Remington Rand Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 9, 1948

78 N.L.R.B. 181 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of REMINGTON RAND INC., EMPLOYER and MECHANICAL &
ELECTRICAL WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, PETITIONER
Case N08.2-RC-164,2-RC-165, and f2-RC-167.-Decided July 9,1948
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon petitions duly filed, a consolidated hearing was held before a
hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. At the hear-
ing, United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, CIO,
herein called the U. E., and District 4 of the U. E., appeared and moved
to intervene. The hearing officer granted these motions. Neither the
'U. E. nor District 4 has complied with the filing requirements of
Section 9 of the Act, nor, as described below, have they established
that they are parties to a contract current at the time of the hearing
covering the employees concerned. Accordingly, the hearing officer's
ruling permitting their intervention is reversed.' The other rulings
made by the hearing officer at the hearing are free from prejudicial
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
these cases to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board
Members. *
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The Petitioner is an unaffiliated labor organization claiming to
represent employees of the Employer.
The U. E. is an international labor organization affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations. District 4 is a division of the
U. E. Local 1237, chartered by the U. E. and within District 4, has
been the recognized bargaining representative of the Employer's em-
ployees since 1941. Local 1237, though served with notice, did not
appear at the hearing.
' Matter of Remington Rand, Inc., 77 N. L. R B. 200.
* Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Reynolds.
78 N. L. R. B., No. 31.
181
798767-49-vol. 78-13
182 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
3. Questions affecting commerce exist concerning the representation
of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c)
and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act, under the following circum-
stances :
The Employer and Local 1237, the recognized bargaining rep1e-
sentative, of its employees, entered into separate contracts covering.,
the employees in the respective units herein involved to take effect
on February 1, 1947. These. contracts provided that they should re-
main in effect until January 31, 1948, and that they should thereafter
be automatically renewed unless either party gave written notice to
the other of a desire to modify or terminate thirty (30) days prior
to the termination date. The contracts were signed by Local 1237.
Neither District 4 nor the U. E. was specifically a party to the
contracts.
On November 28, 1947, pursuant to instructions, the representative
of Local 1237 notified the Employer that Local 1237 desired to ter-
minate and renegotiate the contracts in question. The Employer
answered that, when Local 1237 had ,complied with Section 9 (f),
(g), and (h) of the.Act, it would "consider any proposal with respect
to a new agreement." The petition in the instant case was filed on
February 3, 1948.
The Intervenors contend that the notices given by Local 1237 were
not effective to terminate the contracts, as they were not in accord
with the procedure established by the U. E.'s constitution. We do
no agree. The Employer was specifically notified by Local 1237, the
recognized bargaining representative of its employees, of their de-
sires with respect to the contracts between Local 1237 and the Em-
ployer. That Local 1237 did not give notice of termination to the
Intervenors is not material in determining the effect of such notice
to the Employer upon the automatic renewal 'of the contracts. Ac-
cordingly, we find that the contracts are not a bar to present deter,
minations of representatives.'
4. The following employees of the Employer constitute units ap-
propriate for purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning`
of Section 9, (b) of the Act:
(a) All employees in departments 201 and 202, duplicator machines
service department, employees engaged in the repair and maintenance
of,Spool-O-Wire and Line-A-Time machines, combination men and
all service employees in the supply and shipping departments of the
2 See Matter of William Barnet & Son, Inc, 74 N. L. R. B. 81; Matter of Canada Dry
Ginger Ale, Incorporated, 73 N. L. R. B. 460; Matter of Adirondack Transit Lines, 54
N. L. R. B. 974 ; Matter of Inman Mills, 63 N. L., R. B. 198.
REMINGTON RAND, INC. 183
Employer's maintenance service division at 315 Fourth Avenue, New
York City, excluding supervisors.; 3
(b) All mechanics and servicemen in the Employer's New York
City branch of the maintenance service department of.the tabulating
machines division at 315 Fourth Avenue, New York City, excluding
supervisors;4
(c) All employees engaged in servicing and repairing typewriters
and adding, bookkeeping, and calculating machines at the Newark,
Jersey City, and Trenton, New Jersey, repair departments of the Em-
ployer, including clerical and non-mechanical employees in the ship-
ping and supply departments, but excluding employees in the tabu-
lating machines division and supervisors.,'
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, separate elec-
tions by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not
later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, 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,
among the employees in the three units found appropriate in para-
graph numbered 4, above, who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Elections,
including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period
because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but ex-
8 Case No. 2-RC-164. This is the unit described in the contract between the Employer
and Local 1237 for these employees . Local 1237 was recognized as bargaining representa-
tive of these employees in 1941 , following certification by the New York State Labor Rela-
tions Board, and has bargained with the Employer for them under separate contracts since
that time.
4 Case No . 2-RC-165. This is virtually the same unit as that described in the contract
between the Employer and Local 1237 . The last contract covering these employees also
included servicewomen . There are no longer any servicewomen employed . In 1945, in
Case No. 2-R-5566, the Employer and Local 1237 entered into a cross-check agreement with
respect to this unit, following which the Regional Director for the Second Region issued a
Report on Cross-Check , finding that Local 1237 had been designated as bargaining repre-
sentative of the employees in this unit. Since 1945 these employees have been covered by
separate collective bargaining contracts.
5 Case No. 2-RC-167. Although each of these three plants is separately supervised, a
single service manager is in charge of all three locations . Uniform working conditions,
hours of employment , and personnel policies prevail at the three locations, and all em-
ployees enjoy like vacation and bonus plans. While there is no interchange of employees
among the plants, their work and skills , for the most part , are not substantially different.
In 1944 in Case No. 2-R-5249 , the Employer and the U. E. entered into a cross-check
agreement with respect to a single unit comprised of these employees , following which the
Regional Director for the Second Region issued a Report on Cross-Check , finding that the
U. E. had been designated as bargaining representative of these employees . The record does
not disclose when Local 1237 became the bargaining representative.
184 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
cluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for -
cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the
elections, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled
to, reinstatement, to determine whether or not they desire to be repre-
sented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by Mechanical & Elec-
trical Workers Union of America.