Cavaler Spring Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 20, 1971

193 N.L.R.B. 829 (N.L.R.B. 1971)

CAVALER SPRING COMPANY 829
Cavaler Spring Company and Local 31 , Upholsterers'
International Union of North America , AFL-CIO.
Case 7-CA-8725.
October 20, 1971
DECISION AND ORDER
By CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS
FANNING AND JENKINS
Upon a charge filed on May 19, 1971, by Local 31,
Upholsterers' International Union of North America,
AFL-CIO, herein called the Union, and duly served
on Cavaler Spring Company, herein called the
Respondent, the General Counsel of the National
Labor Relations Board, by the Regional Director for
Region 7, issued a complaint on June 10, 1971, against
Respondent, alleging that Respondent had engaged in
and was engaging in unfair labor practices affecting
commerce within the meaning of Section 8(a)(5) and
(1) and Section 2(6) and (7) of the National Labor
Relations Act, as amended. Copies of the charge,
complaint, and notice of hearing before a Trial
Examiner were duly served on the parties to this
proceeding.
With respect to the unfair labor practices, the
complaint alleges in substance that all production and
building and equipment maintenance employees
employed by the Respondent at its Detroit plant,
excluding executives, office clerical employees, pro-
fessional employees, engineers , machine repairmen,
guards and supervisors as defined in the Act consti-
tute a unit appropriate for purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the
Act. The complaint also alleges that on or about June
22, 1967, the Respondent and the Union, as exclusive
bargaining representative of all the employees in the
appropriate unit, executed a collective-bargaining
agreement covering such employees. The agreement
had an effective date of April 15, 1967, and a
termination date of April 15, 1968, and was extended
to April 15, 1971, by written agreements of the parties.
On or about April 14, 1971, the parties, by written
agreement , continued the collective-bargaining agree-
ment in full force and effect with provision for
cancellation upon 10 days' notice. Since November
19, 1970, the Respondent, pursuant to the contractual
checkoff provision, has deducted from unit employ-
ees' wages moneys for union dues and initiation fees,
but despite requests by the Union the Respondent has
not, since November 19, 1970, and continuing to date,
remitted to the Union the aforesaid dues and
initiation fees as required by the collective-bargaining
agreement . The complaint alleges further that, by
such conduct, the Respondent has modified the
existing conditions of employment of employees in
the unit as set forth in the parties' collective-bargain-
ing agreement and, without complying with the
provisions of Section 8(b) of the Act, has effected a
unilateral change in the employees' employment
conditions. Accordingly, the complaint further alleges
that by the aforesaid acts the Respondent has thereby
refused, and continues to refuse, to bargain collective-
ly with the Union as the exclusive representative of its
employees in violation of Section 8(a)(5) and (1) of the
Act. The Respondent failed to file any answer to the
complaint.
On June 10, 1971, counsel for the General Counsel
filed directly with the Board a Motion for Summary
Judgment based on the Respondent's failure to file
any answer as required by Section 102.20 of the
Board's Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as amended.
Subsequently, on August 20, 1971, the Board issued
an order transferring the proceeding to the Board and
a Notice To Show Cause why the General Counsel's
Motion for Summary Judgment should not be
granted. Respondent failed thereafter to file a
response to Notice To Show Cause.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
powers in connection with this proceeding to a three-
member panel.
Upon the entire record in this proceeding, the Board
makes the following:
Ruling on the Motion for Summary Judgment
Section 102.20 of the Board's Rules and Regula-
tions, Series 8, as amended, provides as follows:
The respondent shall, within 10 days from the
service of the complaint, file an answer thereto.
The respondent shall specifically admit, deny, or
explain each of the facts alleged in the complaint,
unless the respondent is without knowledge, in
which case the respondent shall so state, such
statement operating as a denial. All allegations in
the complaint, if no answer is filed, or any
allegation in the complaint not specifically denied
or explained in an answer filed, unless the
respondent shall state in the answer that he is
without knowledge, shall be deemed to be admit-
ted to be true and shall be so found by the Board,
unless good cause to the contrary is shown.
The complaint and notice of hearing served on the
Respondent specifically stated that unless an answer
was filed to the complaint within 10 days from the
service thereof "all of the allegations of the complaint
shall be deemed to be admitted to be true and may be
so found by the Board." Further, according to the
Motion for Summary Judgment and attachments
thereto, counsel for the Acting General Counsel sent
an additional copy of the complaint which the
Respondent claimed to have lost and advised the
193 NLRB No. 120
830 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Respondent that it would be given until August 3,
1971, to file an answer, but, if no answer were
received, the instant motion would be filed. There has
not been any reply to this letter. Nor was any response
made to the Board's Notice To Show Cause. The
allegations in the Motion for Summary Judgment
thus stand uncontroverted. The Respondent has not
filed any answer to the complaint within 10 days from
the service of the complaint or within the extended
time, or at any other time. No good cause to the
contrary having been shown, in accordance with the
rules set forth above, the allegations in the complaint
against the Respondent are deemed to be admitted to
be true and are so found to be true.' We shall,
accordingly, grant the Motion for Summary Judg-
ment.
