Charles Beck Machine Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 15, 1954

107 N.L.R.B. 874 (N.L.R.B. 1954)

874 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
amendment was made. On or about August 16, 1950, Local 576
disaffiliated from the C.I.O. and became an independent labor
organization, readopting virtually the same constitution it had
while affiliated. In his response to the show cause order, Gus
Brown, who was intimately involved in the disaffiliation action
of Local 576 and who was its business agent both before and
after such action was taken, admitted that for various alleged
reasons the constitution was amended in order to avoid the
necessity for the incumbents of the positions formerly des-
ignated as officers to file affidavits for purposes of Section 9
(h) compliance.
Under all the circumstances, the Board finds that Local 576
omitted from its constitution the designation of the following
positions as offices for the purpose of evading or circum-
venting the filing requirements of Section 9 (h) of the Act:
Recording secretary ( recorder), trustees , membership direc-
tor, and business agents. It is not denied that all incumbents of
these positions failed to file non-Communistic affidavits until
the latter part of 1953.
IT IS THEREFORE ADMINISTRATIVELY DETERMINED that
Furniture Workers, Upholsterers and Woodworkers Union,
Local 576, Independent, was not in compliance with Section 9
(h) of the Act during the period when all the incumbents of the
above -named positions did not have on file the affidavits therein
prescribed; 2 and
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER DETERMINED that any letters of
compliance issued to Local 576, Independent, by the Regional
Director during such period are null and void and without
effect.
By direction of the Board:
Frank M. Kleiler,
Executive Secretary.
2Chairman Farmer and Member Rodgers loin in this decision as a proper application of
the existing rule but are not to be taken as necessarily agreeing to the constitutional test
as the exclusive basis for determining compliance.
CHARLES BECK MACHINE CORPORATION and UNITED
STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, Petitioner. Case No.
4-RC-2043. January 15, 1954
DECISION AND ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before William
Naimark, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made
at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.
107 NLRB No. 165.
CHARLES BECK MACHINE CORPORATION 875
Upon the entire record in this case , the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce withinthe meaning
of the Act.
2. The labor organization ' involved claims to represent
certain employees of the Employer.
3. The Employer asserts that its current contract with the
Employees Association of the Charles Beck Machine Corpora-
tion, herein called the Association , is a bar to the instant
proceeding .' The Petitioner contends that the contract is not
a bar because the Association is defunct . The pertinent facts
are as follows:
At a meeting ' of the Association on June 8, 1953 , attended
by 20 of the 25 members of the Association , all those present
decided to hold a special session for the specific purpose of
being addressed by representatives of the Petitioner. At the
meeting, held on June 15, 1953, several representatives of the
Petitioner presented information on ways to effect affiliation
with the Petitioner . After these representatives left the
meeting, the 22 members present voted to affiliate with the
Petitioner and signed authorization cards. A further meeting
was held on August 11, 1953, with onlymembers in attendance.
A document disestablishing the Association was read and
discussed . The 17 members present signed it and the next
day 5 more signed . In the meantime , on June 17 , 1953, the
Petitioner requested the Employer to bargain with it con-
cerning a new contract . The Employer refused to do so in
view of its existing contract with the Association.
Although the Petitioner contends that the Association is
defunct , and that the Board should apply here its rule that
when a contracting union becomes defunct, its subsisting
contract with an employer will not be regarded as a bar, it
is unnecessary for us to pass on this contention in the view
we take of this case . As stated above, on June 15, 1953,
virtually all the members of the Association , by formal
group action , voted to affiliate with the Petitioner . The sub-
sequent group action on August 11, 1953, in disestablishing
the Association , merely recognized a fait accompli- -namely,
that the Association was no longer functioning as an unaffil-
iated union but was now affiliated with the Petitioner.
The Board , with judicial approval, has held that a mere
change yin affiliation does not change the identity of the bar-
gaining agent.' As the Petitioner , by virtue of the affiliation
'The contract , executed May 2 , 1952, for a 1-year term, was automatically renewed May
2, 1953 It covers approximately the same employees sought. The Association did not inter-
vene at the hearing
2 The Association does not hold regularly scheduled meetings.
3Harris-Woodson Co., Inc., 77 NLRB 819; 85 NLRB 1215; enfd 179 F. 2d 720(C A. 4.
1050 ), Michigan Bell Telephone Co., Inc , 85 NLRB 303. In the Harris- Woodson case , the court
said of a union which, like the Association herein, had changed its affiliation: "The identity of
that representative , composed entirely of the Company 's employees , was not changed either
by its change of name or its change of uffiliation ." Cf. Pepper & Potter, Inc . v. Local 977,
103 F Supp. 684 (S. D , N Y., 1952).
87 6 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
action, has become in fact the collective-bargaining agent,
and as such continues to be bound by the terms of the existing
contract for the remainder of its term , we find that the con-
tract serves as a bar to the present petition. Accordingly,
we find that no question concerning representation exists
and we shall dismiss the petition.
[The Board dismissed the petition .]
DAVID GOETZ, d/b/a FEDERAL SILK MILLS andTEXTILE
WORKERS UNION' OF AMERICA, CIO, Petitioner. Case No.
5-RC-1277.-January 15, 1954
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION
OF REPRESENTATIVES
Pursuant to a Decision and Direction of Election , issued by
the Board on June 3, 1953 , a secret ballot election was con-
ducted among the employees in the appropriate unit on June
24, 1953. The tally of ballots showed that of approximately
356 eligible voters, 312 cast valid ballots which were counted,
6 cast challenged ballots, and 1 cast a void ballot . Of the 312
valid votes counted, 213 were for the Petitioner, and 99
against.
On June 26 , 1953, the Employer filed objections to the
conduct of the election and moved that the election be set
aside . On July 7, 1953, the Regional Director issued a report
on objections containing the results of his investigation, and
recommending that the objections be overruled and the Peti-
tioner be certified . The Employer filed exceptions to this
recommendation .' Thereafter , on August 10, 1953, the Board
issued an order directing hearing on matters raised by the
objections and exceptions and requiring that the hearing officer
"shall prepare and cause to be served upon the parties a
report containing resolutions of the credibility of witnesses,
findings of fact and recommendations to the Board as to the
disposition" of said objections and exceptions . The hearing
was held before Henry Jalette , hearing officer, who on
October 14 , 1953, issued the hearing officer's report on
objections to election attached hereto and made a part hereof,
recommending that the objections of the Employer be sus-
tained and the election set aside . Thereafter , the Petitioner
filed its exceptions to the report.
The Board has reviewed the rulings made by the hearing
officer at the hearing and finds that no prejudicial error was
committed . The rulings are hereby affirmed . The Board has
considered the hearing officer's report on objections, Peti-
1 The Petitioner filed a statement in support of the Regional Director 's report.
107 NLRB No. 177.