Valley Steel Products Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 27, 1940

20 N.L.R.B. 885 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter of LESTER A: CRANCER AND GEORGE B. FLEISCHMAN,
DOING BUSINESS AS VALLEY STEEL PRODUCTS COMPANY, and FABRI-
CATED METAL WORKERS' UNION9 LOCAL No. 22199, AFFILIATED WITH
THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR'
Case No. C-1487.-Decided February 07, 1940
Thread Protectors, Pipe, and Pipe Fittings Manufacturing Industry-Settle-
ment: stipulation providing for compliance with Act, including reinstatement of
25 named employees , one with back pay, and the reinstatement of all striking
employees-Order: entered on stipulation.
Mr. Thurlow Smoot, for the Board.
Rosenblum and Mellitz, of St. Louis, Mo., for the respondents.
Mr. Ray Johnson, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon charges and amended charges duly filed by Fabricated Metal
Workers' Union, Local No. 22199, affiliated with the American Federa-
tion of Labor, herein called the Union, the National Labor Relations
Board, herein called the Board, by the Regional Director for the Four-
teenth Region (St. Louis, Missouri), issued its complaint dated Janu-
ary 18, 1940, and an amended complaint dated January 25, 1940,
against Lester A. Crancer and George B. Fleischman, doing business
as Valley Steel Products Company, Cairo, Illinois, herein called the
respondents, alleging that the respondents had engaged in and were
engaging in unfair labor practices affecting commerce, within the
meaning of Section 8 (1), (3), and (5) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of
the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. -449, herein called the Act.
Copies of the complaint and amended complaint and notices of hear-
ing. thereon were duly served upon the respondents and the Union.
Concerning the unfair labor practices the amended complaint alleged
in substance (1) that on October 22, 1939, the respondent discharged
and refused to reinstate Herbert Washum, and on November 6 and 7,
1939, discharged and refused to reinstate 24 other named employees,
because they assisted the Union and engaged in concerted activities
20 N. L. R. B., No. 85.
885
283031-41-vol. 20-57
886 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
with other employees of the respondent for the purpose of collective
bargaining and other mutual aid and protection; (2) that all produc-
tion and maintenance employees employed at the respondents' Cairo,
Illinois, plant, excluding supervisory and clerical employees, constitute
an appropriate bargaining unit; (3) that on November 8, 1939, and at
all times thereafter, a majority of the employees in the appropriate
unit had designated the Union as their representative for the purposes
of collective bargaining; and that on November 8, 1939, and thereafter,
the respondents refused to bargain with the Union as the exclusive
representative of the employees in the appropriate unit; (4) that on
November 8, 1939, the employees at the respondents' Cairo, Illinois,
plant went on strike because of the respondents' unfair labor prac-
tices; (5) that the respondents, by causing physical violence to be used
against their striking employees and threatening to replace the strik-
ers, by urging, persuading, and warning their employees to reliouihce
their membership in the Union and to refrain from joining or assisting
the Union, by threatening to discharge their employees and to move
their plant if their employees joined a labor organization or failed to
abandon their strike, by keeping under surveillance members of the
Union and union meetings, and by offering bribes to their employees
to vote against the Union in an election to determine collective bar-
gaining representatives, and by the foregoing and by other acts, pro-
longed the strike, and interfered with, restrained, and coerced its
employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the
Act.
On January 23, 1940, the respondents filed a motion with the
Regional Director requesting that the hearing scheduled for January
29, 1940, be postponed for a period of 3 weeks. On the same day, the
Regional Director denied the motion. On January 25, 1940, the Re-
gional Director issued the amended complaint and set the hearing for
February 5, 1940.
