Harrison Steel Castings Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 21, 1944

57 N.L.R.B. 510 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the, Matter of HARRISON STEEL, CASTINGS, COMPANY, and UNITED
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS, DISTRICT `501 UNITED MINE WORKER' OF
AMERICA
Case No. 13-R-2088.=Deeided July 21, 1914
DECISION
AND
ORDER
On October 6, 1943, United Construction Workers, District 50,
United Mine, Workers of America, herein called the Union, filed with
the Regional Director for the `Thirteenth Region (Chicago, Illinois),
herein called the Regional Director, a petition alleging that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of
employees of Harrison Steel Castings Company, Attica, Indiana,
herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certi-
fication of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. Thereafter,
the Company and the Union entered into a "Stipulation for' Certifi-
cation upon Consent Election," approved by the Regional Director
on October 26, 1943. Pursuant to the stipulation, an election by secret
ballot was conducted on November 3, 1943, under the direction and
,supervision of the Regional Director, among the employees in the
stipulated unit, to determine whether or not they desired to be repre-
sented by the Union for the purposes of collective bargaining. On
November 4, 1943, the Regional Director issued and duly served upon
the parties a Report on Election. As to the balloting and its results,
the Regional Director reported as follows :
Appropriate number of eligible voters____________________ 783
Total ballots cast________________________________________ - 746
Total ballots challenged__________________________________ 1
Total void ballots________________________________________ 5
Total valid votes counted__________________________________ 740
Votes cast for Union______________________________________ 231
Votes cast against Union -------------------- --------------- 509
On November 8, 1943, the Union filed Objections to the election,
alleging in substance that the Company had engaged in certain con-
duct preventing a free choice of representatives. On January 1, 1944,
57 N. L. R. B., No. 92.
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HARRISON STEEL CASTINGS COMPANY 511
the Regional Director, having investigated the Objections, issued and
duly served upon the parties a Report on Objections in'which he found
that the Objections raised substantial and material issues with respect
to the- election and- recommended that the Board direct. 'a hearing
'thereon.
On January 12, 1944, the Board, having duly considered the matter .
and determined that the Objections did raise substantial and material
issues with respect to the election, issued an,Order directing a hearing
thereon and referring the case to the Regional Director for the -purpose
of conducting the hearing. Said hearing on Objections was held at -
Attica, Indiana, on April 18, 1944, before Earl S. Bellman, Trial Ex-
aminer. , The Board, the Company, and the Union appeared and.par-
ticipated. The parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to
examine and cross-examine witnesses, to introduce evidence bearing
om the-issues, and to file briefs with the Board. The Trial Examiner's
rulings made at the -hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed.
Upon the, entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. BACKGROUND
The town of Attica, Indiana, has a population of approximately'
3,780, and the Company, with a 'complement of 980 persons, is the
principal employer. The next largest company in the community'
employs only 50 persons, while an organization which formerly em-
ployed "well over a hundred" is no longer in business in Attica. The
nearest city which has any employer as large or larger than the Com-
pany, is Lafayette, Indiana, 25 miles away. '
During the,period immediately preceding the election, United Mine
Workers of America, the national labor organization with ivhicl the' -
Union was then and is now affiliated, was conspicuously in the news' ili
connection with 'the current labor dispute in the anthracite coal mines.
Thus, on October 29, November 2, and November 3,1 the local news
paper of general circulation, the Attica Ledger-Tribune, carried
prominent front-page news stories concerning the role of the United
Mine Workers of America in the mine strike, and the effect of the
strike-on the production of steel and other war material.
II. 'THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE ELECTION
About 1 month prior to the. election, employee Charles Kingen and
several other employees were engaged at the plant in conversation
' The election was conducted ,on November 3.
512' DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ' -
with Foreman- Russell Kirby, Sr.' Kirby expressed the opinion. that,
less than half of the employees were members of the Union, and that,
in 6 weeks, there would be no union in the plant. Kingen asked Kirby
what he was going to-do with his men who belonged to the Union, if he
was going to fire them. Kirby replied, "Well, they asked for it, didn't -
they?'" 2 About the same time, employee Harold Von Carlson `had
several conversations' with his foreman, Floyd Mortimore. Morti-
more indicated that if the Union were successful in organizing the
plant, 'they would "be, having strikes all the time and the Union
would -do no good.". • Mortimore told Carlson that 'so long as he con-,
tinUed. to wear his' union button, he 'would get nowhere with the
Company 3' , , . ' .
During the lunch hour oil November 2, the day before the election,
a union leaflet bearing, printed material concerning the election was
posted on the bulletin board in the electrical•department of the ma-
chine' shop with the following material written in hand upon it:
"$25.00 initiation fees, and $5.00 a week dues, and no more bonuses."
This bulletin board was customarily used 'only for job order slips
placed on it by foremen and had never previously contained any-such
leaflet. The posted leaflet with its inscription was in full view of the
approximately 50 employees in the machine shop when-they checked in,
and it remained posted 'through the election. The inscription was
written on 'the leaflet by employee Frieda Lynch, who consulted with,
the machine shop foreman, Ralph Fugate, as to what, to Write.- Fugate,.
approved the inscription, saying, "Go ahead and put that down
there," and gave'Lynch the thumb tacks for posting. Their dis-
cussion took place, in part, in the presence of employee Pauline Koe-
kenberg, and the leaflet was posted, in the 'presence of. several em-
ployees. Koekenberg testified that she did not remove the leaflet from
the bulletin board because she "didn't know you were supposed to take
any signs, down that the bosses had anything to do with." Under
these circumstances, we find that the leaflet was inscribed and posted
by Lynch, with the assistance and approval of Foreman Fugate, in
such a manner that the employees who saw it could reasonably believe
that it expressed an intention on the part of the'Company to cease its
customary bonus payments in the event of a,union victory in the
election.'
a The above findings are based on the credible and uncontroverted testimony of Kingen.
Foreman Kirby was not called to testify.
P The above findings are based on the credible and uncontroverted testimony of Carlson:
Mortimore was-not called as a witness.
4 The above findings are based on the credible testimony of Koekenberg and admissions
of Lynch Foreman Fugate was not called as a witness . While Lynch claimed entire '
responsibility for the posting , she admitted that she wrote the inscription on the leaflet
in Fugate ' s presence ; that she showed him what she had written ; that he stood by but
did not object when she posted the leaflet . She further admitted that the bulletin board
HARRISON STEEL CASTINGS COMPANY" 513'
'The election was conducted ,on November 3. On November 1; all
\of the employees received through the mail , at their homes the follow-
ing two -page ''letter dated October 30,.1943 , on the official letterhad
of the'Company:
THE HARRISON STEEL CASTINGS CO.
- ATTICA, INDIANA
J. W. HARRISON'
President
,'October 30 , 1943
To Oun EMPLOYEES :
A labor organization, United Construction Workers, District
No. 50, United Mine Workers of America, filed a petition with' the
National Labor Relations Board asking. to' be recognized as' the
exclusive bargaining agent for our production and maintenance
employees. A representative of -the Board came to Attica and
met with representatives of the Company and of the United Mine
Workers-to see if an election.could be-arranged.
Our-meeting with the representatives of the United Mine
Workers should not be construed by you as an indication that-
we want you to vote in favor of being represented by a labor
union . That is a matter for you to decide. We agreed to an elec-
tion because we think our employees are entitled to express their
wishes 'by secret ballot and we wanted them to have this oppor-
tunity as soon as possible.
Your Company has been very successful in operating as an
independent concern. • During the' thirty-seven years that we
have been working together with our employees in Attica, we
have not lost a single day's time on account of labor trouble., We
have no- financial or corporate connections with any 'other con-
cerns and our record shows, we have been able to operate better
than most of our competitors (especially in times of poor busi-
ness) because of our complete independence of action. We have
had several offers'to sell the plant and to merge with large chains
of foundries. We have refused these offers as we thought it
would not be fair to our employees because then the plant would
was only for job orders, and that she asked Fugate if she would get herself in trouble by
posting the 'notice. According to Lynch, Fugate 'replied : "This is still a free country."
