A. Gross Candle Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsFeb 20, 1947

72 N.L.R.B. 879 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter of A. Gross CANDLE COMPANY, INC., EMPLOYER and CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS, PETITIONER Case No. 5-R-P2832.-Decided February 20,19417 Messrs. Joseph T. Brennan and Charles Ruzicka, of Baltimore, Md., for the Employer. Messrs. Frank J. Bender and Robert J. Brylke, of Baltimore, Md., for the Petitioner. Mr. Jerry Wohlmuth , of counsel to the Board. DECISION - AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES Upon a petition duly filed, the National Labor Relations Board on November 13, 1946, conducted a prehearing election among employees of the Employer in the alleged appropriate unit to determine whether or not they desired to be represented by the Petitioner for the purposes of collective bargaining. At the close of the election, a Tally of Ballots was furnished the parties. The Tally shows that, of the approximately 80 eligible voters, 67 cast ballots, of which 51 were for the Petitioner, 8 were cast against Petitioner, 7 ballots were challenged, and 1 ballot was void. There- after, a hearing was held at Baltimore, Maryland, on December 27, 1946, before Earle Shame, 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 National Labor Relations Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER A. Gross Candle Company, Inc., is a Delaware corporation operating its sole plant and offices in Baltimore, Maryland, where it is engaged in the manufacture of church candles. Raw materials utilized annually by the Employer are valued in excess, of $100,000, of which 72 N L. R. B, No. 148. 879 731242-47-vol 72-57 880 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 50 percent originates outside the State of Maryland. Finished products manufactured annually by the Employer are valued in excess of $150,000, approximately 50 percent of which is shipped to points outside the State. H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Congress of Industrial Organizations is a labor o'r,0,,l1l1Zat loll admitting to membership employees of the Employer. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The parties are generally in agreement that the appropriate unit should be composed of all production and maintenance employees, excluding office clericals, maintenance engineers, powerhouse engineers and powerhouse relief engineers , watchmen and supervisory em- ployees. They are in dispute, however, as to the status of certain employees hereinafter discussed. Petitioner challenged the ballots of Anna Karpiewicz, Josephine Szczpanik, Jessie Kordek, and Henry Harmen on the grounds that they possess supervisory authority. However, pursuant to a stipula- tion between the parties, the challenges were withdrawn and no evi- dence was introduced to indicate that these employees possess super- visory status within the Board's customary definition thereof. Accordingly, we shall include the four above-named employees in the init. We find that all production and maintenance einployees,1 excluding office clericals, manhtenance engineers, pmverhouse engineers and pow- erhouse relief engineers, watchmen, and all supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes iii the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar- gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. Indu ing Anna Karpiew l ez, Josephine Szczpanik, Jessie Kordek, and Henry Harmer A. GROSS CANDLE COMPANY, INC. 881 V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPIIESENTATIVES The Employer objects that the election should not have been held until unfair labor charges previously filed by the Petitioner against the Employer had been disposed of by the Board. Inasmuch as, the Petitioner filed a waiver of any right to urge any of the matters con- tained in these charges as the basis for objections to any election, or to the result thereof, we find no merit in this contention.' l We also reject the Employer's contention that the election should be set aside for the reason that the clay before the election the Peti- tioner distributed a circular to the employees which stated that the Employer owned another plant in Newark, New Jersey, and that better working conditions prevailed there than in Baltimore as a result of a bargaining agreement with the C. I. O. The evidence adduced at the hearing indicates that the Petitioner acted in good faith in assuming the Employer still controlled the Newark Plant, since the Employer's letterhead, which is still in use, displays the picture and address of this plant. Moreover, the objection otherwise lacks merit because the Board held that, absent such statements as would prevent the employees from exercising a free choice in an election, it does not function to weigh the truth or falsity of mere campaign propaganda, or to censor the enthusiastic efforts of union adherents to win others to their cause.3 1 Inasmuch as the results of the election held prior to the hearing show that the Petitioner has received a majority of the valid votes cast and that the challenged ballots are insufficient in number to affect the results of the election, we shall not direct that the challenged .ballots be opened and counted, but will certify the Petitioner as the bargaining representative of the Employer's employees. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES IT Is AEIIEBY CERTIFIED that the Congress of Industrial Organizations has been designated and selected by a majority of all production and maintenance employees of A. Gross Candle Company, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, excluding office clericals, maintenance engineers, power- house engineers and powerhouse relief engineers, watchmen, and all ".]latter of Teesdale lllanufoctv,ing Company, 71 N L It B 932 Matter of May/wood Aosicry. Inc, 64 N L R B 146 4 With respect to the three ballots challenged by the Employer. the parties stipulated at the hearing that two of these challenges should be sustained because they involve em- ployees who had been discharged poor to the election The Employee withdrew the chal- lenge to the ballot cast by Anthony Buda, since investigation disclosed that his name was inadvertently left off the eligible list 882 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, disci- pline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effec- tively recommend such action, as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, the said organization is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment. CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Certification of Representatives.