Imperial Reed & Rattan Furniture Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 30, 1957

118 N.L.R.B. 911 (N.L.R.B. 1957)

IMPERIAL REED & RATTAN FURNITURE CO. 911
interest with respect to the enlarged unit which indicates that the
Petitioner had in its possession certain additional cards which it could
have originally submitted, but did not because it sought to exclude
contingents. As it now appears that the Petitioner has an adequate
showing of interest in the enlarged voting group, we shall set aside
the original Decision and Order to the extent that it finds no question
concerning representation and dismisses the petition.
A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation
of certain employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
2 (6) and (7) of the Act, and we shall direct an election in the follow-
ing voting group :
All selling and nonselling employees at the Employer's store at
Great Neck, Long Island, New York, including regular part-time
employees, but excluding all employees who are excluded in the current
New York store contractual unit.
If a majority of the employees in the above voting group cast their
ballots for the Petitioner, they will be taken to have indicated their-
desire to constitute a part of the existing unit currently represented
by the Petitioner, and the Petitioner may bargain for such employees
as part of that unit. If a majority of them vote against the Petitioner,
they will be taken to have indicated their desire to remain outside the
existing unit, and the Regional Director will issue a certification of
results of election to that effect.
[The Board ordered granted the Petitioner's motion for reconsidera-
tion, and set aside the Decision and Order of May 21, 1957, insofar as
it finds no question concerning representation and dismisses the,
petition.]
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
MEMBERS MuxnooKK and RoDGEas took no part in the consideration of
the above Supplemental Decision, Order, and Direction of Election.
Silvino Giannasca , d/b/a Imperial Reed & Rattan Furniture Co._
and Local 362, Warehousing and Processing Employees Union,
I. B. T., AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case No. 2-RC-8537. July 30,_
1967
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION, ORDER, AND
SECOND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Pursuant to a Decision and Direction of Election 1 an election by
secret ballot was conducted in the above proceeding on March 22,1957,
3 Not reported in printed volumes of Board Decisions and Orders.
118 NLRB No. 111.
912 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The results of the election were as follows : Out of approximately 33
eligible voters, 31 ballots were cast, 15 for the Petitioner and 16 against
the Petitioner. No ballots were challenged. The observers for the
Petitioner and for the Employer duly signed the tally of ballots and the
certificate of conduct of election.
On March 29, 1957, the Petitioner filed timely objections to conduct
affecting the results of the election, a copy of which was served upon the
Employer. The objections were as follows :
During the course of the election, the electrical fuse blew and the
light in the room where voters were required to mark their ballots
was not functioning.
The fuse was not replaced. Instead, voters were instructed to
mark their ballots in the area where the watchers of the election
were seated.
One of the watchers was the secretary to the president of the Em-
ployer. She was in a position to observe how each of the ballots
was being marked. As a result, several employees were intimi-
dated to the point of voting against the Union even though, if the
secrecy of their ballot were maintained, they would have voted
for the Union.
In accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Board, the Re-
gional Director conducted an investigation of the objections, and on
May 6, 1957, issued and served on the parties his report on objections,
in which he found merit because the voting arrangements were such
that there is doubt as to the complete secrecy of the ballot as required in
Board conducted elections. Accordingly he recommended that the
election be set aside. The Employer has filed timely exceptions with
the Board to the Regional Director's report on objections.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Members Murdock, Bean, and
Jenkins].
The report recites the fact that the vault intended to be used as a
voting booth had been rendered useless when the first voter inad-
vertently cut the light cord in closing the door, and that a "booth"
was then improvised in the angle between the open door and the wall,
with chairs stacked with cushions placed on the side of the voting
table which was opposite the open door, and with the Board agent
standing behind the voter to afford some privacy on the fourth side of
the voting table or "booth." Attached to the report is Exhibit A, a
diagram showing that the table at which the observers sat was located
approximately 7 feet from the voting table and within their line of
vision as they sat at the table. The report recites that the union ob-
server stated that he could see some of the ballots as the employees
THE COLONIAL CRAFT, INC. 913
placed them on the voting table although he could not see how they were
marked. The Employer's observer, sitting closer to the voting table
than the union observer, stated that she was paying no attention to
what the voters were doing. This employee is secretary, bookkeeper,
and sole office employee of the Employer.
In its exceptions the Employer admits the accuracy of "the factual
picture and the physical facilities whereat the voting took place," as
shown in the Regional Director's report, but contends that the recom-
mendation to set aside the election is in defiance of "plain sense" in the
absence of proof that the observers could and did see how the ballots
were marked. It stresses the fact that the union observer signed both
the certificate of conduct of election and the tally of ballots after the
votes were counted, without protest. Also, it alleges that the Board
agent went ahead with the improvised voting setup and refused to let
the plant foreman repair the vault light when he appeared, and argues
that it is an anomaly to set aside an election because of a condition for
which the agent, or, in effect, his superior, the Regional Director, is
responsible.
We find no merit in the Employer's exceptions in the circumstances
of this case, and accordingly deny them. Clearly the Board is re-
sponsible for assuring properly conducted elections, and its role in the
conduct of elections must not be open to question.2 Here the improvised
voting arrangements were entirely too open and too subject to observa-
tion to insure secrecy of the ballot and freedom of choice by the em-
ployees in the selection of a bargaining representative. A secret ballot
is essential to a free election. In the interest of preserving the in-
tegrity of our election processes, we shall set aside the election and
direct that a new election be held.3
[The Board set aside the election held on March 22,1957.]
[Text of Second Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
2 See New York Telephone Co., 109 NLRB 788, 790.
3 See Tidelands Marine Services, Inc., 116 NLRB 1222, 1224 and footnote 2.
The Colonial Craft, Inc., Petitioner and United Furniture Work-
ers of America, Local 154, AFL-CIO. Case No.1-RH-047. July
30, 1957
SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
On May 29, 1957, the Board issued a Supplemental Decision and
Direction 1 in the above-entitled proceeding. Pursuant thereto, the
1117 NLRB 1833.
118 NLRB No. 114.
450553-58-vo1 . 118-59