On the basis of the entire record, the Board makes
the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENT
III. THE UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
A. The Representation Proceeding
The unit
The following employees of the Respondent consti-
tute a unit appropriate for collective-bargaining
purposes within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the
Act:
All production and building and equipment
maintenance employees employed by the Respon-
dent at its Detroit plant, excluding executives,
office clerical employees, professional employees,
engineers, machine repairmen, guards and super-
visors as defined in the Act.
The Union has been, and continues to be, the
collective-bargaining representative of the employees
in said unit within the meaning of Section 9(a) of the
Act since June 22, 1967, when the Respondent and
Union executed a collective-bargaining agreement
effective April 15, 1967, to April 15, 1968, which had
covered the unit employees. This agreement has been
extended at various times and has now been extended
beyond April 15, 1971, subject to a 10-day notice of
cancellation.
The Respondent, a Michigan corporation, with its
principal office and place of business at 5914 Twelfth
Street, Detroit, Michigan, is, and has been at all times
material herein, engaged in the manufacture, sale, and
distribution of bedding springs and related products.
During the year ending December 31, 1970, a
representative period, the Respondent, in the course
and conduct of its business, purchased and caused to
be transported and delivered to its Detroit, Michigan,
plant directly from points located outside the State of
Michigan goods and materials valued in excess of
$50,000. During that same period, the Respondent
manufactured, sold, and distributed at its Detroit,
Michigan, plant products valued in excess of $50,000
which products were shipped from said plant directly
to points outside the State of Michigan.
We find, on the basis of the foregoing, that
Respondent is, and has been at all times material
herein, an employer engaged in commerce within the
meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act, and that it
will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert
jurisdiction herein.
II. THE LABOR ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Local 31, Upholsterer s' I nternational Union of North
America , AFL-CIO, is a labor organization within
the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
B. The Request To Bargain and Respondent's
Refusal
Commencing on or about November 19, 1970, and
at all times thereafter, the Union has requested the
Respondent to remit to it the moneys for dues and
initiation fees deducted from employees wages pur-
suant to the checkoff provision in the parties'
collective-bargaining agreement. Commencing on or
about November 19, 1970, and continuing at all times
thereafter to date, without compliance with Section
8(d) of the Act, the Respondent has refused, and
continues to refuse, to remit the aforesaid dues and
initiation fees as required by the agreement, thereby
unilaterally modifying the unit employees' existing
conditions of employment as set forth in the collec-
tive-bargaining agreement.
Accordingly, we find that the Respondent has, since
November 19, 1970, and at all times thereafter,
refused to bargain collectively with the Union as the
exclusive representative of the employees in the
appropriate unit, by unilaterally modifying, without
complying with Section 8(d) of the Act, the existing
conditions of employment of the unit employees as set
forth in the collective-bargaining agreement, and that,
by such refusal and unilateral conduct, Respondent
has engaged in and is engaging in unfair labor
practices within the meaning of Section 8(a)(5) and (1)
of the Act.
I Wilson & Sons, 193 NLRB No 51, and cases cited therein
CAVALER SPRING COMPANY 831
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE UNFAIR LABOR
PRACTICES UPON COMMERCE
The activities of Respondent set forth in section III,
above, occurring in connection with its operations
described in Section I, above, have a close, intimate,
and substantial relationship to trade, traffic, and
commerce among the several States and tend to lead
to labor disputes burdening and obstructing com-
merce and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE REMEDY
Having found that Respondent has engaged in and
is engaging in unfair labor practices within the
meaning of Section 8(a)(5) and (1) of the Act, we shall
order that it cease and desist therefrom and take
certain affirmative action designed to effectuate the
policies of the Act.
As the Respondent on or about November 19, 1970,
and at all times thereafter, has without complying
with the provisions of Section 8(d) of the Act,
unilaterally modified the unit employees' existing
conditions of employment by refusing to remit to the
Union, as required by the parties' collective-bargain-
ing agreement, the dues and initiation fees which it
deducted from the employees' wages, we shall order
that the Respondent recognize and deal with the
Union as the exclusive bargaining representative of its
employees in the appropriate unit by honoring in all
its terms the agreement originally executed on June
22, 1967, and thereafter extended. In honoring said
agreement, the Respondent shall continue to deduct
dues and initiation fees from the unit employees'
wages and remit same to the Union as required by the
agreement.
The Board, upon the basis of the foregoing facts and
the entire record, makes the following:
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. Cavaler Spring Company is an employer en-
gaged in commerce within the meaning of Section 2(6)
and (7) of the Act.
