Quaker State Oil Refining Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 8, 1942

43 N.L.R.B. 1173 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the 'Matter of • QUAKER STATE OIL REFINING CORPORATION and
DISTRICT 50, UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL 12391
Case No. R-4,141:=Decided September 8, 1942
Jurisdiction : petroleum producing, refining, add distributing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : failure
to accord petitioner recognition ; contract, the original term of which had ex-
pired, and which was terminable upon 30 days' written notice held no bar;
eligibility determined by pay-roll period stipulated by parties ; election nec-
essary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em-
ployees at one of Company's plants, including attendants at the filling station
adjacent to the plant, but excluding supervisory, clerical and field or pump-line
employees, stipulation as to.
Mr. Charles P. Prichard, of Pittsburgh, Pa., for the Company.
Mr. Samuel Krimsly, of Pittsburgh, Pa., for District 50. '
Mr. Albert W. JohMon, of Smethport, Pa., for the Independent.
Mr. Louis A. Pontello, Jr., of counsel to the Board..
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION,
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by District 80, United Mine Workers of
America, Local 12391, herein called District 50, alleging that a question
affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of Quaker State Oil Refining Corporation; Farmers Valley,
Pennsylvania, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations
Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before
W. G. Stuart Sherman, Trial Examiner. The Company, District 50,
and McKean Plant Independent Oilers Association,- herein called the
Independent, appeared and participated.2 All parties were afforded
1 The Independent had filed with the Board, prior to the hearing, a motion to intervene.
The Trial 'Examiner ruled that the Independent had been served with notice of hearing,
thereby becoming a party to the proceeding.
2 International Biotherhood of Firemen and Oilers, Local 133, A F. L, herein called
Local 133, although served 1^ith notice through Local 75 of that International, did not
appeal The Trial Examiner stated at the hearing that he understood that Local 75
had taken over the business of Local 133.
43 N. L. R B., No. 183.
1173
1174 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses,,
and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. During the course of
the hearing, District 50 filed a motion that it be certified as the exclusive
bargaining agent for the employees within the alleged unit, that the
petition for leave to intervene filed by the Independent be dismissed
on the ground that it has not shown that it is a duly constituted labor
organization, and further, that in the event of an election, the Inde-
pendent should spot be placed,on the ballot for the reasons that it had
not sh,owil that it is a bona fide labor union or that it represented a
substantial number of employees of the Company. The Trial Ex-
aminer referred the motion to the Board. District 50's motion is
hereby denied. 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
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Quaker State Oil Refining Corporation, a Delaware corporation,
is engaged in producing, refining, and distributing petroleum and its
byproducts. It has plants at Oil City, Farmers Valley, and Emlen-
ton, Pennsylvania, and St. Marys, West Virginia. ' It purchases crude
Oil, fuel, supplies, and equipment. Its products consist principally
of refined petroleum products.
This proceeding concerns the Farmers Valley plant. The purchases
in 1941 for this plant amounted to over $3,000,000, of which approxi-
mately 2 percent was purchased from sources outside the State of
Pennsylvania. In 1941 the sales at this plant totaled approximately
$4,000,000, of which approximately 80 percent was sold and shipped
to points outside the State of Pennsylvania. The sales at this plant
in 1941 exceeded 1,120,163 barrels of refined petroleum products, weigh-
ing approximately 3,360,489 pounds, of which approximately 77 per-
cent was sold and shipped to points outside of Pennsylvania. On
August 1, 1942, the Company employed at its Farmers Valley plant ap-
proximately 225 production and maintenance employees. The Com-
pany admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
District 50, United Mine Workers of America, Local 12391, is a'
labor, organization admitting to membership employees of the
Company.
QUAKER STATE OIL REFINING CORPORATION 1175
McKean Plant Independent Oilers Association is a labor orgailiza-
tion admitting to membership employees of the Company.
International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers is a labor organi-
zation affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting
to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On March 12 , 1941, the Company and Local 133 entered into an
exclusive bargaining contract , which, by its terms was to apply to
"employees of the McKean Plant , Farmers Valley , McKean County,
Pennsylvania ," and to be effective for 1 year from March 12, 1941,
-and thereafter , unless terminated by either party by giving 30 days'
written notice . Shortly after August 1941, the members of Local
133 began to stop paying their dues and began to drop out of the
organization . The officers of Local 133 continued to hold monthly
meetings until February 9, 1942, when a resolution expressing the
desire of Local 133 to secede from the International Brotherhood of
Firemen and Oilers, herein called the International Brotherhood, was
passed. By letter dated February 9, 1942, and signed by all the officers
as former officers , Local 133 no the Company of the passage of this
resolution to sever affiliation . ' Although the letter did not explicitly
so state, one of the signers testified that it was intended to serve as
notice to the Company that, pursuant to the terms of the contract, Local
133 desired to terminate the contract . A representative of the Inter-
national Brotherhood was notified of this action by a personal letter
from a former member of Local 133 . Several former members of
Local 133 testified that Local 133 does not hold meetings any longer
but has completely dissolved , and that representatives of the Inter-
national Brotherhood have not attempted to represent the employees.