As to other matters, Lynch's memory was hazy. She could not remember the day of the
posting, nor could she remember the text of the inscription, although she admitted author-
ship. She was likewise unable to recall, whether or not Fugate had supplied;the 'tacks
for the posting Koekenberg's testimony, on the other hand, was clear and direct on
these, points. As to these matters, on which the testimony of the two employees is in
conflict, we therefore credit the testimony of Koekenberg.
601248-45-vol. 57-34
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514 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
have operated only when business was good and your employ-
ment would have been interrupted during bad times. It is our
thought that this plant, operating as it-does in 'a small city where
our freight rates on both in-bound and out-bound products are,
higher than.thoseof most of our cp npetitors,located in, the larger
centers, will be much better off if we can maintain complete in-
dependence of action, and that this will be better as far as,you
are concerned.
As you all know a large part of our tonnage has gone to the
Caterpillar Tractor Company for the past twenty-five years.
We believe that we can depend on this tonnage after the war is
over. The Caterpillar people have built an iron foundry because
they were not always able to obtain this material as required.
They have talked of building a steel foundry but have told us
that they do not want to do .this if we can assure them an-un=
interrupted supplyof, steel castings.
We want you to be sure to vote on Wednesday, because we think
that the results of the election should represent the real wishes of
all our employees. Unless you yourself tell someone about it,
no one can know how you vote. Also remember, this being a
secret ballot, you are not bound' by any action you may have taken
in the past in regard to signing 'application or pledge to join or
not to join a labor organization. You have the right to cast your
secret ballot in this election in accordance with your own desires
regardless of whether or not you belong to any group, or whether
or not you have signed any application card or pledge or any-
thing else. '
This election, which will be held on Wednesday, is an important
one for you and for,us. Instead, of passing this letter out in the
form of a circular we decided to send it to your homes, because
the election is vitally important to your families also. We want
you to vote for what you (consider to be your own best interests
and those of your family.
We want you to look at our record because we believe it will
show that we have consistently tried to be fair to our employees.
During,the years,we have been in operation, we have paid wage
rates as high as we could, pay and still bring in orders for all to
work on. Wages are always reflected in the price we are able to'
receive for our products, in a competitive market. We have been
limited recently in our actions by the wage freeze order of October,
1942. We have already taken preliminary steps to secure author-
ity for an adjustment of present wage rates. When the financial
position of the Company warranted same, we have paid bonuses,
to our workers, which has resulted in an increased rate of,pay.
HARRISON STEEL CASTINGS COMPANY 515.
We have made,group insurance, possible and are paying a consider-
able part of its cost. Our relationship has been a pleasant one
rind we hope it always will be.
We have all felt the stress of war and because the armed forces.
have'ni de`1very heavy demands:forsour-products, we have been
running our plant about 60% over capacity. You would not
want us to do less. This makes crowded, unsatisfactory working
conditions in many jobs and has made a great deal of night work
necessary. We realize that this has been none too pleasant for
you but we know that you have cheerfully gone ahead and done
your part because you realized that you were backing up the boys
on the fighting front.
In determining how you vote on Wednesday, you will doubt-
less take into consideration a number of questions: What will
the effect be on your family and yourself if you are represented
by the United -Mine Workers of America.? What effect will it
have upon the'--future operations of the Company? ' Will it make
for uninterrupted work for you? What is the record of the
United Mine Workers in respect to work stoppages? What will
be best for the boys who are fighting throughout the world and
to whom the things you are producing are vital?
DON'T FAIL TO VOTE ON WEDNESDAY!
Sincerely yours,
THE HARRISON STEEL CASTINGS CO. -
/s/ J. W. HARRISON,
President.