2. Local 31, Upholsters' International Union of
North America, AFL-CIO, is a labor organization
within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
3. All production and building and equipment
maintenance employees employed by the Respondent
at its Detroit plant, excluding executives, office
clerical employees, professional employees, engineers,
machine repairmen, guards and supervisors as de-
fined in the Act constitute a unit appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9(b) of the Act.
4. Since June 22, 1967, the above-named labor
organization has been and now is the certified and
exclusive representative of all employees in the
aforesaid appropriate unit for the purpose of collec-
tive bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(a) of
the Act.
5. Without complying with the provisions of
Section 8(d) of the Act and thereby unilaterally
modifying the unit employees' existing conditions of
employment by its refusal to remit to the Union, as
required by the parties' collective-bargaining agree-
ment, the dues and initiation fees deducted from the
employees' wages, the Respondent has engaged in
and is engaging in unfair labor practices within the
meaning of Section 8(a)(5) of the Act.
6. By the aforesaid refusal to bargain, Respondent
has interfered with, restrained, and coerced, and is
interfering with, restraining, and coercing, employees
in the exercise of the rights guaranteed to them in
Section 7 of the Act, and thereby has engaged in and
is engaging in unfair labor practices within the
meaning of Section 8(a)(1) of the Act.
7. The aforesaid unfair labor practices are unfair
labor practices affecting commerce within the mean-
ing of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
ORDER
Pursuant to Section 10(c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, as amended, the National Labor
Relations Board hereby orders that Respondent,
Cavaler Spring Company, its officers, agents, succes-
sors, and assigns, shall:
1. Cease and desist from:
(a) Refusing to carry out or disregarding the terms
of the collective-bargaining agreement executed by
the Respondent and Union on June 22, 1967, and
thereafter extended by them. The Union is the
exclusive bargaining representative of its employees
in the following appropriate unit:
All production and building and equipment
maintenance employees employed by the Respon-
dent at its Detroit plant, excluding executives,
office clerical employees, professional employees,
engineers, machine repairmen, guards and super-
visors as defined in the Act.
(b) In any like or related manner interfering with,
restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of
the rights guaranteed them in Section 7 of the Act.
2. Take the following affirmative action which the
Board finds will effectuate the policies of the Act:
(a) Comply with the terms of the collective-bargain-
ing agreement executed by the Respondent and
Union on June 22, 1967, and thereafter extended by
them.
(b) As required by the agreement, deduct moneys
from the unit employees' wages for dues and initiation
fees and remit same to the Union.
832 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
(c) Preserve and, upon request, make available to
the Board or its agents , for examination and copying,
all payroll records, social security payment records,
timecards, personnel records and reports, and all
other records necessary to compute the amount of
dues and initiation fees deducted from the wages of
said employees, as required by the collective-bargain-
ing agreement.
(d) Post at its Detroit, Michigan, plant copies of the
attached notice marked "Appendix." 2 Copies of said
notice , on forms provided by the Regional Director
for Region 7, after being duly signed by Respondent's
representative, shall be posted by Respondent imme-
diately upon receipt thereof, and be maintained by it
for 60 consecutive days thereafter, in conspicious
places, including all places where notices to employ-
ees are customarily posted. Reasonable steps shall be
taken by Respondent to insure that said notices are
not altered, defaced, or covered by any other material.
(e) Notify the Regional Director for Region 7, in
writing, within 20 days from the date of this Order,
what steps have been taken to comply herewith.
E In the event that this Order is enforced by a Judgment of a United
States Court of Appeals, the words in the notice reading "Posted by Order
of the National Labor Relations Board " shall be changed to read "Posted
Pursuant to a Judgment of the United States Court of Appeals enforcing
an Order of the National Labor Relations Board "
APPENDIX
NOTICE To EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
An Agency of the United States Government
WE WILL NOT refuse to carry out or disregard the
terms of the collective-bargaining agreement
executed by the Respondent and Union on June
22, 1967 , and thereafter extended by them. The
Union is the exclusive bargaining representative of
its employees in the following appropriate unit:
All production and building and equipment
maintenance employees employed by the Respon-
dent at its Detroit plant, excluding executives,
office clerical employees, professional employees,
engineers, machine repairmen, guards and super-
visors as defined in the Act.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner
interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the
exercise of the rights guaranteed them in Section 7
of the Act.
WE WILL comply with the terms of the collec-
tive-bargaining agreement executed by the Res-
pondent and Union on June 22, 1967, and
thereafter extended by them, and, as required by
the agreement, deduct moneys from the unit
employees' wages for dues and initiation fees and
remit same to the Union.
CAVALER SPRING
COMPANY
(Employer)
Dated By
(Representative ) (Title)
This is an official notice and must not be defaced by
anyone.
This notice must remain posted for 60 consecutive
days from the date of posting and must not be altered,
defaced, or covered by any other material.
Any questions concerning this notice or compliance
with its provisions may be directed to the Board's
Office, 500 Book Building, 1249 Washington Boule-
vard, Detroit, Michigan 48226, Telephone
313-226-3200.