Radio Corp. of America

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsNov 2, 1953

106 N.L.R.B. 1393 (N.L.R.B. 1953)

RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA, (RCA-VICTOR DIVISION) 1393 RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA, (RCA-VICTOR DIVISION) and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, AFL, Petitioner and UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO. Case No . 8-RC-2014. November 2, 1953 DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES Pursuant to a stipulation for certification upon consent election , an election by secret ballot was conducted on July 21, 1953, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Eighth Region . Upon completion ofthe election the parties were furnished with a tally of ballots, which showed that out of approximately 196 eligible voters, 185 cast ballots, of which 109 were for the International Brother- hood of Electrical Workers, AFL, hereinafter called the Petitioner ; 74 were for United Steelworkers of America, CIO, hereinafter called the Intervenor ; and 2 were against the participating labor organizations . There were 5 challenged ballots . The challenged ballots are insufficient to affect the results of the election. Thereafter , on July 27, 1953, the Intervenor filed timely objections to conduct allegedly affecting the results of the election . It asserted that certain conduct of the Petitioner, more fully set forth below , prevented a free choice of repre- sentatives by employees, and requested that the election be set aside . In accordance with the Board ' s Rules and Regula- tions, the Regional Director investigated the Intervenor's objections , and on August 19, 1953, issued and duly served upon the parties his report on objections , in which he found the objections to be without merit and recommended that they be overruled and that a certification issue to the Petitioner. On August 24, 1953, the Intervenor filed timely exceptions to the Regional Director ' s report. - As the basis for its objections , the Intervenor alleged that: (1) The Petitioner by newspaper advertisements threatened that if the Intervenor won the election the plant would be shut down ; ( 2) the Petitioner by handbill advertisements threatened that the plant would be closed unless the employees voted against Intervenor ; (3) the Petitioner by handbills told the employees that the "CIO" was responsible for the closing of three other plants of the Employer; and (4 ) by the foregoing conduct the Petitioner engaged in conduct affecting the results of the election. In support of its first objection the Intervenor submitted three exhibits . The first was an article appearing in a local newspaper after the election , and obviously could not have affected the results of the election . The second was a news- paper advertisement in which employees were urged to choose "the pay line " instead of "the soup line ." The third was a similar advertisement in which there appeared a picture of a factory with a sign bearing the word "closed " across its 106 NLRB No. 251. 1394 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD face . In support of its second objection the Intervenor sub- mitted two handbills. The first contained propaganda urging the employees to vote for the Petitioner . The second, which was a reprint from Petitioner ' s Journal , recited the benefits which would accrue to the employees in the event they supported the Petitioner . In support of its third objection the Intervenor submitted a leaflet which charged the Intervenor with being responsible for the closing of three other plants of the Employer. The Regional Director found that all of the foregoing exhibits constituted legitimate union electioneering propaganda which in accordance with established Board policy could not be a basis for setting aside the election. We agree . The Board has held that as a general rule , and in the absence of coercion, it will not undertake to censor or police union campaigns or to consider the truth or falsity of electioneering propaganda, unless the ability of the employees to evaluate such material has been so impaired by the campaign material or by campaign trickery that the uncoerced desires of the employees cannot be determined .' A close study of the language used in both the newspaper advertisements and the handbills does not establish threats, coercion , or the type of gross misconduct previously found sufficient by the Board to set aside an elec- tion .' Nor do we find that under the circumstances the material used as campaign propaganda by the Petitioner amounted to the kind of misconduct that might reasonably be said to impair the ability of the employees to evaluate such material-' Accordingly, we shall adopt the recommendations of the Regional Director and overrule the objections to the election by the Intervenor. As a majority of the employees have selected the Petitioner as their bargaining representative , we shall certify it in accordance with the tally of ballots. [The Board certified the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL, as the designated collective-bar- gaining representative of the employees of RCA-Victor Divi- sion of Radio Corporation of America, Cambridge, Ohio, in the unit as set forth in the consent - election agreement. ] 1Merck & Company, Inc , 104 NLRB 891; Western Electric Company, Inc., 96 NLRB 318 2 West-Gate Sun Harbor Company, 93 NLRB 830, 832 ; Shirlington Supermarket, Inc., 106 NLRB 666. 3The instant case is distinguishable from Carolina Poultry Farms , Inc , 104 NLRB 255, where both the petitioner and the intervenor threatened the employees with loss of em- ployment; and from United Aircraft Corporation, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Division, 103 NLRB 102, where the intervenor distributed a "fake " telegram purportedly sent by the president of the petitioner, "praising" the intervenor , and "expressing deep regret," at certain acts of the representatives of the petitioner.