Saginaw Cabinet Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 27, 1947

72 N.L.R.B. 951 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter of SAGINAW CABINET COMPANY, EMPLOYER and UNITED
AUTOMOBILE WORKERS OF AMERICA, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR,
PETITIONER
Case No. 7-R-2495.-Decided February 27, 1947
Mr. Lloyd 1'. Crane, of Saginaw, Mich., for the Employer.
Mr. Edward C. MacRae, of Saginaw, Mich., for the Petitioner.
Mr. F. D. Heilman, of Saginaw, Mich., for the Federation.
Mr. John Malone, of Grand Rapids, Mich., for the CIO.
Mr. Abraham Frank , of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Saginaw,
Michigan, on November 21, 1946, before Harold A. Cranefield, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
The Saginaw Cabinet Company is a Michigan corporation, engaged
in the manufacture of radio cabinets at Saginaw , Michigan . It pur-
chases raw materials valued at $300,000 annually, of which approxi-
mately 50 percent originates from sources outside the State of Michi-
gan. It manufactures finished products valued annually at $600,000,
all of which are shipped to purchasers outside the State of Michigan.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
The Saginaw Woodworkers Federation, Local No. 1, herein called
72N L R B,No.164 951
952 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the Federation, is a labor organization, claiming to represent employees
of the Employer.'
The United Furniture Workers of America, herein called the CIO,
is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Or-
ganizations, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the Peti-
tioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
We find in substantial accord with the agreement of the parties that
all production and maintenance employees at the Employers Saginaw,
Michigan; plant, excluding office and clerical employees, foremen, and
all or any other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote,
discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of em-
ployees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appro-
priate 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, subject to the
limitations and additions set forth in the Direction.
The Employer takes the position, in which the Federation concurs,
that probationary employees, who have not yet passed a 60-day trial
period of employment should be ineligible to participate in the election.
The Petitioner and the CIO argue for their eligibility. The record
shows that the probationary employees have substantially the same
interests in the conditions of employment as the regular employees
and are hired with the expectation that they will be permanent if their
'The Petitioner and the CIO contend that the Federation is not a labor organization
within the meaning .of the Act. The evidence reveals, however, that the Federation
is a Michigan corporation formed for the purposes of collective bargaining on behalf
of the employees of the Employer regarding hours, wages, and other conditions of employ-
ment. It was certified by the Board in 1940, and thereafter has met regularly with the
Employer as the exclusive representative of the production and maintenance employees
In the Saginaw , Michigan , plant We find that the Federation is a labor organization
within the meaning of Section 2 ( 5) of the Act . See Matter of Federal Shipbuilding
and Drydock Company, 65 N. L. It. B. 410.
SAGINAW CABINET COMPANY 953
work proves satisfactory.2 Accordingly, we find that they are eligible
to vote in the election.3
DIRECTION OF ELECTION 4
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Saginaw Cabinet Company,
Saginaw, Michigan, 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 and supervision of the Regional
Director for the Seventh Region, acting in this matter as agent for the
National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Sections 203.55 and
203.56, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-
Series 4, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section
IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not
work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation
or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces
of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls,
but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged
for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of
the election, to determine whether they desire to be represented by
United Automobile Workers of America, American Federation of
Labor, or by Saginaw Woodworkers Union, Local No. 1, or by United
Furniture Workers of America, CIO, for the purposes of collective
,bargaining, or by none.
2 Pay-roll figures from November 1, 1944, indicate that approximately 50 percent of all
employees pass their probationary period.
8 See Matter of Scars, Roebuck and Co , 62 N. L. R B. 674 ; and Matter of Midland
National Bank of Minneapolis , 68 N. L R. B 580.
4 Any participant in the election herein may , upon its prompt request to and approval
thereof by the Regional Director , have its name removed from the ballot.