City Auto Stamping Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 12, 1939

18 N.L.R.B. 257 (N.L.R.B. 1939)

In the Matter of CITY AUTO STAMPING COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL
UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE WORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH
THE C. I. O.
In the Matter of THE CITY AUTO STAMPING COMPANY and INTERNA-
TIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL
No. 11, A. F. L.
Cases Nos. R-1531 and R-1531, respectively
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 11,1939
On October 11, 1939, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, issued a Decision and 'Direction of Election 1 in the
above-entitled proceeding. Pursuant to the Direction of Election, an
election by secret ballot was conducted on October 19, 1939, under the
direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Eighth
Region (Cleveland, Ohio). On October 24, 1939, the Regional Direc-
tor, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, issued and duly
served upon the parties his Election Report.
As to the balloting and its results, the Regional Director reported
as follows :
Total number of employees eligible___________________________ 566
Total number of ballots cast_________________________________ 518
Total number of votes for International Union, United Auto-
mobile Workers of America, Local No. 12 (C. I. 0.) ---------- 235
Total number of votes for International Union, United Automo-
bile Workers of America, Local No. 11 (A. F. of L.) ---------- 271
Total number of votes for neither organization---------------- 2
Total number of blank ballots________________________________ 0
Total number of void ballots ------ ------------------------ 4 ___ 0
Total number of challenged votes_____________________________ 10
The Regional Director .also reported that, in addition to the above
518 ballots cast, ballots were cast by 29 persons whose names do not
appear upon the eligibility list used in the election, and who, the
Regional Director found, were ineligible to vote in the election, and
115 N. L. R. B. 1032.
18 N. L. R. B., No. 41.
257
258 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
whose ballots were for this reason excluded from the tally. For the
reasons stated below, we affirm the action of the Regional Director in
excluding the votes of those 29 persons from the tally.
Since the 10 challenged votes, even if counted, would not affect the
result of the election, we find it unnecessary to rule upon the challenges.
On October 24, 1939, International Union, United Automobile
Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called Local
No. 12, filed with the Regional Director its objections to the conduct
of the ballot, alleging, in substance, that (1) the determination or
eligibility to vote had not been made in accordance with the Board'
Decision and Direction of Election; 2 (2) International Union, United
Automobile Workers of America, Local No. 11, A. F. of L., herein
called Local No. 11, employed fraud and intimidation by gangsters to
threaten and coerce those eligible to vote into voting for Local No. 11;
(3) the Board agent who conducted the election refused to allow
eligible members of Local No. 12, who were then in nearby hospitals,
to vote by absentee ballot or under the supervision of a Board repre-
sentative; and (4) two of the officials of City Auto Stamping Com-
pany, herein called the Company, Superintendents Robert Millard and
James Young, were permitted to interview each of the persons voting
in the election.
On November 13, 1939, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of
National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, the
Regional Director issued his Report on Objections, wherein he re-
ported that he had investigated the matters set forth in the objections.
With respect to the first objection, the Regional Director reported
that the determination of eligibility to vote had been made in accord-
ance with the Board's Decision and Direction of Election.
With respect to the second objection, the Regional Director reported
that the individuals claimed by Local No. 12 to have been gangsters
did not arrive at the scene of the election until about 5 p. in., at which
time at least 500 of the 518 persons casting ballots had already voted ;
that there is no evidence that any of the claimed gangsters were used
or employed by Local No. 11 for the purpose of intimidation or
coercion; and that counter-charges of coercion, intimidation, and
electioneering at the scene of the election were made by Local No. 1.1
against Local No. 12.
With respect to the third objection, the Regional Director reported
that the question as to the right of the employees who were then in
the hospital to vote was raised by Local No. 12 and that the Board
agent who conducted the election did not refuse the request, but stated
that it would be necessary for both unions to agree to the requested
' This same objection was contained in a letter to the Board from counsel for Local
N9. 12, dated October 18, 1939, protesting the holdirg of the election.
CITY AUTO' STAMPING COMPANY 259
procedure and to have observers present. Thereafter, the question
was dropped by all parties.
With respect to the fourth objection, the Regional Director reported
that the two named superintendents did stand near the election booth
from 9:00 to 10: 00 a. m. on the day of the election and that they
moved away when requested to do so by the Board agent. There is no
evidence to indicate that either of them attempted to influence the
voters. Their stated purpose in being present was to send the men
back to work as quickly as possible after voting, as the Company did
not dock the employees' wages for the time spent in voting.
The Board has considered the Objections and the Regional Direc-
tor's Report thereon. With respect to the first objection, we find that
the determination of eligibility to vote was made in accordance with
our Decision and Direction of Election. In our Direction of Election,
we provided that those eligible to vote would be the Company's em-
ployees "whose names appear on the Company's current seniority list
.s of the date of this Direction of Election, . . . excluding those
who did not work for the Company at any time during the 9 consecu-
tive months immediately preceding the date of this Direction of
Election, not including general lay-offs or shut-downs, . . ." The
phrase "not including general lay-offs or shut-downs" does not, as
contended by Local No. 12, confer eligibility upon employees whose
employment was terminated by a general lay-off or a shut-down prior
to the 9-month period immediately preceding the date of the Decision
and Direction of Election. This phrase has reference solely to the
method of computation of the 9-month period. By the words "not
including general lay-offs or shut-downs" we intended that computa-
tion of the 9-month period referred to was not to include periods of
general lay-offs or shut-downs which may have occurred during the
9 consecutive months immediately preceding the date of the Direction
of Election. None of the 29 persons hereinabove referred to, whose
names were not placed upon the eligibility list used in the election
and whose ballots were for this reason excluded from the tally, had
worked for the Company at any time during the 9-month period
immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election. Under
the terms of our Direction of Election, therefore, neither they nor any
other employees of the Company who last worked prior to the 9-month
period preceding the date of the Direction of Election were eligible
to vote.
The other objections raised by Local No. 12 also appear to be without
merit. We find that neither the first objection nor the other objections
filed by Local No. 12 raise substantial or material issues with respect
to the conduct of the ballot or the Election Report and they are hereby
overruled.
260 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,
49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Sections 8 and 9, of National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2,
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that International Union, United Automo-
bile Workers of America, Local No. 11, A. F. of L., has been selected
by a majority of the employees of City Auto Stamping Company,
Toledo, Ohio, including group leaders, but excluding supervisory and
clerical employees, foremen, and assistant foremen, as their representa-
tive for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to
the provisions of Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act,
International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, Local
No. 11, A. F. of L., is the exclusive representative of all such employees
for the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay,
wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment.