Federal Telephone and Radio Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 20, 1943

49 N.L.R.B. 938 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

in the Matter of "FEDERAL TELEPHONE AND RADIO CORPORATION and
TRUCK DRIVERS & CHAUFFEURS , LOCAL UNION N6. 478, A. F. OF L.
I
I
Case No.,RR5197.--Decidecl May 20,•1943
j r. Charles D. Hilles, Jr., of New York City,, for the Company.
)11r. Carl Yagoda, of.Newark,.N. J., for the A. F. of L.
Mr, Sainucl C. Rothbard, of Newark,, N. J., fold the C. I. O.
DECISION
.31r. Arthur.Le ff, of counsel to, the Board.
• AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
C. I. 0., appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportun^cy
to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce
evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, herein called thr,'
Labor, herein called the A. F. of L., alleging that a question affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of
Federal Telephone and Radio Corporation,' of Newark, New Jersey,
herein called the Company; the National Labor Relations Board
provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Sidney
Reitman, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Newark, New
Jersey, on April 15, 1943. The Company, the A. F. of L., and United
Electrical Radio & Machine .WWWorkers of America, Local 447, affiliated
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon amended petition duly filed by Truck Drivers & Chauffeurs
Local Union No. 478, affiliated with the American Federation of,
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Federal Telephone and Radio Corporation is a Delaware corpora-
tion; having its principal office at Newark, New Jersey, and manu-
i The petition was amended at the hearing to ate the correct name of the Company
which is as above set forth.
49 N. L. R. B., No. 134.
938
FEDERAL TELEPHONE ? AND RADIO CORP'ORATION 939'
facturing and other plants in and about Newark and East-Newark;
New Jersey. The Company also maintains a laboratory in. New York
City and a branch office in Washington, D. C. The Company- is
engaged in the manufacture, experimentation, sale and distribution
of communication equipment and allied products such- as transmitters,
receivers; water-cooled, power tubes, switchboards, and rectifiers. The
principal raw materials used by the Company consist of castings,
aluminum and iron, steel bars in structural shape, sheet, steel and
strips, aluminum, copper, bronze, brass, lead, nickel, phenol, fiber
paints, electrical components such as' transformers, resisters, vacuum
tubes,, switches, relays, and meters, and supplies for manufacturing'
purposes such as paints, alcohols, and sand. During the 6 months'
period prior to the hearing, the Company purchased $9;000,000 worth-
of materials, 80 percent of which was'shipped to it from places outside
the State of New Jersey. During'the same period, the Company sold,
and distributed finished products valued at approximately $11,000,000,
75 percent of which was shipped to places outside the State of New
Jersey.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. . '
i
II: THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Truck Drivers & Chauffeurs Local Union No. 478, affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor, and United Electrical, Radio & Ma'
chine Workers of America, Local 447, affiliated with the Congress of
Industrial Organizations, are labor organizations admitting to 'mem-
bership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On or about September 3, 1942,2 and again on or about December 8,
1942, the A. F. of L. requested' that the Company bargain with it as
the exclusive representative for truck drivers and chauffeurs employed
by the Company. The Company however has declined to do so unless
the A. F. of L. is certified by the Board.
