Ingram-Richardson Mfg. Co. of Indiana, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 23, 1940

23 N.L.R.B. 85 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter Of INGRAM -RICHARDSON MFG. COMPANY OF INDIANA, INC.
and FEDERAL LABOR UNION 22174, AFFILIATED WITH THE A. F. OF L.
Case No. R-1770.-Decided Aril 23, 1940
Porcelain and Enamel Products Manufacturing Industry-Investigation of
Representatives : controversy concerning representation of employees: rival
organizations ; employer's refusal to recognize petitioning union as exclusive
bargaining agent until so designated by Board ; contract with certified labor
organization which has run for one year and is terminable thereafter on 60
days' notice no bar; substantial showing of membership by petitioning union-
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em-
ployees, exclusive of truck drivers, clerical employees , and supervisory em-
ployees ; stipulated-Election Ordered
Mr. Colonel C. Sawyer, for the Board.
Mr. R. H. Coin, of Frankfort, Ind., for the Company.
Pryor & Davidson, by Mr. Frank S. Pryor, of Frankfort, Ind., and
Mr. Hugh Gormley, of Indianapolis, Ind., for Union 22174.
Mr. James Robb, of Indianapolis, Ind., for the S. W. O. C.
Mr. N. Barr Miller, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF TILE CASE
On December 11, 1939, Federal Labor Union 22174, affiliated with
the A. F. of L., herein called Union 22174, filed with the Regional
Director for the Eleventh Region (Indianapolis, Indiana) a petition
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning
the representation of employees of Ingram-Richardson Mfg. Com-
pany of Indiana, Inc., herein called the Company, and requesting an
investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section
9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called
the Act. On March 12, 1940, the National Labor Relations Board,
herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) and Article
III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regu-
lations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and author-
ized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appro-
priate hearing upon due notice.
23 N. L. R. B., No. 9.
2 53034-41 -v of 23--7 85
86 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
On March 15, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear-
ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, upon
Union 22174, upon Steel Workers Organizing Committee on behalf
of Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers of North
America, Lodge No. 1774, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called
the S. W. O. C., a labor organization claiming to represent employees
directly affected by the investigation, and upon International Brother-
hood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen & Helpers of America,
Local #746, herein called the Teamsters, a labor organization having
a contract with the respondent covering the wages and working con-
ditions of the Company's truck drivers.
Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on March 20, 1940, at
Frankfort, Indiana, before John T. Lindsay, the Trial Examiner duly
designated by the Board. At the hearing the S. W. O. C. was per-
mitted by the Trial Examiner to intervene in the proceedings. The
Board, the Company, Union 22174, and the S. W. O. C. were rep-
resented 1 and participated in the hearing. Before the taking of
testimony and again at the close of the hearing the S. W. O. C.
moved that the petition of Union 22174 be dismissed. For reasons
hereinafter stated the motion is hereby denied. Full opportunity
to be heard, to examine and to cross-examine witnesses, and to intro-
duce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. During
the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings
on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The
Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that
no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby
affirmed.
The S. W. O. C. requested the privilege of filing a brief, and that
privilege was granted by the Board to all parties. No briefs were
filed. On April 9, 1940, a hearing for the purpose of oral argument
was conducted by the Board in Washington, D. C., at which Union
22174 appeared
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF TIIE COMPANY
Ingram-Richardson Mfg. Company of Indiana, Inc., is an Indiana
corporation with its principal place of business located in the city
of Frankfort, Indiana. The Company is engaged in the manufacture,
sale, and distribution of porcelain table tops, enameled stove and
'The Board and Union 22174 were represented by counsel The Company was repre-
sented by its president, R H. Coln. and the S W 0 C by its fie]d dhector, James Robb.
INGRAM-RXHARDSON MFG. COMPANY OF INDIANA, INC. 87
refrigerator parts, and frit. The raw materials used by the Company
in its manufacturing operations consist of flat steel, enameling stock,
acids, sands, glass, mine products, oxides; light chemicals, packing
supplies, and gasoline. During the year 1937, the cost of said raw
.materials amounted to $765,000, of which 85 per cent were shipped
to the Company from points outside the State of Indiana. During
the same year, the Company produced 448,000 pieces of metal; 270,000
porcelain table tops ; 5,,330,000 square feet of enameled steel stove
parts; and 10,700,000 pounds of'frit. The estimated value of such
finished products amounted to approximately $900,000. Approxi-
mately 75 per cent of,the finished products were shipped to points
outside the State of Indiana.
