Ever Ready Label Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 27, 1946

71 N.L.R.B. 139 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of EVER READ] LABEL CORPORATLON, EnI'Lovim and
LOCAL 16. UNITED OFI'ICE AND PROFESSIONAL WORKriis OF AMERICA,
CIO, PETITIONER
Case No. 2-R-6818.-Decided September 27, 1946
Cullen c6 Dyhman, by dlr. J1animilian 111oss, and Messrs. Samuel M.
Birnbaum and Sidney Hollander., of New York City, for the Employer.
Mr. Samuel A. Sacher, of New York City, for the Petitioner.
Messrs. Charles A. 1llcNally and Vincent Killorin, of New York
City, for the AFL.
.rift. Sidney Grossman, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at New
York City, on September 5, ls)I6, before Vincent M. Rotolo, 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:
F INDi NGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE, EMPLOYER
Ever Ready Label Corporation, a New York corporation, has its
office and plant in New York City, where it is engaged in the manufac-
ture, sale, and distribution of gunlnled and ungununed labels and
kindred specialty printing. The principal raw materials used by the
Employer in its manufacturing operations are paper and ink. During
the past year, the employer's purchases of raw materials were in excess
of $250,000 in value, of which i n excess of 75 percent was secured from
sources outside the State of New York. During the same period, its
sales were in excess of $1,000,000 in value, of which in excess of 33 per-
cent was shipped and transported to States other than the State of
New York.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
71 N. L. R B, No. 16
139
140 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of
Industrial Organizations , claiming to represent employees of the Em-
ployer.
New York Joint Council of International Printing Pressmen and
Assistants' Union of North A'inerica, herein called the AFL, is a labor
organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claim-
ing to represent employees of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On about July 23, 1946, the Petitioner requested recognition of the
Employer as the bargaining representative of the employees it here
seeks to represent . The Employer refused to accede to the Petitioner's
request until the Petitioner is certified by the Board in an appropriate
unit.
On November 25, 1944, as the result of a consent election conducted
under the auspices of the Board, the AFL was designated by the Re-
gional Director as the collective bargaining representative of the Em-
ployer's shop employees. Thereafter, on August 27, 1945, the Employ-
er and the AFL executed a collective bargaining contract covering such
employees. The duration of the contract is governed by Article XII,
which, in part, reads as follows :
This contract shall remain in full force and effect until August 30,
1946, and to continue to be in operation thereafter until such time
as a new agreement has been reached, .. .
In July 1946 , prior to the expiration of the 1945 contract and pur-
suant to its provisions,' the AFL gave the Employer notice of a desire
to negotiate a new contract , but because of the Petitioner 's representa-
tion claim the contracting parties did not enter into any negotiations.
The AFL urges that the 1945 contract operates as a bar because, by
its terms , the contract continues to remain in full force and effect until
such time as a new agreement is reached. The Employer adopts a
neutral position with regard thereto. There is no merit to the AFL's
contention inasmuch as after August 30, 1946, the contract became one
of indefinite duration and, as such, cannot preclude a present determi-
nation of representatives.2
Article XVI of the 1945 contract reads as follows :
The parties hereto agree that thirty ( 30) days before expiration of this contract
they shall enter into negotiations looking into the renewal or modification , if any, of
this contract.
' See Matter of Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co , 63 N. L. R. B. 679 ; Matter of
Great Bear Logging Company , 59 N. L R B . 701 ; Matter of National Carbide Corporation,
58 N. L . It. B. 1430.
EVER READY LABEL CORPORATION 141
We find that a question effecting 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
We find, in substantial accord with the agreement of the parties, that
all shop employees engaged in production work, including mainte-
nance employees and working foremen, but excluding officers of the
Company, managerial employees, and the plant superintendent, 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
The Petitioner requests that eligibility be established as of the time
it filed its petition. The record does not disclose any reason for de-
parting from our usual eligibility practice and, accordingly, we shall
deny the Petitioner's request.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Ever Ready Label Corporation,
New York City, 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 Di-
rector for the Second Region, acting in this matter as agent for the
National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Sections 203.55 and
203.56, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations
Series 4, 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 vaca-
tion 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 quit 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 repre-
sented by Local 16, United Office and Professional Workers of
America, CIO, or by New York Joint Council of International Print-
ing Pressmen and Assistants' Union of North America (AFL), for
the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.