Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 13, 1940

21 N.L.R.B. 597 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter of STANDARD WHOLESALE PHOSPHATE & ACID WORKS,
INC. and UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, DISTRICT 50, LOCAL
12138
Case No. C-1500.-Decided March 13, 194.0
Fertilizer and Acid Manufacturing Industry-Settlement : stipulation provid-
ing for compliance with the Act, including disestablishment of company-
dominated union and abrogation of contract entered into with predecessor-
Order: entered on stipulation.
Mr. Herbert 0. Eby, for the Board.
Venable, Baetjer d Howard, by Mr. Joseph France and Mr. Stuart
Janney -)f Baltimore, Md., for the respondent.
Mr. Ja' ob J. Edelman and Mr. Nathan H. Aims of Baltimore, Md.,
for the United.
Mr. Franklin D. Barrett of Baltimore, Md., for the Employees
Association.
Mr. Edgar M. Tomlinson of Baltimore, Md., for the Protective
Association.
Mr. Langdon C. West, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon charges and amended charges and second amended charges
duly filed by the United Mine Workers of America, District 50, Local
No. 12138, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations,
herein called the United, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, by the Regional Director for the Fifth Region
(Baltimore, Maryland), issued its complaint, dated February 1, 1940,
and its amended complaint, dated February 6, 1940, against Standard
Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works, Inc., Curtis Bay, Baltimore,
Maryland, herein called the respondent, alleging that the respondent
had engaged in and was engaging in unfair labor practices affecting
commerce within the meaning of Section 8 (1) and (2) and Section 2
(6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein
21 N. L. R. B, No. 58.
597
283032-41-vol 21--39
598 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
called the Act. Copies of the complaint and amended complaint. and
notices of hearing thereon were duly served upon the respondent, upon
the United, upon Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works Em-
ployees Association , Inc., herein called the Employees Association,
and upon the Employees Protective Association , herein called the
Protective Association.
Concerning the unfair labor practices the complaint , as amended,
alleged, in substance , that the respondent on or about July 1, 1939,
and thereafter , dominated and interfered with the formation and
administration of the Protective Association and contributed finan-
cial and other aid and support to it; that in furtherance of the plan
and course of action set forth in the previous clause respondent on
or about September 6, 1939, executed an agreement with the Pro-
tective Association , which organization purported to represent the
respondent 's employees for purposes of collective bargaining; that
since the Protective Association was not representative of the re-
spondent 's employees within the meaning of Section 9 (a) of the
Act at the time the respondent executed the agreement with it such
agreement is null and void and of no effect; that on or about Sep-
tember 8, 1939, several employees of the respondent obtained a
charter in the State of Maryland for the incorporation of the Em-
ployees Association which thereupon became the successor of the
Protective Association ; that on or about September 8, 1939, and
thereafter , the respondent dominated and interfered with the for-
mation and administration of the Employees Association and con-
tributed financial and other aid and support to it; and that the
respondent , by the aforesaid acts, by urging , persuading , and warn-
ing its employees from becoming or remaining members of the
Congress of Industrial Organizations , and by other ways, intimi-
dated, restrained , and coerced its employees in the exercise of their
rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act. On February 15, 1940,
the respondent filed its answer to the amended complaint in which it
admitted the allegations concerning the nature and scope of its busi-
ness but denied the allegations of unfair labor practices.
Pursuant to notice ,' a hearing was held on February 15, and 16,
1940, at Baltimore , Maryland , before Henry J. Kent, the Trial Ex-
aminer duly designated by the Board. The respondent, the United,
and the Board were represented by counsel and participated in the
hearing. On February 16, 1940, the respondent, the United, the
Employees Association , and counsel for the Board entered into a
stipulation in settlement of the case subject to the Board 's approval.
This stipulation was admitted in evidence by the Trial Examiner
1 The hearing was convened within 9 days of the issuance of the amended complaint
but all parties waived their right to further notice
STANDARD WHOLESALE PHOSPHATE & ACID WORKS, INC. 599
without objection and the hearing was thereafter closed. The afore-
said stipulation was not approved by the Board, and on February
29, 1940, the same parties entered into an amended stipulation in
settlement of the case, which was subject to the Board's approval.
This amended stipulation provides as follows :
AMENDED STIPULATION
It is hereby stipulated and agreed by and between the Stand-
ard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works, Inc., (hereinafter
called the respondent), the United Mine Workers of America,
District 50, Local #12138, the Standard Wholesale Phosphate
& Acid Works Employees Association, Inc., and Herbert 0.
