Godchaux Sugars, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsNov 14, 1941

36 N.L.R.B. 926 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of GODCHAUX SUGARS, INC. and UNITED SUGAR WORKERS, LOCAL 1124, AFFILIATED WITH CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZA- TIONS Case No. R-3079.-Decided November 14, 1941 Jurisdiction : sugar refining industry.' Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re- fusal to accord union recognition ; contract between 'Company and union, the members of,which had voted unanimously to join the petitioner, which had not been a functioning labor organization since that time, held no bar to ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance employees; including narrow-gauge railway employees, electric-truck and out- side-truck operators, longshoremen, checkers and weighers, entrainment men and samplers, welfare department employees, commissary and supply depart- ment employees, and lodging house attendants, but excluding supervisory and clerical employees, community club employees, head chemists and bench chem- ists, and deputized guards ; agreement as to. Mr. Emile Godchaux , of New Orleans , La., for the Company. Mr. F. C . Pieper, of New Orleans , La., for the United. Mr. Ralph S. Clifford, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On August 18,1941, United Sugar `Yorkers, Local 1124, affiliated with Congress of Industrial Organ;zations, herein called the United, filed a 'petition with the Regional Director for the Fifteenth Region (New Orleans, Lousiana) alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Godchaux Sugars, Inc., Reserve, Louisiana, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pur- suant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act; 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On September 15, 1941, 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, or- 36 N. L. R. B., No; 190. ' 926 GODCHAUX' SUGARS': INC. 927 dered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to con- duct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. - On September 19, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the United, and upon Sugar Workers Federal Union No. 21934, affil- iated with the A. F. of L. herein called the Federal Labor Union, with which the Company had a contract dated November 22, 1940, covering employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on October 7, 1941, at New Orleans, Louisiana, before Charles A. Kyle, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company and the United were repre- sented and participated in the hearing. The Federal Labor Union did not appear. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross- examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on motions and on the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Exam- iner 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: FI NDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Godchaux Sugars, Inc., a Louisiana corporation, having its prin- cipal place of business in New Orleans, Louisiana, owns and operates plants located in Riceland and Reserve, Louisiana, and is engaged in the cultivation, milling, and refining of raw sugar, and the processing of various byproducts. These proceedings involve only the Company's plant at Reserve, Louisiana. More than 80 per cent of the raw mate- rials and supplies used" at the Reserve plant in the course of manufac- ture during the past several years were obtained and shipped to the plant from outside the State of Louisiana. More than 85 per cent of the Company's products from the Reserve, Louisiana, plant were shipped to customers located in States other than the State of Louisi- ana. The average 'monthly sale of refined sugar produced at the Reserve, Louisiana, plant during the past years has amounted to 45 million pounds. - At the hearing a representative of the Company. stated that the Company's pay roll of September 20, 1941, included approximately 1,100 employees. The Company stipulated that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 928 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD II. THE LABOR ORGANIZATION INVOLVED United Sugar Workers, Local 1124, affiliated with Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to mem- bership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On August 5, 1941, the United requested the Company, by letter, to bargain with it and advised the Company that the United repre- sented a majority of the. Company's employees. The Company, on August 13, 1941, by letter, refused to bargain with the United and advised the United that the Company had a contract with the Federal Labor Union.' The contract between the Company and the Federal Labor Union, dated November 22,1940, will not expire until the last day of February 1942. However, on May 28, 1941, at a special meeting, the members of Federal Labor Union voted unanimously to change their affilia- tion to the United and there is no evidence that the Federal Labor Union has been a functioning labor organization since that time 2 or that any of the employees who were members of the Federal Labor Union. are not now members of the United. The Company does not contend that the above-mentioned contract constitutes a bar to a determination of representatives in this proceeding, and the Company stipulated with the United, that an election should be conducted among its employees. In view of these circumstances, we are of the opinion that the contract between the Company and the Federal Labor Union consti- tutes no bar to a determination of representatives at this time. At the hearing the parties stipulated that the United represents a majority of the Company's employees .3 We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company. i On August 2, 1940, in Matter of Godchaux Sugars, Inc., and Sugar Workers' Local Union No. 21934, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, 26 N. L. R. B., No. 3, pursuant to a petition for investigation and certification filed by the Federal Labor Union, the Board directed that an election be held among the employees of the Company. On September 14, 1940, the Board certified the Federal Labor Union as the exclusive bar- gaining agent for the employees of the Company. 