OnNovember 2,' the day follow-ing,the receipt of the letter by the
employees, the-local newspaper carried-the letter in full on its, front
page under the-heading, two columns wide, "President of Harrison
Steel Writes Personal Letter To His Employees." Alongside the
letter was a two-column account of the mine strike. On the same
day, the day before the election, the Company's general superintend-
ent., G. C. Dickey, was accompanied through the plant by three men
from Caterpillar Tractor Company, the firm mentioned in paragraph
4 of the letter, and a fourth man who was from a steel company in
St. Louis. They looked at pattern equipment, went to the foundry to
observe methods of molding, and to the cleaning department to see
the castings finished. During the tour they-were observed by a num-
ber of. employees. • " ' •
About half an hour before the four men accompanied Dickey
through the plant, George Talbert, who had been openly active in
behalf of the Union since he-had:been elected president about the first
516, DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
of September , saw employee " Daniel Hancock talking'with their fore-
man, Howard'Hushaw . As soon as Hushaw left, Hancock came to
Talbert and said he had "a good one" for him ; 'that some men from
Caterpillar - and' a foundry in St . Louis were coming through. the
plant pretty soon; that they .were going , to look over castings to see-,
which ones could be made the easiest ; that, if the , Union got in, 50
percent of the Company's business would ' be given to the St. Louis
concern ; and that he had just secured the information from Hushaw
Later the four men accompanied by Dickey came by the place where
Talbert was-working ., After they had gone , 'Hancock remarked' to
Talbert, "Well, that was them." 5 • ,
Whatever might be our view as to the propriety-of the letter if it
stood- alone, we find that the letter, when appraised, as it must be, in
connection, with the totality of the Company's conduct during' the
period in question, and particularly the visit-to the plant, 'described
above, not only constituted to the employees an expression of, the
writer's views, but carried with it an intimation,of economic reprisal '
should the employees fail to heed their employer's obvious wishes.
This'prospect of economic reprisal was particularly- poignant -for the-
employees, in view of the Company's position as the dominant -em-
ployer in a small community which had lost, its second largest em-
ployer, and the tension engendered by the current mine, strike in which
the Union's 'parent body was a prominent participant. Employee
Talbert testified that, because of the emphasis in the letter upon the
desire of Caterpillar to have an uninterrupted supply, he understood
the letter to mean that,, if the Union got in, Caterpillar would build
its own steel mill, thereby, causing the Company to lose a substantial
percentage of its business. Employee Brown testified that the letter
"threw a scare into him," discouraged, him, and kept him from voting
for the Union; and that he understood the letter to mean that, if the
Union got in and they had -labor trouble, Caterpillar was going to,'
build their own foundry and take away part of the Company's work.
Superintendent Dickey, although stating that there was, no intended
connection between the letter and the visit to the plant, admitted that,
after the election, he received the-impression that some of the employees
had thought that there had been an implied threat in the visit. It is.
significant that only 12 employees attended the regular, union meeting
' The above findings are based upon the credible testimony of Talbert. Foreman
Hushaw was not called upon to testify, although there was no showing that he was
unavailable. Hancock, part of whose testimony was in conflict with that of Talbert, was
not a credible witness. His responses were not direct or clear, and his recollection was,
indistinct. He could not remember the above-described visit to the plant. Then, asked
whether he had a conversation with Foreman Hushaw regarding the four men who visited
the plant on November 2, be replied "If I did, I don't remember." On the other hand,
Talbert's memory of the incident was clear and his responses were direct and consistent.
tinder these circumstances, we credit the testimony, of Talbert.
HARRISON STEEL CASTINGS COMPANY 517
on the night of November 2, whereas the previous average attendance
'had beenbetween 45 and 60.
We find that the Company's above-described course of conduct dur-
ing the period preceding the election prevented an expression by the
employees therein of their free and uncoerced wishes as to representa-
tion. We shalla`therefore set the election aside. We shall direct a
new election at such time as the Regional Director advises us that
circumstances permitting a free choice among the employees have
-been
I
ORDER
It is hereby ordered that the election held on November 3, 1943,
among the employees "of Harrison Steel Castings Company, Attica,
Indiana, be, and it hereby is, set aside.
MR. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Order.
[See infra,'57'N. L. R. B. 1682 for Supplemental Decision and Direc-
tion of Second Election.] -
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