Moench Tanning Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 8, 1955

114 N.L.R.B. 22 (N.L.R.B. 1955)

22 DECISIONS 'OF NATIONAL- LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Moench Tanning Co., Inc . and Local 44, Leather Workers Or-
ganizing Committee, CIO, Petitioner.. Case No. 3-RC-1514.
September 8,1955
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National'
Labor 'Relations Act, a hearing was held before Bernard Marcus,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing
are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.'
3. The Meat Cutters contends that a current contract between the
Employer and International Fur & Leather Workers Union of the
United States and Canada, Local 44, hereinafter referred to as
IFLWU, to which, under a recent merger, it has allegedly succeeded
as the union party, constitutes a bar to this proceeding. The Peti-
tioner asserts that the contract is inoperative as a bar because (1)-
the agreement contains a maintenance-of-membership clause and was
entered into by a noncomplying local union; and (2) a schism occurred
within the contracting union.'
The record discloses that on July 15, 1953, the Employer and the
IFLWU and its Local 44 negotiated a collective-bargaining contract
covering the employees here.involved, effective April 1, 1953, to Aprilk
1, 1954. On December ,6, 1954, Local 44, IFLWU ratified a supple,-,
mental agreement previously entered into by the parties on November'
17, 1954, which, in addition to extending the original contract to
April 1, 1956, incorporated a maintenance-of-membership clause.' We
I The hearing officer permitted Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North
America , AFL, hereinafter referred to as Meat Cutters, and its Local 44-L, to intervene
at the hearing . Subsequent to the hearing , however, the Meat Cutters filed with the Board
its motion to substitute Local 34 in place of Local 44-L, as joint Intervenor with the
Meat Cutters . As this motion does not appear to prejudice any party and is unopposed,
we hereby grant the substitution
2 In view of our determination herein, we find it unnecessary to decide whether the
Meat Cutters, under the alleged merger , has in fact succeeded the IFLWU as party to the
contract , or what rights, if any, it may have received from the IFLWU . Nor do we pass
upon the Petitioner 's contention that a schism occurred within the ranks of the contract-
ing union . , Ward Baksng Company, 101 NLRB 419.
S This clause , in effect, constitutes a modified union-shop agreement and reads as follows :
.Section 2. '' , All employees ' who `after the effective date of this Agreement complete
ninety ( 90) days of service with the Company shall, as a condition of employment,
join the Union , and pay dues and general assessments for at least one (1 ), year.:;How-
ever, not less than ten ( 10) days nor more than twenty ( 20) days prior to the end
of the one ( 1) year period he has worked after completing the ninety ( 90) day period
mentioned above, the employee has the right to withdraw from Union membership
and to discontinue paying dues and assessments without any effect on his employment
114 NLRB No. 10.
MOENCH -TANNING CO., INC. 23
are administratively advised that Local 44's compliance with the
filing requirements of Section 9.(f), (g) i and (h) of the Act lapsed
on March 31, 1951.
Section 8 (a) (3) of the Act, as amended in October 1951, sanctions
a union-security clause provided that- "at the time the agreement was
made or within the preceding twelve months (the contracting union)
has received from the Board a notice of compliance with Section 9 (f),
(g), and (h)" of the Act. Thus, the Board holds that where a con-
tracting local union.was not in compliance during the period required
by the statute, the contract constitutes no bar to a present determina-
tion of representatives.'
The Intervenor contends that this rule should not apply in the
instant case because the Petitioner was instrumental in achieving,
"through the officers of the local union whom it had recruited as its
concealed agents," the loss of the local's compliance status. As the
record discloses that the contracting union's compliance lapsed before
the supplemental agreement containing the union-security clause was
executed, and prior to any local CIO activity, we find no evidence in
the record to support the Intervenor' s assertion.
The Meat Cutters further asserts that the Petitioner's demand for
recognition on March 8, 1955, resulted in the suspension of the union-
security clause before the 90-day period granted to new employees
could become effective. As the Local 44 membership duly ratified the
supplemental agreement on December 6, 1954, thus rendering the
union-security provision effective as of that date, we find this con-
tention without merit.
Finally, the Meat Cutters argues that the contract was executed by
the IFLWU, as well as Local 44, and, as the IFLWU was in com-
pliance at the time, the agreement is valid as to the IFLWU. How-
ever, this too we find to be without merit, for the Board has ruled
that the legal consequences flowing from a local's noncompliance status
attach to the contract.' Accordingly, as the contracting local in the
instant case was not in compliance during the period required by the
status by notifying both the Tinion and the Company by registered mail to that effect.
If he elects to remain a member, he shall as a condition of•employment , then continue
to maintain Union membership in good standing to the extent of paying dues and
general assessments for the life of this Agreement.
All employees currently members of the Union in good standing , shall as a condi-
tion of employment under this Agreement, maintain membership in the Union for
the life of this Agreement . All employees who have completed ninety (90) days or
more of continuous service with the Company on the effective date of this Agreement
and who are not members of the Union will not be required , as a condition of employ-
ment, to join the Union. However, any such employee who thereafter joins the Union
must, as a condition of employment , maintain his membership in good standing
thereafter for the life of this Agreement.
See D. M. Bare Paper Company, 99 NLRB 1487 at 1488; Caribe Plastics Corp., 107
NLRB 7; Westinghouse Electric Corporation , 102 NLRB 275 at 276 , footnote 1; and
Fein's Tin Can Co., Inc., 99 NLRB 158 at 159.
6 Fein's Ton Can Co., Inc, supra.
24 DECISIONS ' OF NATIONAL LABOR- RELATIONS BOARD
statute, which defect in the.contract was not cured prior to the filing
of the petition,' we find the contract herein no bar to this proceeding.
We find that 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, as stipulated by the parties, that the following employees
of the Employer 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, including janitors,
truckers, and sweepers employed by the Employer at its Gowanda,
New York, plant, but excluding executives, foremen, subforemen or
strawbosses, office clerical employees, guards, and supervisors as defined
in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election 7 omitted from publication.]
9 Cf. New Idea, Division of Avco Manufacturing Corporation , 106 NLRB 1104 . The case
of G. Mathes, Division of Lewin-Mathes Company, 105 NLRB 911, relied upon by the
Intervenor , is not in point , inasmuch as in that case it appears that the defect of non-
compliance was cured before the Board proceeding commenced.
7 We shall , based upon its alleged contractual interest , permit the Meat Cutters to
appear on the ballot . A. Siegel & Sons, Inc, 94 NLRB 471 at 472-473 ; Paciffe Tankers, Inc.,
81 NLRB 325 at 326. In the absence of any showing that confusion will result from
allowing the Meat Cutters to appear on the ballot jointly with its Local 34, a complying
local union, we shall so designate the Meat Cutters on the ballot in harmony with the
motion for substitution referred to heretofore . See General Motors Corporation, 88 NLRB
450,at 457-458.
St. Louis Lithographing Company and Local #5, Amalgamated
Lithographers of America , CIO, Petitioner . Case No. 14-RC-
2788. September 8,1955
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Joseph H. Solien, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c)
(1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Employer is a Missouri corporation engaged in the business
of producing printed materials by the lithographic process at its plant
located in St. Louis, Missouri. The Petitioner seeks a unit of litho-
114 NLRB No. 9.