2 The Federal Labor Union , by letter under date of August 19, 1941, advised the secre- tary-treasurer of the American Federation of Labor, Washington , D. C., of the action taken and enclosed the official report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Labor Union and the tendered resignations of the three trustees. 3 The president of the United testified that 9,50 employees of the Company had joined the United at the time of the hearing. The Company employs approximately 1100 persons. GODCHAUX SUGARS, INC. 929 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 Company and the United stipulated, and we find that all production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Reserve, Louisiana, plant, including Servall-department em- ployees, sugar boilers, ground and yard employees, narrow-gauge railroad employees, electric-truck and outside-truck operators, long- shoremen, checkers and weighers, entrainment men and samplers, car knockers, garage men, welfare-department employees, toolroom em- ployees, commissary and supply-department employees, and lodging- house attendants, but excluding agricultural employees, supervisory employees, working and non-working foremen; community-club em- ployees, head chemists and bench chemists, deputized guards, office employees, and employees whose work is predominantly or exclusively clerical, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining,4 and that said unit will insure to employees of the-Com- pany the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to col- lective bargaining and otherwise will effectuate the policies of the Act., VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. At the hearing the Company and the United stipulated that eligi- bility to vote should be determined by the pay roll of the Company, dated September 20, 1941,5 No reason appears in the record why such pay roll should not be used and we accordingly find that those eligible, to vote shall be the employees in the appropriate unit who were em- * This is substantially the same unit as that covered by the contract between the Com- pany and the Federal Labor Union. At the hearing the representative of the United stated that the pay roll of September 20, 1941, was selected because of the seasonal nature of the Company 's business and because the pay roll of September 20, 1941, represents a normal pay roll and the "actual bona fide employment over a period of time," and the representative of the Company stated that the pay roll of 'September 20, 1941 , "is a fair pay roll upon which to base or to deter- mine the eligibility of the employees." 433118-42-vol . 36--60 :930 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ployed during the pay-roll period ending September 20, 1941, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in our Direction. 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 repre- sentation of employees of Godchaux Sugars, Inc., Reserve, Louisiana, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All production and maintenance employees of the Company, at its Reserve, Louisiana, plant, including Servall-department employees, sugar boilers, ground and yard employees, narrow-gauge railroad em- ployees, electric-truck and outside-truck operators, longshoremen, ,checkers and weighers, entrainment men and samplers, car knockers, .garage men, welfare-department employees, toolroom employees, com- missary and supply-department employees, and lodging-house attend- ants, but excluding agricultural employees, supervisory employees, working and non-working foremen, community-club employees, head chemists and bench chemists, deputized guards, office employees, and employees whose work is predominantly or exclusively clerical, consti- tute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION 0 . By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor 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 authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Godchaux Sugars, Inc., Reserve, Louisiana, 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 direc- tion and supervision of. the- Regional Director for the Fifteenth -Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and subject to Article III, Section 9 of- said Rules and Regu- lations, among all production and maintenance employees of the -Company who were employed during the pay-roll period ending Sep- . -tember20,1941, including Servall-department. employees, sugar boilers, ,ground and yard employees, narrow-gauge railroad employees, electric- GODCHAUX SUGARS, INC. 931 truck and outside-truck operators, longshoremen, checkers and weigh- ers, entrainment men and samplers, car knockers, garage men, wel- fare-department employees, toolroom employees, commissary and supply-department employees, and lodging-house attendants, and em- ployees whose, names do not appear on. such pay roll because they were ill or on, vacation or in the active military service or training of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding agricul- tural employees, supervisory employees, working and non-working foremen , community club employees, head chemists and bench chem- ists, deputized guards, office employees, and employees whose work is. predominantly or exclusively clerical, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by United 'Sugar Workers, Local 1124, affili- ated with Congress of .Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collective bargaining.