Jenkins Brothers

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 23, 1942

44 N.L.R.B. 323 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter Of JENKINS BROTHERS a)Zd INTERNATIONAL UNION OF
MINE, MILL AND SMELTER WORKERS , C. I. O.
Case No. C-2322.Decided Selpteinber 03, 10.2
Jurisdiction : valve manufacturing industry.
Settlement : stipulation providing for compliance with the Act.
Remedial Orders : entered on stipulation.
Mr. Jack Davis, for the Board.
Mr. David Goldstein, of Bridgeport, Conn., for the Company.
Mr. Irving Dichter, of Bridgeport, Conn., for the Union.
Mr. Norman King Parsells, of Bridgeport, Conn., for the Association.
Cllr. Seyinour J. Spelinan, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon charges and amended charges duly filed by International Union
of Mine, Mill and SmelterVorkers, C. I. O.; herein called the Union,
the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, by the
Regional Director for the Second Region (New York City), issued its
complaint and amended complaint dated June 20 and July 3, 1942,
respectively, against Jenkins Brothers, Bridgeport, Connecticut, herein
called the respondent, alleging that the respondent had engaged in
and was engaging in unfair labor practices affecting commerce, within
the meaning of Section 8 (1), (2), and (3) and Section 2 (6) and (7)
of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the
Act. Copies of the complaint and amended complaint, accompanied
by notices of hearing, were duly served upon the respondent, the Union,
and Jenkins Brothers Employees Representation Association, herein
called the Association, a labor organization alleged, in the complaint
and amended complaint to be dominated and supported by the
respondent.
Concerning the unfair labor practices, the amended complaint al-
leged, in substance, that the respondent (1) in February, April, and
44 N L. R B, No 60
323
324 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL: LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
May, 1942, discouraged membership in the Union by discharging and
thereafter refusing and continuing to refuse' to reinstate five of its
named employees because they joined or assisted the Union or engaged
in other concerted activities for the purposes of collective bargaining,
.'or other mutual aid or protection, except that respondent did on or
about June 19, 1942, offer reinstatement to four of said discharged
employees and did on or about June 24, 1942, reinstate two of said
employees to work; (2) on or about- February 18, 1942, initiated,
formed, and sponsored the Association, and assisted, dominated, con-
tributed to the support of and interfered with the administration. of
said Association; (3) on and after February 4, 1942, vilified, dispar-
aged, and expressed disapproval of the Union; interrogated its em-
ployees concerning their Union affiliations ; urged, persuaded, threat-
ened, and warned its employees, to refrain from assisting, becoming
members of, or remaining members of the Union; and, from on or
about February 4, 1942, urged, persuaded, threatened, and warned
its employees to assist, become members of, or remain members of
the Association and (4) by the foregoing acts ilterfered with, re-
strained, and coerced its employees in the exercise of the rights guar-
anteed in Section 7 of the Act.
On or about July 22, 1942, the respondent and the Association filed
their answers to the amended complaint which denied that the re-
spondent had engaged in the alleged unfair labor practices. On or
about July 16, 1942, the Association filed a petition to intervene,
which was referred to the Trial Examiner.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on' July 16 and 17, 1942, at
Bridgeport, Connecticut, before Peter F. Ward, the Trial Examiner
duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Board, the re-'
spondent, the Union, and the Association, were represented and par-
ticipated, in the hearing. At the hearing, the Trial Examiner granted
the motion of the Association to intervene to the extent to which the
proceedings affected its interests. The ruling is hereby affirmed.
During the course of the hearing, the respondent, the Union, the
Association, and counsel for the Board entered into a stipulation dated
August 25, 1942, in settlement of the case, subject to the approval of
the.Board. This stipulation provides as follows:
IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED, by and between Jenkins
Bros., hereinafter referred to as the Respondent; International
Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers, affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations, hereinafter referred to as
the Union ; Jenkins Bros. Employees Representation Association,
hereinafter referred to as the -Association,; and Jack Davis,
attorney for the National Labor Relations, Board, that- the
JENKINS BROTHERS' 325
Stipulation entered into'between the said parties on July '-17, 1942,
be modified to read as follows : k
..
1. On charges duly filed by the Union, the National Labor Re-
lations Board by El More M. Herrick , the Regional Director for
the Second Region, acting pursuant to authority granted under
Section 10 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449,
and' its Rules and Regulations, Series 2 as amended, Article IV,
Section 1, issued its amended complaint on the 3rd day of July,
' 1942, against the Respondent herein.
II. Respondent is and has been since in and about the year
1910 a , corporation organized and existing by virtue of the laws
of the State of New Jersey , and owns and operates a plant in
the County of Fairfield, City of Bridgeport, State of Connecti-
cut, and is now and has been continuously engaged m'said plant,
hereinafter called its Bridgeport plant, in the manufacture, sale
and distribution of bronze, iron and steel valves and mechanical
rubber goods and kindred products.
