General Armature & Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 24, 1946

71 N.L.R.B. 413 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of GENERAL ARMATURE & MANUFACTURING COMPANY
and DISTRICT 50, UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA
Case No. 6-R-1341
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION
AND
ORDER
October 04,1946
On August 21, 1946, pursuant to the Decision and Direction of
Election issued herein by the Board on July 22, 1946 ,1 an election by
secret ballot was conducted under the direction and supervision,of the
Regional Director for the Sixth Region among the employees in the
unit found appropriate in the Decision. Upon completion of the
election , the Regional Director issued and duly served upon the parties
a Tally of Ballots.
The Tally shows the following results :
Approximate number of eligible voters----------------------------- 408
Void ballots----------------------------------------------------- 1
Votes cast for United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of
America, CIO, herein called the CIO----------------------------- 170
Votes.cast for District'50, United Mine Workers of America, herein
called the UMW----------------------------------------------- 98
Votes cast against participating labor organizations ---------------- 92
Challenged ballots----------------------------------------------- 11
On August 22 and 30, 1946, the Employer filed with the Regional
Director objections to conduct affecting the results of the election.
Thereafter, in accordance with the Board's Rules and Regulations,
the Regional Director conducted an investigation and issued and
duly served upon the parties a Report on Objections, dated-September
5, 1946.. In his report, the Regional Director 'recommended that the
Employer's objections be overruled. Subsequently, the Employer
filed a brief in the nature of exceptions to this report and recom-
mendation.
The Employer, in its objections and in its brief, alleges in sub-
stance that : (1) The Board erred in permitting the CIO to intervene
at the original hearing, inasmuch as the CIO's motion to intervene
'69 N. L. R B 768.
71 N. L. R. B., No. 61.
413
414 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
was patently "false and fraudulent," and was supported by an inade-
quate showing of interest; (2) the CIO, in its campaign, circulated
literature containing falsifications intended to mislead, deceive, and,
in certain instances, coerce the employees, and distributed cartoon's
intended to "[hold] up to ridicule the executive officer of the [Em-
ployer]"; and (3) the CIO and the UMW coerced the employees by
circulating reports that failure to vote for the union concerned would
result in plant shut-downs.
We find no merit in these objections. With respect to objection (1),
we are of the opinion that the alleged error in granting the CIO's
motion to intervene at the original hearing fails to constitute a rele-
vant ground for objecting to the conduct or results of the election
herein. As to objection (2), the literature and cartoons in question
were clearly in the nature of campaign propaganda and, as the Board
stated in Matter of Maywood Hosiery Mills, Inc.: 2 "Absent violence,
we have never undertaken to police union organization or union cam-
paigns, to weigh the truth or falsehood of official union utterances, or
to curb the enthusiastic efforts of employee adherents to the union
cause in winning others to their conviction." And, with respect to
objection (3), we find it unnecessary to pass upon this contention,
inasmuch as the Regional Director reports that the Employer failed to
submit any evidence in support thereof.
Accordingly, on the basis of the entire record in the case, including
the Employer's objections, the Regional Director's Report on Objec-
tions, and the Employer's exceptions thereto, and in conformance with
the foregoing conclusions, we find that the Employer's objections raise
no substantial or material issue-with respect to the conduct or results
of the election and the objections are hereby overruled.
Inasmuch as the results of the election are inconclusive, we shall, in
accordance with the request of the CIO, provide for the conduct of a
run-off election in order to resolve the question concerning representa-
tion.3 We shall, therefore, remand the case to the Regional Director
for further appropriate action.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this case be, and it hereby is, remanded
to the Regional Director for the Sixth Region, who shall proceed in
accordance with Section 203.56 of National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations-Series 4.
MR. JAMES J. REYNOLDS, JR., took no part in the consideration of the
above Supplemental Decision and Order.
2 64 N. L R B 146 , at 150.
' Although the UMW has requested that the Board use a current pay roll in determining
eligibility to vote in the run-off election , we see no reason for departing from our usual
practice