Eby, Attorney, National Labor Relations Board, Fifth Region,
that :
1. The respondent is and has been since 1911 a corporation
duly organized under and existing by virtue of the laws of the
State of Maryland, having its principal office and place of busi-
ness in the City of Baltimore, State of Maryland, and is now
and has continuously been engaged at a place of business at
Curtis Bay, Maryland, in the manufacture, sale and distribu-
tion of fertilizer and all kinds of sulphuric acid, oleum and
fuming acid. The raw materials used in the manufacture of
its fertilizer and acid products consist principally of sulphur,
phosphate rock and allied fertilizer materials. During the year
of 1939, the respondent obtained 98% of all of its raw materials
outside of the State of Maryland at a cost in excess of $1,000,-
000. The total value of the manufactured fertilizer and acid
products during the year of 1939 amounted in excess of $1,000,-
000, of which approximately 65%o was sold and transported to
states other than the State of Maryland. Shipments of raw
materials to, and the finished products from, the respondent's
plant, are made by rail, boat and truck.
2. The respondent hereby stipulates and agrees that it is
engaged in interstate commerce within the meaning of Section
2, subdivision 6 of the National Labor Relations Act, and that
its business affects commerce within the meaning of Section 2,
subdivision 7 of the said Act.
3. The United Mine Workers of America, District 50, Local
#12138 (hereinafter referred to as the United Mine Workers), is
a labor organization within the meaning of Section 2, sub-
division 5 of the said Act.
4. The Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works Em-
ployees Association, Inc. (the successor to a labor organization
600 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
of the respondent's employees known as the Employees Pro-
tective Association), is a labor organization within the meaning
of Section 2, subdivision 5 of the said Act.
5. All parties hereto hereby waive their right to a hearing
before a Trial Examiner of the National Labor Relations Board
and further waive their right to the making or entry of findings
of fact and conclusions of law by the National Labor Relations
Board.
6. All parties hereto agree that this amended stipulation may
be filed with the Chief Trial Examiner of the National Labor
Relations Board in Washington, D. C., and when so filed and
approved shall be made part of the record in this matter.
7. All parties hereto agree that the National Labor Relations
Board, upon the basis of this amended stipulation, if approved,
may make the necessary findings of fact to establish jurisdiction
and may enter an Order forthwith in the following terms :
ORDER
The respondent, its officers, agents, successors and assigns
shall :
1. Cease and desist from :
(a) In any manner interfering with, restraining or co-
ercing its employees in the exercise of their rights to self-
organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to
bargain collectively through representatives of their own
choosing, and to engage in concerted activity for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or pro-
tection, as guaranteed in Section 7 of the National Relations
Act;
(b) Dominating or interfering with the administration
of the Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works Em-
ployees Association, Inc., or dominating or interfering with
the formation or administration of any other labor organ-
ization of its employees, or contributing support to any
such labor organization;
(c) Recognizing the Standard Wholesale Phosphate &
Acid Works Employees Association, Inc. as the representa-
tive of any of its employees for the purposes of dealing
with the respondent concerning grievances, labor disputes,
wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or other conditions
of employment; and
(d) Giving effect to or performing any contract now
existing with the Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid
STANDARD WHOLESALE PHOSPHATE & ACID WORKS , INC. 601
Works Employees Association , Inc., and from entering into,
renewing or extending any contract whereby the Standard
Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works Employees Association,
Inc. is recognized as the bargaining agency for any of its
employees.
2. Take the following affirmative action to effectuate the
policies of the National Labor Relations Act :
(a) Withdraw all recognition of the Standard Whole-
sale Phosphate & Acid Works Employees Association, Inc.
as a representative of any of its employees for the purpose
of collective bargaining with the respondent in respect to
rates of pay , wages , hours of employment and other terms
or conditions of employment , and completely disestablish
the Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works Em-
ployees Association , Inc. as such representative;
(b) Immediately post notices at conspicious places at
Curtis Bay - Plant , and keep the same posted continuously
for sixty ( 60) consecutive days, stating the following :
1. That the respondence * will cease and desist as
aforesaid, and
2. That the respondent withdraw all recognition from
the Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works Em-
ployees Association , Inc. as the representative of any
of its employees for the purpose of dealing with the
respondent concerning grievances , labor disputes , wages,
rates of pay , hours of employment or other conditions
of employment , and that said labor organization is
disestablished as such representative, and
3. That the respondence * will cease to give effect to
and will not in any manner enforce or recognize an
agreement dated September 6, 1939, made and entered
into by and between the respondent and the Employees
Protective Association , which was the predecessor of
the Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works Em-
ployees Association, Inc., as stated above in Paragraph 3.
(c) Notify the Regional Director for the Fifth Region of
the National Labor Relations Board, in writing , within ten
days after the entry of this Order, of the steps it has taken
to comply with the said Order.
