Soreng-Manegold Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 21, 1941

29 N.L.R.B. 1013 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of SORENG-MANEGOLD Co. and UNITED ELECTRICAL,
RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA
Case No. R-2287.-Decided February 01, 1941
Jurisdiction : mechanical and electrical specialties manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : refusal
to accord union recognition until it is certified by the Board; election
necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production employees excluding
supervisory and clerical employees and watchmen.
Fyffe d Clarke, by Mr. Jokn Harrington, of Chicago, Ill., for the
Company.
Mr. William Sentner, of St. Louis, Mo., and Mr. Fred Gardner, of
Chicago, Ill., for the United. ,
Mr. David Brown, of Chicago, Ill., for the Association.
Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On January 14, 1941, National Association of Die Casting Work-
ers, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, herein
called the Association,' filed with the Regional Director for the
Thirteenth Region (Chicago, Illinois) a petition alleging that a ques-
tion affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of
employees of Soreng-Manegold Co., Chicago, Illinois, herein called
the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of
representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On January 29, 1941,
the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting
pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of
3 At the commencement of the hearing in this case the representative of the Association
stated that on February 3, 1941, the employees involved herein voted to be represented by
the United Electrical , Radio and Machine Workers of America , herein called the United,
also an affiliate of the Congress of Industrial Organizations The United filed a motion
to substitute its name for that of the Association in the petition The Company stated
that it had no objection to this procedure The Trial Examiner granted the motion.
'28N L R B 1249
1013
1014 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2,
as amended , ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional
Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice.
On January 30, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear-
ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the
Association.2 Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on February 4,
1941, at Chicago, Illinois, before Jack G. Evans, the Trial Examiner
duly designated by the Board. The Company was represented by
counsel, the Association and the United by their representatives ; all
participated in the hearing. Full oportunity to be heard, to examine
and 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 com-
mitted. The rulings are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:,
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Soreng-Manegold Co. is an Illinois corporation with its principal
place of business at Chicago , Illinois, where it is engaged in the
manufacture of automotive and radio parts and mechanical and elec-
trical specialties . During 1940 over 50 per cent of the raw materials
used by the Company were shipped to it from points outside the
State of Illinois and approximately 85 per cent of its sales , by volume,
were made to,points outside the State of Illinois.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
United Electrical , Radio and Machine Workers of America is a
labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organiza-
tions. It admits to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On January 14, 1941, the Association, claiming to represent a
majority of the employees, requested the Company to recognize it as
the exclusive bargaining representative of the Company's employees.
The Company stated that it would not recognize the Association until
such time as it was certified by the Board. A statement made by the
2 See footnote 1, supra
SOfZENG-MANE GOLD CO. 1015
Trial Examiner during the hearing shows that the Association rep-
resents a substantial number of employees in the unit alleged by it
to be appropriate.3
We, find that a question has arisen concerning the 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 re-
lation 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.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
At the hearing, the United urged, as the petition alleged, that all
production employees of the Company, excluding supervisory and
clerical employees and watchmen, constituted an appropriate, unit.
The Company took no position with respect to the unit.
We-find that all production employees of the Company, excluding
supervisory and clerical employees and watchmen, constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that said
unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their
right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise
effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question which has arisen concerning the represen-
tation of employees of the Company can best be resolved by an elec-
tion by secret ballot. The parties agreed at the hearing that in the
event the Board directed an election, eligibility of employees to vote
should be determined by the Company's pay roll for the period im-
mediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election. We find
that the employees of the Company eligible to vote in the election
shall be those in the appropriate unit whose names appear on the
Company's pay roll for the period immediately preceding the date of
the Direction of Election herein, including employees who did not
work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation
, The Trial Examiner ' s statement shows that 100 employees whose names appear on
the Company ' s pay roll of January 8, 1941 , have signed membership application cards in
the Association. All of these cards were dated between January 1 and February 4, 1941:
There are approximately 233 employees on the January 8, 1941 pay roll.
1016 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL- LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and employees who were then or have since been temporarily laid oft,
but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged
for cause.
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 Soreng-Manegold ' Co., Chicago, Illinois,
within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. All production employees of the Company, excluding supervisory
and clerical employees and watchmen, constitute a unit appropriate
for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of
Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
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 2, 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 Soreng-Manegold Co., Chicago, Illinois, an. election by secret
ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty
(30) days from the date 6f this Direction, under the direction and
supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth 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 all production employees of the Company whose names appear
on the Company's pay roll for the period immediately preceding
the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work
during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation and
employees who were then or have since been temporarily laid off,
but excluding supervisory and clerical employees, watchmen, and
employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to de-
termine whether or ' not they desire to be represented by United
Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, affiliated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining. •