Matson Paint Products

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 3, 1977

229 N.L.R.B. 425 (N.L.R.B. 1977)

MATSON PAINT PRODUCTS
Matson Paint Products, Inc. and Driver Salesmen and
Warehousemen, Local Union No. 117, affiliated
with International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of Ameri-
ca. Case 19-CA-8868
May 3, 1977
DECISION AND ORDER
BY CHAIRMAN FANNING AND MEMBERS
PENELLO AND WALTHER
Upon a charge filed on September 3, 1976, by
Driver Salesmen and Warehousemen, Local Union
No. 117, affiliated with International Brotherhood of
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers
of America, herein called the Union, and duly served
on Matson Paint Products, Inc., herein called
Respondent, the General Counsel of the National
Labor Relations Board, by the Regional Director for
Region 19, issued a complaint and notice of hearing
on October 19, 1976, against Respondent, alleging
that Respondent had engaged in and was engaging in
unfair labor practices affecting commerce within the
meaning of Section 8(a)(5) and (1) and Section 2(6)
and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act, as
amended. Copies of the charge, complaint, and
notice of hearing before an Administrative Law
Judge were duly served on the parties to this
proceeding.
With respect to the alleged unfair labor practices,
the complaint alleges in substance that (I) since on or
about July 7, 1976, Respondent has failed and
refused to meet and bargain with the Union to
process a grievance filed pursuant to the contract
executed with the Union on behalf of Respondent
and other members of the Paint, Varnish, and
Lacquer Association; and (2) since on or about July
7, 1976, Respondent has failed and refused to supply
the Union with a list of all employees for the
purposes of collective bargaining and contract
administration. Respondent did not file a timely
answer to the complaint.
On December 6, 1976, the General Counsel filed
directly with the Board a Motion for Summary
Judgment with exhibits attached. Subsequently, on
December 17, 1976, the Board issued an order
transferring the proceeding to the Board and a
Notice To Show Cause why the General Counsel's
Motion for Summary Judgment should not be
granted. Respondent did not file a response to
Notice To Show Cause.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
229 NLRB No. 67
Upon the entire record in this proceeding, the
Board makes the following:
Ruling on the Motion for Summary Judgment
Section 102.20 of the Board's Rules and Regula-
tions, Series 8, as amended, provides as follows:
The respondent shall, within 10 days from the
service of the complaint, file an answer thereto.
The respondent shall specifically admit, deny, or
explain each of the facts alleged in the complaint,
unless the respondent is without knowledge, in
which case the respondent shall so state, such
statement operating as a denial. All allegations in
the complaint, if no answer is filed, or any
allegation in the complaint not specifically denied
or explained in an answer filed, unless the
respondent shall state in the answer that he is
without knowledge, shall be deemed to be
admitted to be true and shall be so found by the
Board, unless good cause to the contrary is
shown.
The complaint and notice of hearing issued on
October 19, 1976, and duly served on Respondent on
October 20, 1976, specifically states that, unless an
answer to the complaint is filed by Respondent
within 10 days of service thereof, "all of the
allegations in said complaint shall be deemed to be
admitted to be true and may be so found by the
Board." According to the record herein, and the
uncontroverted allegations of the Motion for Sum-
mary Judgment, counsel for the General Counsel, by
letter dated November 4, 1976, informed Respon-
dent's agent of his default and failure to submit an
answer and asked Respondent to file an answer as
soon as possible. On November 11, 1976, counsel for
the General Counsel sent Respondent a second letter
warning Respondent that further action would be
taken unless Respondent's answer was received by
the close of business November 17, 1976. On
November 17, 1976, Respondent telephonically
requested additional time to file an answer on
November 24, 1976, and was advised that action
would be taken unless an answer was received by
that date. No answer having been filed by Respon-
dent by that date, counsel for the General Counsel,
on December 3, 1976, filed the Motion for Summary
Judgment herein which was received by and filed by
the Board in Washington, D.C., on December 6,
1976.
In view of Respondent's failure to answer, and no
good cause having been shown for such failure,
under the rule set forth above, the allegations of the
complaint are deemed to be admitted and are found
425
DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
to be true. Accordingly, we shall grant the Motion
for Summary Judgment.