Prior to the hearing, which was scheduled for February 5, 1940, the
respondents, the Union, and counsel for the Board entered into a
stipulation, dated January 25, 1940, in settlement of the case. This
stipulation provides as follows :
STIPULATION
It is hereby stipulated by and between Lester A. Cr6ncer and
George B. Fleischman, doing business as Valley Steel Products
Company (hereinafter called the respondents), the Fabricated
Metal Workers' Union, Local No. 22199, affiliated with the Amer-
ican Federation of Labor (hereinafter called the Union), by
Fred Olds, General Organizer, the American Federation of La-
VALLEY STEEL PRODUCTS COMPANY 887
bor, and Thurlow Smoot, Attorney for the National Labor Rela-
tions Board (hereinafter called the Board), that:
I
Upon a Second Amended Charge duly filed by the Union, the
Board, by the Regional Director for the Fourteenth Region,
acting pursuant to authority granted in Section 10 (b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, (hereinafter called
the Act), and pursuant to Article II, Section 5, and Article IV,
Section 1 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Reg-
ulations, Series 2, duly issued a Complaint and Notice of Hear-
ing on January 18, 1940, said hearing to be held on January 29,
1940. The respondents on January 23, 1940, filed a Motion for
Continuance, and on January 23, 1940, the Regional Director for
the Fourteenth Region of the Board issued an Order Denying
Respondents Motion for Continuance. Thereafter on January
25, 1940, the Regional Director for the Fourteenth Region of the
Board duly issued an Amended Complaint and Notice of Hearing,
said hearing to commence on February 5, 1940.
II
The respondents Lester A. Crancer and George B. Fleischman
are co-partners doing business under the firm name and style
of Valley Steel Products Company. The said respondents main-
tain an office at 31 St. George Street, St. Louis, Missouri, and a
plant in the City of Cairo, Illinois, where they are engaged in
the manufacture, reconditioning, sale and distribution of thread
protectors, pipe and pipe fittings.
III
The respondents, while engaged as above described in the course
and conduct of their business, cause and have continuously
caused a substantial portion of the materials used by them in
the manufacture, reconditioning, sale and distribution of thread
protectors, pipe, and pipe fittings, referred to above, to be pur-
chased and transported in interstate commerce from and through
States of the United States other than the State of Illinois, to
their plant in the State of Illinois, and cause and have continu-
ously caused a substantial portion of their finished products, re-
conditioned and manufactured in their plant in the City of Cairo,
State of Illinois, to be sold and transported in interstate commerce
from the said plant in the State of Illinois into and through
888 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
states of the United States other than the State of Illinois, all
of the aforesaid constituting a continuous flow of commerce
among the several states.
IV
The respondents are engaged in interstate commerce within
the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
V
Fabricated Metal Workers' Union, Local No. 22199, affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization
within the meaning of Section 2 , subdivision (5) of the Act.
VI
The respondents waive their right to a hearing and to the
making of Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law by the
Board, as set forth in Sections 10 (b) and (c) of the Act.
VII
All the production and maintenance employees of the said re-
spondents employed at their Cairo, Illinois, plant, on or about
November 8, 1939, but excluding supervisory and clerical em-
ployees, constituted and do now constitute a unit appropriate for
the purpose of collective bargaining within the meaning of
Section 9 (b) of the Act.
VIII
On November 8, 1939, and at all times thereafter, the Union
was and now is the representative of a majority of the employees
in the unit described in Paragraph VII above, for the purpose
of collective bargaining in regard to rates of pay, wages, hours
of employment, and other conditions of employment.
IX
On or about November 8, 1939, the employees of respondents at
their Cairo, Illinois, plant went on strike.
X
This stipulation, together with the pleadings in the case, may
be filed with the Chief Trial Examiner of the Board at Washing-
ton, D. C., and when so filed shall constitute the record in this
case.
VALLEY STEEL PRODUCTS COMPANY 889
XI
Upon this stipulation, if approved by the Board, an Order
may forthwith be entered by the Board providing as follows :
1. The respondents, their agents, successors and assigns shall
cease and desist from :
(a) Urging, persuading and warning their employees against
forming or joining any labor organization; threatening their
employees with discharge in the event said employees joined or
formed any labor organization; threatening to remove their
plant from Cairo, Illinois, in the event their employees formed
or joined a labor organization; keeping their employees under
surveillance in order to ascertain their desires regarding labor
organizations; encouraging their employees to act as spies and
undercover agents to report on the activities of their employees
in and on behalf of any labor organization or organizations;
detailing certain of their employees to act as spies and under-
cover agents to report to them-on the Union or organizational
activities of their employees; or in any other manner interfer-
ing with, restraining or coercing their employees in the exercise
of their rights to organize, to form, join or assist labor organiza-
tions, to bargain collectively with the representatives of their
own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the pur-
pose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection,
as guaranteed under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations
Act.
