International Technovation, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 17, 1971

194 N.L.R.B. 232 (N.L.R.B. 1971)

232 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
International Technovation, Inc. and International
Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill
Workers, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case 26-RC-4003
November 17, 1971
DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF
RESULTS OF ELECTION
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS
FANNING AND JENKINS
Pursuant to a Stipulation for Certification Upon
Consent Election executed by the parties and ap-
proved by the Regional Director for Region 26 of the
National Labor Relations Board on June 7, 1971, an
election by secret ballot was conducted in the above-
entitled proceeding on July 15, 1971, under the
direction and supervision of the Regional Director.
Upon the conclusion of the election, a tally of ballots
was furnished the parties in accordance with the
Board's Rules and Regulations.
The tally of ballots shows that there were approxi-
mately 49 eligible voters and that 48 ballots were cast,
of which 20 were for, and 28 against, the Petitioner.
There were no challenged ballots.
On July 20, 1971, the Petitioner filed timely
objections to conduct affecting the results of the
election. The Regional Director completed an investi-
gation of the objections and, on August 24, 1971,
issued and served on the parties his Report on
Objections. In his report, the Regional Director
recommended that Petitioner's Objections 2(a), (b),
\ (c), and (d) be overruled, that Objection 1 be
,sustained, and that the election be set aside and a new
election held. Thereafter, the Employer filed timely
exceptions to the Regional Director's report and a
supporting brief.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated, its
authority in connection with this proceeding to a
three-member panel.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the Act and it will effectuate the
purposes of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein.
2. The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming
to represent certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concern-
ing the representation of employees of the Employer
within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and Section 2(6)
and (7) of the Act.
4. We find that the following employees, as
stipulated by the parties, constitute a unit appropriate
for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act:
All production and maintenance employees in-
cluding truckdrivers and shipping clerk employed
at the Employer's Malvern, Arkansas, plant, but
excluding office clerical employees, professional
employees, guards and supervisors as defined in
the Act.
5. The Board has considered the, entire record in
this proceeding, including the Regional Director's
report, and the exceptions and brief, and, contrary to
the Regional Director, overrules the Petitioner's
Objection 1.1
Objection 1 alleges that the Employer, through
distribution of a letter dated July 9, 1971, threatened
the employees with loss of jobs if the Union won the
election and left the impression that a vote for the
Union was hopeless. The letter, identified as a
confidential communication from Malvern Plant
Manager Bonner to Plant Manager Reasor in Big
Spring, Texas, outlined the plan the Employer would
follow to maintain production in the event a union
was successful in the election and a strike resulted
during the "three to six months period required for
negotiation of contracts." The letter further states in
pertinent part:
1. The excess capacity of the Big Spring opera-
tion which will include foam, egg cartons and meat
trays will be transported to Malvern for sale at a
cost of list price less 10 percent.
2. Trained personnel from the Big Spring plant
which will include two extruder operators, one
portco operator and two brown machine operators
will be transferred to Malvern on a temporary
basis for a period not to exceed 30 days. This will
give us assistance in training the new employees
that we would begin hiring immediately.
The Regional Director found that, while the
Employer did not directly circulate the letter or cause
it to be circulated,, a substantial number of eligible
voters were apprised of its contents with the Employ-
er's apparent acquiescence. The Regional Director
concluded that the average voter, when apprised of
the content of the letter, could readily have been
convinced that his selection of the Union as bargain-
ing representative would be a futile gesture that
foreseeably could cost him his job.
We have carefully examined the content of the letter
and find, in agreement with the Employer, that it does
not support' the Regional Director's conclusion. We
are unable to agree with the Regional Director that
the average voter would reasonably infer from the
reference in the letter to the "three to six months
period required for negotiation of contracts" that the
1 As neither party has excepted to the Regional Director's these recommendations pro forma.
recommendations that the remaining objections be overruled, we adopt
194 NLRB No. 36
INTERNATIONAL TECHNOVATION, INC.
Employer intended to engage the Union in protracted
negotiations. In our view, this statement appears to be
an expression of the Employer's not unreasonable
belief that it takes 3 to 6 months to negotiate a first
contract with a newly certified union. Rather than
convey the impression that bargaining would be
futile, the letter tacitly recognizes the period of serious
bargaining that would be required, should the Union
become certified. Nor do we find anything objection-
able in the remainder of the letter. The contingency
plans there outlined were to take effect only "in the
event" the Union, during or after bargaining, chose to
strike, and constituted a factual, unobjectionable
representation of the Employer's right under existing
law to carry on its business in the event of a work
stoppage.
233
Accordingly, as we have overruled the objections
and as the tally of ballots shows that the Petitioner has
not received a majority of the valid ballots cast, we
shall certify the results of the election.
CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS OF
ELECTION
It is hereby certified that a majority of the valid
votes has not been cast for International Brotherhood
of Pulp , Sulphite, and Paper Mill Workers,
AFL-CIO, and that the said labor organization is not
the exclusive representative of the employees in the
appropriate unit, within the meaning of Section 9(a)
of the National Relations Act, as amended.