M & M Bakeries, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 24, 1941

35 N.L.R.B. 720 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of M & M BAIERIES , INC. and BAKERY AND CONFECTION-
ERY WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION 7 LOCAL 484 (AFL)
Case No. R- f960.Decided September 04, 1941
Jurisdiction : baking industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question:
parties stipulated that Company refused to accord union recognition until
certified by the Board ; in accordance with request of sole union involved
laid-off employees who have worked a specified period held eligible to vote;
election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : inside production employees and
working foremen, excluding office and supervisory employees ; stipulation
as to.
Hughes ct Burns, by Mr. Stanley M. Burns, of Dover, N. H., for thee
Company.
Mr. William V. Irvine, of Rochester and Dover, N. H., for the Union.
Mr. Dan M: Byrd, Jr., of counsel to the Board. °
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On August 9, 1941, Bakery and Confectionery Workers Interna-
tional Union, Local 484 (AFL), filed with the Regional Director for
the First Region (Boston, Massachusetts) a petition alleging that a
question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation
of employees of M & M Bakeries, Inc., Dover, New Hampshire, herein
called the Company, and requesting 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 August 23, 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, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Direc-
tor to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due
notice.
On August 25,1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the Union.
35 N. L. R. B., No. 162.
720
M & M BAKERIES, INC. 721
Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on September 3, 1941, at Dover,
New Hampshire, before William S. Gordon, the Trial Examiner duly
designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company and the
Union were represented, and participated-in the hearing. Full op-
portunity 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 various
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
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
M & M Bakeries, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation, has its prin-
cipal office and place of business at Dover, New Hampshire, where
it is engaged in the baking, sale, and distribution of bread, cake,
and pastry. The Company annually purchases raw materials, con-
sisting' of flour, sugar, yeast, salt, an,d other ingredients, having &
value in excess of $20,000, more than 50 per cent of which, both in
volume and in value, are shipped to the Company's plant from and
through States other than the State of New Hampshire. The Com-
pany annually produces more than 1,000,000 pounds of bread, cake.
and pastry having a value in excess of $45,000, more than 50 per cent
of which, both in volume and value, is shipped into and through
States other than the State of New Hampshire. The Company ad-
mits for the purpose of this proceeding only that it is engaged
in commerce within the meaning of the Act.
11. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union, Local
484 (AFL), is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of tli
Company.
111. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company and the Union stipulated that the Union had asked
the Company for recognition as the exclusive bargaining repre-
sentative of its employees and that the Company refuses to accord
such recognition to the Union until it is certified by the Board.
'722 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
A statement of the Regional Director introduced in evidence at
the hearing shows that the Union represents a substantial number
of employees in the' unit hereinafter found to be appropriate.'
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation
of 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
The Union and the Company stipulated, and we find, that all
inside production employees and working foremen of the Company
at its Dover, New Hampshire, plant, excluding office and supervisory
employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining. We find further that said unit will insure to employees
of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization
and to collective bargaining and otherwise 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.
The parties are in dispute as to the eligibility of seasonal employees
to vote in the election. ` The Union desires the use of a current pay
roll and would allow the participation of,employees ill, on vacation,
or laid off, provided the laid-off employees had worked 84' days dur-
ing the period between January 1 and September 15, 1941.2 The
Company on the other hand desires that only employees on its pay
roll of October 4, 1941, be allowed to vote, or, if the election is at a
later date, only such employees as are actually working at the time
of the election. The Company's business is subject to a large seasonal
'The Regional Director reported that the Union submitted 38 authorization cards and
16 membership application cards dated in May, June , and July, 1941 , bearing apparently
genuine , original signatures The Regional Director also reported that there were no
duplications of signatures on the two types of cards and that 46 of the signatures are
the names of persons appearing on the Company's pay roll of July 15 , 1941 , which lists
93 names.
'This would include any employee having worked 3% months during the peak summer
season.
M & M BAKERIES, INC. 723
fluctuation, with the attendant increases and decreases of employ-
ment.3 Maximum employment exists from June 1, through the last
of October. The Company has generally followed a policy of senior-
ity in laying off seasonal employees, and at the present time, lay-offs
are made on the basis of seniority. In general, employees laid off at
the end of the summer season are rehired during the following sum-
mer season. Under these circumstances, we find that employees who
have been employed for a total of 84 days during the .period from
January 1 through September 15, 1941, are eligible to vote in the
election.
In accordance with our usual practice we shall direct that an elec-
tion be held among those employees within the appropriate unit who
were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period immedi-
ately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, subject to such
limitations and additions as are set forth in the 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 M & M Bakeries, Inc., Dover, New Hamp-
shire, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and
(7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. All inside production employees and working foremen of the
Company at its Dover, New Hampshire, plant, excluding office and
supervisory employees, constitute 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
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 M & M Bakeries, Inc., Dover, New Hampshire, 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
8 On August 30, 1941, the Company was employing 36 persons in the bread shop and
55 in the cake department . The Company 's minimum force last winter was 15 employees
in the bread shop and 25 in the cake shop.
451270-42-vol. 35-47
724 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and supervision of the Regional Director for the First Region, act-
ing in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board,
and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations,
among all inside production employees and working foremen of
M & M Bakeries, Inc., Dover, New Hampshire, who were employed
during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this
Direction, including employees who did not work during such pay-
roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in .the active mili-
tary service or training of the United States, or laid off, provided
that any employee laid off shall have worked a total of 84 days during
the period from January 1 to September 15, 1941, but excluding office
and supervisory employees, and employees who have since quit or
been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire
to be represented by Bakery and Confectionery Workers Inter-
national Union, Local 484 (AFL), for the purposes of collective
bargaining.