Swift & Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 17, 1940

27 N.L.R.B. 903 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter of SWIFT & COMPANY and INDEPENDENT PACKINGHOUSL
UNION OF SOUTH ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI
Case No. R-9058.Decided October 17, 1940
Jurisdiction : meat packing industry
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to accord recognition to union and request that certification be obtained ;
employees with less than 2 years' seniority and laid off less than nine months,
eligible to vote ; election necessary
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all maintenance and production
employees, excluding foremen, assistant foremen, working foremen, clerical
employees wherever located, plant-protection force (police, box-pullers, and
fire-department employees) and scalers _
Mr. William N. Strack, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company.
Mr. Miles Elliott, of St. Joseph, Mo., for the Independent.
Mr. John J. Brownlee, of Chicago, Ill., and Mr. Joe Morris, of St.
Joseph, Mo., for the P. W. O. C.
Miss Charlotte Anschuetz, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
'STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On May 29, 1940, The Independent Packinghouse Union of South
St. Joseph, Missouri, herein called the Independent, filed with the
Regional Director for the Seventeenth Region (Kansas City, Missouri)
a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen con-
cerning the representation of employees of Swift & Company, South
St. Joseph, Missouri, herein called the Company, and requesting an
investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section
9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called
the Act. On August 7, 1940, the National, Labor Relations Board,
herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act
and Article III,'Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules
and Regulations-Series 2, -as amended, ordered an investigation and
27 N. L R. B., No. 148.
903
904 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On September 3, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear-
ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the Inde-
pendent, and Local No. 95, United Packinghouse Workers of America,
Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with the Con-
gress, of Industrial Organizations,' herein called the P. W. O. C., a
labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected
by the investigation.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on September 19, 1940, at
St. Joseph, 'Missouri, before Daniel J. Leary, the Trial Examiner
duly designated by the Board. The Company, the Independent, and
the P. W. O. C. were represented by counsel and participated in the
hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine
witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded
all parties: During the course of the hearing, the Independent moved
to amend its petition by inserting a description of the bargaining
unit which it claimed to be appropriate. The Trial Examiner granted
the motion, and his ruling is hereby affirmed by the Board.
On September 30, 1940, the Company filed a brief, which has been
considered by the Board. '
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I.- THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Swift & Company, an Illinois corporation with its general office
at Union Stock Yards, Chicago, Illinois, has a plant at South St.
Joseph, Missouri, with which this proceeding is concerned, which is
engaged in the purchase, slaughter, dressing, and processing of live-
stock and the sale of its products and by-products; the manufacture
and sale of vegetable oils, glue, and soaps ; and the buying and selling
of dairy and poultry products. The purchases of the plant at South
St. Joseph during 10 months of the 1940 fiscal year, amounting in
value to approximately $17,075,250, included live stock, grease- and
raw fats, dressed beef, sheep pelts, pork meats, hog hair, glue jellies,
eggs, dressed poultry, and powdered milk. Of these materials, ap-
proximately 14.2 per cent were obtained from States other than Mis-
souri. During 44 weeks of the 1940 fiscal year the total sales of the
South St. Joseph plant amounted to $19,911,603, 92.5 per cent of which
required shipments to points outside of Missouri.
' Incorrectly designated in the petition and the papers of service as Local No. 58.
SWIFT & COMPANY
H. THE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
905 '
The Independent Packinghouse Union of South St. Joseph, Mis-
souri, is an unaffiliated labor organization admitting to membership
employees of the Company.
Local No. 95, United Packinghouse Workers of America, Packing-
house Workers Organizing Committee is a labor organization affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to member-
ship employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPP,ESENTA'1ION
On May 9, 1940, the Independent advised the Company by letter
that it represented a majority of the "eligible employees"' in the plant,
and demanded recognition as having the bargaining rights ... un-
der the Wagner Act." The Company by a letter dated May 14, 1940,
acknowledged receipt of the Independent's letter and informed it that
it would be recognized as the exclusive bargaining agency only upon
certification as such by the National Labor Relations Board.
There were introduced in evidence at the hearing statements by two
of the Board's field examiners concerning claims of authorization for
the purpose of representation. These showed that the Independent
and the.P. W. O. C. each represent a substantial number of employees
of the Company in the appropriate unit.2
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of
employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
' We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen,
occurring in connection with the operations of the Company described
in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial relation to
trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, and tends to
lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the
free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Company, the Independent, and the P. W. O. C. agreed that "all
maintenance and production employees, excluding foremen, assistant,
2 The Independent submitted a membership roster of 525 names , of which 509 out of
522 found to be genuine original signatures weic on the Company's pay roll of August 2,
1940 The P W 0 C submitted 154 applications foi membership, 151 of which appeared
to be genuine original signatures, and 149 of the latter were on the Company's pay roll
of May 23, 1940.
906 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
foremen, working foremen, clerical employees wherever located, plant
protection force (police,, box-pullers, and fire department employees)
and scalers," constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining. They further agreed that the term "maintenance and
production employees" did not include the full time restaurant em-
ployees, and that the sales employee 3 be excluded. We see no reason
to alter the unit" as agreed upon.
