Radio Corp. of America

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 14, 1949

81 N.L.R.B. 643 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of RADIO CORPORATION or AMERICA, RCA VICTOR DIVI-
SION, LANCASTER PLANT, EMPLOYER and PLANT PROTECTION UNION,
PETITIONER
Case No. 4 RC-252.Decided February 14,1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before a hearing officer
of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer's rulings
made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
of&rmed.l
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act the Board
has delegated its power in connection with this case to a three-man
panel consisting of the undersigned Board Members.*
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The Petitioner, and United Electrical, Radio and Machine Work-
ers of America, CIO, and its Local 124, hereinafter together called the
Intervenor , are labor organizations claiming to represent employees
of the Employer.2
3. The question concerning representation :
Following a Board Decision and Direction of Election,' the Inter-
venor was certified on May 15, 1946, as the collective bargaining rep-
resentative for all production and maintenance employees, including
watchmen, at the Employer's Lancaster plant. Pursuant to this cer-
tification, the Intervenor entered into a series of contracts with the
I United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, CIO , and its Local 124, filed
a motion at the hearing to intervene The hearing officer referred this motion to the Board
As these organizations were parties to a current contract with the Employer, they were
entitled to intervene , despite non -compliance with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f),
(g), and (h) of the Act. The motion is hereby granted. Matter of American Chain & Cable
Co, 77 N. L R. B . 850. The hearing officer permitted these organizations to participate
fully at the hearing.
* Chairman Herzog and Members Reynolds and Gray.
2 The Petitioner is an unaffiliated labor organization admitting to membership only guards
employed by Radio Corporation of America.
3 Matter of Radio Corporation of America , RCA Victor Division, 66 N. L . R. B. 162.
81 N. L. R. B., No. 115. 643
829595-50-vol. 81-42
644 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Employer, including a "National Agreement" which, together with
a supplementary local agreement covering the Lancaster plant, was
executed on August 15, 1947, was to continue in effect until October
7, 1949, and was automatically renewable for yearly periods there-
after in the absence of notice to terminate given at least 60 days
before the end of the current term. On July 6, 1948, 15 months be-
fore the initial term of this contract was to expire, the Employer and
the Intervenor agreed to sign a new contract predated to June 30,
1948, incorporating all the provisions of the August 15, 1947, contract
and its supplements, but with certain modifications and amendments.
A few days later, a new "National Agreement," together with new
local supplements, predated to June 30, 1948, went into effect. The
new contract contained many substantive changes, including a new
termination date of June 1, 1950. On September 2, 1948, Petitioner
filed its petition herein, seeking to represent a unit of all plant guards4
employed at the Lancaster plant.
The Employer and the Intervenor moved to dismiss the petition on
the ground that their contract of August 15, 1947, as supplemented
by their contract of June 30, 1948, is a bar to a present determination
of representatives. The motions are hereby denied for the reasons
given below.
The 1948 contract was executed before the "Mill B" or operative
date of the automatic renewal clause of the 1947 contract, and ex-
tended the expiration date of that contract from October 7, 1949, to
June 1, 1950. We have held that a contract prematurely extending
an existing contract does not bar a rival union's claim to representa-
tion made known to the Employer before the "Mill B" date of the
old contract and followed by a petition filed in due course.5 The
Intervenor, citing language in some of the Board's earlier decisions,°
contends that the "premature extension" doctrine is inapplicable here,
because the rule can be applied only when the new contract extends
the termination date of the old contract for a period as long as, or
longer than, the term of the old contract. We find this contention
to be without merit. The Board has, in fact, consistently applied
4 The parties stipulated that the unit of plant guards requested in the petition covers
the employees referred to as watchmen in the 1946 certification and contracts based
thereon.
Matter of Radiant Lamp Corporation , 74 N. L. R. B. 1338; Matter of Atlas Powder
Company, 71 N. L. It . B. 723.
6 E. g. Matter of Virginia -Lincoln Corporation, 63 N. L. R. B. 590, in which the Board
said , in part : ". . the premature extension of a contract or reasonable duration for
another like period does not operate as a bar to a claim of representation made prior to the
expiration date of the extended contract ." ( Emphasis supplied.)
RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA 645
the doctrine without regard to whether the new contract was for a
shorter term than the old contract before extension.'
The Intervenor also contends that the petition was filed so far in
advance of the "Mill B" date (August 8, 1949) of the 1947 contract
that it should be dismissed for untimeliness. If the 1947 contract
were still in effect with its original termination date of October 7,
1949, this petition would perhaps be dismissed without prejudice to
refiling at some time closer to the "Mill B" date of that contract. But
here the Employer and Intervenor chose to abandon their 1947 con-
tract by changing its provisions substantially and extending its ter-
mination date before its expiration. In these circumstances, we do
not believe that it would promote stability in bargaining relations to
dismiss the present petition, even though without prejudice to the
filing of a new petition at an appropriate later time. As the old con-
tract is no longer in effect, and the new contract does not, under Board
precedent, foreclose a determination of representatives upon a petition
timely filed, we find that neither contract is a bar to this proceeding.a
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 that all plant guards employed at the Employer's Lan-
caster plant, excluding supervisors as defined by the Act, constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION 9
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Radio Corporation of America,
RCA Victor Division, Lancaster Plant, an election by secret ballot
shall be conducted as early as possible but not later than 30 days from
the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the
Regional Director for the Fourth Region, and subject to Sections
203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regu-
lations-Series 5, as amended, among the employees in the unit found
appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed
* Matter of Radiant Lamp Corporation, supra (old contract was for 11-month term ; new
contract extended term for additional 3 months) ; Matter of Continental Can Company, Inc.,
73 N. L. R. B. 1375 ( old contract was for 2 years ; new contract extended term for additional
9 months).
e Matter of Aluminum Company of America, 80 N. L R. B. 206.
As the Intervenor has not complied with the registration and filing requirements of
Section 9 (f), (g), and ( h) of the amended Act, we shall not place its name on the
ballot herein.
646 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this
Direction of Election, 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 reinstatement , to determine whether or not they desire
to be represented by Plant Protection Union for the purposes of col-
lective bargaining.