(b) Discouraging membership in the Fabricated Metal Work-
ers' Union, Local No. 22199, by discharging or in any other
manner discriminating against their employees in regard to the
hire and tenure of employment or any condition of employment,
for the reason that they, or any of them, joined or assisted the
Union or any other labor organization of their employees.
(c) Refusing to bargain collectively with the Fabricated Metal
Workers' Union, Local No. 22199, as the exclusive representative
of all their production and maintenance employees employed at
their Cairo, Illinois, plant, but excluding supervisory and clerical
employees.
- 2. The respondents, their agents, successors and assigns, shall
take the following affirmative action which will effectuate the
policies of the Act :
(a) Upon request, bargain collectively with the Fabricated
Metal Workers' Union, Local No. 22199, as the exclusive repre-
sentative of all the production and maintenance employees em-
ployed at their Cairo, Illinois, plant, but excluding supervisory
and clerical employees.
890 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
(b) Offer to Herbert Washum, Willis Rothschilds, Guy Clutts,
Calbert Singleton, William H. Price, Carter Brunston, Everett
Murray, Harvey Nichols, Jesse Edison, Wayne Barnwell, J. B.
Stone, Frank McClure, J. J. Weniscke, William Rogers, Ellis
Joe, Norman Chambliss, Carl Keppner, Robert Sills, Baker
Clark, E. J. Cartwright, Martin Becker, Cecil Lockett, Floyd
Hendricks, Cecil Royce, John Holly, immediately after termina-
tion of the strike, full reinstatement to their former positions
without prejudice to any rights and privileges previously en-
joyed by them, and employ said employees as such positions
become available.
(c) Make whole Herbert Washum for any loss of pay he may
have suffered by reason of his discharge by payment to him of
the sum of Twenty-five Dollars.
(d) Immediately upon termination of the strike, offer to all
of their employees who were on the payroll for the period ending
November 4, 1939, and who on or about November 8, 1939, went
on strike, reinstatement to their former or substantially. equiva-
lent positions, without prejudice to their seniority or other rights
and privileges, and employ said employees as such positions
become available.
(e) Immediately post notices in conspicuous places at their
Cairo, Illinois, plant, and maintain such notices for a period of
at least sixty consecutive days, stating that the respondents will
cease and desist in the manner aforesaid.
(f) Notify the Regional Director for the Fourteenth Region
in writing within ten days from the date of this Order what
steps the respondents have taken to comply therewith.
It is also agreed and stipulated by and between the parties
hereto that any appropriate Circuit Court of Appeals of the
United States may, upon application by the Board, enter its
decree enforcing the Order of the Board. The respondents waive
their right to contest the entry of any such decree and
their right to receive notice of the filing of an application for
entry of such decree.
It is further agreed and stipulated by the parties hereto that
the entire agreement between the parties hereto, respecting the
Second Amended Charge and Amended Complaint herein, is
contained within the terms of this stipulation and there is no
verbal agreement of any kind which changes, alters, or adds to
this stipulation.
On February 9, 1940, the Board issued its order approving the
above stipulation, making it part of the record, and transferring the
VALLEY STEEL PRODUCTS COMPANY 891
proceeding to the Board for the purpose of entering a decision and
order by the Board pursuant to the provisions of said stipulation.
Upon the above stipulation and the entire record in the case, the
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
THE BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENTS
The respondents Lester A. Crancer and George B. Fleischman are
copartners doing business as Valley Steel Products Company. The
respondents maintain an office in St. Louis, Missouri, and a plant in
Cairo, Illinois, where they are engaged in the manufacture, recondi-
tioning, sale, and distribution of thread protectors, pipe, and pipe
fittings.