It was stipulated at the hearing by the Company and the Board,
and we find, that the current operations and business' of the Company
were substantially the same as set forth above.2 The Company
admits that it is engaged in interstate commerce within the meaning
of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
II. THE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Federal Labor Union 22174 is a labor organization affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor, admitting to its membership all
production and maintenance employees of the Company, excluding
employees in a supervisory capacity as direct representatives of
management, foremen, office employees, truck drivers, and watchmen .3
Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers of North
America, Lodge No. 1774, is a labor organization affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership all
production and maintenance employees of the Company, exclusive
of truck drivers, clerical employees, and supervisory employees.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Since June 8, 1937, the Company has continuously had contracts
with the S. W. O. C. covering wages and working conditions. On
October 14, 1938, the Board certified the S. W. O. C. as the exclusive
-bargaining agent of all production and maintenance employees of
the Company, exclusive of truck drivers, clerical employees, and
supervisory employees, on a showing of 116 membership cards out
of 226 employees in the unit. Following certification the S. W. O. C.
and the Company executed a new contract, as of November 1, 1938,
recognizing the S. W. O. C. as the exclusive bargaining agent for all
2 The facts set forth in the preceding paragraph wve, e found be the Board of Matter
of Ingram-Richardson Mfg Co of Indiana, Inc. and Amalgamated Association of Iron,
Steel & Tin Workers, Local 17711, 9 N. L R. B. 200, decided October 14, 1938.
a A representative of Union, 22174 stated at the hearing that watchmen were excluded
from membership if they had "police powers "
88 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the employees in the appropriate unit. By its terms the contract
was to be effective until November 1, 1939, and thereafter to con-
tinue indefinitely unless changed by law or on 60 days' notice by
either party. This contract is currently in force.
Union 22174 began to organize in October 1939 and was chartered
on October 19, 1939. On October 21, 1939, a representative of Union
22174 notified the Company by letter that that organization rep-
resented a majority of the employees within the established unit and
requested a conference for the purpose of negotiating a contract.
The Company replied by letter on October 25 that it was under
contract with the S. W. O. C., a union certified by the Board, and
suggested that Union 22174 file a petition with the Board for the
purpose of establishing its claim to recognition as the exclusive
bargaining agent of the Company's employees. Thereafter, on De-
cember 11, 1939, Union 22174 filed its petition with the Board.
At the hearing the S. W. O. C. filed its motion to dismiss the
petition because of the contract currently in effect 4 We are of the
opinion that the contract is no bar to our determination of repre-
sentatives at this time. The contract has run for more than a year
and by its terms is terminable at any time after November 1, 1939,
upon 60 days' notice by either party. We find that the current con-
tract between the Company and the R. W. O. C. does not prevent
an investigation and certification of representatives at this time.s
The factory pay roll of the Company for March 16, 1940, indicates
that there are 291 employees within the unit which we have found in
Section V, infra, to be appropriate. Union 22174 submitted 71 mem-
ership cards to the Regional Director for the Eleventh Region and
to the Trial Examiner as evidence that it had a substantial member-
ship among the Company's employees. Most of these cards were
signed in October or November 1939. At the hearing representatives
of Union 22174 testified that that organization had 200 additional
membership cards which were unavailable because D. E. Smith,
president of Union 22174, who was the custodian of those cards, had
left the city the latter part of February 1940 without turning them
over to any other officer of the union, and that no one had yet been
able to communicate with him by mail in order to obtain them. Ac-
cording to the testimony, all of the missing cards were signed between
October 1939 and sometime in February 1940. Witnesses for Union
.22174 testified that various members of that organization distributed
and collected membership cards which were then turned over to
4 A second ground stated for dismissal is that the petitioner of Union 22174 misstates
the facts as to the number of eligible employees on the pay roll and the number of
employees who had designated Union 22174 as their bargaining agent
5 Matter of Todd-Johnson Dry Docks , Inc. and Industrial Union of Marine and Ship-
building Workers of America, Local No. 29, 10 N L It. B. 629
INGRAM-RICHARDSON MFG. COMPANY OF INDIANA, INC. 89
Smith. Two members of Union 22174 testified that they had obtained
approximately 60 to 65 signed membership cards which they turned
over to Smith, but the two witnesses were uncertain whether any of
these cards were among the 71 still in the possession of Union 22174
or whether they were among the 200 cards which Smith failed to turn
over to the union.