The C. I. O. contends that. the present proceeding is barred by rea-
son of certain.contracts alleged to be outstanding between the Company
and the C. I. O. It appears that the Company is the successor to Fed-
eral Telegraph Company and International Telephone & Radio Manu-
facturing Corporation, which were merged on October 13, 1942. In
December 1941, following a card check conducted under the supervi-
sion of .the Board, International Telephone & Radio Manufacturing
2 The request on September 3, 1942, was made to Federal Telegraph Company.
i
940 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Company entered into a collective bargaining agreement with the
C. I. 0., and in April 1942, following a consent election conducted by
the Board, a similar agreement was entered into between Federal
Telegraph Company and the C. I.0. Each of said agreements covered
'truck, dr-ivers,3 as,,well as .production, maintenance,•aand ^other• em-
ployees, and each was for a .term expiring December 31, 1942. On
December 24, 1942, the Company and the C. I. 0. agreed to extend the
term of the existing contracts indefinitely until such time as negotia-
tions were completed for a new contract and a new contract was ap-
proved by the National War Labor Board. In view of the fact that
the extension agreement of December 24, 1942, was made with knowl-
edge, and in the face of the demand for recognition theretofore made
by the A. F. of L., and is for an indefinite term, we find that neither it
nor the contracts which it extends constitute a bar to our determina-
tion of the question here presented .4
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2"(6) and "(7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The A. F. of L. claims that the appropriate unit should consist of
all truck drivers, station wagon drivers, and drivers of passenger cars
used in the Company's business, employed by the Company in the
State of New Jersey. The C. I. 0. asserts that the afore-mentioned
employees, should not be separated from the broader industrial unit
established by the contracts referred to in Section III, above, and that
the requested unit is, therefore, inappropriate. The Company'takes
no position with respect to the unit.
The Company maintains in the State of New Jersey several plants,
separated by a maximum distance of 6 miles, and in connection with
the'operation of such plants employs a number of truck.drivers, station
wagon drivers, and passenger car drivers. The truck drivers take
care of outgoing material, and their work is confined to the outside of
the plant. The station wagon drivers perform interplant carting of
material, packages, and mail; their work is performed principally
a The Federal contract made specific reference to truck drivers as an included em-
ployee category The International contract, while making no such specific reference,
covered "all hourly paid employees," and it appears that wage rates were negotiated-
thereunder for drivers
4A statement prepared by the Regional Director, introduced in evidence at the hearing
shows that the A. F. of L. submitted19 membership cards, all bearing apparently original
signatures of persons within the appropriate unit claimed by the A F of L whose names
appear on the Company's pay roll of January 19, 1943, which contains 22 names in the
unit claimed by the A. F of L to be appropriate. The C. I 0. submitted 7 membership
cards , all likewise bearing apparently original genuine signatures of persons within,said
alleged appropriate unit and upon said pay roll.
FEDERAL TELEPHONE AND RADIO CORPORATION 941
outside tjie plant, although they occasionally go into the plants for the
purpose of receiving and delivering packages or expediting shipments.
The principal function of the passenger car drivers is to transport
personnel, and sometimes small packages, from plant to plant. All
of these, employees operate motor vehicles upon, the public highways.
None of them does any production work. They are included by the
Company in a separate department having its own supervisors.
In contending that a separate craft unit for the drivers is inappro-
priate at this time, the C. I. 0. relies principally on the past practice
of collective bargaining for those employees within the framework of
an industrial unit, as evidenced by the contracts which were entered
into between the C. I. 0. and the Company's predecessor companies,
International Telephone & Radio Manufacturing Company and Fed-
eral Telegraph Company, in December 1941 and April 1942, respec-
tively, and which followed a card check in the case of one contract
and a consent election in the case of the other. The record in this
proceeding discloses no history of collective bargaining fbr employees
of the',Company^,antedating the; execution of- such, contracts,- and, -as
already noted, the question herein concerning separate representation
for drivers was raised about September 1942. While a past practice of
collective bargaining on the basis of an industrial unit, which includes
a craft group, is an important, and, if extended over a' considerable
period of time, often a decisive factor in determining that a separate
craft unit is no longer appropriate,' we are of the opinion that in the
-instant case the practice of collective bargaining for drivers within the
industrial unit was not of sufficiently long duration in itself to justify
the conclusion that a separate unit for such drivers is no longer
appropriate.
