Wilmington Paper Box Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 29, 1948

75 N.L.R.B. 1163 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter Of WILMINGTON PAPER Box COMPANY, EMPLOYER and.
UNITED PAPER WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER
Case No. 4-R-2701.-Decided January 29, 1948
Mr. L. Goi an, of Chester, Pa., for the Employer.
Messrs. G. Derrickson and G. Lewis, both of Wilmington, Del., for
Petitioner.
Messrs. A. Ce f alo and R. DeAngelis, both of Wilmington, Del., for
Intervenor.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Wilming-
ton, Delaware, on July 30, 1947, before Sidney Grossman, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board 1 makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Wilmington Paper Box Company, a Delaware corporation, is en-
gaged in the manufacture, assembly, and sale of paper boxes. The
Employer operates one plant at Wilmington, Delaware, and another,
2 miles distant, at Minquadale, Delaware, with which plants we
are here concerned. The main plant is the one at Wilmington where
18 of the Employer's 20 employees regularly work. The Minquadale
plant is used for preliminary storage and warehousing, and only a
combination man and a supervisor are regularly employed there,
although one or two other employees may be sent over from the main
plant on occasion. The Employer annually purchases for use at these
plants approximately $37,000 worth of raw material, most of which
' 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-man panel consisting
of the undersigned Board Members [ Houston, Murdock , and Gray].
75 N. L. 111. B., No. 135.
1163
1164 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
represents shipments from points outside the State. It annually sells
to points outside the State finished products comprising approximately
11 percent of the total annual production, which is valued at about
$76,000.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the Act.
IT. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress
of Industrial Organizations, claiming to-represent employees of the
Employer.
United Mine Workers of America, District 50, herein called the In-
tervenor, is an unaffiliated labor organization, claiming to represent
employees of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On May 18, 1947, the Petitioner, in a letter to the Employer, re-
quested recognition as the exclusive bargaining representative of its
production and maintenance employees and on May 28, 1947, it filed
the petition herein. By letter dated May 29, 1947, the Employer noti-
fied the Petitioner that, because of a contract with the Intervenor, it
could not recognize the Petitioner in the absence of a Board certifica-
tion. At the hearing, however, the Employer took no position on the
contract bar question. And although the Intervenor at first con-
tended that the contract was a bar, it receded from this position later
in the hearing.
The above-noted contract was executed by the Employer and the
Intervenor on July 2, 1946. It provided for an initial period ending
July 2, 1947, and for its automatic renewal annually thereafter in the
absence of 30 days' notice of a desire to terminate by either party to
the other. As already noted the Petitioner's claim and its supporting
petition were filed in advance of the 1947 automatic renewal notice
date of the contract. The contract cannot, therefore, on well-
established principles of the Board, bar an election at this time 2
We find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
We find, in substantial accord with the agreement of the parties,
that all production and maintenance employees at the Wilmington and
2 Matter of Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 71 N. L. R. B. 983.
WILMINGTON PAPER BOX COMPANY 1165
Minquadale plants of the Employer, excluding office workers and
supervisors, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act."
DIRECTION OF ELECTION 4
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Wilmington Paper Box
Company, Wilmington, Delaware, 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, under the direction and supervision of the
Regional Director for the Fourth Region, and subject to Sections
203.61 and 203.62, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regu-
lations-Series 5, 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 said pay-roll 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 reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether
or not they desire to be represented by United Paper Workers of
America, C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective bargaining.
8 This conforms to the unit established in the 1946 contract.
Having failed to achieve compliance or to initiate steps for compliance with the filing
requirements of Section 9 (f), (g), and ( h) of the Act by October 31, 1947, the Intervenor .
will not be accorded a place on the ballot.
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