III. Respondent in the course and conduct of its business at its
Bridgeport plant obtains and uses among other -things copper,
zinc, lead, tin, cast iron, carbon, stainless steels, and crude rubber,
in substantial quantities, which are caused by respondent to be
shipped to their Bridgeport' plant in the State of Connecticut,
from and through states of the United States other than the State
of Connecticut, thus causing same to be transported in interstate
commerce and there manufactured into the finished products as
mentioned in paragraph II above.
IV. Respondent manufactures the products set forth in para-
graph II above at its Bridgeport plant and causes and has con-
tinuously caused substantial quantities of said products to be sold
and transported in interstate commerce from its Bridgeport
plant to, into and through states of the United States other than
the State of Connecticut.
V. Respondent is engaged ininterstate commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act and the decisions
of the United States Supreme Courtthereunder.
VI. This stipulation, together with the amended charge, the
amended complaint and notice of hearing and the answers of the
Respondent and the Association, may be introduced in' evidence
by filing them with the Trial Examiner of the National Labor
Relations Board designated by -said Board.
VII. The taking of testimony or the submission of further evi-
dence before a Trial Examiner in this matter, the making of
findings of fact and conclusions of law by the Board pursuant to
the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act,' are hereby
expressly waived by the parties hereto, and the Board's order as
326 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
herein provided shall have the same force and effect as if made
after a full hearing, presentation of evidence and the making of
findings thereon.
VIII. The Union and- the Association are labor organizations
within the meaning of Section 2, subdivision (5) of the National
Labor Relations Act.
IX. Upon this stipulation, the amended charge, the amended
complaint and the notice of hearing, and the answers of the Re-
spondent and the Association, both denying the material allega-
tions of the amended complaint and amended charge, an order
may forthwith be entered by said Board providing as follows :
Respondent Jenkins Bros. and its officers, agents, successors and
assigns :
1. Will not:
(a) In any manner dominate or interfere with the administra-
tion of the Jenkins Bros. Employees Representation Association,
or with the formation or administration of any other labor or-
ganization of its employees; contribute aid or support to said
organization; recognize or deal in any manner with the Jenkins
Bros. Employees ' Representation Association or any successor
thereto, or any group that purports to represent said organization.
,(b) In any manner interfere with, restrain or coerce its em-
ployees in the exercise of their rights to self-organization, to
form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively
through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in
concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or
other mutual aid or protection as guaranteed in Section 7 of the
National Labor Relations Act. -
(c) Discourage membership in the International Union of Mine,
MRS-, Smelter Workers, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial
Organizations, or any other labor organization of its employees,
by discriminating against any employee or employees in regard
to hire or tenure of employment or any condition of employment,
or in any other manner.
2. Will take the following affirmative action in order to effectu-
ate the purposes of the Act :
(a) Refrain from recognizing or dealing with in any manner
,the Jenkins Bros. Employees Representation Association as the
representative of its employees or any of them for the purpose
of dealing with Respondent concerning grievances, labor disputes,
wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or other conditions of
employment. and disestablish said Jenkins Bros. Employees Rep-
resentation Association as the representative of its employees for
the purpose of collective bargaining.
JENNKIN S BROTHERS 327
(b) Inform in writing each of the principal officers of the Jen-
kins Bros. Employees Representation. Association that the Re-
spondent will not in any manner deal with or recognize- said' labor
organization.
(c) Inform all of its officers, agents, foremen, and other super-
visory employees that they shall not threaten employees in any
manner because of their membership in any labor organization in
general or the International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Work-
ers, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, in
particular.
(d) Post immediately in conspicuous places in its Bridgeport
plant, and maintain posted for a period of at least sixty (60)
consecutive days from the date of posting, notices to its employees
stating: (1) that the Respondent will not engage in the conduct
set out and referred to in paragraphs 1 (a), (b) and (c) of this
Order ; . (2) that Respondent will take the affirmative action set
forth in paragraphs 2 (a), _(b), (c), (d) and (e) of this Order;
and (3) that the Respondent's employees are free to'become or
remain members of the International Union of Mine, Mill &
Smelter Workers, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Or-
ganizations or to form, join or assist any other labor organization
whether or not it is affiliated with a national union, and the Re-
spondent will not discriminate against any employee or employees
because of membership in or activity in behalf of that organiza-
tion or any other such organization.
(e) Notify the Regional Director for the Second Region in
writing within ten days of the date of the order of. the.National
Labor Relations Board what steps have been taken to comply
therewith.
X. The appropriate United States Circuit Court of Appeals
may upon application of the National Labor Relations Board
enter a decree substantially in the form of the order of the Board,
Respondent hereby expressly waiving its right to contest the
entry of such decree in the appropriate United States Circuit
Court of Appeals.
XI. This agreement represents in effect an amicable adjust-
ment of differences, without any admission'of guilt by the Re-
spondent of any of the charges in the complaint, and for the
express purpose and solely for the express purpose of aiding
the War Effort and avoiding litigation and the cost incidental
thereto.
The Respondent wants it expressly understood that if any act
was committed which could be termed a violation of any of the
provisions of the National Labor Relations Act by any of the
subordinates of the Respondent, that said acts or conduct on the
328 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR .RELATIONS BOARD
part' of said subordinates were inadvertent and were not intended
to be in violation of the provisions of the Act.
