The Western Foundry Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 26, 1942

41 N.L.R.B. 301 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter of THE WESTERN FOUNDRY COMPANY and STEEL
WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, AFFILIATED WITH C.1'0'.
Case No. R-3771.-Decided May 26,194.
Jurisdiction : iron casting manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : re-
fusal to accord petitioner recognition ; contract terminated by party thereto
held no bar; employees alleged to have been discriminatorily discharged
permitted to vote, but their ballots impounded pending disposition of the
charges ; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance
employees of one of Company's plants, exclude supervisory, office, clerical,
and sales employees, chemists and technicians, watchmen, outside truck drivers,
licensed firemen, and students ; agreement as to.
Jacobson, Merrick, Nierman cC Silbert , by Mr. David Silbert, of
Chicago, Ill., for the Company.
Mr. John J. Brownlee and Mr. Harry N. Harper, 'of Chicago, Ill.,
for the S. W. O. C.
'Mr. Walter Knutson, of Chicago, Ill., for the Molders.
Mr. Robert E. Tillman, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petitions duly filed by Steel Workers Organizing Committee'
affiliated with C. I. 0., herein called the S. W. O. C., alleging that a
question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation
of employees of The Western Foundry Company, Chicago, Illinois,"
herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board pro-
vided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before William J.
Isaacson, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chicago, Illi-
nois, on April 24, 1942. The Company, the S. W. O. C., and Inter-
national Molders &, Foundry Workers Union of North America,
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the
Molders, appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity
' The Company's name appears as it was amended at the hearing
41 N. L. R. B., No. 63.
I
301
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302 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
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 errors and are hereby affirmed.
On May 8, 1942, the parties filed a stipulation correcting errors in
the transcript, which is hereby approved and made a part of the
record of the proceeding. -
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
' I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Western Foundry Company, an Illinois corporation, has its
principal office at Chicago, Illinois. It' operates plants at Holland,
Michigan, and at Morris and Chicago, Illinois, where it is engaged
in the manufacture and sale of iron castings for machinery. Only
the Chicago plant is involved in this proceeding. During the year
1941, the -Company purchased for use at this plant raw materials and
supplies consisting,of scrap iron, pig iron, sand, and coal, valued at
approximately $370,000 of which- approximately 20 percent was de=
livered from points outside the State 'of Illinois. During the same
period the Company sold products manufactured by the Chicago
plant valued at more than $1,000,000, of which approximately '40
percent was shipped to points outside the State of Illinois.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Steel Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with C. I. 0., is a
labor organization 'admitting to membership employees of the Com-
pany. -
International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of North Amer-
ica, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor
organization admitting to membership employees of the Company.
HI. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The S. W. O. C., by letter dated March 31, 1942, stating that the
Molders no longer represented a majority of the Company's employees,
requested the Company to recognize the S. W. O. C. as the exclusive
bargaining representative of such employees.2 -No reply was received
from the Company.
The Company now contends that there is a contract between it and
the 'Molders which bars a,present determination of representatives.
2 After having filed charges against the Company on April 20, 1942 , the S. W. O. C. on
April 21, 1942, signed a waiver of any right, power, or privilege to protest any election
held in the instant case on any ground set forth in Case No. XIII-C-1849.
THE WESTERN FOUNDRY COMPANY 303
This 'contract, executed on March 10, 1941, contains a provision -to
the effect that it shall remain in force "until April 1, 1942, and from
year to year thereafter until either party'notifies the other, not less
than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration" date, of its desire to
terminate. The Company's position is that there was no such notice,
and hence the contract was automatically renewed before any claims
were made by the S. W. 0. C. In February 1942, more than 30 days
prior to April 1, 1942, the Company received a letter dated February
23, 1942, from the Molders. Counsel for the Company stated that
he was unable to produce this letter because it had been lost by him.
'The Molders failed to make a copy of it. The secretary-treasurer of
the Company, and counsel for the Company, testifying as to the con-
tents of said letter, stated that it requested negotiation of new wage
agreements under the existing contract and made no reference to
termination of the contract. The parties stipulated that if the Acting
Regional Director and the Field Examiner, who had previously
examined the letter, were called to testify as to the contents, they
would testify that the Molders requested the Company to negotiate
a new agreement, and that no mention of wages was made in the
letter. The district representative of the Molders testified that he
sent the letter in question to the Company and stated therein that
the Molders were asking for a new contract, and that the letter said
nothing about, wages.
