Ton-Tex Corporation

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 26, 1983

267 N.L.R.B. 1052 (N.L.R.B. 1983)

DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Ton-Tex Corporation and Local 406, International
Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Ware-
housemen and Helpers of America, Petitioner.
Case 7-CA-16140
26 August 1983
DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF
REPRESENTATIVE
BY CHAIRMAN DOTSON AND MEMBERS
JENKINS AND ZIMMERMAN
Pursuant to authority granted it by the National
Labor Relations Board under Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a three-
member panel has considered objections to an elec-
tion' held on 9 January 1981 and the Hearing Offi-
cer's report recommending disposition of same.
The Board has reviewed the record in light of the
exceptions and briefs, and hereby adopts the Hear-
ing Officer's findings and recommendations. 2
I The election was conducted pursuant to a Stipulation for Certifica-
tion Upon Consent Election. The tally was eight for, and five against, the
Petitioner; there was one challenged ballot, an insufficient number to
affect the results.
I At an informal organizational meeting held approximately 5 weeks
before the election an employee asked how other employees could be
kept from crossing the picket line in the event of a strike. The credited
testimony shows that several employees (none of whom was an agent of
the Petitioner) said that there were ways of taking care of that. The cred-
ited testimony also shows that the Petitioner's representative who was
present at the meeting did not make the remark.
The Hearing Officer found that the remark was vague and, as it was
made by employees in the question-and-answer portion of an informal
meeting, neither coercive nor threatening. In addition, the Hearing Offi-
cer found that, even if the remark was a threat that the Petitioner rati-
fied, it was not objectionable under the standard in Hickory Springs Mfg.
CERTIFICATION OF
REPRESENTATIVE
It is hereby certified that a majority of the valid
ballots have been cast for Local 406, International
Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehouse-
men and Helpers of America, and that, pursuant to
Section 9(a) of the National Labor Relations Act,
as amended, the said labor organization is the ex-
clusive representative of all the employees in the
following appropriate unit for the purposes of col-
lective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages,
hours of employment, and other conditions of em-
ployment:
All full-time and regular part-time production
and maintenance employees, including truck-
drivers and shipping and receiving employees,
employed by the Employer at its facility locat-
ed at 5436 36th Street, Grand Rapids, Michi-
gan; but excluding all salesmen, office clerical
employees, professional employees, technical
employees, confidential employees, guards and
supervisors as defined in the Act.
Co., 239 NLRB 641 (1978), affd in the summary judgment proceeding
247 NLRB 1208 (1980), enforcement denied 645 F.2d 506 (5th Cir. 1981).
Members Jenkins and Zimmerman agree with the Hearing Officer's
conclusion that the remark was vague and, made in an informal setting
by employees to employees. was not coercive. As to the Hearing Offi-
cer's alternative finding, they note that Hickory Springs was overruled in
Home & Industrial Disposal Service, 266 NLRB 100 (1983) (Member Jen-
kins dissenting). Since they find the remark to be vague and noncoercive
on its face, they find it unnecessary to determine whether the Union rati-
fied the remark and, if so, whether the remark falls within the scope of
Home & Industrial Disposal Service, supra.
267 NLRB No. 170
1052