De Vry Corp.Download PDFNational Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsMay 16, 194773 N.L.R.B. 1145 (N.L.R.B. 1947) Copy Citation In the Matter of DEVRY CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, AFL, PETITIONER Case No. 13-R-4232.--Decided May 16,1947 Mr. Thomas H. Kelley, of Chicago, Ill., for the Employer. Mr. Joseph M. Jacobs, by Mr. Jacob N. Gross, of Chicago, Ill., for the Petitioner. Mr. P. L. Siemiller, of Chicago, Ill., for the Intervenor. Mr. Abraham Frank, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND ORDER Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Chicago, Illinois, on March 20, 1947, before Robert E. Ackerberg, hearing officer. At the hearing, and in its brief, the Intervenor moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that a current contract between the Inter- venor and the Employer constitutes a bar to the present proceeding. For reasons set forth in Section III, infra, the motion is hereby granted. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER DeVry Corporation, an Illinois corporation, is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cameras, projectors and sound equipment at its place of 'business in Chicago, Illinois. It annually purchases raw materials valued in excess of $250,000, all of which are obtained from sources outside the State of Illinois. Sales of its finished prod- ucts exceed $2,000,000 annually, of which approximately 95 percent represents sales to purchasers located outside the State of Illinois. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 73 N. L. it. B., No. 197. 1145 1146 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Em- ployer. The International Association of Machinists, herein called the In- tervenor, is a labor organization, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. III. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On March 5, 1946, as the result of a prehearing election, the Inter- venor was certified by the Regional Director as the exclusive bargain- ing representative of the unit sought herein. Thereafter, on March 28, 1946, the Intervenor and the Employer executed a collective bargaining agreement to be in effect for 1 year, subject to automatic renewal from year to year unless either party served notice of a desire to terminate or modify the agreement at least 30 days before March 28 of any year. Negotiations on wages were commenced in December 1946, and a new 1-year agreement, automatically renewable, was signed on February 27, 1947. Petition in the instant case was filed on February 7, 1947, before the automatic renewal date of the original contract. The Intervenor contends that its second contract of February 27, 1947, is a bar to a present determination of representatives. The Board has established the rule that a collective bargaining agreement for a reasonable term, executed within the 1-year period following the union's certification, is an effective bar during its term to a claim of representation filed by a rival union, even where the contract is a premature extension of a prior contract,' or where the contracting parties had been put on notice of a rival claim.2 The fact that the contract claimed to be a bar is the second contract ex= ecuted within the certification year does not alter the application of the rule, it being for a reasonable term.3 Although the petition in the instant case was timely with respect to the expiration date of the original contract, inasmuch as the second contract was negotiated and executed within the 1-year certifi- cation period, we find that it is a bar to a present determination of representatives. Accordingly, we shall dismiss the petition herein. ' Matter of Omaha Packing Company, 67 N. L R. B. 304; Matter of Swift Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation