1949 Pursuant to a Board Decision and Direction of Election,' a decerti- fication election by secret ballot was conducted on December 13, 1948, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Sixteenth Region, among all lead mechanics, mechanics and me- chanics' helpers, welders, painters, body men, tire men, parts men, and wash and grease men employed at the Employer's Dallas, Texas, terminal. The Tally of Ballots shows that there were approximately seven eligible voters ; that of seven valid votes cast, three were for the Union, and four were against the Union and that there were no challenged ballots. On December 17, 1948, the Union filed objections to conduct affect- ing the results of the decertification election, and requested that the election be set aside. In its objections, the Union alleged that the Board agent conducting the election wrongfully refused to allow one Tyre Terrell, an employee in an eligible classification and employed during the appropriate pay-roll period, to cast a ballot. On January 17, 1949, the Regional Director issued, and served on the parties, his Report on Objections, in which he recited: (1) that Terrell was employed as a porter in May 1948, and has consistently and regularly performed tasks incident to this position since that date; (2) that the appropriate eligibility list, which was reviewed and accepted in writing by all of the parties' representatives, did not include Terrell's name; and, (3) that Terrell did not present himself to the Board agent conducting the election for the purpose of voting. The Regional Director found that Terrell was not an eligible voter and recommended that the Board find the objections do not raise substan- tial and material issues with respect to the decertification election, 1SON.L. R.B.314. 82 N. L. R. B., No. 35. 269 270 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD and that the Union be decertified as bargaining representative of the employees within the unit found by the Board to be appropriate. Under date of January 24 , 1949, the Union filed exceptions to the Regional Director 's Report and particularly to his findings that Terrell was not eligible to vote. Assuming arguendo that Terrell was in fact eligible to vote and that if he had presented himself at the polls he would have voted for the Union , the most that the latter could achieve would be a tie vote; it still would not have received a majority of the valid votes cast. Section 9 (a) of the Act provides , inter alia , that "Representa- tives selected for the purposes of collective bargaining by the majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for such purposes shall be the exclusive representative of all employees in such unit ." Section 9 (c) (1) (A) (ii ) provides , in part, that "whenever a petition shall have been filed by an employee alleging that a substantial number of employees assert that the labor organization which is being cur- rently recognized by their employer is no longer a representative as defined in Section 9 (a) the Board shall investigate such petition." It is apparent , therefore , that the determination of whether or not a labor organization is the bargaining representative in either a certifi- cation or decertification proceeding is based upon whether it represents or no longer represents a majority of the employees in the appropriate unit. As the Union herein could achieve no more than a tie vote even if Terrell 's vote were counted it is no longer the bargaining repre- sentative within the meaning of Section 9 ( c) (1) (A) (ii ). Accord- ingly, we shall overrule the objections and the exceptions to the Regional Director's Report on Objections. As the results of the election show that the Union did not receive a majority of the valid votes cast, we shall decertify such organization. CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS OF ELECTION IT Is IIERFBY CERTIFIED that a majority of the valid ballots of all lead mechanics , mechanics and mechanics' helpers , welders, painters, body men, tire men, parts men, and wash and grease men employed at the Employer 's Dallas, Texas, terminal , excluding all other em- ployees and supervisors as defined in the Act, has not been cast for Dallas General Drivers, Warehousemen and Helpers , Local Union No. 745, affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs , Warehousemen and Helpers of America , AFL; and it is further certified that the said Union is not the exclusive representative of such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay , wages, hours of employment, or other condi- tions of employment.