The S. W. 0. C. asserted that it had 212 members among the Com-
pany's employees on November 1, 1939; 173 on March 2, 1940, and
189 on March 20, 1940, the day on which the hearing was held. The
only evidence of membership submitted for examination to the Re-
gional Director was a typewritten list of 173 names which the
S. W. 0. C. stated were paid-up members for the month of January
1940. . This list was signed by the financial secretary of the S. W.
0. C. and his signature witnessed by three persons.
We are of the opinion that on the basis of all the evidence Union
22174 has made a sufficient showing of substantial support among the
Company's employees to raise a question concerning representation
at this time."
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of
the employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, and
tends to lead 'to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
At the hearing the 'parties stipulated that the unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining should consist of all production
and maintenance employees of the Company, exclusive of truck
drivers, clerical employees, and supervisory employees.7
This- is the unit which we found appropriate in a previous in-
vestigation and determination of the representatives of employees of
6 See Matter of R. C. A. Manufacturing Company, Inc. and International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers B-957, 16 N. L. R. B., 883. Cf Matter of North American Aviation,
Inc. and United Automobile Workers of America, Local No 228, C I. 0., 19 N. L R B.
222; Matter of General Electric Company and The G. E. Industrial Union of The
Bridgeport Works, Incorporated, 15 N. L. R. B., 1018.
'In connection with the stipulation it was stated at the hearing that all the parties
agreed that dock hands were within the appropriate unit and were not to be excluded as
within the classification of truck drivers.
90
' DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
this Company." We find that all production and maintenance em-
ployees of the Company, exclusive of truck drivers, clerical employees,
and supervisory employees constitute a unit appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to
employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-
organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate
the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
Neither Union 22174 nor the S. W. O. C. sought to be certified on
the basis of evidence submitted at the hearing. Representatives can
therefore best be determined by an election by secret ballot. The
parties stipulated that in the event of an election the pay roll of
March 16, 1940, should be determinative of the eligibility of em-
ployees to vote. We shall so direct.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. Federal Labor Union 22174, affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, and Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel &
Tin Workers of North America, Lodge No. 1774, affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations, are labor organizations within
the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the rep-
resentation of employees of Ingram-Richardson Mfg. Company of
Indiana, Inc., Frankfort, Indiana, within the meaning of Section
9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
3. All production and maintenance employees of the Company, ex-
clusive of truck drivers, clerical employees, and supervisory em-
ployees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National
Labor Relations Act.
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, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8,
of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations- Series 2,
as amended, it is hereby
8 Matter of Ingram -Richardson Mfg. Co. of Indiana, Inc. and Amalgamated Association
of Iron, Steel & Tan Workers, Local 1774, 9 N . L. R. B 200.
INGRAM-RICHARDSON MFG. COMPANY OF INDIANA, INC. 91
DIRECTED that, as a part of the investigation authorized by the
Board to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with
Ingram-Richardson Mfg. Company of Indiana, Inc., 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 of Election,
under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for
the Eleventh Region, acting in this matter as the agent for the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9,
of said Rules and Regulations, among all production and mainte-
nance employees who were on the Company's pay roll of March 16,
1940, including employees who did not work during the period covered
by that pay roll because they were ill or on vacation, and employees
who were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding
truck drivers, clerical employees, supervisory employees, and em-
ployees who have since March 16, 1940, quit or been discharged for
cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented for the
purposes of collective bargaining by Federal Labor Union 22174,
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, by Amalgamated
Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers of North America, Lodge
No. 1774, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or
by neither.