We find that all maintenance and production employees of the Com-
pany, excluding foremen, assistant foremen, working foremen, clerical
employees wherever located, plant-protection force (police, box-pullers,
and fire-department employees) and scalers, constitute a unit appropri-
ate for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that such unit will
insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to
self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate
the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question which has arisen concerning representation
can best be resolved by means of an'election by secret ballot.4
It was stipulated by counsel for parties that in the event the Board
should direct an election, the pay-roll date immediately preceding the
date of the Direction of Election should be used for eligibility pur-
poses. There was no unanimity, however, as to the eligibility, to vote
of employees temporarily laid off before working a total of two years
with the Company.r, The Company contends that such employees
should be' allowed to vote only if they had not been laid off for more
than 30 working days,6 when the continuous service record of the em-
ployee which- entitles him to vacation and pension rights is broken.
The P. W. 0. C. contends that this period should be 60 days ; the Inde-
pendent expressed no preference. It appears that laid-off employees,
with less than 2 years' seniority have preferential hiring rights for a
period of 9 months after their lay-off and that the Company's policy
is to rehire these men before hiring new employees. We find that
employees with less than 2 years' seniority who may be laid off, but
3 At the time of the hearing , this employee was named Edward Armstrong
4 The P. W O. C. desires to postpone the election on the ground that the effects of unfair
labor practices engaged in by the Company prior to a stipulation of settlement- made
March 27 , 1 940, have not yet been dissipated . Since,, however, 6 months have elapsed,
and the P. W . 0 C. does not charge non -compliance with . regard to the stipulation, we see
no reason to postpone an election
, Accoiding to the seniority rules of the Company , an employee who has worked for it
for 2 years obtains plant seniority and is not laid off until it is proved that there is no
employee in the plant witli less than 2 years ' seniority doing work which he can do The
controversy as to laid off "temporary " employees does not concern employees with plant
seniority.
6 The Company prefers, however, that only employees actually working for the Company
on the eligibility date, be allowed to vote.
I
SWIFT & 'COMPANY 907
tivho have been laid off less than 9 months, shall participate in' the
election.'
We shall therefore direct that all employees within the appropriate
unit who were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period
immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, includ-
ing employees with less than 2 years' seniority who may be laid off,
but who -have been laid off less than 9 months, employees who did not
work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation,
and employees with plant seniority who were then or have since been
temporarily laid off, but excluding all employees who have since quit
or been discharged for cause, shall be eligible to participate in the
election.
Upon the basis of the above findings of 'fact and upon, the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
L A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Swift & Company, South St. Joseph, Mis-
souri , within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7)
of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. All-maintenance and production employees of the Company, ex-
cluding foremen, assistant foremen, working foremen, clerical em-
ployees wherever located, plant-protection force (police, box-pullers,
and fire-department employees) and scalers, constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning
of Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act.
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 ordered by the Board to
ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with
Swift & Company, South St. Joseph, Missouri, 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 of Election, under the direc-
tion and supervision of the Regional Director for the Seventeenth
7In the Matter of Armour & Company and United Packinghouse Workers, Local Indus-
trial Union No. 13 of Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee , affiliated with the
C. I. 0, 13 N . L R B. 567; In the Matter of Armour & Company and Local 261, Meat
Cutters Union, 15 N. L. R. B. 268 ; In the Matter of Wilson & Co, Inc. and Local No. 25,
United Packinghouse Workers of America, of P. TV. O. C. affiliated with C 1. O , 18 N L
R B 958. ,
908 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Region, acting in the matter as agent for the National Labor Relations
Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regu-
lations, among all maintenance and production employees of the Com-
pany, who were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period
immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including
employees with less than 2 years'' seniority who'may be laid off, but
who have been laid off less than 9 months, employees who did not work
during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation, and
employees with plant seniority who were then or have since been tem-
porarily laid off, but excluding foremen, assistant foremen, working
foremen, clerical employees' wherever located, plant-protection force
(police, box-pullers, and fire-department employees), scalers, and all
employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to deter-
mine whether they desire to be represented by The Independent Pack-
inghouse Union of South St. Joseph, Missouri, or by Local No. 95,
United Packinghouse Workers of America, Packinghouse Workers Or=
ganizing Committee, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Or-
ganizations, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
[SAME' TITLE
AMENDMENT TO DIRECTION OF ELECTION
November 12, 1940
On October 17, 1940, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the
above-entitled proceeding, the election to be held within thirty (30)
days from -the date of the Direction, ' to determine whether certain
employees of Swift & Company, South St. Joseph,'-Missouri,-desire to
be represented by The, Independent Packinghouse Union of South St.
Joseph, Missouri, herein called the Independent, or by Local No. 95,
United Packinghouse Workers of America, Packinghouse Workers
Organizing Committee, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Or-
ganizations, herein called the P. W. O. C., for the purposes of collective
bargaining, or by neither.
The Board has been advised by the Regional Director for the Seven-
teenth Region (Kansas City, Missouri) that the P. W. O. C. has filed
charges alleging the commission of unfair labor practices and that he
requires additional time to complete his investigation of the said
charges. Under the circumstances, we shall postpone the election
indefinitely. The Board hereby amends the Direction of Election
issued on October 17, 1940, by striking therefrom the words "as early
as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this
a
SWIFT & COMPANY 909
Direction of Election," and substituting therefor the words "at such
time, as the Board shall hereafter direct," and by striking therefrom
the words "the pay roll immediately preceding the date of this Direc-
tion of Election" and substituting therefor the words "a pay-roll pe-
riod which the Board shall in the future specify."
27 N. L. R. B., No. 148a.