Fall River House, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 29, 1972

198 N.L.R.B. 1123 (N.L.R.B. 1972)

FALL RIVER HOUSE , INC. 1123
Fall River House, Inc. and Hotel, Restaurant and
Cafeteria Employees and Bartenders Local 100,
Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders
International Union , AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case
1-AC-30
August 29, 1972
DECISION AND ORDER
BY MEMBERS JENKINS, KENNEDY, AND
PENELLO
On April 4, 1972, in Case 1-RC-10, 918, Local 991
was certified as the collective-bargaining representa-
tive of certain employees of the Employer.2 On May
8, 1972, Petitioner Local 100 filed the instant
petition, requesting that the certification be amended
by substituting it for Local 99 as the certified
bargaining representative of the Employer's employ-
ees.
The Employer opposed the granting of the amend-
ment, contending that the unit employees had not
properly authorized the change in their bargaining
representative.
A hearing was held on June 8, 1972, at Boston,
Massachusetts, before Hearing Officer Norman
Zankel. Following the hearing, and by direction of
the Regional Director for Region 1, this case was
transferred to the National Labor Relations Board
for original consideration. Briefs have been filed by
both parties.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officer's
rulings made at the hearing and finds that they are
free from prejudicial error. The rulings are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board
finds:
On July 31, 1970, Local 99 merged with Local 100,
affiliated with the same International. Local 99 had
i Hotel , Motel, Restaurant , Cafeteria and Bartenders Union Local No
99, AFL-CIO
2 Pursuant to a petition filed by the Union, an election was held on
February 4, 1970, but the ballots were impounded pending the disposition
of an unfair labor practice charge , which had been filed a few days before.
On November 16, 1970, the Union entered into a settlement of the
complaint, and subsequently the ballots were opened and counted. It was
been under trusteeship of the International Union
from September 1969 until the time of merger.
Prior to merger, the trustee of Local 99 told its
acting secretary to ascertain the sentiments of the
membership concerning a possible merger between
Locals 99 and 100. Thereafter, while collecting dues,
the acting secretary spoke to about 30 of the 38
members in good standing concerning the merger, of
whom 4 are employed by the Employer. The acting
secretary also spoke to the approximately 31 other
unit employees of the Employer herein. Letters
announcing the intention to merge were sent to the
38 members in good standing.
The reaction of those contacted was favorable to
the merger. Following the merger, Local 99's mem-
bers were transferred to membership in Local 100.
Local 100 held a meeting to which all previous
members of Local 99 were invited. Of the 38
members invited, 5 or 6 attended and indicated their
approval of the merger.
The Board does not, upon petition, amend certifi-
cations in the manner requested herein if the petition
raises a question concerning representation. Nor
does the Board grant such an amendment where the
possibility of a question concerning representation
remains open because the change which allegedly
occurred took place under circumstances that do not
indicate that it reflected a majority view.3 This
record does not satisfy us as to the employees' desires
to substitute Local 100 as their bargaining represent-
ative or that such action as may have been taken to
determine the employees' wishes even comported
with the appropriate safeguards which ought to
attend any such effort. We shall therefore deny the
petition to amend certification.4
ORDER
It is hereby ordered that the petition to amend the
certification filed by Hotel, Restaurant and Cafeteria
Employees and Bartenders Local 100, Hotel &
Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International
Union, AFL-CIO, be, and it hereby is, denied.
not until April 4, 1972, that various objections and exceptions were resolved
and the certification issued
3 See North Electric Company, 165 NLRB 942; The Hamilton Tool
Company, 190 NLRB No. 114.
4 Likewise denied as being inappropriately raised herein is the Employ-
er's motion to revoke the certification issued to Local 99 in Case I-RC-10,
918.
198 NLRB No. 164