Shortly after February 1, 1942, the employees of the Company
began to join District 50, and on February 27, 1942, Local 12391 of
District 50, was chartered . On March 13 , 1942, the Company was
notified by District 50 that it represented a majority of the employees
and requested recognition as the collective bargaining agent for the
employees of the Company . The Company did not answer this letter.
The Company contends that the contract with Local 133 of 4 he
International Brotherhood is still in existence and therefore , that it
could not recognize any other organization . Inasmuch as the original
term of the contract between the Company and Local 133 has expired
and the contract is now terminable at any time upon 30 days' written
notice, and in view of the fact that notice was given to the Company of
the desires of the employees to terminate the contract, we find that the
contract with Local 133 is. , no bar to this proceeding.
1176 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
There was introduced into evidence a statement of the Regional
Director showing that District 50'represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate.3
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
We find, in 'accordance with a stipulation of the parties, that all
production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Farmers
Valley-plant, including attendants at the filling station adjacent to
the plant, but excluding supervisory, clerical and field or pump-line
employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployeesivithin the appropriate unit who were employed as of the pay-
roll period of August 1, 19424 subject to the limitations and additions
set forth in the Direction.
District 50 objected to the participation of the Independent in the
election on the ground that it had not adduced sufficient proof of an
interest in this proceeding. The Independent was organized on June
22, 1942, and has elected its officers and has adopted bylaws. Inas-
much as an election is to be conducted, and in view of the fact that, the
Independent has made some showing of membership; we shall accord
it a place on the ballot.
3 The Regional Director repotted that District 50 had presented 180 application cards
which 'sere dated as follows January 1942, 60, February 1942, 40, March 1942, 49;
A pi il 1942, 3; May 1942, 1,; June 1942, 10; July 1942, 2 ; undated, 15; that all of the
cards appeared to bear genuine original signatures, that 144 of the signatures on the
cards were the names of persons whose names appeared on the pay roll of the Company
as of July 15, 1942, containing 231 names in the alleged appropriate unit'
The Independent submitted to the Regional Director 12 application cards which were
dated as follows May 1942, 5 ; June 1942, 7 , all of the cards appeared to bear genuine
oiiginal signatures ; all of the signatures on the cards were the names of persons who
appeared on the Company's pay loll as of July 15, 1942, containing 250 names in the
unit alleged to be appropriate by the Independent.
Of the 144 cards submitted by District 50, 3 cards bore the names of filling station
employees, none bore the names of pipe-line and pump-station employees, and 141 bore
the names of operating and maintenance employees. Of the 12 cards submitted, by the
Independent, one card bore the name of a filling-station employee, and 11 bore the names
of operating and maintenance employees.
* The pai ties stipulated the use of August 1, 1942, pay roll'to determine eligibility.
See footnote 3, supra -
See Matter of Marshall Field & Co. and Local 091, United Retail, Wholesale and
Department Store Employees of America, C 1. 0 , 35 N. L R. B. 1200; Matter of E. P.
Dutton & Co , Inc. and Magazine Guild, Local 18, U. 0. P. W. A. (C. I. 0 ), 33 N. L. R. B.
761. -
QUAKER STATE OIL REFINING CORPORATION 1177'
Notwithstanding the failure of the International Brotherhood to
appear at the hearing or to request a place on the ballot, we shall; be-
cause of the contract between Local 133 and the Company; ' afford the,
International Brotherhood a place on the ballot.
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 Relations
Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective' bargaining with Quaker State Oil
Refining Corporation, Farmers Valley, Pennsylvania, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than
thirty (30) clays from the date of this Direction, under the direction
and supervision of,the Regional Director for the Sixth Region, acting
in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and
subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among
the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who
were employed as of the pay-roll period of August 1, 1942, including
employees who did not work during said pay-roll period 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 employees
who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether
they desire to be represented by District 50, United Mine Workers of
America, or by International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers,
A. F. of'L., or by McKean. Plant Independent Oilers Association, for
the purposes of collective bargaining, or by none of these organizations.
CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
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