Southern Union Gas Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 8, 1951

93 N.L.R.B. 736 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

736 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
SOUTHERN UNION GAS COMPANY and UNITED ASSOCIATION OF
PLUMBERS AND STEAMFITTERS, LOCAL 412, AFL, PETITIONER. Case
No. 33-RC-J27. March 8, 1951
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon an amended petition duly filed, a hearing was held before
John F. Funke, hearing officer. ' The hearing officer's rulings made
at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.2
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members
Reynolds and Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organization named below claims to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3., As noted above, the Employer claims that a contract bars the
present proceeding. The contract claimed as a bar is one for 2 years
that was originally executed on September 1, 1948, between Public
Service Company of New Mexico, the Employer's predecessor, and
Local No. 611.
On or about September 20, 1949, Public Service Company of New
Mexico sold its Gas Utility Division to Southern Union Gas Company,
the Employer herein. Under the terms of the contract of sale, the
Employer assumed and agreed to discharge "all obligations of the
seller created by or arising under contracts . . . which are the sub-
ject matter of this agreement." Pursuant to the automatic renewal
provisions of the 1948 agreement, the contract renewed itself for 1
year on September 1, 1950. Thereafter, on September 18, 1950, the
Petitioner filed its original petition herein.
Since the sale of the property, Local No. 611 has neither processed
grievances nor represented the employees of the Employer under the
terms of the agreement. Nor is there any evidence in the record to
indicate that there is anyone in the plant capable of administering
the contract. At the hearing Local No. 611 admitted that it no
' Although both international Brotherhood of Electrical Workers , Local No 611, and
International Hod Carriers and Common Laborers Union of America , Local No 16, herein-
after referred to as Local No 611, and Hod Carriers , respectively , were served with notice
of hearing , neither union intervened or participated in the hearing
2 The hearing officer referred to the Board for a ruling the Employer 's motion to dismiss
the petition on the ground that a contract between it and Local No 611 is a bar to this
proceeding The motion is denied for reasons stated herein.
93 NLRB No 117.
SOUTHERN UNION GAS COMPANY 737
longer considered that it represented the employees of the Employer;
and that as of the date of the sale it had not so represented them.
In addition, it appears that shortly after the date of the sale, the
employees involved herein notified Local No. 611 that they no longer
wanted to be its members and that, with the exception of three or four,
employees who pay their dues only for the purpose of keeping up
their insurance and pension, there are presently no dues-paying mem-
bers.3 From all the facts before us and from the entire record in
this case, it appears that for all practical purposes Local No. 611 is
a defunct labor organization at this particular plant.4
In view of the fact that Local No. 611 is not administering the
contract in any manner; that it does not claim to be the bargaining
representative for the employees herein; and is to all intents and
purposes not now a functioning bargaining agent for this group of
employees, it is clear that to treat the contract as a bar to a present
determination of representatives, would not promote stability in bar-
gaining relations with the Employer.5 Accordingly, we find that the
1948 contract is not a bar to this proceeding.
4. We find that the following employees of the Employer constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
All welders, gas fitters, servicemen, meter repairmen, meter setters,
and apprentices, employed at the Employer's Albuquerque, New
Mexico, plant, excluding office and clerical employees, guards, and
supervisors as defined in the Act, and employees covered by the
contract between the Employer and International Hod Carriers and
Common Laborers Union of America, Local No. 16 6
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
8 The business manager of Local No 611' testified that since the date of the sale it has
not represented any one of the employees of Southern Union Gas Company, nor have any
of its officers spoken or conferred with the Company regarding any matters involved in
the contract ; and that in either April or May of 1950, at a regularly called meeting, the
majority of the attending members instructed the business manager of Local No 611 to
see about having the present Petitioner represent them.
4 See J. J. Tourek Manufacturing Co , 90 NLRB 5; Schaefer Body, Inc, 85 NLRB 195;
Boston Machine Works Company, 89 NLRB 59
8 See J J Tourek Manufacturing Co , supra, Amei scan Radiator and Standard Sanitary
Corporation (Stamping Plant), 93 NLRB 7
8 The unit found appropriate is substantially in accordance with the agreement of the
parties.
943732-51-48