A substantial portion of the raw materials used at the respondents'
plant are shipped to it from points outside the State of Illinois, and
a substantial portion of the finished products manufactured at said
plant are shipped to points outside the State of Illinois. The re-
spondents admit they are engaged in interstate commerce within the
meaning of the Act.
We find that the above-described operations constitute a continuous
flow of trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and stipulation and
pursuant to Section 10 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, the
National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the respondents,
Lester A. Crancer and George B. Fleischman, doing . business as
Valley Steel Products Company, Cairo, Illinois, their officers, agents,
successors, and assigns, shall:
1. Cease and desist from :
(a)'"Ufging, persuading, and warning their employees against
forming or joining any labor organization; threatening their em-
ployees with discharge in the event said employees joined or formed
any labor organization; threatening to remove their plant from Cairo,
Illinois, in the event their employees formed or joined a labor organ-
ization; keeping their employees under surveillance in order to ascer-
tain their desires regarding labor organizations; encouraging their
employees to act as spies and undercover agents to report on the
activities of their employees in and on behalf of any labor organiza-
tion or organizations; detailing certain of -their employees to act as
spies and undercover agents to report to them on the Union or organ-
izational activities of their employees; or in any other manner inter-
892 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
fering with, restraining, or coercing their employees in the exercise
of their rights to organize, to form, join, or assist labor organizations,
to bargain collectively with the representatives of their own choosing,
and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective
bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, as guaranteed under
Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act;
(b) Discouraging membership in the Fabricated Metal Workers'
Union, Local No. 22199, by discharging or in any other manner dis-
criminating- against their employees in regard to the hire and tenure
of employment or any condition of employment, for the reason that
they, or any of them, joined or assisted the Union or any other labor
organization. of their employees ;
(c) Refusing to bargain collectively with the Fabricated Metal
Workers' Union, Local No. 22199, as the exclusive representative of
all their production .and maintenance employees employed at their
Cairo, Illinois, plant, but excluding supervisory . and clerical
employees.
2. Take the following affirmative action which the - Board finds
will effectuate the policies of the Act :
(a) Upon request, bargain collectively with the Fabricated Metal
Workers' Union, Local No. 22199, as the exclusive representative of
all the production and maintenance employees employed at their
Cairo, Illinois, plant, but excluding supervisory and clerical
employees;
(b) Offer to Herbert Washum, Willis Rothschilds, Guy Clutts, Cal-
bert Singleton, William H. Price, Carter Brunston, Everett Murray,
Harvey Nichols, Jesse Edison, Wayne Barnwell, J. B. Stone, Frank
McClure, J. J. Weniscke, William Rogers, Ellis Joe, Norman
Chambliss, Carl Keppner, Robert Sills, Baker Clark, E. J.. Cart-
wright, Martin Becker, Cecil Lockett, Floyd Hendricks, Cecil Royce,
John Holly, immediately after termination of the strike, full rein-
statement to their former positions without prejudice to- any rights
and privileges previously enjoyed by them, and employ said
employees as such positions become available;
(c) Make whole Herbert Washum for any loss of pay he may have
suffered by reason of his discharge by payment to him of the sum of
Twenty-five Dollars ;
(d) Immediately upon termination of the strike, offer to all of
their employees who were on the pay roll for the period ending
November 4, 1939, and who on or about November 8, 1939, went on
strike, reinstatement to their former or substantially equivalent posi-
tions, without prejudice to their seniority or other rights and
privileges, and employ said employees as such positions become
available;
VALLEY STEEL PRODUCTS COMPANY 893
(e) Immediately post notices in conspicuous places at their Cairo,
Illinois, plant, and maintain such notices for a period of at least
sixty consecutive days, stating that the respondents will cease and
desist in the manner aforesaid;
(f) Notify the Regional Director for the Fourteenth Region in
writing within ten days from the date of this Order what steps the
respondents have taken to comply therewith.