General Baking Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 26, 1950

90 N.L.R.B. 588 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter of GENERAL BAKING COMPANY, EMPLOYER and ERNEST-
JACKSON, PETITIONER and BUILDING SERVICE INTERNATIONAL UNIONr
LOCAL No. 40, AFL, PETITIONER
In the Matter of GENERAL BAKING COMPANY, EMPLOYER and GENERAL
DRIVERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN & HELPERS OF AMERICA,
LOCAL 886, PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 16-RD-61 and 16-RC-524.-Decided June 26, 1950
DECISION AND ORDER
Upon separate certification and decertification petitions duly filed.
under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a consoli-
dated hearing was held before Benjamin E. Cook, hearing officer.
The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from preju-
dicial error and are hereby affirmed.
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 [Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Styles].
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. The Petitioner in the decertification case, an em-
ployee of the Employer, asserts that Building Service International
Union, AFL, Local No. 40, herein called the Intervenor, is no longer
the, representative of the Employer's employees within the meaning
ofSection 9 (a) of the Act.
3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Sec-
tion 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act, for the following
reasons:
The. Employer is engaged in the production and sale of bakery
products. Its principal office is located in New, York City, and there
are branches in 44 other cities. Only the bakery located in Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma, is involved in this proceeding.
In its motion to intervene the Intervenor contended that Local 886 should be barred
from the hearing because of fraud in complying with Section 9 (f), (g), and (h) of the
Act. The Board has consistently held that it will not investigate the authenticity or truth
of affidavits filed under section 9, as such investigations are by the Act made a function
of the Department of Justice. Wilson and Co., Inc., 80 NLRB 1466.
90 NLRB No. 90.
588
GENERAL BAKING COMPANY 589
The Petitioner in Case No. 16-RC-524 seeks to represent the
Employer's janitors, clean-up men, and maintenance employees, cur-
rently being represented by the Intervenor. The Petitioner in Case
No. 16-RD-61 requests a decertification election for the same group
of employees. The Employer and the Intervenor, while agreeing
to the internal composition of the unit, contend that a unit limited
to the employees of the Employer is inappropriate.
For many years past the Employer has joined with the Colonial
.Baking Company and the Continental Baking Company, both of
whom are also located in Oklahoma City, in the conduct of labor
relations on a multiemployer basis through the Bakery Employers
:Labor Council. The Council and unions representing bakery em-
ployees other than those involved in the petition herein have been
bargaining for a substantial period of time.2
In 1947 the multiple-employer bargaining covering production
employees was broadened to include the employees involved herein.
At that time, following consent elections, the three above-mentioned
companies, bargaining through the Council, entered into a single
multiemployer collective bargaining contract with the Intervenor,
covering janitors, clean-up men, and maintenance employees. In
1948 the Royal Baking Company was added to the contract. Such
joint bargaining has continued up to the present time and successive
multiemployer contracts have been entered into, the last one having
expired May 1, 1950.
In this case the Petitioners seek units of the janitors, clean-up men,
and maintenance employees of but one of four employers who by their
conduct of labor relations in the past have indicated their disposition
to be bound by group rather than individual action. We find that in
the light of the multiemployer bargaining history since 1947 with
respect to these employees, particularly when viewed against the
even longer bargaining history respecting the production employees,
the single employer unit requested by the Petitioner is inappropriate.
We shall therefore dismiss the petitions.,
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petitions for decertification and for
investigation and certification of representatives of employees of the
General Baking Company, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, be, and the
same hereby are, dismissed.
2 The precise period is not disclosed by the record. It is clear , however, that such
bargaining began at least 10 years ago.
3 In view of our finding that a unit limited to employees of the Employer is - inappropriate
we find it unnecessary to consider the contentions of the parties respecting the classifications
of employees in the proposed unit or other questions raised in the petitions.