81 N.L.R.B. 969 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

J. I. Case Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsFeb 23, 1949

81 N.L.R.B. 969 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of J. I . CASE COMPANY, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF BLACKSMITHS , DROP FORGERS AND HELPERS, AFL, PETITIONER In the Matter of J. I. CASE COMPANY, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE , AIRCRAFT , AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLE- MENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO ), PETITIONER In the Matter of J. I. CASE COMPANY , EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL MOLDERS AND FOUNDRY WORKERS UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, AFL, PETITIONER In the Matter of J. I. CASE COMPANY , EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS , LODGE No. 291 , PETITIONER Cases Was. 10-RC-103, 10-RC-117, 10-RC-123 and 10-RC-1,04, respectively SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES February 23,1949 Elections have been conducted in the above matter pursuant to the Board's Decision and Direction of Elections,' and in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Board. The Tally of Ballots for the machinists in voting group No. 1 showed the following results : Approximate number of eligible voters-------------------------------- 32 Void ballots------------------------------------------------------- 1 Votes cast for International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO) ------------ 0 Votes cast for International Association of Machinists , Lodge No. 291 ---- 10 Votes cast against participating labor organizations --------- -------- 19 Valid votes counted------------------------------------------------ 29 Challenged ballots-------------------------------------------------- 0 The Tally for the pattern makers and apprentices in voting group No. 2 showed the following results : Approximate number of eligible voters-------------------------------- 10 Void ballots-------------------------------------------------------- 0 0 1 80 N. L. R. B. 217. 81 N. L. R. B., No. 149. 969 970 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Votes cast for International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO) ------------ 1 Votes cast for International Association of Machinists, Lodge No. 291 --- 6 Votes cast against participating labor organizations -------------------- 3 Valid votes counted------------------------------------------------- 10 Challenged ballots-------------------------------------------------- 0 The Tally for the foundry workers in voting group No. 3 showed the following results : Approximate number of eligible voters-------------------------------- 118 Void ballots-------------------------------------------------------- 1 Votes cast for International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO) ------------ 59 Votes cast for International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America, AFL--------------------------------------------- 4 Votes cast against participating labor organizations-------------------- 53 Valid votes counted------------------------------------------------ 116 Challenged ballots--------------- ----------------------------------- 0 The Tally for the remaining production and maintenance employees in voting group No. 4 showed the following results : Approximate numbers of eligible voters---------------------------- 283 Void ballots------------------------------------------------------- 1 Votes cast for International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of American (UAW-CIO) ------ 125 Votes cast for International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers and Helpers, AFL------------------------------------------------ 16 Votes cast against participating labor organizations------------------ 135 Valid votes counted----------------------------------------------- 276 Challenged ballots-------------------------------------------------- 0 Inasmuch as the election among the employees in voting group No. 4 was inconclusive, the Board 2 determined that a run-off election giving the eligible voters in this group an opportunity to vote for or against the UAW-CIO was appropriate under the circumstances of this case. The Tally of that run-off election showed the following results : Approximate number of eligible voters------------------------------ 283 Void ballots------------------------------------------------------- 2 Votes cast for International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO) ----------- 109 Votes cast against participating labor organization------------------ 164 Valid votes counted--------------------------------------------- 273 Challenged ballots-------------------------------------------------- 0 No objections to the conduct of the elections have been filed by any of the parties within the time provided therefor. 'Board Member Murdock dissented from the entry of this order and expressed a desire to file a dissenting opinion at a later date. J. I. CASE COMPANY 971 In the Decision and Direction of Elections previously referred to, the Board made no final determination of the appropriate unit or units, pending the outcome of such elections. Upon the basis of the entire record in the cases, the Board makes the following : SUPPLEMENTAL FINDINGS OF FACT We find that each of the following groups of employees of J. I. Case Company, Anniston, Alabama, constitutes a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act : 1. All pattern makers and apprentices in Department R, excluding clerical employees, timekeepers, watchmen, guards, professional em- ployees, and supervisors, and all other employees; 2. All employees working in the foundry, Department 0, the core room, Department P, the cleaning room, Department N, the