Acme-Evans Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 18, 1944

57 N.L.R.B. 403 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of ACME-EVANS COMPANY, INCORPORATED and UNITED
CANNERY, AGRICULTURAL, PACKING & ALLIED WORKERS OF AMERICA,
LOCAL No. 84, C. I. O.
Case No. 9-R-1339.-Decided July 18, 1944
Messrs. Kurt F. Pant2er, George Rose, and E. G. Beachvnan, of
Indianapolis, Ind., for the Company.
Messrs. Powers Hapgood and Robert Clark, of Indianapolis, Ind.,
for the C. I. O.
Mr. Frank S. Pryor, of Frankfort, Ind., for the, A. F. of L.
Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing
R Allied Workers of America, Local No. 84, C. I. 0., herein called
the C. I. 0., alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen.
concerning the representation of employees of Acme-Evans Company,
Incorporated, Indianapolis, Indiana, herein called the Company, the
National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice before Charles F. MeErlean, Trial Examiner. Said
hearing was held at Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 29, 1944. At the
commencement of the hearing the Trial Examiner granted a motion of
Federal Labor Union No. 21873, A. F. of L., herein called the A. F. of
L., to intervene. The Company, the C. I. O., and the A. F. of L.
appeared at, and participated in,, the hearing and all parties were,
afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine
witneses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues.' The-Trial
Examiner's ruliligs made at the hearing are free from prejudicial
error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded opportunity
to file briefs with the Board.
57 N L. R. B, No. 76.,
403
404 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Acme-Evans Company, Incorporated, is an Indiana corporation
with its principal place of business at Indianapolis, Indiana, where
it is engaged both in the manufacture of flour, meal, grain and cereal
products, and in the purchase and sale of cereal and cereal products.
During 1943 the Company purchased material valued in excess of
$100,000, more than 50 percent of which was shipped to it from points
outside the State of Indiana. During the same period the Company
sold products valued in excess of $100,000, more than 50 percent of
which was shipped to points outside the State of Indiana.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing & Allied Workers of Amer-
ica, Local No. 84, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress
of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of
the Company. ,
Federal Labor Union No. 21873, is a labor organization affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership
employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION-
During January 1944 the C. I. O. requested the Company to recog-
nize it as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the
Company's employees. The Company refused this request.
. 'X statement of a Field Examiner of the Board, introduced into
evidence at the hearing, indicates that the C. I. O. represents a sub-
stantial number 'of employees in the unit hereinafter found to be
appropriate.'
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Conipany, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The C. I. O. urges that all production and maintenance employees
at the various mills and elevators of the Company at Indianapolis,
' The Field Examiner reported that the C . I. O. presented 90 authorization cards bearing
apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear on the Company ' s pay roll
of January 29, 1944 There are approximately 172 employees in the, appropriate unit.
The A F. of L. did not present any evidence of representation.
ACME-EVANS COMPANY, INCORPORATED 405
excluding office and clerical employees, foremen, and supervisory em-
ployees, constitute an appropriate unit.. The only controversy with
respect to the unit concerns watchmen and 19 alleged supervisory
employees 2 The Company would exclude all such employees from
the unit, while the C. I. O. would include them. The A. F. of L. took
no position. I
The Company employs four full-time and two part-time watch-
men. They are not militarized or uniformed. They perform the
usual duties of watchmen, which consist of patrolling the Company's
premises and punching A. D. T. clocks. One of the part-time watch-
men performs janitorial services and the other works in the bag de-
partment when not performing duties as watchman. Under all the
circumstances, we shall include the watchmen in the unit.
John Parsons and Albert Schacke are classified as garage, foreman'
and sheet-metal foreman, respectively. Parsons is the only employee
in the Company's garage and the Company has had no other employees
in the,garage for the last 4 to 6 years. The Company intends to con-
tinue its practice of sending necessary repair work to other garages,
thus doing away with the necessity of having any other employees in
the garage. Schacke is the only sheet-metal worker employed by the
Company, and he therefore has no subordinates. Although the Com-
pany formerly had two other employees performing sheet-metal work,
Schacke was the only employee performing this type of work at the
time of the hearing, and there was no indication that the Company in-
tends to increase the number of this type of employee. We shall
include Parsons and Scllacke in the unit.
