Lazzara Products, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 22, 1969

178 N.L.R.B. 204 (N.L.R.B. 1969)

204 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Lazzara Products, Inc. Lazzara Products of
Northern Jersey , Inc. Lazzara Products of Central
Jersey , Inc. and Local 50, American Bakery and
Confectionery Workers Union , AFL-CIO. Case
22-RC-4292
August 22, 1969
DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF
REPRESENTATIVE
BY CHAIRMAN MCCULLOCH AND MEMBERS
JENKINS AND ZAGORIA
Pursuant to a stipulation for certification upon
consent election approved by the Regional Director
for Region 22 on March 11, 1969, an election by
secret ballot was conducted among certain
employees of the Employer as set forth in said
stipulation. At the conclusion of the election, the
parties' were furnished a tally of ballots which
showed that of approximately 216 eligible voters,
192 cast ballots, of which 95 were for the
Intervenor, 84 for the Petitioner, and 2 for no
union ; in addition, there were 10 challenged ballots
and 1 void ballot. The challenged ballots were
sufficient in number to affect the results of the
election. Thereafter, the Petitioner filed timely
objection to conduct alleged to have affected the
results of the election.
Pursuant to the National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as amended, the
Regional Director conducted an investigation of the
timely objections and an additional objection
discovered in the course of his investigation.'
Thereafter, on May 13, 1969, he issued and duly
served on the parties his Report on the foregoing
objections and on the challenged ballots, in which he
recommended that the foregoing objections be
overruled. In his Report, he also recommended
sustaining five of the challenges.' As the remaining
challenges could not affect the results of the
election, the Regional Director recommended that
the Intervenor be certified. On June 9, 1969, the
Petitioner filed timely exceptions to the Regional
Director's Report on Objections.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
powers in connection with this case to a
three-member panel.
Upon the entire record in this case, including the
Petitioner's exceptions to the Regional Director's
Report, the Board finds:
'One of the parties was the Intervenor , United Electrical , Radio, and
Machine Workers of America (U.E.). Local 404.
'The Regional Director ' s Report does not refer to, and it appears,
therefore , that he did not investigate , a supplemental objection referred to
in the Petitioner ' s exceptions to such Report, infra.
'These challenges involve Minerva Arroyo, Judy Rivera, Jose Valesques,
Rosario Piccione , and Delia Petracca.
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 and Intervenor are labor
organizations claiming to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists
concerning 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, in accord with the stipulation of the
parties, that the following employees constitute an
appropriate unit for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the
Act.
All inside employees of the Employer at Madison
and Gettys Avenue and Ciani St., Paterson, New
Jersey and Main St., town of Franklin, County of
Somerset, N.J., excluding executives, supervisors,
non-working foremen, clerical workers, store
employees, maintenance men, auto mechanics,
truck drivers and part time employees.
5. We agree with the Regional Director that the
Petitioner's original objection, alleging that the
Intervenor's representatives were permitted to
electioneer at the New Brunswick location in the
days immediately preceding the election, while the
Petitioner's agents were denied the opportunity to
engage in similar electioneering, is without merit,"
but solely for the reasons that (1) his investigation
appears to have revealed no evidence of
electioneering by the Intervenor, nor does the
Petitioner now present any such evidence to the
Board, other than general allegations, and (2) the
Petitioner concedes that at no time did it request
authority from the Employer to have its
representatives enter on the Employer's premises.
Under the foregoing circumstances, we find
insufficient support for a finding of disparate
treatment that would warrant setting aside the
election.
The Petitioner contends in its exceptions that the
Regional Director failed fully to investigate the
foregoing objection, and to consider "contentions"
made by the Petitioner. However, it has not offered
any evidence in support of such contentions.
Accordingly, we find that the Petitioner has not
established that a further investigation or hearing is
required on this objection.
6. Petitioner alleges that it also filed a
Supplemental Objection, which was rejected by the
Regional Director as untimely filed. According to
the Petitioner's exceptions this objection alleged that
the Employer failed to comply properly with the
requirement of Excelsior Underwear Inc.' that
'In the absence of exception to the Regional Director's findings of no
merit in the additional objection discovered in the course of his
investigation , we adopt it, pro forma.
'156 NLRB 1236; see N.L.R.B. v. Wyman-Gordon Company, 394 U.S.
759.
178 NLRB No. 31
LAZZARA PRODUCTS, INC. 205
unions on the ballot be furnished with names and
addresses of eligible voters prior to the election, "in
that many of the addresses were false , obsolete,
and/or incorrect , which petitioner learned in many
instances only after the election , by the return of
mail from the post office." However , the Petitioner
has not supported its exceptions with any evidence,
or even any allegation , as to the actual number of
incorrect addresses . Nor has it sufficiently
established that the Supplemental Objection could
not have been timely filed . We agree with the
Regional Director ' s rejection of this objection.
7. In the absence of exception thereto , we adopt,
pro forma, the Regional Director ' s disposition of the
challenged ballots.
We conclude that the Petitioner ' s exceptions raise
no material or substantial issues of fact or law
which would warrant reversal of the Regional
Director's conclusions and recommendations, or
require a hearing.
Accordingly, as the Intervenor has received a
majority of the valid votes cast , we shall certify it as
the collective-bargaining representative of the
employees in the appropriate unit.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVE
It is hereby certified that United Electrical,
Radio , and Machine Workers of America (U.E.)
Local 404, has been designated and selected by a
majority of the employees of the Employer in the
appropriate unit as their representative for the
purposes of collective bargaining , and that pursuant
to Section 9(c) of the Act, the said labor
organization is the exclusive representative of all
such employees for the purposes of collective
bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours
of employment, and other terms and conditions of
employment.