Bushnell Steel Co.Download PDFNational Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsSep 17, 195196 N.L.R.B. 218 (N.L.R.B. 1951) Copy Citation 218 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD BUSHNELL STEEL COMPANY and SHOPMEN'S LOCAL UNION No. 616 OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BRIDGE, STRUCTURAL AND ORNAMENTAL IRON WORKERS, AFL, PETITIONER. Case No. 10-RC- 1085. September 17,1951 Second Supplemental Decision and Order Amending Certification of Representatives On March 5, 1951, the Board issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the above-entitled case.' Following the election and a runoff election, the Board issued, on June 21, 1951, a Supplemental Decision and Certification of Representatives, certifying Shopmen's Local Union No. 616 of the International Association of Bridge, Struc- tural and Ornamental Iron Workers, AFL, herein called Local 616, as the collective bargaining representative of the employees in the unit previously found to be appropriate by the Board. On June 22, 1951, the Intervenor, International Association of Machinists, District Lodge No. 112, filed objections to the certification of Local 616 upon the ground that Shopmen's Local Union No. 741 of the International -Association of Bridge, Structural and Orna- mental Iron Workers, AFL, herein called Local 741, had been estab- lished as the representative of the employees of the Employer. On August 6, 1951, a joint motion was filed by Local 616 and Local 741 to amend the certification previously issued by substituting the name of Local 741 for that of Local 616. On August 13, 1951, the Board issued and served upon all the parties a notice to show cause why the motion should not be granted. On August 23,1951, the Employer filed objec- tions to the motion to amend the certification. In their motion to amend the certification, Local 616 and Local 741 alleged that subsequent to the date of the runoff election, 26 of the Employer's employees who participated in the runoff election 2 signed an application requesting that a Shopmen's Local Union be chartered in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, by the International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers, AFL; that pur- suant to the pertinent provisions of its constitution, the international union caused Local 741 to be installed in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, on May 22,1951; that the,oflicers of Local 741, all of whom are employees of the Employer, were elected on May 22, 1951; and that as of July 31, 1951, 33 of the Employer's employees who participated in the runoff election were members of Local 741. The motion of Local 616 and Local 741 further alleges that the purpose for the 193 NLRB 669. 2 Of approximately 44 eligible voters, 38 cast valid ballots in the runoff election. 96 NLRB No. 30. BUSHNELL STEEL COMPANY 219 estkblishment of Local 741 was to enable the employees of the Em- ployer to conduct their affairs without the necessity of traveling to and from Atlanta, Georgia, where the offices of Local 616 are located. In its'objections to the motion to amend the certification, the Em- ployer contends that it cannot be known whether its employees would have voted for Local 741; that its employees may have been deceived, defrauded, and misled by believing that they would be represented by Local 616; that a showing should be made that the members of Local 741,are the employees who voted in the runoff election; that no pro- vision in the Act authorizes certification except upon petition for investigation and certification; and that, because Local 741 was not in existence at the time of the hearing in this case, neither the Board nor the Employer has had the opportunity to inquire into the com- pliance of Local 741 with the filing requirements of the Act. With regard to the last ground for the objections of the Employer, the Board has frequently held that the compliance of a union with the filing requirements of the Act is a matter for administrative determi- nation and is not a litigable issue into which an employer has a right to inquire.3 Moreover, we have administratively determined that Local 741 is in compliance with the filing requirements of the Act. The Employer's contention that the motion to amend the certification cannot be granted because the Board is without power to issue a certifi- cation except as provided in Section 9 of the Act is equally without merit. As the Board has previously held,4 the amendment of a certifi- cation under circumstances such as those alleged in the motion is not to be considered as a new certification or a recertification. With regard to the other grounds for the objections of the Employer, we note that although the Employer has requested further hearings on the motion, it has not denied the allegations of the motion or alleged any facts inconsistent with the allegations of the motion. In our opinion, sufficient cause has not been shown why the motion of Local 616 and Local 741 should not be granted.5 Accordingly, we shall grant the motion. Order IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Certification of Representatives issued to Shopmen's Local Union No. 616 of the International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers, AFL, be, and it hereby is, amended by substituting therein "Shopmen's Local Union No. 741" for "Shopmen's Local Union No. 616" of the International 8 United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company, 93 NLRB 1280; Lion Oil Company, 76 NLRB 565. 1 Cadillac Automobile Company of Boston, 90 NLRB 460; Missouri Service Company, 87 NLRB 1142. 5 Cadillac Automobile Company of Boston, supra ; Missouri Service Company, supra. 220 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Association of Bridge , Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers, AFL. MEMBERS HOUSTON and STYLES took no part in the consideration of the above Second Supplemental Decision and Order Amending Certification of Representatives. SINCLAIR RUBBER, INC. and OIL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, CIO, PETITIONER. Case No. 39-RC-303. September 18, 1951 Decision and Direction of Elections Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Clifford W. Potter, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel [Members Houston, Reynolds, and Styles]. Upon the entire record in this case,' the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organizations 2 involved claim to represent certain em- ployees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The appropriate unit : The Petitioner seeks a unit of production and maintenance em- ployees, excluding office clerical and technical employees, watchmen, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. Each of the intervening unions, with the exception of the Hod Carriers, has requested a craft unit generally covering job classifications within its particular craft jurisdiction. The Machinists seeks a unit composed of all first-class I The requests by the Employer and the Petitioner for oral argument are hereby denied because in our opinion the record and the briefs submitted adequately present the issues and the positions of the parties. 2 The following organizations were allowed to intervene on the basis of a sufficient showing of interest : District Lodge No. 37 , International Association of Machinists , herein called the Machinists International Union of Hod Carriers , Local Union No. 18 , AFL, herein called the Hod Carriers ; Carpenters and Joiners Union of America, Local Union No. 213, AFL, herein called the Carpenters ; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers , Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America , AFL, herein called the Boilermakers ; United Association of Journeymen & Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada , Local Union No. 211, AFL , herein called the Pipefitters ; and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local No. 716 , AFL, herein called the Electrical Workers. 96 NLRB No. 32. 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