Seneca Knitting Mills, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 6, 1944

59 N.L.R.B. 754 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter Of SENECA KNITTING MILLS, INC. and TEXTILE WORK-
ERS OF UNION OF AMERICA, C. I. O. .
Case No. 3-R-841
DECISION
AND
ORDER SETTING ASIDE ELECTION
December 6, 1944
On October 25', 1944 , pursuant to the Decision and Direction of
Election issued by the Board herein on October 7, 1944 ,1 an election
by secret ballot was conducted under the direction and supervision
of the Regional Director for the Third Region (Buffalo, New York).
Upon the conclusion of the election , a Tally of Ballots was furnished
the parties in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the
Board.
The Tally shows that of the approximately 350 eligible voters, 305
cast valid votes, of which ' 87 were for the Textile Workers Union of
America, C. I. 0., herein called the CIO, and 218 for Locals 2585
and 68, United Textile Workers of America, A. F. L., herein called
the AFL. The 10 challenged ballots are insufficient to affect the
results of the election.
On October 26, 1944 , the CIO,filed Objections to the conduct of the
election requesting that the election be set aside. because of the al-
leged prejudicial conduct of the AFL prior to the election. On No-
vember 4 , 1944, the Regional Director , following 'an investigation,
issued a Report on Objections in which he recommended that the Ob-
jections filed by the CIO be overruled . Thereafter on November 9,
1944 , the CIO filed Exceptions to the said Report on Objections.
Upon the entire record in the case , including the Objections filed
by the CIO, the Report on Objections , and the Exceptions filed by
the CIO, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
On July 24, 1944, the Company and the AFL, which was then the
bargaining representative of the Company's employees, jointly ap-
158 N. L. R. B. 825.
59 N L. R. B., No. 152.
754
SENECA KNITTING MILLS, INC. 755
plied to the Regional War Labor Board, herein called the RWLB, for
the latter's approval of certain job classification wage schedules cal-
culated to bring about wage increases for the employees: On October
14, 1944, the Regional Director mailed a letter to the RWLB notifying
the latter that an election in the above-entitled proceeding would be
held on October 25, 1944. This letter was received by the RWLB on
the afternoon of October 16, 1944, but did not reach the appropriate
official until the morning of October 17, 1944. Meanwhile, the RWLB,
on October 16, 1944, had mailed to the Company its ruling on the joint
Company-AFL application; the Company received it on October 17,
1944. The ruling approved in part and denied in part the proposed
job classification wage scales. About 30 percent of the employees in
the unit found appropriate by the Board were favorably affected by
the RWLB ruling. Although the Company received notice of the
RWLB action about a week prior to the election, it refrained from
either putting the wage increases into effect or notifying its employees
of the receipt of the ruling, pursuant to its policy of remaining
strictly neutral as between the contending unions. The first announce-
ment to the employees with respect to the RWLB ruling was made by
the AFL in the form of a circular distributed to the employees during
the morning and early afternoon of the day before the election.2 Ap-
prised of the RWLB ruling for the first time by the AFL circular
announcement, the CIO immediately communicated with the RWLB
which thereupon in telegrams to all parties, received on the afternoon
of October 24, 1944, rescinded its previous ruling without prejudice
to its reissuance after the election. None of the parties that day either
published or otherwise notified the employees of the rescission of the
RWLB ruling. However, on the morning of election day, October 25,
1944, starting at 5: 30 a. m., the CIO distributed a circular at the gates
of the main plant of the Company, answering that of the AFL issued
the previous day. The election was held outside company property
between 6 a. m. and 8 a. in., and between 4: 30 p. in. and 6: 30 p. m. It
is probable, therefore, as the Regional Director points out, that a num-
ber of employees voted prior to reporting for work and therefore did
not receive copies of the circular being distributed by the CIO before
they cast their votes.
In support of his conclusion that there was no interference of a sub-
stantial nature with respect to the election, the Regional Director
states : (1) that the effect of the AFL's circular announcement of the
RWLB ruling was counteracted in part by the CIO circular issued the
following day; and (2) that in view of the large majority by which
the AFL won the election, and the original showing of interest by the
2 The AFL announcement stated that the RWLB ruling had provided wage increases
for all employees.
'756 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
CIO in the Field Examiner's report, the chances of the CIO winning
the election were, at best, but speculative. The Board has no yard-
stick by which' it can determine the precise effect of the AFL announce-
ment of the RWLB ruling or of the counteracting effect, if any, of the
CIO circular on the votes cast by the employees. We cannot probe the
minds of those who voted and say definitely that the outcome of the
election would have been the same if the AFL had not publicized the
RWLB ruling on the eve of the election. As we stated in Matter of
Continental Oil Company,3 a proceeding in which the identical issue
here presented was involved, "It is virtually impossible to ascertain
the full effects upon the employees' free exercise of the right to select
a collective bargaining representative of the W. L. B.'s announcement
just prior to the run-off election that it had approved the wage in-
crease. In the present period of fixed wage ceilings, with resultant
limitations imposed upon one of the most effective appeals which a
labor organization can make to employees during an organizing cam-
paign, namely, the promise of better wages, we conclude that the an-
nouncement indicating the approval of the joint wage increase appli-
cation of the Independent and the Company, prevented a free choice
by the employees."
We shall, therefore, sustain the CIO's Objections, and set aside the
election held on October 25, 1944. When the Regional Director ad-
vises us that the time is appropriate, we shall direct that a new election
be held among the Company's employees.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, the National Labor
Relations Board hereby vacates and sets aside the election held in this
proceeding on October 25, 1944, and the results thereof.
MR. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Order Setting Aside Election.
3 58 N. L. R. B. 169.