The A. F. of L. claims that the drivers were not members of the
C. I. 0. when the card check agreement, the agreement for a consent
election, and the collective bargaining agreements were made ; that they
neither participated nor were represented in the negotiations leading to
such agreements ; and that they did not acquiesce, either as individuals
or as a craft group, in the industrial units thereby established. The
A. F. of L. claim appears to be supported, at least with respect to the
drivers who were employed by the Federal Telegraph Company; the
undisputed evidence shows that the drivers who were employed at the
time the contract was made refused to become members of the C. I. 0.,
and sought to disavow the collective bargaining contract which was
executed on their behalf. In other cases involving analogous circum-
stances, where a craft organization has petitioned for certification as
s Cf Matter of Walter Kidde it Company, Inc. and Chauffeurs Union Local 478, A. F of
L, 48 N L R B. 1221; Matter of Bi eioster Aeronautical Corporation and Local No.
365; International Union, United'Automobtle Workers' of America and Local 807, Team-
sters and Truck Driueis, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, 31 N. L. R. B.
7 76.
942 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR' RELATIONS BOARD
bargaining representative for employees limited to - a clearly, defined
and historically recognized craft group, we have held'that neither a
prior- certification of an industrial union in an industrial unit, nor the
i execution of 'a collective bargaining ' agreement covering craft em:,
ployees in such industrial unit, necessarily foreclosed' the, claim, of'the,
craft group' to subsequent separate unit recognition.' In such cases,
we have held, that the desires of the craft employees should be the con-
trolling consideration in our determination of the appropriate, unit,
and have directed self-d'etermination,elections, for the craft employees;
In. view of the brief period during which bargaining has been con-
ducted for the drivers within the industrial unit, and, the fact that the,
unit claimed by the A. F. of L. is limited, to employees whose work is,
identified with a clearly defined and' traditionally recognized craft, we
are' of the opinion that the principles of the cited cases are equally,
applicable to the instant case. '
Consequently, we shall make no, final determination of the appropri-
ate unit at this time, but shall direct that an election by secret ballot.
shall be held among all truck drivers; station wagon drivers, and_driversy
of passenger cars, used in the Company's business, employed by the.
Company in the State of New Jersey, who were employed' during the
pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of
Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth'in,
the Direction, to determine whether they desire- to be' represented by
Truck Drivers & Chauffeurs Local Union No. 478, A. F. of L., or by
United'Electrical, Radio &'Machine Workers of America, Local 447,
affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining, or by neither. Upon the results of this
election will depend in part our determination as to the appropriate
unit. If x majority of these employees vote for the A. F. of L.,, they
will thereby have indicated their desire to constitute, a separate ap-
propriate unit and to be represented by the A. F. of L.; otherwise the
petition will be dismissed.
t
01
DIRECTION,OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,,
and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations
,Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby °
6 See, Matter of Bendix Products Division of Bendier Aviation Corporation and Pattern
Makers League of North Almeiica , South Bend Association , affiliated with the A. F. of L,
39 N. L R B. 81 ; Matter of Aluminum Co. of America and Bricklayers Suli. Union $f 10,
Tenn „42 N. L R B 772 ; Sullivan Machinery Company and International Union,, United
Automobile, Woi hers of America, C I. 0 , 31 N L R B 749 ; Matter of Lakey Foundry
and Machine Company and Pattern Makers Association of Muskegon, 34 N L R B. 677;
Matter of Southern Brewing Company and International Unioii of United Brewery, Flour
Cereal & Soft Drink Workers of America, Local # 186, 42 N. L. R . B. 649.
FEDERAL TELEPHONE AND RADIO CORPORATION - , 943
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Federal Telephone
and Radio -Corporation, Newark, New Jersey, an election 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 Second Region, acting in
this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and sub-
ject to Article III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, among all
truck drivers, station wagon drivers, and' drivers-of" passenger cars
used in the Company's business, employed by the Company in the State
of'New Jersey, who were employed during the pay-roll period immedi-
ately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did
not work during said pay-roll period 'because they were ill or on vaca-
tion or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the. Armed
forces 'of 'the United' States who present -themselves in person.at the
polls, but excluding any who have since quit or been discharged for
cause to determine whether they desire to be represented by Truck
Drivers & Chauffeurs Local Union .No. 478, American Federation of
Labor, or by United-Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America,
Local 447, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for
the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.