The Respondent wishes it further expressly understood, that
none of the officials or executives of the Respondent is opposed
to the formation of a union at its plant by its employees of their,
free and untrammeled will, and will recognize as the duly consti-
tuted bargaining agency any labor organization representing a
majority of its employees in an appropriate unit as provided
b^ the National Labor Reh,t)ons Act, whether or not affiliated with
a national union. ' Furthermore, the Respondent strongly believes
that labor should be treated fairly and justly, and the Respondent
has exerted' and will always exert its best efforts toward accom-
plishing that purpose.
KII. Nick DeNapoli, Stanley Kovolovski, Anthony Carrano
and John "Delolio have been offered reinstatement to their respec-
tive positions in Respondent's plant. Frank Kristopher does
not desire reinstatement to his former position in the Respondent's
plant at this time. Anthony Cai:rano is now in the Army and
upon his release will be given employment by the Respondent
should employment be available in accordance with the provisions
of the Selective Service and Training Act of 1940.
XIII. This stipulation contains the entire agreement of the
parties and there is no verbal agreement of any kind which varies,
alters or modifies this stipulation. This stipulation Js subject
to the approval of the National Labor Relations Board.
On September 8, 1942, the Board issued its order approi,ing the
above stipulation, making it a part of the record in the case, and
pursuant to Article II, Section 36, of National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, transferring the pro-
ceeding to the Board for the purpose of entry of. a decision and order,
by the Board pursuant to the provisions of. the stipulation.
Upon the basis of the above stipulation and the entire record in
the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENT
Jenkins Brothers, a New Jersey corporation, having its principal
office and plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is engaged in the manu-
facture, sale, and distribution of bronze, iron, and steel valves, me-
chanical rubber goods, and kindred products. The principal raw
materials used in the manufacture of these products are copper, zinc,
lead, tin, cast iron, carbon, rubber, et al. Substantial quantities of
these raw materials are shipped to-the Company from places other than
JENKINS BROTHERS 329
the State of Connecticut and a substantial portion of the finished
products therefrom is skipped to places outside the State of Con-
necticut . The respondent admits that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the Act:
We find that the above -described operations constitute a continuous
flow of trade , traffic, and commerce among the several States.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact, the stipulation, and
the entire record in the case, and pursuant to Section 10 (c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board
hereby orders that Jenkins Brothers, Bridgeport, Connecticut, its
officers, agents, successors, and assigns :
1. Shall not :
(a) In any manner dominate or interfere with the administration
of the Jenkins Bros. Employees Representation Association, or with
the formation or administration of 'any other labor organization of
its employees; contribute aid or support- to said organization; recog-
nize or deal in ang manner with the Jenkins Bros. Employees Repre-
sentation Association or any successor thereto, or any group that pur-
ports to represent said organization;
(b) In any manner interfere with, restrain or coerce its employees
in the exercise of their rights to self-organization, to form, join-or
assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through.representa-
tives of their o«-n choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for
the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection
as guaranteed in Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act;
(c) Discourage membership in the International Union of Mine,
Mill & Smelter Workers, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial
Organizations , or any other labor organization of its employees, by
discriminating against any employee or employees in regard to hire
or tenure of employment or any condition of employment , or in any
other manner.
2. Shall take the following affirmative action to effectuate the poli-
cies and purposes of the National Labor Relations Act :
(a) Refrain from recognizing or dealing with in any manner the
Jenkins Bros. Employees Representation Association as the represen-
tative of its employees or any of them for the purpose of dealing with
Respondent concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of
pay, hours of employment, or other conditions of employment, and
disestablish said Jenkins Bros. Employees Representation Association
as the representative of its employees for the purpose of collective,
bargaining ;
330 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL, LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
(b) Inform in writing each of the principal officers of the.Jenkins
Bros. Employees Representation Association•that the Respondent will
not in any manner deal with or recognize said labor organization;
(c) Inform all of its officers, agents, foremen, and other supervisory
employees that they shall not threaten employees in any manner be-
cause of their membership in any labor organization in general or the
International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter'Workers, affiliated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, in particular;
(d) Post immediately in conspicuous places in its Bridgeport plant,
and maintain posted for a period of at least sixty (60) consecutive
days from the date of posting, notices to its employees stating: (1)
that the Respondent will not engage in the conduct set out and re-
ferred to in paragraphs 1 (a), (b), and (c) of this Order; (2) that
Respondent will take the affirmative action set forth in paragraphs
2 (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) of this Order; and (3) that the Respond-
ent's employees are free to-become or remain members of the Interna-
tional Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers, affiliated with the Con-
gress of Industrial Organizations or to form, join or assist any other
labor organization whether or not it is affiliated with a national union,
and the Respondent will not discriminate against any employee or
employees because of membership in or activity in behalf of that organ-
ization or any other such organization ;
(e) Notify the Regional Director for the Second Region in writing
within ten days of the date of the order of the National Labor, Rela-
tions Board what steps have been taken to comply therewith.