The Sanger Winery Association

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 27, 1950

88 N.L.R.B. 852 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter of THE SANGER WINERY ASSOCIATION, EMPLOYER and
WINERY, DISTILLERY AND RECTIFYING WORKERS UNION, LOCAL 45,
AFFILIATED WITH DISTILLERY, RECTIFYING AND WINEWORKERS INTER-
NATIONAL UNION, PETITIONER
Case No. 20-RC-715.Decided February 27, 1950
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Clayton O.
Rost, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing
are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
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 [Members Houston, Reynolds, and
Murdock].
1. The business of the Employer :
The Employer, a cooperative incorporated under the laws of Cali-
fornia, is engaged at its Sanger, California, plant in the production
of wine from grapes. Membership in the cooperative consists of an
indeterminate number of local wine growers, who bring their produce
to the Employer's plant. Upon delivery, the member growers are
merely advanced a fixed sum to defray their immediate costs; they
do not receive full value for their crop until it is "closed," or finally
marketed, which may delay payment for 4 or 5 years. In 1949, the
member growers delivered to the Employer about 5,100 tons 1 and were
advanced therefor about $10 per ton.
The Employer ships the wine it produces to Wine Growers Guild,
herein called the Guild, at Lodi, California, and at the latter's in-
structions, to points throughout the United States. Counsel for the
Employer stated at the hearing that title to all the wine at the
Employer's plant is vested in the Guild.
The Guild, a California corporation, is a cooperative marketing
agency for a group of six cooperative producing wineries, of which
' The plant manager of the Employer estimated that the 1949 crop was valued between
:*12 and $1.10 per ton.
88 NLRB No. 159.
852
THE SANGER WINERY ASSOCIATION 853
the Employer is one. Annual sales of the Guild, of which approxi-
mately 80 percent is shipped to points outside the State of California,
exceed $1,000,000.2 The record shows that the Employer's interest in
the Guild approximates 15 percent.
In view of the Employer's substantial part and interest in the
integrated cooperative system which, as a whole, is engaged in inter-
state commerce; the Employer's shipments directly in commerce; and
the entire record in the case, we find, contrary to the contention of tho
Employer, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The following employees of the Employer at its Sanger, Cali-
fornia, plant constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of the Act :
All production and maintenance employees, including the extra
employees,' but excluding the office employee, the plant manager, and
.i11. supervisors.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, on a day or days to
be determined by the Regional Director for the Region in which this
case was heard, under the direction and supervision of the Regional
Director and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the
unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were em-
ployed during the payroll period immediately preceding the date of
the Notice of Election issued by the Regional Director, including em-
ployees who did not work during said payroll period because they
were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding those em-
In Wine Growers Guild, 76 NLRB 650, the Board assumed jurisdiction as to the Guild.
During its seasonal period beginning about August 1 and ending December 31, the Em-
ployer engages about 12 extra employees who perform substantially the same work as do
the 5 regular employees. Approximately 50 percent of these extra' employees return from
year to year. The Petitioner contends that these employees are eligible to vote; the Em-
ployer takes no position. We believe that the extra employees have a sufficient interest in
the employment conditions at the plant to entitle them to vote. However, in accordance
with our policy, we shall direct that the election be conducted as early as possible on a day
or days to be determined by the Regional Director but during the peak period in the Em-
ployer's operations so that a representative vote may be assured. S. Martinelli & Co., 81
NL11B 383.
854 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ployees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have
not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election , and also
excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement,
to determine whether or not they desire to be represented , for purposes
of collective bargaining, by Winery, Distillery and Rectifying
Workers Union, Local 45, affiliated with Distillery, Rectifying and
Wineworkers International Union.
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