Vermont Marble Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 8, 1942

42 N.L.R.B. 185 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter Of VERMONT MARBLE COMPANY and UNITED STONE AND
ALLIED PRODUCTS WORKERS OF AMERICA (C. I O )
Case No R-3793 -Decided July 8, 1942
Jurisdiction - marble quarrying and lime manufacturing industry
Investigation and Certification of Representatives existence of question con-
flicting claims of riNal iepiesentati`es, contract entered into after institu-
tion of proceedings held no bat , prior certification in effect for over a yeas,
of an organization which admitted that it presently represented only a small
percentage of employees in the unit found appropriate, held no bat, election
necessary
Unit Appropriate for Collective Baigaining partial system unit production,
maintenance, and railroad employees of the Company and its auxiliary com-
panies at specified locations within a state, including the tablemen and helpers,
the sampler, the office janitors, the passenger chauffeurs, the truck drivers, and
the automobile iepaiimen, but excluding supervisory, clerical, office, and
powerhouse employees, executives, pact-time exhibit employees, mill graders,
mill checkers, shop designers, shop checkers, and watchmen
Mr Edmund J. Blake. of Boston, Mass , for the Company
Mr Samuel E Ango ff , of Boston, Mass, for the United
Mr James S. Abatiell, of Rutland, Vt, for the Independent
Mr Robert R Hendricks, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by United Stone and Allied Products
Workers of America (C I O ), herein called the United, alleging
that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Vermont Maible Company, Proctor, Ver-
mont, heiem called the Company, the National Labor Relations
Board, herein called the Board, provided for an appiopriate hearing
upon due notice befoie Albert J Hoban, Trial Examiner Said
hearing was held at Rutland, Vermont, on April 30, 1942 The Com-
pany, the United, and Independent Maible Workers of Vermont,
herein called the Independent, appeared, participated, and were af-
forded full oppoitunity to be heaid, to examine and cioss-examine,
42NLRB,No39
185
186 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues The Trial
Examiner's rulings, made at the hearing, are free from prejudicial
error and are hereby affirmed
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following.
FINDINGS OF FACT
I THE BUSINESS OF TIIE COMPANY
Vermont Maible Company is a Vermont corporation with its prin-
cipal office at Proctor , Vermont The Company also operates under
the trade name of "Vermaico Lime Company ," and owns the entire
capital stock of the Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad, a Vermont
corporation.
The Company is engaged in the quairynrg, finishing, and sale of
marble, and the manufacture , distribution , and sale of lime During
the calendar year 1941 , the Company converted , and it is continuing
to convert , a substantial part of its operations to the boring , planing,
and machining of metals and the processing of wood It maintains
and operates plants and quarries at West Rutland, Center Rutland,
Danby, Pittsford , and Middlebury ,' Vermont The Company also
owns plants and quarries , which are not now in operation , at Middle-
bury, Swanton , Isle-La-Motte , Roxbury, Rochester , and Windham,
Vermont Blanch sales offices of the Company are located at Boston,
Massachusetts , New-York City, and Cleveland, Ohio Manufactur-
ing plants and offices are located at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania;
Chicago, Illinois , Dallas, Texas , and San Francisco , California
In the course of operating its business during the calendar year
1941, the Company purchased materials and supplies , including oils,
steel, and chemicals , valued at more than $100,000 More than 50
percent of these materials and supplies was purchased outside of,
and was shipped into , the State of Vermont During the same period,
the Company produced finished products valued at approximately
$2,000,000, of which more than 50 percent was shipped to points
outside the State of Vermont.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act
II THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Stone and Allied Products Workers of America is a labor
organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Independent Marble Workers of Vermont is an unaffiliated labor
organization
These labor organizations admit to membership employees of the
Company in the State of Vermont
'Operations at the Middlebury quarry are restricted to the production of "granite"
VERMONT MARBLE COMPANY
III THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
187,
On May 18, 1940, the United 2 petitioned the Board for an investi-
gation and certification of representatives of the Company's em-
ployees A similar petition was filed by the Independent and the two
cases were consolidated On January 14, 1941, the Board ordered
an election with both unions on the ballot 3 In the election subse-
quently held, the Independent received a majority of the votes cast
and, on March 4, 1941, it was certified by the Board Shortly there
after, on June 30, 1941, the Company and the Independent entered
into a contract wherein the Company recognized the Independent as
the exclusive representative of the Company's employees in the unit
previously found by the Board to be appropriate The contiact,
%vliicli made provision for rates of pay, hours of employment, and
other conditions of employment, was, by its teams, to remain in effect
until May 1, 1942
On February 9, 1942, the United informed the Company in writing
that it represented a maloiity of the Company's employees in the
unit theretofore designated by the Boaid and requested a meeting
for the purpose of negotiating a contract 5 The Company answered
by stating that the Independent had been certified by the Board as
the exclusive bargaining representative of the Company's employees.