The Molders and the Company have engaged in negotiations since
the Company received the above-mentioned letter. The Company
insists that these conferences dealt solely, with changing the' wage
schedules under the 1941 contract. The district representative of the
Molders, however, stated 'that wage schedules are always taken up
first in negotiating new contracts and that other clauses are considered
thereafter. The parties reached an impasse on the wage changes,
culminating in a resort to the arbitration and conciliation services of
the Department of Labor. As of the' time of the hearing, the matter
remained unsettled. Upon .the entire record, we find that notice of
termination within the provision of the 1941 contract was given
by the Molders, and that, therefore, there is no contract to operate
as a bar to a present 'investigation of the question concerning
representation.
The statement of the Acting Regional Director introduced in evi-
dence after the hearing indicates that the S. W. 0. C. represents
a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found
appropriate s
3 The Acting Regional Director stated that the S. W. O. C had submitted to him 147
designation cards ; that 141 bore apparently genuine signatures , of which 120 were
names of persons on the Company 's pay roll of April 18 , 1942, which listed 392 persons
within the unit alleged to be appropriate The Molders submitted no cards but 'relies
on its past and present bargaining relations with the Company to show its interest.
304 DECISIONS OF' NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of-employees of the Company , within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 -(6) - and ( 7)• of the National- Labor
Relations Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
We find, in accordance with a stipulation -of the parties , that all
production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Kedzie
and .Albany Avenue plant in Chicago, excluding supervisory, office;
clerical , and sales employees , chemists and technicians , watchmen,
outside truck drivers, licensed firemen, and students , constitute a unit
-appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 ( b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
In connection with the charges which the S. W. O. C. has filed
against the Company, the S. W-0. C. alleges that William Snowden,
Fred Cosack , Fred Verlot , and Lorenzo Musklino were discharged
for union activity . It requests the Board to grant these employees
the right to vote if an election is ordered . We shall direct that
these employees be permitted to vote, subject to challenge. In the
event such ballots are necessary to a result , they will be impounded
pending disposition of the charges.
We shall further direct that the question concerning representation
which has arisen be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot
among the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed
during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our
Direction of Election , subject to the limitations and additions set
forth therein.
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
Relations Act, 49 Stat . 449, 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 to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with The Western
Foundry Company ,, Chicago, 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 of Election, under the direction
and supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region,
acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations
THE WESTERN FOUNDRY COMPANY 305
Board and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regula-
tions, among all employees of the Company in the unit found, ap-
propriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the
pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of
Election , including William Snowden, Fred Cosack, -Fred Verlot;'and
Lorenzo Musklino , and 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
off, but excluding, those employees who have since quit or been dis-
charged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented
by Steel Workers Organizing Committee , affiliated with C. I. 0., or by
International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of North America,
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor , for the purposes
of collective bargaining, or by neither.
MR.. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the
above Decision and Direction of Election.
463892 -42 - -vol 41--20
In the Matter of THE WESTERN FOUNDRY COMPANY and STEEL
WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, AFFILIATED WITH C. I. O.
Case No. R-3771
AMENDMENT TO DIRECTION OF ELECTION
I
/
June 30, 19f2
On May 26, 1942, the National Labor Relations Board issued a
Decision and Direction of Election in the above-entitled proceeding.,
In the election directed therein, the Board placed upon the ballot the
names of Steel Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with
C. I. 0., herein called the S. W. O. C., and International Molders &
Foundry Workers Union of North America, affiliated with the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor. On June 17, 1942, the parties filed a joint
motion with the Board, stating that the S. W. O. C. had at conven=
tion on May 19, 1942, changed its name to United Steelworkers of
America, affiliated with C. I. 0., and requesting the Board to amend
the aforesaid Direction of Election by substituting the S. W. O. C.'s
present name for its former name.
The Board accordingly hereby amends the aforesaid Direction of
Election by striking therefrom the words "whether they desire to be
represented by Steel Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with
C. I. 0., or by International Molders & Foundry Workers Union
of North America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,"
and substituting therefor the words "whether they desire to be repre-
sented by United Steelworkers of America, affiliated with C. I. 0.,
or by International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of North
America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor."
1 41 N. L. R B. 301
41 N. L. R. B., No. 63a.
306