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF RESPONDENT
Respondent, a State of Washington corporation, is
engaged in the business of paint manufacturing and
the wholesale and retail sale of paint products with
its principal place of business located at Seattle,
Washington. In the course and conduct of its
business operations at the Seattle, Washington,
facility, Respondent annually purchases and causes
to be transferred and delivered to its Seattle plant
goods and materials valued in excess of $50,000
which are transported to that plant directly from
States other than the State of Washington.
We find, on the basis of the foregoing, that
Respondent is, and has been at all times material
herein, an employer engaged in commerce within the
meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act, and that
it will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert
jurisdiction herein.
II. THE LABOR ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Driver Salesmen and Warehousemen, Local Union
No. 117, affiliated with International Brotherhood of
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers
of America, is a labor organization within the
meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
III. THE UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
The 8(a)(l) and (5) Violations
1. The unit
The following employees of Respondent constitute
a unit appropriate for collective-bargaining purposes
within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act:
All lift truck operators, maintenance men, ship-
ping clerks, receiving clerks, dry mix operators,
packers, checkers, machine operators and ware-
housemen, excluding all other employees, supervi-
sors, and guards as defined in the Act.
2. The representative status of the Union
Since November 25, 1974, the Union has been a
party to a contract with the Paint, Varnish, and
Lacquer Association, of which Respondent is a
member, covering the aforestated unit, and provid-
ing, among other things, a grievance procedure with
binding arbitration. That contract has a termination
date of October 1, 1976.
3. The requests and refusal to bargain
Commencing on or about July 7, 1976, the Union
has requested that Respondent meet and discuss a
grievance filed pursuant to the contract. Since that
date, and at all times thereafter, Respondent has
failed to meet with the Union to process the
grievance or otherwise to bargain with the Union. On
or about July 7, 1976, the Union requested Respon-
dent to supply it with a list of all employees for the
purposes of collective bargaining and contract
administration; since that date, Respondent failed
and refused, and continues to fail and refuse, to
supply the Union with the requested information.
Accordingly, we find that, by the aforesaid con-
duct, since July 7, 1976, and at all times thereafter,
Respondent has refused to bargain collectively with
the Union as the exclusive representative of the
employees in the appropriate unit, and that, by such
refusal, Respondent has engaged in and is engaging
in unfair labor practices within the meaning of
Section 8(a)(5) and (1) of the Act.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE UNFAIR LABOR
PRACTICES UPON COMMERCE
The activities of Respondent set forth in section
III, above, occurring in connection with its opera-
tions described in section I, above, have a close,
intimate, and substantial relationship to trade,
traffic, and commerce among the several States and
tend to lead to labor disputes burdening and
obstructing commerce and the free flow of com-
merce.
V. THE REMEDY
Having found that Respondent has engaged in and
is engaging in unfair labor practices within the
meaning of Section 8(a)(5) and (1) of the Act, we
shall order that it cease and desist therefrom, and
take certain affirmative action designed to effectuate
the policies of the Act.
We shall order that Respondent cease and desist
from refusing to bargain collectively concerning
grievances filed pursuant to the contract and refusing
to supply the Union with a list of all employees for
the purposes of collective bargaining and contract
administration. Affirmatively, we shall order that
Respondent, upon request, bargain collectively with
the Union as the exclusive representative of all
employees in the appropriate unit with respect to
grievances filed pursuant to the contract and supply
a list of all employees to the Union for the purposes
of collective bargaining and contract administration.
The Board, upon the basis of the foregoing facts
and the entire record, makes the following:
426
MATSON PAINT PRODUCTS
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. Matson Paint Products, Inc., is an employer
engaged in commerce within the meaning of Section
2(6) and (7) of the Act.
2. Driver Salesmen and Warehousemen, Local
Union No. 117, affiliated with International Brother-
hood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and
Helpers of America, is a labor organization within
the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
3. All lift truck operators, maintenance men,
shipping clerks, receiving clerks, dry mix operators,
packers, checkers, machine operators and ware-
housemen, excluding all other employees, supervi-
sors, and guards as defined in the Act, constitute a
unit appropriate for collective-bargaining purposes
within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act.
