Stewartstown Furniture Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 28, 1947

75 N.L.R.B. 344 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter of STEWARTSTOWN FURNITURE COMPANY, EMPLOYER
and UPHOLSTERERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA,
A. F. OF L., PETITIONER
Case No. 4-R-2589.-Decided November 28, 1947
Mr. Horace E. Smith, of York, Pa., for the Employer.
Mr. Haskell Golder, of Philadelphia, Pa., for the Petitioner.
Mr. Harry Weinstock, of New York, N. Y., and Mr. Samuel Fox,
of Baltimore, Md., for the. Intervenor.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing in this case was held at York,
Pennsylvania, on July 10, 1947, before John H. Garver, 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
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Stewartstown Furniture Company, a Pennsylvania corporation, is
engaged in the manufacture of bedroom, dining room and living room
furniture, at its plant in Stewartstown, Pennsylvania. The Employer
annually purchases raw materials valued in excess of $250,000, of Which
approximately 90 percent is shipped to its plant from points outside
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Employer annually manu-
factures finished products valued in excess of $500,000, of which ap-
proximately 90 percent is shipped to points outside the Commonwealth.
' The request of the United Furniture Workers of America, Local 469, C. I. 0., for oral
argument to contest the constitutionality of Section 9 (f), (g) and (h) of the Act, as
amended , and the Board ' s authority in connection with the interpretation thereof, is
hereby denied. See Matter of Rite-Form Corset Company, 75 N L. R. B. 174.
75 N. L. R. B., No. 43.
344
STEWARDSTOWN FURNITURE COMPANY 345
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.
United Furniture Workers of America, Local 69, herein called
the Intervenor, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress
of Industrial Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the
Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On March 26, 1945, following a consent election, the Employer
and the Intervenor signed a 1-year collective bargaining contract,
which was automatically renewed in 1946 for another year. By its
terms the contract was to continue in effect from year to year, unless
either party served notice of termination at least 30 days before
any anniversary date. By letter dated January 17, 1947, the Inter-
venor notified the Employer of its desire to open negotiations for
It "new contract," but added that "This request is not a notice of
cancellation of the old contract. We wish that contract to continue
in effect until the new one is signed."
The present petition was filed on February 25, 1947, after the Em-
ployer and the Intervenor had held four or five bargaining con-
ferences preparatory to signing a new agreement. After an un-
successful attempt-by the Regional Director to arrange a consent
election, the Employer and the Intervenor resumed negotiations and
signed a new contract on March 26, 1947. The Intervenor contends
that this proceeding must be dismissed because the 1947 contract is
a bar, the petition having been filed after the automatic renewal
date of the 1945 contract, and also because certain unfair labor prac-
tice charges filed by the Petitioner make the instant petition "invalid."
The Employer urges that the 1947 contract should not be disturbed.
On October 3, 1946, the Petitioner filed unfair labor practice charges,
against the Employer. The charge was dismissed by the Regional
Director on January 13, 1947, and the Board affirmed his decision
on February 24, 1947, the day before the instant petition was filed.
On March 17, 1947, the Petitioner filed a second charge, alleging,
among other things, that the Employer had discriminatorily dis-
charged employee Simmons on March 5. The Petitioner offered to
withdraw this charge on May 23, simultaneously forwarding to the
Regional Director a document waiving the charges to the extent that
346 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
they might affect any election resulting from the instant petition.
The Regional Director permitted withdrawal of this charge on June 4.
We find that none of the contentions raised by the Intervenor pre-
vents a current determination of representatives. The 1947 contract is
not a bar, because it was signed after the filing of the petition herein.
Nor does the 1945 contract, automatically extended in 1946 until March
26, 1947, preclude these proceedings, inasmuch as the January 17, 1947,
notice, inviting negotiations for a new contract, effectively forestalled
automatic renewal. Moreover, even if the contracting parties under-
took to continue the old contract in effect pending completion of a
new one, such action rendered the old contract, at best, one of indefinite
duration, and therefore not a bar to a present determination of repre-
sentatives.' As to the final argument, that the petition is "invalid,"
we find it to be without merit 3
Accordingly, we find that a question affecting commerce has arisen
concerning the representation of employees of the Employer, within
the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
In accordance with an agreement of the parties, we find that all
production and maintenance employees of the Employer, including
watchmen 4 and firemen, but excluding office and clerical employees,
foremen, and any other supervisors and guards, as defined in the Act,
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION 5
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Stewartstown Furniture Com-
pany, Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, 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 Fourth Region, and subject to Sections
203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regu-
2 Matter of Thomas Truck and Caster Company, 72 N. L. R. B. 847.
' The Intervenor also asserts that the Petitioner's showing of interest was insufficient
to support the petition. As we have frequently stated , the showing of interest is an admin-
istrative matter and therefore not subject to collateral attack . Matter of Bauer-Schweitzer
Hop & Malt Company, 72 N. L R. B. 1223.
4 In the event any of the watchmen are employed to enforce against employees and other
persons rules to protect property of the Employer or to protect the safety of persons on
the Employer' s premises , they shall be excluded from the unit herein found appropriate
5 Having failed , by October 31, 1947, to achieve compliance , or to initiate steps for com-
pliance, with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f), (g), and (h) of the Act, as amended,
the Intervenor will not be accorded a place on the ballot.
STEWARTSTOWN FURNITURE COMPANY 347
lations-Series 5, 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, 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
or not they desire to be represented by Upholsterers' International
Union of North America, A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective
bargaining.