8. The respondent hereby consents to the entry by an appro-
priate United States Circuit Court of Appeals, upon application
by the Board, of a decree enforcing an Order of the Board as
• Sic
602 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
herein set forth, and hereby waives further notice of the appli-
cation for such decree. The said United Mine Workers expressly
waives any right or privilege to contest the entry of this decree
by an appropriate United States Circuit Court of Appeals, and
hereby waives further notice of application for entry thereof.
9. This amended stipulation shall be subject in all respects to
the approval of the Board and shall become effective immediately
upon approval by the Board.
10. The entire agreement between all parties hereto is con-
tained within the terms of this amended stipulation, and there is
no verbal agreement of any kind which varies, alters, or adds to
said amended stipulation in any respect.
11. The respondent enters into this amended stipulation with
the understanding that the allegations contained in the Amended
Complaint are not admitted by it.
On March 8, 1940, the Board issued its order approving the above
stipulation, making it part of the record in the case, and transferring
the proceeding to the,Board for the purpose of entry of a decision
and order by the Board pursuant to the provisions of the amended
stipulation.
Upon the basis of the above amended stipulation and entire record
in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENT
The respondent, a Maryland corporation with its principal office
and place of business at Baltimore, Maryland, is engaged at a
place of business at Curtis Bay, Maryland, in the manufacture,
sale, and distribution of fertilizer and all kinds of sulphuric acid,
oleum and fuming acid. The raw materials used in the manu-
facture of its fertilizer and acid products consist principally of
sulphur, phosphate rock, and allied fertilizer materials. During the
year 1939, the respondent obtained 98 per cent of all its raw materials
outside the State of Maryland at a cost in excess of $1,000,000. The
total value of the manufactured fertilizer and acid products during
the year 1939 amounted in excess of $1,000,000, of which approxi-
mately 65 per cent were sold and transported to States other than the
State of Maryland. The respondent stipulated and we find that it is
engaged in interstate commerce within the meaning of Section 2 (6)
of the Act, and that its business affects commerce within the meaning
of Section 2 (7) of the Act.
STANDARD WHOLESALE PHOSPHATE & ACID WORKS, INC. 603
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Mine Workers of America, District 50, Local #12138, and
Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works Employees Association,
Inc., successor to the labor organization known as Employees Protec-
tive Association, are labor organizations within the meaning of
Section 2 (5) of the Act.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and amended stipula-
tion and the entire record in the case, and pursuant to Section 10 (c)
of the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations
Board hereby orders that Sandard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid
Works, Inc., Curtis Bay, Baltimore, Maryland, and its officers, agents,
successors and assigns, shall :
1. Cease and desist from :
(a) In any manner interfering with, restraining, or coercing its
employees in the exercise of their rights to self-organization, to form,
join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through
representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted
activity for the purposes of collective bargaining or other mutual aid
or protection, as guaranteed in Section 7 of the National Labor
Relations Act;
(b) Dominating or interfering with the administration of the
Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works Employees Associa-
tion, Inc., or dominating or interfering with the formation or ad-
ministration of any other labor organization of its employees, or
contributing support to any such labor organization;
(c) Recognizing the Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works
Employees Association, Inc., as the representative of any of its em-
ployees for the purposes of dealing with the respondent concerning
grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employ-
ment, or other conditions of employment; and
(d) Giving effect to or performing any contract now existing
with the Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works Employees
Association, Inc., and from entering into, renewing or extending
any contract whereby the Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid
Works Employees Association, Inc., is recognized as the bargaining
agency for any of its employees.
2. Take the following affirmative action which the Board finds will
effectuate the policies of the Act :
(a) Withdraw all recognition of the Standard Wholesale Phos-
phate & Acid Works Employees Association, Inc., as a representa-
tive of any of its employees for the purpose of collective bargaining
604 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
with the respondent in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of em-
ployment and other terms or conditions of employment, and com-
pletely disestablish the Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works
Employees Association, Inc., as such representative;
(b) Immediately post notices at conspicuous places at Curtis Bay
Plant, and keep the same posted continuously for sixty (60) con-
secutive days, stating the following :
1. That the respondent will cease and desist as aforesaid, and
2. That the respondent withdraw all recognition from Standard
Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works Employees Association, Inc., as
the representative of any of its employees for the purpose of dealing
with the respondent concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages,
rates of pay, hours of employment or other conditions of employ-
ment, and that said labor organization is disestablished as such
representative, and
3. That the respondent will cease to give effect to and will not in
any manner enforce or recognize an agreement dated September 6,
1939, made and entered into by and between the respondent and the
Employees Protective Association, which was the predecessor of the
Standard Wholesale Phosphate & Acid Works Employees Associa-
tion, Inc., as stated above;
(c) Notify the Regional Director for the Fifth Region of the
National Labor Relations Board, in writing, within ten (10) days
after the entry of this Order, of the steps it has taken to comply
with the said Order.