Hunt Foods, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 20, 1946

68 N.L.R.B. 800 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of HUNT FOODS, INC. and CANNERY WAREHOUSEMEN,
FOOD PROCESSORS, DRIVERS & HELPERS, LOCAL 670, AFL
Case No. 19-R-1747.-Decided June 20, 1946
Rhoten & Rhoten, by Mr. George A. Rhoten, of Salem, Oreg., for
the Company.
.Mr. E. S. Benjamin, of Salem, Oreg., and Mr. Walter H. Briem,
of Portland, Oreg., for the Union.
Mrs. Margaret H. Patterson, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by Cannery Warehousemen, Food Proces-
sors, Drivers & Helpers, Local 670, AFL, herein called the Union,
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of Hunt Foods, Inc., Salem, Oregon, herein
called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice before Erwin A. Peterson, Trial
Examiner. The hearing was held at Salem, Oregon, on April 25, 1946.
The Company and the Union appeared and participated. All parties were
afforded opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine wit-
nesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial
Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error
and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded opportunity to file
briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Hunt Foods, Inc., is a California corporation having its principal
offices in Los Angeles, California. It owns and operates plants in the
68 N. L. R. B., No. 108.
800
HUNT FOODS, INC. 801
States of Oregon, Washington, and California. The plant at Salem,
Oregon, is engaged in processing fruits and vegetables. Raw materials
and supplies in excess of $500,000 are purchased annually for this
plant, approximately 15 percent of which originates outside the State
of Oregon. The annual value of the plant's finished product is in excess
of $500,000, of which approximately 95 percent is shipped out of the
State of Oregon.
The Company admits, and we find, that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Cannery Warehousemen , Food Processors , Drivers & Helpers, Local
670, is a labor organization , affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as the
exclusive bargaining representative of certain of its employees until
the Union has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
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 Union seeks a unit of all production, maintenance, and warehouse
employees at the Company's Salem, Oregon plant, excluding seasonal
workers engaged solely for the duration of the processing season, office
and clerical employees, and all supervisory employees with authority
to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in
the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action. The
Company contends that the unit should include seasonal production
and maintenance workers but should exclude year-round production
and maintenance employees who act in a supervisory capacity during
the Company's peak processing season.
Seasonal Workers
The Company is engaged in processing fruits and vegetables during
a season which normally extends from the end of May to the middle
of November. The number of seasonal workers varies with the particular
fruit or vegetable being processed. The Company normally employs
802 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
about 350 persons during the berry and cherry seasons, and from 350
to 700 employees during the beet, pear, peach, and prune season. The
.majority of the seasonal workers are women and high school students.
The average turn-over in the seasonal workers is approximately 30 per-
cent annually. There is some labor turn-over during the processing season
itself.
In addition to seasonal workers, the Company employs a regular
force of men in specified job classifications who work the year round
This force of year-round employees numbers about 33 persons. During
the peak processing season these employees may be engaged in the
same processing work done by the seasonal workers. The Company
maintains a vacation plan for its year-round salaried employees, of
whom there are 10. A group insurance plan is maintained by the Com-
pany and is open to all employees, whether year-round or seasonal.
From the foregoing facts it appears that the seasonal workers do
not have the substantial continuing interest in their jobs which year-
round employees possess. It further appears that the Union has confined
its organizational activities to the year-round employees and does not
presently seek to represent the seasonal workers. We shall accordingly
exclude seasonal workers engaged solely for the duration of the proces-
sing season.'
