Roma Wine Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 11, 1938

7 N.L.R.B. 135 (N.L.R.B. 1938)

In the Matter of ROMA WINE COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL
LONGSHOREMEN'S & WAREHOUSEMEN'S UNION
Case No. R-639.-Decided May 11, 1938
Wine Industry-Investigation of Representatives : controversy concerning
representation of employees : employer's refusal to grant recognition of union ;
rival organizations-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining: all manual
workers, excluding office workers, teamsters, and foremen ; foremen excluded
although both unions admitted them to membership, where unions contended
that only those foremen belonging to either union should be included in unit-
Election Ordered: among employees on stipulated list.
Mr. Weldon P. Monson, for the. Board.
Mr. Albert Picard, of San Francisco, Calif., for the Company.
Mr. Louis Goldblatt, of San Francisco, Calif., for the I. L. W. U.
Mr. P. M. Milloglav, of Woodbridge, Calif., for the Winery
Workers.
Mr. Richard A. Perkins, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On February 4, 1938, International Longshoremen's and Ware-
housemen's Union, herein called the I. L. W. U., filed with the
Regional Director for the Twentieth Region (San Francisco, Cali-
fornia) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had
arisen concerning the representation of employees of Roma Wine
Company, Inc., Lodi, California, 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 March 8, 1938, 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 Rela-
i The petition of the I. L. W. U. and the order of the Board authorizing the investiga-
tion erroneously designated the Company as "Roma Wine Company ," and the I . L. W. U.
as "International Longshoremen 's & Warehousemen's Union."
106791-38-vol. vu-10 135
136 NATIONAT LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tions Board Rui ar d-,regulations-Series 1, as amended, ordered
an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it
and provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On March 15, 1938, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear-
ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, upon the
I. L. W. U., and upon Winery & Distillery Workers Union, Local
20574, herein called the Winery Workers, a labor organization claim-
ing to represent employees directly affected by the investigation.
Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on March 24, 1938, at Lodi,
California, before Thomas H. Kennedy, the Trial Examiner duly
designated by the Board. The Board and the Company were repre-
sented by counsel; and the I. L. W. U. and the Winery Workers were
represented by union officials. All participated in the hearing. Full
opportunity to be heard, to examine and to 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 Examiner
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
Roma Wine Company, Inc., a California corporation, produces
wine, brandy, and grape concentrates. According to the testimony of
its president, it is the largest wine producer in the United States.
The Company operates four wineries in California, situated at Lodi,
Weston, Fresno, and Healdsburg. Only the employees at the Lodi
winery are involved in this proceeding. During the year 1937 the
Company purchased outside the State of California supplies and
equipment to the value of $42,093.29. In the same year the Company
sold products aggregating in value about $4,000,000, approximately
70 per cent of which were shipped to purchasers outside California.
The Lodi winery produced 4,637,707 gallons of wine and brandy in
1937. Of this total the Company sold 3,196,049 gallons outside of
California.
The Company employs from 40 to 150 persons at the Lodi winery,
depending upon seasonal fluctuations in its business.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
137
International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union is a labor
organization affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organiza-
tion. The I. L. W. U. has chartered Local 1-27, which admits em-
ployees of the Company to membership. The parties stipulated that
I. L. W. U. Local 1-27 is the successor to International Longshore-
men's Association, Weighers, Warehousemen and Cereal Workers
Local 38-109, herein called Local 38-109, a labor organization affil-
iated with the American Federation of Labor.
Winery & Distillery Workers Union, Local 20574, is a labor organi-
zation affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. It admits
to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On May 20, 1937, the Company entered into a -contract, with Local
38-109, which then claimed to represent the Company's employees.
The contract was to be effective until March 9, 1938. After the execu-
tion of the contract Local 38-109 became Local 1-27 of the I. L. W. U.
and changed its affiliation from the American Federation of Labor
to the Committee for Industrial Organization. While the contract
was in force the Winery Workers commenced to organize the Com-
pany's employees. Pursuant to the provisions of the contract, the
I. L. W. U. gave the Company due notice of its desire to negotiate
a new agreement upon the expiration of the one in force. The Com-
pany replied to the notice by a letter dated January 27, 1938, inform-
ing the I. L. W. U. that further negotiations must await Board action
designating which of the rival unions was entitled to represent the
employees. It was stipulated at the hearing that a question had
arisen concerning the representation of employees of the company.
We find that a question has arisen concerning 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.
