Swift and Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 1, 1943

49 N.L.R.B. 370 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter Of SWIFT AND COMPANY and PACKINGIIOus WORKEP3
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, LOCAL No. 167, C. I. O.
Case No. R-4630
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 1, 1943
Un January 16, 1943, .the. National , Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, issued its Decision and Direction of Election in this
proceeding.' Pursuant to the Direction of Election , an election by
secret ballot was conducted on February 10, 1943, under the direction
and supervision of- the Regional Director for the Eighteenth Region
(Minneapolis, Minnesota). On February 11, 1943, the Regional Di-
rector, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, issued
and duly served upon the parties his Election Report.
As to the balloting and its results , the Regional Director reported
as follows :
Approximate number of eligible voters------------------- - - ------ 3, 005
Total ballots'cast--------- ------------------------------- 2,419
Total ballots challenged ------------ ----------------------- 16
Total void ballots----------------------------------------- 11
Total valid votes counted---------------------------- ----- 2,392
Votes cast for Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee,
Local No. 167, C. I. 0.----------------------------------- 1,034
Votes cast, for Packinghouse Workers Industrial Union No. 11__ 1, 285
Votes cast for neither -------------------------------------- 73
On February 17, 1943, Packinghouse Workers Organizing Com-
mittee, Local No. ,167, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called the
PWOC, filed its Objections to Conduct to' the Ballot and Election
-Report. Swift and Company, herein called the Company, and Pack-
inghouse Workers Industrial Union No. 11, herein called the Inde-
pendent, did not object to,the conduct of the election or to the Election
146N L. R.B,No 140
49 N. L. R. B., No 47.
370
SWIFT AND COMPANY 371
Report. The Independent filed an answer to the PWOC's objections
on February 25, 1943.
On March 23, 1943, the Board having duly considered the matter,
issued an Order directing that a hearing be held on the objections set
forth in paragraph VII of the PWOC's Objections to Conduct of the
Ballot and Election Report. Pursuant thereto, a hearing upon due
notice was held on April 5, 1943, at Minneapolis, Minnesota, before
James C. Batten, Trial Examiner. The Board, the Company,. the
PWOC, and the Independent appeared, participated, and were af-
forded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine
witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial
Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial
error and are hereby af£irmed.2 The PWOC filed a brief on April 12,
1943, which the Board has considered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
The PWOC alleged, in paragraph VII of its objections, that
"prior to the election Swift and Company and Union No. 11 [Inde-
pendent] prepared tags identical in size, shape, design and color-
ing; that the Company tag was a safety tag and the Union No. 11
tag was an election campaign tag; that both tags were distributed
to employees in the time office of the Company; that the Company
guards tore down Local 167 [PWOC] election material posted in
the plant but did not disturb Union No. 11 election material posted
in the plant ; that by this action the Company supported and fav-
ored Union No. 11 and discriminated against Local 167."
The PWOC offered no evidence at the hearing to support its allega-
tion that company guards tore down PWOC election material posted
in the plant and left remaining election material of the Independent.
In January 1943, the Company was requested to participate in a
safety drive, sponsored by the National Safety Council, to be conducted
under the supervision of a, committee selected from the city of St. Paul,
Minnesota. The local committee made all the necessary arrangements
for the printing of safety pledges, safety stickers, and lapel insignia
and for the distribution of such material to the local concerns, including
the Company. The printed material furnished by the local committee
was printed by the McGill-Warner Company of St. Paul, Minnesota.
In most instances foremen distributed the safety material, although
2 The Trial Examiner , in view of the Board ' s Order limiting the hearing to objection VII,
denied the motion of the PWOC to enlarge the scope of the hearing to permit the intro-
duction of evidence regarding other alleged reasons for setting aside the election. The
Trial Examiners ruling is affirmed.
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372 DDOILSIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
in a few distances ordinary employees were asked to do so. The safety
drive was over by January 30.
Shortly after the appearance of the safety stickers and lapel insignia
in the Company's plant, an officer of the Independent called the McGill-
Warner Company and arranged to have stickers and lapel insignia of
similar design with different wording , printed for the use of the Inde-
pendent in its election campaign . There is no showing that the Com-
pany aided the Independent in any way in arranging for the printing
of material for the Independent, nor furnished` to the Independent
any information concerning the printing of the safety stickers and
lapel insignia . While there is some evidence indicating . that some mein-
-hers of the Independent distributed campaign material to the employees
during working hours, there is undisputed evidence that it was done in
such a manner that it would not come to the attention of the Company
or any of its supervisory .personnel . 'No shoiving has been made that
the Company in any way assisted the Independent in passing out the
Independent insignia.
The sole question , therefore , is whether the mere similarity in design
and the fact that the Independent material appeared in the plant shortly
after the safety tags and insignia , could reasonably be regarded as
leading employees to believe that the Company supported and favored,
the Independent . The relevant evidence , set forth above, convinces us
and we And the employees did not receive the impression from the
nature, character, description, and distribution of the Independent
printed material that the Company was lending its support to one of
the contestants in the election . The objections are therefore overruled
and we shall accordingly certify the Independent as the exclusive repre-
sentative of the employees in the appropriate unit.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,
and pursuant to Article III, Sections 9 and 10, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended,
IT Is HEREBY CERTIFIED that Packinghouse Workers Industrial Union
No. 11, affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Swift Em-
ployees, has been designated and selected by a majority of all produc-
tion and maintenance employees of Swift and Company at its South
St. Paul plant , including plant truck drivers, but excluding superin-
tendent, ' assistant superintendents , division superintendents , general
foremen, foremen , assistant foremen, plant -protection employees
(policemen, watchmen , and firemen ), standards department em-
ployees, time office employees , steady-time plant clerks, hostess, head
cook, chemists , all general office employees , bricklayers , plant adminis-
SWIFT AND COMPANY 373'
trative employees, office cafeteria employees, steady-time scalers, and
branch-house truck drivers, as their representative for the purposes,
of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the,
Act, Packinghouse Workers Industrial Union No. 11, affiliated with
the International Brotherhood of Swift Employees, is the exclusive
representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective
bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment,
and other conditions of employment.
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