Stoner Mfg.Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 30, 1941

31 N.L.R.B. 480 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Mattel' of STONER MFG. CORP . and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF MACHINISTS & INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL
Woiu in s , LOCAL B-713 (A. F. OF L.)
Case No. R-2407.Deeided April 30, 19/1
Jurisdiction : vending machine and toy manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: Com-
pany refused request of joint petitioners that it recognize them jointly as the
exclusive collective bargaining agency of its employees ; permission granted
labor organization not participating in proceedings to have its name placed
upon the ballot if it so desires ; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance
employees, excluding clerical and supervisory employees ; stipulation as to.
Mr. Barnabas F. Sears, of Aurora, Ill., for the Company.
Mr. J. W. Ramsay, of Rockford, Ill., for the I. A. M.
Mr. Anthony Pusateri, of Chicago, Ill., for the I. B. E. W.
Mr. Albert A. Krzywonos, of Joliet, Ill., for the S. W. O. C.
Mrs. Mary M. Persinger, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On February 13, 1941, International Association of Machinists and
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local B-713,
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the
I. A. M. and the I. B. E. W., respectively, filed with the Regional
Director for the Thirteenth Region (Chicago, Illinois), a joint petition
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of Stoner Manufacturing Corporation,
'Aurora, Illinois, herein called the Company, and requesting an in-
vestigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9
(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called
the Act. On March 12, 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 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.
31 N. L. R. B, No. 75.
480
STONER MANUFACTURING CORPORATION 481
On the same day, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear-
ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company , upon the
I. A. M. and the I. B. E. W ., and upon Steel Workers Organizing
Committee , Local Union No. 2260, affiliated with the Congress of
Industrial Organizations , herein called the S. W. O. C., a labor or-
ganization which claimed to represent employees directly affected by
the investigation . Pursuant to notice , a hearing was held on March
19, 1941, at Aurora, Illinois , before Charles F. McErlean , the Trial
`Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner . The Com-
pany, the I. A. M. and the I. B. E. W., and the S. W. O. C. appeared
and were represented by counsel : The Company and the I. A. M. and
the I. B . E. W. participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be
heard, to examine and cross -examine witnesses , and to introduce evi-
dence bearing upon the issues was afforded all parties . Shortly after
the opening of the hearing , the S. W. O. C. asked to be allowed to
withdraw therefrom . This request was granted by the Trial
Examiner.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:-
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Stoner Manufacturing Corporation is an Illinois corporation with
its office and principal place of business at Aurora , Illinois , where it
is engaged in the design , manufacture , and sale of coin -operated
machines , vending machines , amusement games, and toys.
During 1938 the Company purchased raw materials , valued at about
$108,000, of which 27 per cent in value was obtained by it" outside
the State of Illinois . During the same year the Company 's sale of
finished products amounted to $309,156 .47, of which more than 86
per cent in value was sold' to purchasers outside the State of Illinois.
The relative amounts of purchases and sales made outside the State
of Illinois were approximately the same in 1940.
'11. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Association of Machinists and International Brother-
hood of Electrical Workers, Local B-713, are , labor organizations,
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to mem-
bership production and maintenance employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On February 12, 1941, the I. A. M. and the I. B. E. W. requested the
Company to recognize them jointly as the exclusive collective bargain-
ing agency of the Company's employees . The Company refused so
482 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
to recognize them until such time as they were certified by the Board
as such. '
It appears from a report of the. Regional Director admitted into
evidence and from a statement made by the Trial Examiner at the
hearing, that the I. A. M. and the I. B. E. W. jointly represent a
substantial number of the Company's employees in the unit herein-
after found to be appropriate.- 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 rela-
tion 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 I. A. M. and the I. B. E. W. and the Company
stipulated, and we find, that all production and maintenance employees,
of the Company, excluding clerical and supervisory employees, con-
stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
We further find that said unit will insure to employees of the Com-
pany 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 concerning representation which has
arisen can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot.
We shall direct that all employees in the appropriate unit who
were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period immedi-
ately preceding the date of our Direction of Election, subject to such
limitations and additions as are set forth in said Direction, shall be
eligible to vote.
Since the S. W. 0. C. withdrew from the hearing we shall provide
no place for designation of the S. W. 0. C. on the ballot. We shall,
1 The Regional Director 's report states that the I. A. M and the I. B. E. W. submitted
156 joint authorization cards , 149 of which were dated between January 1 and March 1,
1941, and 7 of which were undated. Of the 156 signatures on the cards , 134 are the names
of persons whose names appear on the Company ' s pay roll of 260. The petition alleges
that the appropriate unit contains approximately 240 employees . The Trial Examiner
stated that of 17 additional cards submitted to him , 8 were dated as of February and 9 as
of March 1941 . Signatures on 13 of these cards are names of persons who were on the
Company's pay roll as of March 19, 1941.
STONER MANUFACTURING CORPORATION 483
however, grant permission to the S. W. O. C. to have its name placed
upon the ballot if it so desires and if it so notifies in writing the
Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region within five days from
the date of our Direction of Election.2
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following : I
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Stoner Manufacturing Corporation,
Aurora, Illinois, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2
(6) and (7) of the Act.
2. All production and maintenance employees of the Company,
excluding clerical and supervisory employees, constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of
Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION '
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Re-
lations 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 bargain-
ing with Stoner Manufacturing 'Corporation, Aurora, Illinois, an
election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not
later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the
direction and super-vision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth
Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Re-
lations Board and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and
Regulations among all production and maintenance employees of
Stoner Manufacturing Corporation who were employed by the Com-
pany during the pay-roll 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 or in the active
military service or training of the United States, or temporarily laid
2 The Regional Director 's report, referred to in footnote 1, supra, stated that the
S. W 0 C. had 'submitted to him for examination 56 authorization cards dated as follows :
18 between October 1 and December 31, 1940;
35 between January 1 and March 1, 1941 ;
3 undated
He found that 40 cards bore apparently genuine signatures of persons listed on the pay roll
of the Company.
441843-42-vol 31-32
484 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
off, but excluding clerical and supervisory employees and those who
have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether
or not they desire to be represented by International Association
of Machinists and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local B-713, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for
the purposes of collective bargaining. -