4. Since November 25, 1974, the above-named
labor organization has been the exclusive representa-
tive of all employees in the aforesaid appropriate unit
for the purpose of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9(a) of the Act.
5. By failing and refusing on or about July 7,
1976, and at all times thereafter, to meet with the
above-named labor organization as the exclusive
bargaining representative of all the employees of
Respondent in the appropriate unit to discuss and
process a grievance filed pursuant to the contract,
and to supply the above-named labor organization
with a list of all employees for the purposes of
collective bargaining and contract administration,
Respondent has engaged in and is engaging in unfair
labor practices within the meaning of Section 8(a)(5)
of the Act.
6. By the aforesaid refusal to bargain, Respon-
dent has interfered with, restrained, and coerced, and
is interfering with, restraining, and coercing, employ-
ees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed to them in
Section 7 of the Act, and thereby has engaged in and
is engaging in unfair labor practices within the
meaning of Section 8(a)(1) of the Act.
7. The aforesaid unfair labor practices are unfair
labor practices affecting commerce within the mean-
ing of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
ORDER
Pursuant to Section 10(c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, as amended, the National Labor
Relations Board hereby orders that Respondent,
Matson Paint Products, Inc., Seattle, Washington, its
officers, agents, successors, and assigns, shall:
1. Cease and desist from:
(a) Refusing to bargain collectively concerning
grievances filed pursuant to the contract and refusing
to supply a list of all employees for the purposes of
collective bargaining and contract administration in
the following appropriate unit:
All lift truck operators, maintenance men, ship-
ping clerks, receiving clerks, dry mix operators,
packers, checkers, machine operators and ware-
housemen, excluding all other employees, supervi-
sors, and guards as defined in the Act.
(b) In any like or related manner interfering with,
restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of
the rights guaranteed them in Section 7 of the Act.
2. Take the following affirmative action which
the Board finds will effectuate the policies of the Act:
(a) Upon request, bargain with the above-named
labor organization as the exclusive representative of
all employees in the aforesaid appropriate unit with
respect to grievances filed pursuant to the contract
and supply to the Union a list of all employees for
the purposes of collective bargaining and contract
administration.
(b) Post at its Seattle, Washington, facility copies of
the attached notice marked "Appendix." Copies of
said notice, on forms provided by the Regional
Director for Region 19, after being duly signed by
Respondent's representative, shall be posted by
Respondent immediately upon receipt thereof, and
be maintained by it for 60 consecutive days thereaf-
ter, in conspicuous places, including all places where
notices to employees are customarily posted. Reason-
able steps shall be taken by Respondent to insure
that said notices are not altered, defaced, or covered
by any other material.
(c) Notify the Regional Director for Region 19, in
writing, within 20 days from the date of this Order,
what steps have been taken to comply herewith.
I In the event that this Order is enforced by a Judgment of a United
States Court of Appeals, the words in the notice reading "Posted by Order
of the National Labor Relations Board" shall read "Posted Pursuant to a
Judgment of the United States Court of Appeals Enforcing an Order of the
National Labor Relations Board."
APPENDIX
NOTICE To EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
An Agency of the United States Government
WE WILL NOT refuse to bargain collectively
concerning rates of pay, wages, hours, and other
terms and conditions of employment, including
grievances filed pursuant to the contract or refuse
to supply a list of all employees for the purposes
of collective bargaining and contract administra-
tion, with Driver Salesmen and Warehousemen,
Local Union No. 117, affiliated with Internation-
al Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Ware-
427
DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
housemen and Helpers of America. The bargain-
ing unit is:
All lift truck operators, maintenance men,
shipping clerks, receiving clerks, dry mix
operators, packers, checkers, machine opera-
tors and warehousemen, excluding all other
employees, supervisors, and guards as de-
fined in the Act.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner
interfere with, restrain, or coerce our employees
in the exercise of the rights guaranteed them by
Section 7 of the Act.
WE WILL, upon request, bargain with the
above-named labor organization as the exclusive
representative of all employees in the above-
described unit with respect to grievances filed
pursuant to the contract, and supply a list of all
employees for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing and contract administration.
MATSON PAINT
PRODUCTS, INC.
428