C & M Lumber Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 7, 1949

83 N.L.R.B. 1258 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of C & M LUMBER CO., INC., EMPLOYER, and GEORGE
THOMPSON, PETITIONER and INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF
AMERICA, LOCAL 5-251, CIO, UNION
Case No. 36-RD-17.-Decided June 7,1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition for decertification duly filed, a hearing in this case
was held before Robert J. Wiener, hearing officer of the National
Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer permitted the interroga-
tion of the representatives of both the petitioning employees and the
Employer to show, among other things, that the petition and an
envelope addressed to the Board's office in Portland had been typed in
the Employer's office and that the Employer showed the employee
submitting the petition where to sign the form. This evidence was
offered in order to prove that the Employer had instigated the filing
of the petition. A. motion by the Union to dismiss the petition on
the ground, among others,' that it was instigated by the Employer,
was referred by the hearing officer to the Board. In accordance with
our well-established practice to exclude from representation pro-
ceedings all matters relating to unfair labor practices, the Union's
contention in this respect is without merit. For the same reason,
all testimony with respect to such matters is hereby stricken from the
record 2 Accordingly, the Union's motion is hereby denied for the
foregoing reasons and the reasons hereinafter stated. The hearing
officer's other rulings are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Members Reynolds, Murdock, and
Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
' Other grounds were : the petition is incomplete in that Section 6 (b) was left blank ;
there is an existing contract between the Union and the Employer which is a bar to this
proceeding , and, the unit described in the petition is inappropriate.
2 Matter of Jell -Well Dessert Company, 82 N. L. R. B. 101.
83 N. L. R. B., No. 175.
1258
C & M LUMBER CO., INC. 1259
2. The Petitioner, an employee of the Employer, asserts that the
Union is no longer the bargaining representative of the employees of
the Employer as defined in Section 9 (a) of the Act.
3. The Union contends that a contract between the Union and
the Employer constitutes a bar to the proceeding. This is apparently
based upon the assumption that the contract between the Union and
the Employer on August 20, 1948, was automatically renewed on
February 1, 1949. The 1948 contract provided that it was to be ef-
fective until April 1, 1949, subject to automatic renewal from year to
year thereafter unless notice to terminate or change was given by
either party 60 days before the anniversary date of the contract. The
record reveals that on January 28, 1949, the Union advised the Em-
ployer by letter of its desire to revise and amend the contract. There-
after, no further action was taken by either party. The petition was
filed on March 7, 1949.
Notwithstanding the fact that the desired changes were never
actually negotiated, we believe that the automatic renewal clause was
thus rendered inoperative by the Union's letter indicating that certain
changes were desired in the contract.3 Accordingly, we find that the
contract of August 20, 1948, is not a bar to the instant decertification
proceeding.
The Union further argues that the petition should be dismissed upon
the ground that it is incomplete and not in conformity with Board
rules because Section 6 (b), which calls for the number of employees
.supporting the petition, was left blank. At most this is a technical
defect which goes to the Petitioner's showing of interest. As we are
administratively satisfied that a sufficient number of employees sup-
ported the petition, we find the Union's contention without merit.
We find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Union urges that the unit described in the petition is in-
appropriate. This contention is based upon the fact that the petition
sets forth the unit as all employees of the Employer without specifying
any exclusions. However, at the hearing the Petitioner stated that
he believed the unit described in the contract between the Employer
and the Union was appropriate. This contract contains specific ex-
clusions. We shall treat the statement of the Petitioner as an amend-
ment of the petition as we do not believe the Union is prejudiced
thereby. The unit which we herein find appropriate is substantially
the unit set forth in the'contract, with such changes as are required to
conform with the provisions of the amended Act. We find that the
s Matter of Beat Motor Lines, 80 N. L . R. B. 314 ; Matter of Whitin Machine Works, 76
N. L. R. B. 998.
1260 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
following employees of the Employer constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
All employees of the Employer at its Lebanon, Oregon, plant, ex-
cluding office and temporary employees employed on new construction,
independent contractors, subcontractors and their employees, and
supervisors as defined in the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining with C & M Lumber Co., Inc., Lebanon,
Oregon, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possi-
ble, but not later than 30 days from the date of this Direction, under
the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Region
in which this case was heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62
of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5,
as amended, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in
paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election,
including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period be-
cause they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding
those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and
have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, and
also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstate-
ment, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented, for
purposes of collective bargaining, by International Woodworkers of
America, Local 5-251, CIO.