Van Leer Chocolate Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 23, 1950

90 N.L.R.B. 535 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter of VAN LEER CHOCOLATE CORPORATION , EMPLOYER and
CANDY AND CONFECTIONERY WORKERS UNION , LOCAL 452, AFFILIATED
WITH BAKERY AND CONFECTIONERY WORKERS, INTERNATIONAL UNION
OF AMERICA , AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 2-RC-2059.Decided June 23, 1950
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Peritz Taub,
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 [Chairman Herzog and Mem-
bers Houston and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in'commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organizations named below claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.'
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of certain employees of the Employer, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks a unit of all production and maintenance
employees, excluding office, sales, and professional employees, ship-
ping clerks, guards, and supervisors, employed at the Employer's
Jersey City candy manufacturing plant. The Employer is in agree-
ment with the unit proposed by the Petitioner. The Intervenor con-
tends, however, that Northeastern Packers Inc., herein called North-
eastern, and the Employer are in reality one employer, and the
Intervenor asserts, therefore, that the appropriate unit includes all
production and maintenance employees of the Employer and North-
eastern.
' United Bakery , Confectionery , Canning, Packing and Fruit Service Workers Union,
Local 262, CIO, affiliated with Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, CIO, herein
called the Intervenor , was permitted to intervene at the hearing.
90 NLRB No. 92.
535
536 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Employer is a corporation. All of its stock is owned by Van
Leer and his wife. Northeastern is also a corporation. Van Leer,
Hechtman, and Landow each own 30 percent, and Feldman owns 10
percent, of Northeastern's stock. Van Leer, who is president of North-
eastern and of the Employer, is the only common officer or stockholder
of both companies.'
The Employer is engaged in the manufacture of a chocolate coating
mix used in the coating of chocolate candies. It was organized in
December 1949, and thereafter purchased the property and assets and
took over the operations of the Idis Chocolate Company, at 110 Hobo-
ken Avenue, Jersey City. Its operations are conducted at the same
location. It employs six employees in the operation of the several
machines used to make the chocolate mix, a maintenance mechanic and
his helper, a shipping clerk, two office clerical employees, and one
bookkeeper. The production operation is under the supervision of a
plant manager who, in turn, is responsible to the vice president and
general manager. The Petitioner seeks a unit of the above production
and maintenance employees.
Northeastern was organized in June 1949, for the purpose of engag-
ing in the mixing and packaging of dry foods, and leased space in the
same building, located at 110 Hoboken Avenue, in which the Idis
Chocolate Company was then operating. Since its formation North-
eastern has.secured only 3 job orders, none of which involved the mix-
ing and packaging of dry foods. One of the orders required no em-
ployees and one required Northeastern to employ 3 employees for a
period of 2 to 3 weeks. However, in its third operation, herein re-
ferred to as the Adams operation, Northeastern employed as many as
33 employees at one time. The latter operation involved an arrange-
ment whereby Northeastern rented a part of its space to one Adams, to
manufacture a toy called "Putty-Puss." Adams furnished the ma-
chinery and materials, and supervised the entire operation. North-
eastern supplied the employees but they were under the direction and
supervision of Adams. The Adams operation terminated, and North-
eastern discharged the last of its employees, on April 13, 1950. It has
secured no orders and has had no employees since that time.
Northeastern's operations were supervised by Hechtman, secretary
and owner of 30 percent of its stock. The portion of the building
occupied by Northeastern is physically separated from that occupied
by the Employer, but there are common passageways. Employees of
both companies used the same time clock and rest room facilities.
2 The building occupied by Northeastern and the Employer is now owned by the' L. K. L.
Corporation. Van Leer and his wife own all the stock in the latter company. Although
the L . K. L. Corporation acquired the property after Northeastern had leased part of it,
the exact date of such acquisition is not disclosed in the record.
VAN LEER CHOCOLATE -CORPORATION 537
Northeastern had no clerical employees nor did it occupy any office
space. Its clerical needs, if any, are provided by the Employer's office
employees. The Employer's bookkeeper prepared Northeastern's pay-
rolls, but the bookkeeper was paid for such services by Northeastern.
The hiring and discharge of employees supplied to Adams by North-
eastern was done by the Employer's plant superintendent in accord-
ance with directions from Adams. However, there was no inter-
change of employees between the two companies; separate time cards
were kept; and separate books, payrolls, and bank accounts aremain-
tained. Northeastern and the Employer are treated as separate em-
ployers under laws relating to workmen's compensation, social secu-
rity, and withholding tax payments. At no time has either company.
exercised supervisory control over the employees of the other.
Upon the basis of the foregoing and upon the entire record in this
case, we do not believe that, for the purpose of this proceNding, the.
Employer ever had the right to exercise or exercised, that degree of
control over Northeastern's employees required to establish an em-
ployer-employee relationship between the Employer and such em-
ployees.3 In any event, Northeastern had no employees at the time
of the hearing in this case.
We find that all production and maintenance employees at the
Employer's Jersey City, New Jersey, plant, excluding all office, sales,
and. professional employees, shipping clerk, guards, and supervisors as
defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of col-
lective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act .4
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, but not later than
30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and su-
pervision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case
was heard, 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
employed during the payroll period immediately preceding the date
of this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work
3 Delco Repay Division, General Motors Corporation , 89 NLRB 1334 . See Ozark Cen-
tral Telephone Company, 83 NLRB 258 . Cf. Atlas Imperial Diesel Engine Company, 89
NLRB 372.
4 Although contending that the appropriate unit should include employees of North-
eastern , the Intervenor stated a desire to participate in the election for any unit which
the Board may find to be appropriate . However , the Intervenor has made no showing of
representative interest among the employees of the Employer . Accordingly, we shall not
accord the Intervenor a place on the ballot.
538 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
during said payroll period because they were ill or on vacation or
temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since
quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein-
stated 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 bargain-
ing, by Candy and Confectionery Workers Union , Local 452, affiliated
with Bakery and Confectionery Workers, International Union of
America, AFL.