Metals Disintegrating Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 12, 1941

32 N.L.R.B. 627 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter Of METALS DISINTEGRATING COMPANY, INC. and UNITED
MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, DISTRICT #50, AFFILIATED WITH THE
CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS
Case No. R-2612.Decided June 12, 1941
Jurisdiction : metal, powder, paste, and compound manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to accord union recognition until it is certified by the Board ; election
unnecessary to resolve question : majority designation by membership cards ;
authenticity of signatures on such cards not contested by Company.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em-
ployees, exclusive of supervisory, clerical, laboratory, and technical employees ;
agreement as to
Larkin, Rathbone d Peiyy, of New York City, by Mr. John D.
Leary and Mr. John O'Keefe, for the Company.
Mr. Samuel D. Rothbard, of Newark, N. J., for the Union.
Mr. William H. Bartley, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On May 21, 1941, United Mine Workers, District #50, affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, herein called the
Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Second Region (New
York, New York) a petition alleging that a question affecting com-
merce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of the
Metals Disintegrating Company, Inc., herein called the Company, and
requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pur-
suant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat.
449, herein called the Act. On June 2, 1941, the National Labor
Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section
9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Re-
lations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered
an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it
and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On June 2, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the Union.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on June 4, 1941, at New
York, New York, before Alan F. Perl, the Trial Examiner duly
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628 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company and the
Union appeared by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full
opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses,
and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all
parties. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made
several rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of
evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Ex-
aminer and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The
rulings are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Company is a New Jersey corporation engaged in the manu-
facturing and processing of metals, powders, pastes, and compounds.
During the period from November 1, 1940, to April 30, 1941, the Com-
pany purchased more than one million pounds of raw materials,
representing in excess of 50 per cent of the total raw materials pur-
chased, from sources outside the State of New Jersey. During the
same period the Company sold more than one million pounds of
finished products, representing more than 50 per cent of its total
sales, to buyers located outside the State of New Jersey.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
United Mine Workers of America, District #50, is a labor organi-
zation, affiliated with the Conress of Industrial Organizations,
nlitting to Inembeiship employees of the Company.
IH. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant exclusive recognition to the
Union until it is certified by the Board.
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation
of employees of the Company.,,
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
UPON COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I, above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and
tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
i The evidence with respect to the Union's claim to represent a majority of the employees
in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate is discussed in Section VI, snfra.
METALS DISINTEGRATING COMPANY, INC. 629
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Company and the Union agreed at the hearing , and we find,
that all production and maintenance employees, exclusive of super-
visory, clerical , laboratory , and technical employees , constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. We find
further that said unit will insure to the employees of the Company
the full benefit of -their right to self-organization and to collective
bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Union requested at the hearing that the Board certify it as
the exclusive representative of all employees in the appropriate unit
on the basis of a check of membership cards in the Union against the
Company's pay roll . The Company took the position that the ques-
tion of deciding upon a suitable method to determine the exclusive
representative of its employees is properly determinable by the
Board. The parties agree upon the need for immediate determina-
tion of the question concerning representation . A report of the Re-
gional Director introduced into evidence at the hearing stated that
the Union had submitted to her 61 cards authorizing the Union to
represent the signers for the purposes of collective bargaining, 58
of which bore genuine original signatures of persons whose names
appeared ' on the Company 's pay roll of May 27, 1941 , and were
within the appropriate unit. Forty-three of the cards were dated
between May 8 and 23 , 1941; the remainder were undated. At the
hearing, the Union also introduced six additional cards signed by
employees whose names appeared on the Company 's pay roll of May
27, 1941; all within the appropriate unit. All 64 of the cards naming
employees in the appropriate unit on the May 27 pay roll were avail-
able at the hearing. The Company did not contest the authenticity
of the signatures on such cards . There is a total of 71 employees in
the appropriate unit on the May 27, 1941 , pay roll.
We find that the Union has been designated and selected by a
majority of employees within the appropriate unit as their representa-
tive for the purposes of collective bargaining . It is, therefore, the
exclusive representative of all employees in such unit for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining and we will so certify.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following:
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Metals Disintegrating Company, Inc.,
630 DECISIONS OI' NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOAR])
Union, New Jersey, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section-
2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. All production and maintenance employees, exclusive of super-
visory, clerical, laboratory, and technical employees, constitute a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
3. United Mine Workers of America, District #50, affiliated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is the exclusive representa-
tive of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective
bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 '(a) of the National
Labor Relations Act.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Re-
lations Act and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that United Mine Workers of America,
District #50, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations,
has been designated and selected by a majority of all production and
maintenance employees employed by Metals Disintegrating Com-
pany, Inc., Union, New Jersey, exclusive of supervisory, clerical,
laboratory, and technical employees, as their representative for the
purposes of collective bargaining and that pursuant to Section 9
(a) of the National Labor Relations Act, United Mine Workers- of
America, District #50, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial
Organizations, 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 conditions of employment.