F. W. Wint Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 2, 1948

76 N.L.R.B. 472 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of RuFUS W. G. WINT AND FRANK J. FATZINGER, D/B/A
F. W. WINT Co., EMPLOYER and UPHOLSTERERS ' INTERNATIONAL
UNION OF NORTH AMERICA , A. F. OF L., PETITIONER
Case No. 4-R-2739.-Decided March 2,1948
Mr. Julius W. Rapoport, of Allentown, Pa., for the Employer.
Mr. Haskell Golden, of Philadelphia, Pa., and Mr. Ray Pudliner,
of Fullerton, Pa., for the Petitioner.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed; hearing in this case was held at Allen-
town, Pennsylvania, on October 23, 1947, before John H. Garver,
hearing officer. 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
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Rufus W. G. Wint and Frank J. Fatzinger, doing business as F. W.
Wint Co., are partners engaged in the operation of a casket factory,
planing mill, lumber yard, and coal business in Catasauqua, Pennsyl-
vania. The Employer annually purchases more than $200,000 worth
of raw materials of which more than 40 percent is obtained from points
outside the State of Pennsylvania. The Employer's annual sales ex-
ceed $300,000, of which more than 7 percent is shipped to out-of-State
customers.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
i The Employer 's motion to dismiss the petition on the ground that the Petitioner has
not complied with the filing requirements enumerated in Sections 9 (f) and (h) is hereby
denied inasmuch as the Petitioner is in fact in compliance with these statutory requirements.
76 N. L. R. B., No. 71.
472
F. W. WINT Co. 473
II. THE LABOR ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization, affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the Peti-
tioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
The Employer contends that according to the General Laws of the
Petitioner, the latter cannot admit to membership some of the em-
ployees herein concerned, and that, therefore, the present proceeding
should be dismissed. Inasmuch as there is no showing that the Peti-
tioner will not accord adequate representation to all employees in-
cluded within the unit hereinafter found appropriate, we find no merit
to this contention 2
We find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
We find, in accordance with the agreement of the parties, that all
the production and maintenance employees of the Employer, including
the truck drivers but excluding the night watchmen,' the clerical em-
ployees , and all supervisors , constitute a unit appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b)
of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining with Rufus W. G. Wint and Frank J.
Fatzinger, d/b/a F. W. Wint Co., Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, an elec-
tion by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not
later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the
direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fourth
Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, among the em-
B Matter of Viigmla Smelt7nq Company , 60 N. L. R . B. 616 , Matter of George K. Garrett
and Company, Inc, 72 N L R B 1286
a We have excluded the night watchmen from the unit although the parties agreed to
their inclusion because, as we stated in our Decision in Matter of C. V. Hill and Company,
76 N. L R B. 158, Case No 4-R-2719, Section 9 (b) (3) of the Act as amended pro-
hibits the Board from including in any unit any individual who has a duty to protect the
property of the Employer against theft whether by employees or "other persons." The
iccord here is clear that the watchmen have such a duty.
474 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ployees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were
employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date
of this Direction, including employees who did not work during said
pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily
laid off, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been
discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to
the date of the election, and also excluding employees on strike who are
not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether or not they desire
to be represented by Upholsterers' International Union of North
America, A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective bargaining.