Part-Time Supervisory Employees
The Company employs approximately 17 year-round employees who
are assigned to supervisory positions during the peak processing season
lasting from 5 to 6 months. The record reveals that the supervisory
nature of their duties is far from casual. These employees oversee the
work of a considerable number of subordinates, having the authority to
hire and discharge employees under their supervision. These employees,
when acting as supervisors, receive a higher rate of pay than the non-
supervisory employees. During the balance of the year they work as non-
supervisory maintenance men, their wages and hours then being identi-
cal with year-round maintenance employees. The Company contends that
because of the supervisory nature of their duties during the processing
season these employees should be excluded from a production and main-
tenance unit. It is our opinion, however, that to the extent that these
employees are engaged as non-supervisory maintenance workers, sub-
ject to the same wage rates and working conditions as the non-super
visory year-round employees, they are properly a part of a production
and maintenance unit of year-round employees. We shall include them
in the unit hereinafter found appropriate during such period as they are
'Matter of California Packing Company , 59 N. L. R. B. 941, Matter of Libby, McNeill and
Libby, 59 N. L . R. B. 864; Matter of Reid, Murdoch & Co, 56 N I. R Y, 284, Matter
of Stokely Foods Company, Inc., 66 N L R. B 749
HUNT FOODS, INC 803
engaged in non-supervisory maintenance work.2 They are deemed to
be excluded from the unit only when acting in the capacity of super-
visors. The question of the eligibility of these part-time supervisors to
vote in the election will be considered in Section V, infra.'
Four of the Company's year-round employees are classified as super-
visors and act in such capacity throughout the entire year. There app: ars
to be no real dispute regarding their exclusion and we shall exclude
such year-round supervisors from the unit.
We find that all production, maintenance, and warehouse employees
at the Company's Salem, Oregon, plant, excluding seasonal workers
solely engaged for the duration of the processing season, office and
clerical employees, and all supervisory employees4 with authority to
hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the
status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESFNTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representations which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among employees
in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period
immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, sub-
ject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction.
As indicated in Section IV, above, some of the year-round employees
divide their time between supervisory and non-supervisory duties. While
all of such employees may be represented by the Union in respect to
that part of their employment which is not superviory, only those em-
ployees who spend 50 percent or more of their time in such non-super-
visory employment have a sufficiently substantial interest in the terms
and conditions of employment in the production and maintenance unit
and in the outcome of the election in that unit to entitle them to vote in
the election hereinafter directed 8 Accordingly, year-round production
S Matter of Sterling Sugars, Inc, 65 N L R B 1118 A somewhat similar arrangement was
adopted by this Board in situations where employees divided their time between agricultural and
non-agricultural pursuits . In such cases the Board held that these employes should be deemed
excluded from the unit when engaged in agi icu tvral N oric. but included where engaged in non.
agricultural employment . See Matter of Pepeekeo Sugar Company, 59 N L R B 1532; Matter
of Maui Pineapple Company, 60 N L R B 401, Matter of H I Heins Company, 49
N. L. R. B 573.
3 See Matter of Wadham's Division of Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, 54 N L. R B 1164
4 Those year-round employees who exercise supervisory authority during the processing
season only and who, during the balance of the year, work as non-upervisory maintenance
men, are deemed excluded from the unit only when acting in the capacity of supervisors.
" This Board has not heretofore dealt with the question of the eligibility of part -time super-
visoi s to vote in an election involving non-supervisory employees Our decision concerning their
eligibility is based on analogy with the cases involving part -t.me agricultural workers who act
in that capacity during only half of the year and were held eligible to vote in an election. See
Matte, of Pepeekeo Sugar Company, supra, and Matter of Maui Pineapple Company, supra.
696966-46-52
804 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and maintenance employees in the Company's employ at the time of the
election who have worked in the plant more than 50 percent of their
time in a non-supervisory capacity (1) during the 12 months preceding
the date of this Direction, or (2) during the period of their employment
if less than 12 months, are eligible to vote in the election.
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 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representatives
for the purposes of collective bargaining with Hunt Foods, Inc., Salem,
Oregon, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as pos-
sible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction,
under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the
Nineteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor
Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said
Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appro-
priate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including em-
ployees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were
ill or on vacation 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 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, to determine whether or not they desire to be
represented by Cannery Warehousemen, Food Processors, Drivers &
Helpers, Local 670, AFL, for the purposes of collective bargaining.