Schobe, Edwards. Short, and Taylor are classified by the Company
as head packers. Schobe and Taylor have between .5 and 10 subor-
dinates and Edwards and Short,have 4. Each of then works on a
different shift. It appears that a substantiial portion of their time is
spent in supervising other employees and they recommend changes in
the status of their subordinates. W find that'Schobe, Edwards, Short
and Taylor are supervisory employees, and as such, we shall exclude
them from the unit.
Pickel and Adams are classified as feed grind foremen. Each of
them has four subordinates and receives 6 cents an hour more than the
latter. Pickel and Adams work on the night shift every other month
and are, at such times, in complete charge of the entire department.
We conclude that Pickel and Adams are supervisory employees, and
as such, we shall exclude them from the unit.
12 Roy Schobe, William Edwards, Clarence Short, Samuel Taylor,' William Snyder, William
Jackson, Louis Casey, Harry Leslie, Alurle Pickel, George Adams, Richard Pleasant, Henry
Collins, William Foster, Jesse Patton, Jimmie Day, Jesse Bradshaw, John Parsons, Albert
Schacke, and Hervey Anderson.
406 DECISIONS 'OF• NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Foster and Patton are classified as warehouse foreman and pick-up
man, respectively, and Day and Bradshaw are classified as' car load
checkers. Foster,takes care of the warehouse, keeps it clean, and tells
truckers where to put materials-in the warehouse and which- materials
to be, taken out first. The truckers are mill employees. There are no
regular employees in the warehouse. Patton tells the truckers'what
materials are to be taken out of the warehouse, while Day ,and Brad-
shaw direct the same grdup of persons in the placing of materials in
railroad cars. Thus, it appears that the four employees in question all
allegedly supervise the same 3 to 20 employees. They receive only
slightly higher rates of pay than the employees they are alleged to
supervise.. We 'conclude that their work is more monitorial than su-
pervisory in nature, and accordingly we shall include them in the unit.
The remaining employees in question are classified as assistant head
packers. head grind' packers, head packer in Velta Seal Department,
lead packers, and receiving/and shipping clerks. Generally speaking,
such persons are the older employees in point,of service, are paid on an
hourly'basis, receiving only slightly higher rates of pay than the em-
ployees whom they are alleged to supervise. We shall include all such
employees in the unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees at the var-
ious mills and elevators of the Company at Indianapolis, Indiana, in-
eluding watchmen, but excluding office and clerical employees, truck
drivers, foremen, and-any other supervisory employees with authority
to'hire, promote, discharge,'discipline, or otherwise effect changes in
the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, con-
stitute 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 means of an election by secret ballot among
the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the
pay-roll period immediately preceding the date. of the Direction of
Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth iii
'the Direction. '
As stated above, the A. F. of L. did not present any evidence of
representation. However, the A. F. of L. was actively engaged in'
organizing the employees involved herein in 1939 and thereafter filed
charges of unfair labor practices against the Company. Said charges
were sustained by the :Board, and during January 1944, the Company
posted it cease and desist notice. The C. I. 0. stated that it had no -
objection to the A. F. of L. appearing on the ballot. Under the•cir
cumstances, we shall accord a place on the ballot -to the A. F. of L.
ACME-EVANS COMPANY, INCORPORATED 407
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
DiiEarm that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Acme-Evans Com-
pany, Incorporated, Indianapolis, Indiana, 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 super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Ninth Region, acting in this
matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject
to Article 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 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 quite 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 United
Cannery, Agricultural, Packing & Allied Workers of America, Local
No. 84, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or by
Federal 'Labor Union No. 21873, affiliated with the American Federa-
tion of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining,'or by neither.