International Freighting Corp., et al.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 8, 1939

12 N.L.R.B. 785 (N.L.R.B. 1939)

In the Matter of INTERNATIONAL FREIGHTING CORP., et al. and
INTERNATIONAL SEAMEN'S UNION OF AMERICA
In the Matter Of PANAMA MAIL STEAMSHIP COMPANY and NATIONAL
MARITIME UNION OF AMERICA
Cases Nos. R-159 and R-236, respectively
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION
AND
ORDER
May 8, 1939
On September 17, 1937, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Elections in the
above-entitled cases., The Direction of Elections directed that elec-
tions by secret ballot be conducted among the unlicensed seamen, with
the exception of certain specified groups, employed by 19 named com-
panies, to determine whether they wished to be represented by Inter-
national Seamen's Union of America, or its successor affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor,2 or by National Maritime Union
of America, affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organiza-
tion, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
Pursuant to the Directions, elections have been conducted among
the employees of all but 4 of the 19 companies,' and in conformity
with the results of the balloting, the Board has from time to time
certified the organization selected by a majority of the employees in
each line or in the event a majority indicated they did not wish either
organization to represent them, dismissed the petition in that line.
No election was held in Roosevelt Steamship Company, Inc., one
of the lines included in the Direction of Elections, because there has
been no final determination of the question of whether Roosevelt
Steamship Company, Inc., which operates vessels owned by the
13 N. L. R . B. 692.
' The reasons for the adoption of this designation are set forth in Matter of American
France Line et al. and International Seamen's Union of America, 3 N. L. R . B. 76, and
Ibid, Supplemental Decision and Order issued today , and in Matter of International
Freighting Corp., et al. and International Seamen's Union of America , 3 N. L. it. B. 692.
$ The four companies in which elections have not been completed are :
Columbian Steamship Company, Inc.
Pan-Atlantic Steamship Corporation.
Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Company.
Roosevelt Steamship Company, Inc.
12 N. L. R. B., No. 86.
785
786 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
United States Maritime Commission, or the Maritime Commission
is the employer of the seamen employed on that line.4
At various stages during the elections but prior to a certification
or dismissal by the Board, charges have been filed with the Board
alleging that Columbian Steamship Company, Inc., Pan-Atlantic
Steamship Corporation, and Peninsular & Occidental Steamship
Company, three of the companies included in the Direction of Elec-
tions, have engaged in unfair labor practices which would or might
affect the results of the elections. Upon receiving such charges, the
Board suspended balloting in each of these lines until such time as
the charges were disposed of, and the elections have not yet been
continued in any of these lines.
A question having arisen during the conduct of the elections con-
cerning the identity of the successor to International Seamen's Union
of America, herein called I. S. U., affiliated with the American Fed-
eration of Labor, the Board held a further hearing in these cases
on May 9, 1938, for the purpose of resolving this question. On May
25, 1938, the Board issued a Supplemental Decision and Amendment
to Certification of Representatives,5 in which it was stated that Amer-
ican Federation of Labor Seamen's Union No. 21420 was found to
be the successor to the Atlantic and Gulf Districts of International
Seamen's Union of America. In conformity with this finding, the
Board directed that American Federation of Labor Seamen's Union
No. 21420 should be placed on the ballots in all future elections in
place of International Seamen's Union of America, or its successor
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and amended a
certification issued on February 8, 1938, to designate American Fed-
eration of Labor Seamen's Union No. 21420 as the representative
of the unlicensed seamen employed by New England Steamship
Company.
On June 1, 1938, the Board issued a Supplemental Decision and
Certification of Representatives," in which American Federation of
Labor Seamen's Union No. 21420 was certified as the collective bar-
gaining representative of the unlicensed seamen employed by Ameri-
can Range Lines, Inc.7
Subsequent to the Board's Decision of May 25, 1938, the Board
received and denied numerous motions and petitions filed by I. S. U.,
to hold further hearings in these cases to establish that no suc-
cessor union to I. S. U. exists and to amend our procedure accord-
4 The Board has no jurisdiction over the United States or any State or political sub-
division thereof, even though an employer . See Section 2 (2) of the Act.
57 N. L. R. B 442.
6 7 N. L R. B. 618.
7 New England Steamship Company and American Range Lines, Inc., were the only two
lines in these cases in which the organization affiliated with the American Federation
of Labor was chosen by a majority of the employees.
INTERNATIONAL FREIGHTING CORP. ET AL. 787
ingly.8 On December 14, 1938, I. S. U. filed a petition alleging that
the seamen employed on the lines in which the organization affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor had been certified wish to be
represented by I. S. U. and asking for a hearing "of the question
of whether the bargaining agents [the seamen] elected shall repre-
sent them or whether the American Federation of Labor may at will,
change this representation without the knowledge and consent of
the men." On December 3, 1938, and February 27, 1939, the Board
received petitions from the American Federation of Labor alleging
that American Federation of Labor Seamen's Union No. 21420 has
been displaced by Seafarers International Union of North America,
and requesting further hearings and amendments in accordance with
this fact.
The only lines involved in this proceeding in which the organization
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor was certified as
the collective bargaining representative, are New England Steam-
ship Company and American Range Lines, Inc. All of the certifica-
tions issued in the lines involved in this proceeding were issued almost
a year or in some cases more than a year ago.
We have held in Matter of American France Line et al. and Inter-
national Seamen's Union of America,9 that we will not now amend
the certifications under the circumstances which exist and that we
will dismiss the petitions in all lines in which the elections have not
yet been completed. For the reasons set forth in that decision, we
will deny the petitions filed by I. S. U. and the American Federation
of Labor and we will dismiss the petitions filed by I. S. U. in June
1937 requesting investigations and certifications of representatives in
Columbian Steamship Company, Inc., Pan-Atlantic Steamship Cor-
poration, Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Company and Roose-
velt Steamship Company, Inc. The denials and dismissals will be,
however, without prejudice to the right of any employee or any rep-
resentatives of any employees in any of these lines, to file a new
petition requesting an investigation and certification of representa-
tives if a question concerning representation now exists.
ORDER
By virtue of 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 1, as amended,
8A more detailed description of the petitions , the questions presented , and the reasons
for our decision are set forth in Matter of American France Line et al . and International
Seamen's Union of America , Supplemental Decision and Order issued today.
9 Supplemental Decision and Order issued today.
169134-39-vol 12-51
788 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petitions requesting investigations
and certifications of representatives of the unlicensed seamen em-
ployed by Columbian Steamship Company, Inc., Pan-Atlantic Steam-
ship Corporation, Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Company, and
Roosevelt Steamship Company, Inc., be, and they hereby are, dis-
missed; and
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the petition filed by International Sea-
men's Union on December 14, 1938, and the petitions filed by the
American Federation of Labor on December 3, 1938, and February
27, 1939, be, and they hereby are, denied.