Trackson Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 25, 1944

56 N.L.R.B. 917 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of TRACKSON COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL UNION,
UNITED AUTOMOBILE WORKERS or AMERICA, A. F. L., LOCAL 806
Case No. 13.-R4386.-Decided May 25, 1944
L em, f rem, 'Tighe, Englehard c6 Peck, by Mr. L. B. Lem from, and
Mr. Armand Froehlich and Mr. L. S. Lentz, of Milwaukee, Wis., for
the Company.
Mr. Carl Griepentrog, of Milwaukee, Wis., and Mr. Anthony
Gruszka, of South Milwaukee, Wis., for the A. F. L.
Mr. James T. Ryan, and Mr. Claude Salinzinger, of Milwaukee,
Wis., for the Independent.
Mr. William Strong, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
,AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by International Union, United Auto-
mobile Workers of America, A. F. L., Local 806, herein called the
A. F. L., alleging that a question'affecting commerce had arisen con-
cerning the representation of employees of Trackson Company, Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin, herein called the Company, the National Labor
Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice
before Russell Packard, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on May 1, 1944. The Company, the A. F. L.,
and Independent Local 3333, herein called the Independent, appeared
and participated. All parties were afforded 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 affirmed.
The Company made a motion to dismiss the petition and, in the alter-
native, to postpone any election herein until after all of its personnel
in the armed services return to work. The Trial Examiner reserved
ruling for the Board. For reasons stated more fully in Section III,
below, the motions are denied.' All parties were afforded an oppor-
tunity to file briefs with the Board.
' See Matter of Mane Safety Appliances Co., etc, 55 N L R B 1190.
56 N. L . R. B., No. 164.
917
918 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the.entire, record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
.The Company a Wisconsin corporation operating three plants in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is engaged in the manufacture of gun mounts
and equipment. During 1943; raw materials in excess of $1,000,000
were purchased by the Company, of which more than 75 percent was
obtained from sources outside the State of Wisconsin. During'the
same period, finished products of the Company were valued in excess
of $4,000,000, of which more than 90 percent was shipped to points
outside that State.
We find' that, the Company is engaged in, commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
IL' THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, Local
806, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and the Inde-
pendent, Local 3333, are labor organizations admitting to member-
ship employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition of the A. F. L. as
the exclusive bargaining representative of certain of the Company's
employees.
The Independent and the'Company assert that a prior certification
by the Board of the Independent constitutes a bar to this proceeding.
In June 1943 the Independent won an election among the employees
in, the appropriate 'unit.2 The A. F. L. filed Objections to the con-
duct of the election. Nevertheless on June 9, 1943, the Company
and the Independent executed a'l-year renewal of a prior contract
between them, -which has been - in existence since June 1942. The
Independent was thereafter certified by,the Board on-August 14, 1943.
No extension or modification of the June 1943 contract was effected
by the parties subsequent tothe issuance of the Board's certification.
It is evident that the 'Company and the Independent did not consider
themselves' under any disability with respect to -collective bargain-
ing by reason of the delay in the issuance of the certification, and their
bargaining relationship between the election and certification in 1943
Was neither impeded nor impaired. I '
- 2 Matter o f Traekson Company, 49 N. L' R 'B. 1041.
TRACKSON COMPANY 919
As a general rule, we do not entertain a new petition within 1 year
from a prior certification. Where a contract for a reasonable term
has been executed with a certified representative, in the interest of
stability we refuse to disturb the contractual relations until the initial
period of the contract is about to expire. Where, however, as here,
the parties renew a contract after an election but, prior to certifica-
tion, and where the contracting union is thereafter certified as the
exclusive representative, the term of the renewed contract rather than
the date of certification becomes the controlling factor in our deter-
mination as to whether another election should be held. We there-
fore find that our certification of August 14, 1943, is not a bar to
this proceeding. Since the June 1943 contract is about to expire,
we find that it also does not constitute a bar to a present determina-
tion of representatives.3
The Company, also seeks indefinite postponement of any election
herein until its employees in the armed services have returned to work.*
We cannot agree with that request. The instant investigation is in-
tended to ascertain the present bargaining representative for the
purpose of enabling collective bargaining to proceed without undue
delay and in order to prevent possible interruptions in the operations
of the Company, which is engaged in vital war work. In accordance
with our usual practice, all employees of the Company in the, armed
forces who present themselves at the polls are entitled to cast a ballot.
We insure to other employees in the armed forces a voice in the selec-
tion of.a collective bargaining representative, upon the return to their
employment of such members of the servicemen as to constitute a sub-
stantial percentage of the employees in the appropriate unit in which
we may have 'certified' a collective bargaining representative, we shall
afford them an opportunity to affirm or change the bargaining agent
selected in their absence.' We reject, consequently, the Company's
request for the indefinite postponement of the election herein.
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the
hearing, indicates that the A. F: L. represents a substantial number
of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate .4
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 Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
We find, in substantial agreement with a stipulation of the parties,
that all production and maintenance employees of the Company at its
8 See e g-Matter of Thompson Products, Inc, 47 N. L R B 619.
i The Field Examiner reported that the A F L, submitted 244 membership application
cards and that there are about 700 employees in the appropriate unit.
920 DECISIONS OF -NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
three Milwaukee, Wisconsin, plants including non-militarized watch-
men, and leadmen, but excluding executive, office and clerical employ-
ees, engineering department employees, and all supervisory employ-
ees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise
effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such
action, 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
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees,in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-.
roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elec-
tion herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the
Direction.
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,
and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Trackson Com-
pany, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, an election by secret ballot shall be con-
ducted as early as possii)le, but not later than thirty (30) days from
the date of this Direction, 'under the direction and supervision of the
Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region, acting in this matter
as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Ar-
ticle III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the
employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were
employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date
of this Direction, including employees who did not work during the
said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily
laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United
States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding
those employees who have since quit or been ' discharged,for'cause and
have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election,
to determine whether they desire' to be represented by International
Union, United Automobile Workers of America, Local 806, affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor, or by Independent Local
3333, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
(This unit is substantially , tbe same as that which is covered by the independent's con-
tracts and which we found appropriate in the prior case See Track'son case, footnote 2,
supra