Stokely Foods, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 23, 1946

69 N.L.R.B. 801 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of STOKELY FOODS , INC. and FOOD , TOBACCO, AGRICUL-
TURAL AND ALLIED WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA , C. I. 0.
Case No. 11-8-851
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION
AND
ORDER
July ,23,1946
On March 14, 1946, the National Labor Relations Board issued a
Decision and Direction of Election in the above-entitled proceeding,"
and on April 12, 1946, an amendment thereto, extending the time for
holding the election to 40 days. On April 22, 1946, pursuant to the
Direction of Election, as amended, the Regional Director for the
Eleventh Region held an election among employees of Stokely Foods,
Inc., Greenwood, Indiana, herein called the Company, to determine
whether or- not they desired to be represented by Food, Tobacco,
Agricultural and Allied Workers Union of America, C. I. 0.,2 herein
called the Union, for the purposes of collective bargaining.
The Tally of Ballots, served on the parties, indicates the results of
the election as follows :
Approximate number of eligible voters------------------------------- 52
Void ballots-------------------------------------------------------- 0
Votes cast for the Union-------------------------------------------- 19
Votes cast against the Union---------------------------------------- 23
Total votes counted ----------------------------- ------------------ 42
Challenged ballots------------------------------------------------ 19
Since the challenged ballots cast in the election were sufficient in
number to affect its outcome, the Regional Director investigated the
challenges, and on May 29, 1946, issued his Report on Challenged
Ballots. The Regional Director therein found that Charles Sparks
and James Rose were supervisory employees and recommended that
the challenges to their ballots be sustained; that George MacDonald,
Erschel Lewis, and Hyma Weaver were production and maintenance
1 66 N. L . R. B. 749.
2 The Decision and Direction of Election and other formal papers in this proceeding were
amended at the further hearing to show the correct name of the Union.
69 N. L. R. B., No. 97.
801
701592-47--vol. 69-52
802 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
employees, and recommended that the challenges to their ballots be
overruled; and that the eligibility of the 14 other challenged voters
should be determined after hearing on the issues concerning their
status. On June 10, 1946, the Company filed exceptions to the Regional
Director's report. On June 14, 1946, the Board, having considered
the Regional Director's Report on the Challenges, and the Company's
exceptions thereto, ordered that a hearing be held for the purpose of
resolving the issues raised in connection with all challenged ballots
except those of Charles Sparks, James Rose, and George MacDonald.
On July 9, 1946, a further hearing was held at Indianapolis, Indiana,
before Howard Meyers, Trial Examiner. The Trial Examiner's rul-
ings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed.
On the basis of the entire record in this proceeding, the Board makes
the following :
SUPPLEMENTAL FINDINGS of FACT
Charles Sparks and James Rose, challenged by the Union, are year-
round employees who, during the active canning period, serve as fore-
men, directing the activities of seasonal workers hired for food proc-
essing. When the canning season is past, Sparks and Rose are engaged
in maintenance work and have no supervisory authority. Since the
unit found appropriate for bargaining in this proceeding includes
year-round employees and excludes seasonal employees, and since
Sparks and Rose have no supervisory authority except in the canning
season and were not serving in a supervisory capacity at the time when
the election was held, we find that Sparks and Rose are included in the
unit of year-round employees 3 and that they were eligible to vote in
the election conducted on April 22, 1946.' Their ballots are, therefore,
hereby declared valid.
George MacDonald, challenged by the Union, checks incoming ma-
terials and supplies operators with necessary stock. He spends ap-
proximately 11/2 hours a day at a desk in the main office, completing
reports. He also performs the duties of a general handy-man, han-
dling tomato sets, shoveling coal, etc. Since it appears that Mac-
Donald does manual work in the plant in connection with the produc-
tion process, we find that he is a production employee and, as such,
included in the bargaining unit. His ballot, therefore, is hereby de-
clared valid.
Erschel Lewis and Hyma Weaver, classified by the Company as
labeling machine foremen, were not included on the eligibility list and
were therefore challenged by the Board's agent. Lewis is in charge of
a bottle labeling machine and Weaver, in charge of a can labeling
3 Matter of Reid, Murdock & Go., 56 N. L. R. B. 284.
':Matter of Hunt Foods, Inc., 68 N. L. R. B. 800.
STOKELY FOODS, INC. 803
machine. Each has a crew of from 10 to 12 employees whose work
they direct. The Company contends that Lewis and Weaver are su-
pervisory employees and should be excluded, as such, from the unit.
The Union contends that Lewis and Weaver are "lead" men and label-
ing machine operators, but denies that they possess substantial super-
visory authority. The customary rate for a labeling machine opera-
tor is 21/2 cents per hour more than helpers on the machines. Lewis
and Weaver receive 15 cents per hour more than the highest paid
employee on their machines. The Company contends that the larger
differential between the wages of Lewis and Weaver is due to the
supervisory responsibility imposed upon them for the direction of
their crews. Their rate is the same as that of other employees who the
Union contends are supervisory. Although neither Lewis nor Weaver
has authority to hire, discharge, or transfer employees, they make
recommendations with respect to hire, discharge, and transfer, and
their recommendations are given weight. The warehouse foreman
has broad duties which require his attention away from the labeling
machines. The operation of the machines and the direction of the
labeling crews are vested in Lewis and Weaver. Since labeling ma-
chines are operating from 8 to 12 months in the year, the supervisory
authority of Lewis and Weaver extends well beyond the food proc-
essing season, and covers non-seasonal workers. We therefore find
that Lewis and Weaver are supervisory employees and, as such, are
excluded from the bargaining unit.5 Their ballots, therefore, are
hereby declared invalid.
The 14 remaining ballots are those of food processing employees
whose services are not required in the plant when the food processing
work is over. In normal times the Company's canning season begins
in June for about 3 weeks when peas are processed, and, after a lay-off,
again in August when tomatoes are ripe. The tomato season closes
early in October with the frosts. During the war years, the Company
canned some dry products, such as tomato sauce beans, which extended
the work of its seasonal employees beyond the normal time for process-
ing fresh vegetables.6 The lengthening of the processing season offered
a longer period of work, but it did not change the essential nature of
the work.
In its Decision and Direction of Election, the Board rejected the
contention of the Union that seasonal employees retained to work on
dry products became "regular part-time employees," and it excluded
all seasonal employees from the unit appropriate for year-round em-
ployees. The challenged employees were retained beyond the fresh
vegetable canning season in 1945 to work on dry products. The pro-
5 See Matter of Reid, Murdock & Co., supra.
Since war requirements no longer are a factor in its operations, the Company will no
longer process dry products at this plant.
804 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
longed season did not change their status as seasonal workers, al-
though they worked a longer period. We find that Elmo Young,
Court Hemphill, Lee Polk, Theodore Beaman, Wallis Church, Geneva
Newton, Stella Angell, Valeria Graves, Pearl Vest, Flo Hensley, Mary
Barlow, Micha Sparks, Leona Rose, and Florence Sego were seasonal
employees at the time of the election and, as such, ineligible to vote.
Their ballots are, therefore, hereby declared invalid.
Since the counting of the valid ballots of Charles Sparks, James
Rose, and George MacDonald would not affect the results of the elec-
tion, we will not direct that these ballots be opened and counted.
Since the Union failed to receive a majority of the valid votes cast,
we will dismiss the petition filed herein.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition for investigation and certifi-
cation of representatives filed herein by Food, Tobacco, Agricultural
and Allied Workers Union of America, C. I. 0., be, and it hereby is,
dismissed.
MR. JOHN M. HousTON took no part in the consideration of the above
Supplemental Decision and Order.