Fruehauf Trailer Co. of Kansas, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsJul 22, 1940

25 N.L.R.B. 766 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter Of FRUEHAUF TRAILER COMPANY OF KANSAS, INC. aid LOCAL #652, INTERNATIONAL UNION UNITED AUTOMOBILE WORK- ERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE A. F. OF L. Case No. R-1919.Decided July 22, 1940 Jurisdiction : commercial trailer manufacturing industry Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : refusal to accord recognition to union and request that certification be obtained; election necessary. Unit . Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production employees excluding office employees, timekeeper, watchmen , administrative employees, stock clerk, superintendent's clerk, chief inspector, chief receiving clerk, assistant receiving clerk, engineer, office janitor. assistant foremen, and any employees occupying higher supervisory positions Mr. Elmer Dowell, of Kansas City, Mo., for the A. F. of L. Mr. L. W. Krings and Mr. F. J. Burns, of Kansas City, Mo., for the C. I. O. Mr. Whitson Rogers, of Kansas City, Mo., for the Company. Mr. Leonard Lindquist, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On June 1, 1940, Local #652, International Union United Auto- mobile Workers of America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., herein called the A. F. of L., filed with the Regional Director for the Seventeenth Region (Kansas City, Missouri) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representa- tion of employees of Fruehauf Trailer Company of Kansas, Inc., Wyandotte County, Kansas, herein called the Company, and request- ing an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On June 17; 1940, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and 25 N. L. R. B., No. 86. 766 FRUEHAUF TRAILER COMPANY OF KANSAS, INC. , 767 authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon clue notice. On June 18, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the A. F. of L.. and International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I 0., herein called the C. I. 0., which labor organization claimed to represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to the, notice a hearing was held on June 25, 1940, at Kansas City, Missouri, before Marion A. Pro-well, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. At the hearing a petition to intervene filed by the C. I. O. was granted. The Company, the A. F. of L., and the C. I. O. were represented by counsel, and all participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses , and to introduce evi- dence hearing on the issues was afforded all parties. During the course of the hearing the -Trial Examiner made several rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence . The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed . The rulings are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Company, a Kansas corporation, with its factory and office located at Funston and Chrysler Roads in the Fairfax Industrial District, Wyandotte County, Kansas, is engaged in the manufacture and sale of commercial trailers. The prnccipal raw materials used by the Company are steel, lumber, insulation, and paint, practically all of which are 'obtained from sources outside the State of Kansas. The gross sales of the Company for 1939 were $1,353,000. All of the Company's products are sold to the Fruehauf Trailer Company -of Michigan, and are shipped to destinations outside the State of Kansas. At the time of the hearing, the Company employed approxi- mately 138 production employees. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Local #652, International Union United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., is a labor organization admit- ting to membership production and maintenance employees of the Company. International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. O., is a labor organization admit- ting to membership production and maintenance employees of the Company. 768 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD III. THE QUES I ION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION In April 1940 the A. F. of L. requested the Company to recognize it as exclusive bargaining agent for the employees.' The Com- pany, in response, asserted that it would not grant this request until such time as the A. F. of L. was certified as exclusive bargaining representative for the employees by the Board. Thereafter, the petition herein was filed. The A. F. of L. asserted that it represented a majority of the em- ployees in the appropriate unit, and there was introduced in evidence at the hearing a written statement by a Field Examiner for the Board, reporting that the A. F. of L. had submitted to him 118 signed applica- tion cards, the majority of which were dated between January 1, 1940, and July 1, 1940; that the signatures on these cards appeared to be genuine, original signatures; and that 84 of the signatures were names appearing on the Company's pay roll of June 15, 1940. At the hearing, the C. I. O. submitted to the Trial Examiner a list of persons allegedly employed by the Company who had applied for mem- bership in the C. I. 0., and the Trial Examiner reported that 18 of the names on this list corresponded with names of employees on the Coin- pany's pay roll of June 15, 1940. Also eight of the employees on this list signed a document revoking the authority that may have been granted to any other labor organization to represent them for purposes of collective bargaining. We find that a question has arisen concerning representation of the employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON COMMERCE We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, `and` substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT At the hearing, the parties stipulated that the appropriate unit should consist of production employees of the Company, excluding office em- ployees, timekeeper, watchmen, administrative employees, stock clerk, superintendent's clerk, chief inspector, chief receiving clerk, assistant receiving clerk, engineer, office janitor, assistant foremen, and any em- ployees occupying higher supervisory positions. We see no reason for invalidating this agreed unit. FRUEHAUF TRAILER COMPANY OF KANSAS, INC. 769 We accordingly find that the production employees of the Company, excluding office employees,. timekeeper, watchmen, administrative em- ployees, stock clerk, superintendent's clerk, chief inspector, chief receiv- ing clerk, assistant receiving clerk, engineer, office janitor, assistant foreumen, and any employees occupying higher supervisory positions, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that said unit will insure to the employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and collective bargaining and will otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Company and the C. I. O. agreed that an election should be held to determine the employees' wishes regarding representation, while the A. F. of L. expressed no preference as to this matter. We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot,'and we shall direct the holding of such an election. The Company stated at the hearing that if an election was to be held, eligibility to vote should be determined by the pay roll for the week ending June 15, 1940, and the A. F. of L. and the C. I. O. agreed with this position. Walter W-.Siegrist, vice president of the Company, testified that the number of workers employed at any given time varies, depending on general business conditions, and that the pay roll of June 15 represents the average number of workers em- ployed by the Company. We are satisfied that the pay roll for the week ending June 15, 1940, is an accurate reflection of the normal em- ployment situation in the appropriate unit. Accordingly, we find that those eligible to vote in the election shall be employees in the appropriate unit who were employed by the company during the week ending June 15, 1940, including employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation, and em- ployees who were then or shall have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding those who shall have since quit or been discharged for cause. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the rep- resentation of employees of Fruehauf Trailer Company of Kansas, Inc., Wyandotte County, Kansas, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 770 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 2. All production employees of the Company, excluding office em- ployees, timekeeper, watchmen, administrative employees, stock clerk, superintendent's clerk, chief inspector, chief receiving clerk, assistant receiving clerk, engineer, office janitor, assistant foremen, and any em- ployees occupying higher supervisory positions,' constitute a unit ap- propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean- ing of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National La- bor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela- tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation ordered by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Fruehauf Trailer Company of Kansas, Inc., Wyandotte County, Kansas, 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 of Election, under the direction and supervision of the Re- gional Director for the Seventeenth Region, acting in the matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to- Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among all production employees of the Company who were employed during the week end- ing June 15, 1940, including employees who did not work during that period because they were ill or on vacation, and employees who were then or shall have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding office employees, timekeeper, watchmen, administrative employees, stock clerk, superintendent's clerk, chief inspector, chief receiving clerk, assistant receiving clerk, engineer, office janitor, assistant foremen, and any employees occupying higher supervisory positions, and those who shall have since -quit or been discharged for cause, to determine v.hether they desire to be represented by Local #652, International Union United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., or by International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective barganing, or by neither. MR. WILLIAM M. LEISERSON took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election.