138 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The I. L. W. U. alleged in its petition that a unit composed of
"72 manual workers, excluding teamsters" was appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining. The exclusion of teamsters i5
contested by neither the Winery Workers nor the Company. It was
stipulated by all parties that office workers should be excluded from-
whatever unit was found to be appropriate.
Both unions admit foremen to membership and both claim that-
foremen who are members of either union should be included in the
appropriate unit. The record does not indicate which foremen, if-
any, belong to either union. We might be disposed to adopt a rec-
ommendation by both unions for the inclusion of all foremen in the
appropriate unit. We cannot, however, include merely those fore-
men who happen to belong to either union at this time, and thus
embody in a definition of the appropriate unit the fortuitous state-
of organization existing among the. foremen at present. We shall,
therefore, follow our usual practice and exclude foremen.
We find that all manual workers employed by the Company at its
Lodi, California, winery, excluding office workers, teamsters, and
foremen, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective,
bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees of the Com-
pany the full benefit of their right to self-organization and collective
bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
Although the I. L. W. U. alleged in its petition that it represented
72 of the Company's employees, it furnished no evidence at the hear-
ing in support of its claim. Nor did the Winery Workers adduce-
proof that they represented a majority. The question which has,
arisen concerning representation of employees of the Company can
best be resolved by holding an election by secret ballot. The
I. L. W. U. wishes to be designated on the ballot as "International
Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, Local 1-27, Stockton,
California"; and the Winery Workers desire that the number of
their local union be included as part of their designation on the
ballot. We shall so designate the unions on the ballot.
The I. L. W. U., the Winery Workers, and the Company agreed
that, in the event of the issuance of a direction of election by the
Board to determine representatives for collective bargaining, the
persons listed in Appendix A annexed hereto should be eligible to
vote. It seems likely that both unions and the Company proceeded'
on the assumption that some foremen, at least, would be eligible to^
DECISIONS AND ORDERS ' 139
vote. Since the list furnished us does not indicate the positions held
by the individuals named thereon, it is possible that some persons
whose names appear on the list are not included in the unit which
we have found to be appropriate. We shall, therefore, direct the
election to be held among such of the persons listed in Appendix A
as are included within the appropriate unit, excluding those who have
quit or been discharged for cause since the hearing herein.
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 Roma Wine Company , Inc., Lodi, Cali-
fornia, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and
(7 ) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. All manual workers employed by the Company at its Lodi, Cali-
fornia, winery, excluding office workers , teamsters , and foremen,
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
S1
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended,
it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the
Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective
bargaining with Roma Wine Company, Inc., Lodi, California, an
election by secret ballot shall be conducted within twenty (20)
days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Twentieth Region, acting
in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board
and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations,
among such of the manual workers employed by said Company at
its Lodi, California, winery as are listed in Appendix A annexed
hereto, excluding office workers, teamsters, foremen, and those who
have quit or been discharged for cause since March 24, 1938, to
determine whether they desire to be 'represented by International
Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, Local 1-27, Stockton,
California, or Winery & Distillery Workers Union, Local 20574, for
the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
140 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD.
APPENDIX A
A. Anderson
J. Acker..- ,
H. Berglund
B. B. Bohn-
T. M.. Bianchi
J. Brazil . k,
Pete Bekedam
Leo Buckmaster
L. Bressani
M. Berti
A. Carda
J: Capuccini
W. Contenti
Gene Cortapassi
J:, Clear - -
Clif Cooper
Henry Fuqua
H. Forsch
Joe Funk
J. Graf
H. Gunch
W-. -Gasparini
Kenneth Hall
W: Heine' ' -
Dave Hallman
Vernon Heine
Chester Kreis
Alvin'Krause
Win. Luckey
John Loney
Harry Leiza-
Christ'La'dner
Geo. McCormick
Wm. Mellioff "
Ugo -Martinelli
Lester Michels
R. E. Mineck
Herb Mastel
W.. C., Netz
J. G. Nibeck ...
Bernard Nystrom
Vern Price
E. Price
E. E. Powers
Roy Pope
Albert Reiswig
N. -Rivara '
Peter Joseph Reinero
Jake Reiswig
M. Rossi"
Herbert Schneider
T. E: Schmidt'
Henry Schneider
Henry Sattler
Jake Satur
W. P. Steyaert
Clarence Steyaert
Ted 'Schneider '
Theo. "E'.- Schmidt
E'. A: Schmidt
Walter Trolsen
D.-D: Turner'
Henry J:Voss
Fred Voelker-
An tonio Valenti
John R. Veraguth
P'. D':'Wilcox
W.-Waldon
John Waldon, Jr.
T. Zapatini
E. Ryan
J. Wall