material storage room, Department Q, including two inspectors permanently assigned to Department 0 and N, but excluding clerical employees, timekeepers, watchmen, guards, professional employees, and super- visors, and all other employees of the Employer. As the Tallies show that a majority of the valid ballots cast in the unit of pattern makers and apprentices, and in the unit of foundry workers, were cast for International Association of Machinists, Lodge No. 291, and for International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO), re- spectively, we shall certify each of these labor organizations as bar- gaining representative for the unit in which it has been selected as bargaining representative.3 Inasmuch as a majority of the valid votes cast in groups 1 and 4 were against the participating labor organiza- tions, no certification will issue with respect to the employees in those groups. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that International Association of Machin- ists, Lodge No. 291, has been designated and selected by a majority of the employees of the above-named Employer, in the first unit here- inabove found by the Board to be appropriate in the section entitled "Supplemental Findings of Fact," as their representative for the pur- 3 Although the UAW-CIO has not petitioned for a separate unit of foundry workers, since a majority of the valid votes cast in this group were in favor of the UAW-CIO as against the petitioning union or no union, we conclude that the employees in this group desire to be represented at this time for purposes of collective bargaining . Accordingly, since there is no other group represented by the UAW-CIO, in which such employees may be included , we shall certify the UAW-CIO as the exclusive bargaining representative of all the employees in this group as a separate bargaining unit. 972 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD poses of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, as amended, the said organization is the exclusive representa- tive of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment; and IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the International Union, United Auto- mobile, Aircraft, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO) has been designated and selected by a majority of the employees of the above-named Employer in the second unit herein- above found by the Board to be appropriate, in the section entitled "Supplemental Findings of Fact," as their representative for the pur- poses of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, as amended, the said organization is the exclusive represen- tative of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment. MEMBER MURDOCK, concurring and dissenting : I am unable to agree with the action which my colleagues have taken in this case since our original decision, first in directing a run-off election in Group 4 and now in certifying the U. A. W. as bargain- ing agent for Group 3. I think such action is inconsistent with our first decision and contrary to the expressed wishes of the employees here involved. Our purpose in originally directing elections in four voting groups was to ascertain the desires of the employees concerning separate unit representation as opposed to plant-wide unit representation. We stated in our decision that the employees in each of the voting groups could, if they so desired, function as an independent unit, and that if a majority of the employees in any of the groups voted for the peti- tioning labor organization seeking to represent them separately, they would be taken to have indicated their desire for separate bargaining representation. The results of the elections showed that a majority of the employees in Group 2 voted for the petitioning organization seeking to represent them on a craft basis and thereby indicated their desire for separate representation. I concur, therefore, in the major- ity's determination that the employees in Group 2 constitute a separate appropriate unit and that the International Association of Machin- ists, Lodge No. 291, which received a majority of their votes, should be certified as bargaining agent for the unit. In each of the remain- ing voting groups, however, a majority of the employees failed to vote for the petitioning organization which had proposed to set them apart in a unit less than plant-wide in scope. The employees in these J. I. CASE COMPANY 973 groups thereby indicated their opposition to separate unit representa- tion. The opposition, in my opinion, demonstrates the inappropriate- ness of separate bargaining units for Groups 1, 3, and 4, and shows the appropriateness of a residual unit comprising these three groups. I therefore thought when my colleagues directed a run-off election in Group 4 that such action was incorrect and that we should have directed an election among Groups 1, 3, and 4, to determine at that time not what type unit representation the employees desired, for they had already shown that they disfavored separate representation, but to determine whether or not they desired to be represented in a plant- wide unit by the U. A. W. The majority of the Board saw fit to do otherwise, and I noted my disagreement with their view. I must now again voice my difference of opinion with their decision to certify the U. A. W. as representative of Group 3. The employees in Group 3 plainly rejected separate unit representation when they were ques- tioned as to their wishes on that subject. The majority now establishes them in a separate bargaining unit notwithstanding their contrary desires as expressed by secret ballot. This action, to my mind, per- verts the will of the employees in this group and renders meaningless the election which we conducted to determine what type unit repre- sentation they preferred.