Monte Alto Citrus Association

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 6, 1949

83 N.L.R.B. 1132 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of MONTE ALTO CITRIIs ASSOCIATION , EMPLOYER and
CITRUS CANNERY WORKERS AND FOOD PROCESSORS UNION No. 24473,
AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 39-RC-50.-Decided June 6,1919
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Charles Y.
Latimer, hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. The
hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from preju-
dicial error and are hereby affirmed.'
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members
Houston and Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1: The business of the Employer :
Monte Alto Citrus Association, a corporation organized under the
cooperative marketing laws of the State of Texas and having its plant
at Monte Alto, Texas, is engaged in packing, canning, processing,
and marketing 2 citrus fruits and juices for its grower members. In
addition the Employer occasionally custom-packs for nonmember
individuals and concerns on a cost basis. During the past season the'
Employer processed fruit , for its grower members , having a sales
value in excess of $700,000 of which approximately 60 percent repre-
1 The Employer moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that the business repre-
sentative who filed the petition herein is a representative of the American Federation of
Labor and is not an officer of the petitioning local union. We find no merit in this conten-
tion as it is the labor organization , rather than the business agent thereof , that is seeking
designation herein as collective bargaining representative . Matter of Texas Textile Mills,
53 N L. R. B 724.
2 After the fruit is packed or processed into juice it is turned over , to the Texsun Citrus
Exchange , a cooperative sales agency , which pursuant to a contract arrangement , handles
the sales of fresh and canned fruits for the Employer and eight other farmer cooperatives
in the general area of the Employer 's plant. Grower members are paid for their fruit
at the end of the season , after the processing and marketing costs have been deducted from
the sales receipts.
83 N. L. R. B., No. 159.
1132
MONTE ALTO CITRUS ASSOCIATION 1133
sented shipments to points outside the State of Texas. During
the same period the Employer purchased supplies valued in excess of
$350,000 of which approximately 10 percent was shipped to the Em-
ployer from points outside the State.
We find, contrary to the contention of the Employer, that it is
engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act.'
2. The status of the employees involved :
The Employer contends that the employees who work in its pack-
ing shed are employed as "agricultural laborers" and therefore are
not covered by the definition of "employee" in Section 2 (3) of the Act.
The Employer is not a "farmer," nor are its packing facilities
located on a "farm." The Board and the courts have held that em-
ployees such as those in question are not engaged in agricultural
labor and consequently are within the coverage of the Act. Accord-
ingly, we find no merit in the Employer's contention that its packing-
shed employees are "agricultural laborers" exempt from the Act .4
3. The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming to represent
employees of the Employer."
4. 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.
5. 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 employees of the Employer 6 at its canning plant and packing
shed located at Monte Alto, Texas, excluding office and clerical em-
ployees, laboratory technicians, watchmen, guards, professional
employees, the plant superintendent, assistant superintendent, general
foreman, department foremen and their assistants, floorwomen, and
all other supervisors as defined in the Act.
6. The Employer's operations, which are seasonal in nature, start
sometime in October and continue through April or May of each year.
3 Matter of Wenatchee-Wenoka Grower8 Association , 75 N. L. R. B. 197 ; Matter of
,an Fernando Heights Lemon Association, 72 N. L. It. B. 372.
4 Matter of Di Giorgio Fruit Corporation , 80 N. L. R. B 853 ; see also footnote 3, supra.
But cf. Matter of Salinas Valley Vegetable Exchange, et at., 82 N. L. R. B. 96.
5 Although the Employer refused to stipulate that the Petitioner is a labor organization,
the record shows that the Petitioner is a federal labor union chartered by and directly
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and clearly is a labor organization within
the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the Act.
6 The Employer contends that the processed -food inspector furnished by the United
States Department of Agriculture should be included in the unit. The record shows that
the Employer 's authority over this inspector is limited to its subscription to the inspection
service furnished by the Department. He is paid by the Department and is not on the
Employer 's pay toll . Under the circumstances we believe that this inspector is not an
employee of the Employer and we shall not include him in the unit.
1134 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
At the beginning of the season the Employer employs approximately
45 employees. Peak employment is reached during the month of
January at which time there are approximately 175 to 200 at work and
the Employer operates 2 shifts. During the closed season the
Employer employs about 5 maintenance employees. We believe that
to hold an election at or about the peak of the next canning season
will result in making the franchise available to the greatest number of
employees having an interest in the selection of a bargaining repre-
sentative. We shall therefore direct that the election be held at or
about the peak of the next canning season, on a date to be determined
by the Regional Director, among the employees in the appropriate
unit who are employed during the pay-roll period immediately pre-
ceding the date of the issuance of Notice of Election by the Regional
Director.?
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted on a date to be selected by the Regional
Director, subject to the instruction set forth in paragraph numbered
6, above, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director
for the Region in which this case was heard, and subject to Sections
203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations-Series 5, as-amended, among the employees in the unit
found appropriate in paragraph numbered 5, above, who were em-
ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of
the issuance of Notice of Election by the Regional Director, including
employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they
were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding those
employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have
not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, and
also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstate-
ment, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented, for
purposes of collective bargaining, by Citrus Cannery Workers and
Food Processors Union, Local 24473, AFL.
' In this connection we find no merit in the Employer 's contention that the petition
herein should be dismissed because the plant is closed at present and will not reopen until
October 1949.