Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 10, 1948

79 N.L.R.B. 590 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of CONSOLIDATED VULTEE AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, EM-
PLOYER and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT
AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTWORKERS OF AMERICA, UAW--CIO,
PETITIONER
Case No. 21-1-3931
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 10, 1948
On March 5, 1948, pursuant to the Board's Decision and Direction
of Elections,) a run-off election by secret ballot was conducted under
the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Twenty-
first Region (Los Angeles, California). Upon the completion of the
election a Tally of Ballots was issued and served upon the parties.
The Tally showed that of the approximately 6,978 eligible voters,
6,851 cast valid ballots, of which 3,414 were for the International
Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement
Workers of America, UAW-CIO, herein called the Petitioner ; 3,437
were cast for the International Association of Machinists, Aeronauti-
cal Lodge No. 1125, herein called the IAM; there were 1 challenged,
and 43 void ballots.
On March 11, 1948, the Petitioner filed with the Regional Director
Objections to the Conduct of the Election, and to Conduct Affecting
the Results of the Election.2 Thereafter, on March 12, 1948, the Peti-
tioner filed a supplement to Objections to the Conduct of the Election
and to the Conduct Affecting the-Results of the Election, and on March
31, 1948, filed a second supplement thereto. Thereupon, in accordance
with the Board's Rules and Regulations, the Regional Director con-
ducted an investigation, and issued and served upon the parties a Re-
port on all said objections, dated April 15, 1948. Exceptions to the
Report were filed by all parties. On May 14, 1947, the Board, having
1 75 N. L. R. B 1276.
2 Although the objections were filed 6 calendar days after the election , since a Saturday
and Sunday intervened, said objections were nevertheless timely filed See Matter of The
National Lime and Stone Company, 62 N. L. R. B. 282.
79 N. L. R. B., No. 78. , ^,L . _ ._;
590
•. CONSOLIDATED VULTEE AIRCRAFT CORPORATION :591
considered all the Petitioner's objections, the Regional Director's Re-
port,thereon,•and all the exceptions thereto, directed that a hearing
be held on all the issues raised by the Petitioner's objections.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held from June 21 through July
1, 1948, in San Diego, California, before John A. Eadie, hearing officer.
The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from preju-
dicial error and are hereby affirmed.
The Objections to the Election
The Petitioner, in the main, raises the following objections : (1)
persons, not employees of the Employer, voted fraudulently at the
instigation of the IAM; (2) employees were permitted to vote without
being properly identified; (3) during the election differently colored
.ballots were used; (4) prior to, and during the election, the Employer
abandoned its role of neutrality; (5) Board agent handled the election
with extreme negligence and irregularity.
In support of its first objection, the Petitioner sought to introduce
.into evidence the affidavits of three individuals, not employees of the
Employer, who were not available at the hearing for cross-examination
by the opposing parties. The affiants, in substance,, stated in their
affidavits that a representative of the IAM engaged them to vote fraud-
ulently in the election. The Petitioner further sought to elicit testi-
mony from two clergymen to the effect that the affiants had related to
them, in person, the incidents revealed in the affidavits. Without pass-
ing upon the admissibility of the evidence proffered, in view of the
unavailability of the affiants for cross-examination, and the further
fact that the statements contained in the affidavits were uncorroborated
by any direct testimony, we conclude that the proffered evidence is not
.of sufficient probative value to warrant our consideration. Accord-
ingly, the objection is overruled.
The second objection is based upon the fact that certain employees
were permitted to vote without presenting Employer-issued identifi-
cation cards. It appears, however; that representatives of all parties
had agreed that employees appearing at the polling place without
such identification cards would be permitted to vote upon presentation
of other suitable identification documents. The Employer and the
IAM urge the Board to dismiss this objection upon the grounds that
this practice had been agreed upon by all parties, including the Peti-
tioner, and if, as implied by the Petitioner, invalid-ballots were cast,
it was incumbent upon it to challenge such ballots; and having failed
to do so, the Petitioner waived said objection. This argument has
merit. We therefore overrule the objection. -
-592 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL' LABOR, RELATIONS BOARD
The third objection rests on the fact that the Boaral agent used bal-
lots which had been prepared during the 'election. It appears that a
shortage of blank ballots occurred,-,and the Board agent "dittoed" on
,the Employer's duplicating machine several hundred blank -ballots
.on white paper, whereas the original blank ballots furnished by the
Regional Office were printed on' blue paper. It`further appears-that
all the employees in certain departments used the white ballots in vot-
ing. The Petitioner contends that because the white ballots were con-
spicuous and easily distinguished from those furnished by the Re-
gional Office, the secrecy of the balloting was violated. We believe
this objection to have little merit, since no individual voter could be
identified by the use of the white ballots. The objection is hereby
overruled. -
The fourth objection rests primarily on (1) a speech given by a vice
president of the Employer over the plant's loud-speaker the day before
the election; (2) allegedly permitting campaigning by representatives
of the IAM, without granting the same privilege to the Petitioner;
and (3) allegedly granting strategic raises at a time and to such em-
ployees as to influence them in voting for the IAM. The speech con-
sisted, in substance, of an exhortation to the employees to vote freely
so that the interests of the Employer would not be jeopardized one way
or another, and made it clear that the employees were free to vote
as they chose. We believe that the subject matter of the speech was
well within the protected area of "free speech."
The second allegation is based upon isolated instances, whereby
representatives of the IAM came into the plant without first applying
to the Employer's labor relations office. However, there is no affirma-
tive evidence that the Employer would not permit representatives of
the Petitioner to enter the plant on the same basis. It further appears
that the Employer, upon learning of this practice, took appropriate
steps to discontinue it.
With respect to the third allegation, it appears that certain wage in-
creases were made in the interval between the election of February 27
and the run-off election of March 5, 1948. However, the Employer, in
so doing, followed the usual procedure in granting raises to employees
who had been working during the last 6 months. The notices of such
raises were given to the employees affected just prior to the election
because the necessary rate changes had been processed late by the
Employer. In this posture, the objection is overruled.
With respect to the fifth objection, the Petitioner disapproved gen-
erally of the manner in which the Board agent conducted the election.
Specifically, the Petitioner disapproved'of (1) the Board agent carry-
ing tally sheets and ballots during the election without representatives
CONSOLIDATED VULTEE AIRCRAFT CORPORATION 593
of the Petitioner being present; (2) Board agent's alleged carelessness
in allowing marked and unmarked ballots to lie about without proper
safeguards; (3) balloting booths being so located that persons other
than those voting could look into them and see how a person was
casting-his.ballot; and (4)- the polling place, instead of being closed,
as agreed;,at 111: 30 p. in. on March- 5, 1948, was kept open until. 1,12): 45
a. in., March 6, 1948. The evidence offered in support of this.-objection
reveals no such substantial-deviation-from Board pi etices as would"
mater-iallyaffect the results of the-election. We therefore^overrule"this
objection.
Inasmuch as the tally shows that a majority of all the ballots cast
were for the IAM, and the one challenged ballot is insufficient to affect
the results of the election, we shall certify the IAM as the collective
bargaining representative of the employees in the appropriate unit.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES-
It is hereby certified that the International Association of Ma-
chinists, Aeronautical Lodge 1125, has been. designated and. selected
by a majority of the employees of Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Cor-
poration, San Diego, California, in the unit heretofore found by the
Board to be appropriate,-as their representative for the purposes of
collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act,
the said organization is the exclusive representative of all the em-
ployees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining with
respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment and other con-
ditions of employment.
MEMBER REYNOLDS took no part in the consideration of the above
Supplemental Decision and Certification of Representatives.
I ,