Federal Paper Stock Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 12, 1953

105 N.L.R.B. 574 (N.L.R.B. 1953)

574 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
FEDERAL PAPER STOCK COMPANY and UNITED TEXTILE
WORKERS OF AMERICA, AFL, AND ITS LOCAL 1157,1
Petitioner. Case No. 14-RC-2173. June 12, 1953
DECISION AND ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Harry G.
Carlson, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at
the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.2
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the
Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to
a three-member panel [Members Houston, Murdock, and
Peterson].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning
of the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent
employees of the Employer.
3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act, for
the following reasons:
The Intervenor asserts that its current contract with the
Employer constitutes a bar to this proceeding. The Employer
takes no position concerning the contract-bar issue. The
Petitioner contends that the contract is not a bar because a
schism has occurred in the ranks of the Intervenor.
The Intervenor was certified by the Board in 1949, as the
bargaining representative of the Employer's production and
maintenance employees, and the parties have had contractual
relations since that time. The current contract was executed
on January 8, 1953, and expires by its own terms on December
10, 1953.
On January 23, 1953, the Intervenor accepted the resignation
of William Doyle, its business agent. A few days thereafter
Doyle joined the organizing staff of the Petitioner. About
January 31, 1953, Doyle met with the officers of Local 1157,
CIO, at the home of Lavell Williams, then president of the
Local, and discussed the procedure to be followed in dis-
affiliation from the CIO and affiliation with the AFL. Shortly
thereafter, at another meeting, Doyle of the AFL discussed
with about 12 of the Employer's 77 employees the desirability
of disaffiliation from the CIO. This meeting was not publicized
and was held in the AFL hall rather than at the CIO's Local
1157 regular meeting place. A motion was adopted at this
1 The name of the Petitioner appears as amended at the hearing.
2 Textile Workers Union of America, CIO, Local 1157, was permitted to intervene in the
proceeding upon the basis of its current contract with the Employer Local 1157. CIO, is
an amalgamated local comprised of employees of Federal Paper Stock Company; American
Waste Materials Corp.; and General Waste Trading Company However, the employees of
the latter two are not involved in this proceeding
105 NLRB No 76.
KENNEDY-VAN SAUN MFG. AND ENGINEERING CORPORATION 575
meeting to call a special meeting on February 28, 1953, for
the purpose of voting on disaffiliation from Local 1157, CIO.
The February 28 meeting was also held in the AFL hall
and attended by 3 representatives of the AFL , 2 of whom
spoke on the motion to disaffiliate from the CIO . Forty of
the Employer ' s seventy - seven employees in the unit covered
by the Intervenor ' s contract , attended and voted unanimously to
disaffiliate from Local 1157, CIO, and to affiliate with the AFL.
Thereafter , on March 11 , 1953, at a meeting called by the AFL,
officers were elected and a charter was issued to its new
Local 1157.
The Petitioner contends that the foregoing events have given
rise to such confusion and uncertainty with respect to the
status of the bargaining representative at the Employer ' s plant
as to warrant the Board directing an election at this time under
the "schism doctrine ." We do not agree . The disaffiliation
meeting and the preliminary meeting thereto were held at the
petitioning Union ' s hall, and it is clear that at all times repre-
sentatives of the Petitioner actively assisted the dissident
employees in their efforts at disaffiliation . From these facts,
the Board concludes that the Petitioner ' s control over the dis-
affiliation proceedings were of such nature as to preclude
application of the schism doctrine .' Furthermore , the In-
tervenor still functions and is ready, able , and willing to ad-
minister the contract.
Upon the basis of the foregoing and on the entire record in
this case, we find that the current contract between the
Intervenor and the Employers bars the determination of
representatives at this time. Accordingly , we, shall dismiss
the petition.
[The Board dismissed the petition.]
'See Bendix Products Division , Bendix Aviation Corporation, 98 NLRB 1180 ; Boyle-Midway,
Inc., 97 NLRB 895.
KENNEDY-VAN SAUN MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEER-
ING CORPORATION and UNITED STEELWORKERS OF
AMERICA, CIO, Petitioner . Case No. 4-RC-1930 . June 12,
1953
DECISION AND ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Herbert B.
Mintz, hearing officer. The hearing officer ' s rulings made at
105 NLRB No. 75.