-On March 30, 1942, a month prior to the expiration of the contract
between them, the Company and the Independent entered into a new
contract wherein the Independent was again accorded exclusive recog-
nition and certain pay increases were provided" It appears that,
prior to enteiing into the new contract, the Independent,' as well as
the Company, was aware of the United's claim The new conti act,
having been entered into after institution of the present proceeding
and after notice to the contracting parties of the United's claim of
majority representation, presents no bar to an immediate determina-
tion of representatives 8
The Company contends, however, that since little more than a year
has elapsed since the preceding election and certification of repre-
' The United at that time WW as known as Quarry workers' international Union of Noith
Ame,ica (C 1 0)
Matter of Vermont Marble Company and Independent Marble Workers of America,
28 N L R B 1239
4Matter of Vermont Marble Company and Independent Hasble Wosress of Ames,ca,
30 N L R B 58
5111 its Lett, r the United "notified" the Company to refrain, in the interim, from
negotiating a contract with any other labor organ zation
Under its tetras, the new contract became effective 1 week prior to the date of its
execution and was to run until May 1, 1943
'On March 6, 1942, the Independent foimally refused the United s request that it
consent to an election
' See Matter of Robe t L 11 elcon Co , Inc and United Paper Wos kcrs Union, Local 292,
C I 0, 39 N L R B 1168 Mattes of 11 illanmette Valley Lan,be, Compawy and Local
# ,7-91, Inte,nat,onal Woodwo,kcos of An,er,ca, affiliated with C I 0, 35 N 1. R 11 805,
and cases cited therein
188 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
sentatives, a new election is "not necessary at this time." In the
election held pursuant to the Board's Direction of January 14, 1941,
the United received approximately 41 percent of the votes cast I In
the present proceeding, the United submitted to the Regional Director
membership cards bearing the apparently genuine signatures of ap-
proximately 32 percent of the employees in the unit hereinafter found
appropriate 1° While this indicates that the United represents a sub-
stantial number of employees in the unit, it is an appreciably weaker
showing than the United made in the election held in 1941. At the
healing heieui, however, the president of the Independent admitted
that, as of March 1, 1942, the Independent's membership was only
approximately 6 percent of the Company's employees in the unit
hereinafter found appropriate 1' Under the circumstances, we find
that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of the Company, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.12
IV THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
In the previous representation proceeding, in which the parties weie
the same as those in the present proceeding, we found that the pro-
duction, maintenance, and railroad employees of the Company and
its auxiliary companies, Vermarco Lime Company and Clarendon
and Pittsford Railroad, at Center Rutland, West Rutland, Danby,
Florence, Proctor, Swanton, and Middlebury, Vermont, including the
tablemen and helpers, the sampler, the office janitors, the passenger
chauffeurs, the truck drivers, the automobile repairmen, and Mario
Gatti and Armand Vardi, but excluding supervisory, clerical, office,
and powerhouse employees, executives, part-time exhibit employees
other than Mario Gatti and Armand Vardi, mill graders, mill check-
ers, shop designers, shop checkers, and watchmen, constituted an
appropriate unit
The United contends in the present proceeding that the above unit
is appropriate 13 The Independent and the Company are in substan-
830 N L R B 58
"A statement of the Regional Director, introduced in evidence at the heating, shows
that the United submitted 234 membeiship cards bearing dates ranging floor September
1941 to March 1942 The Regional Diector reported that 194 of these cards bore the
apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear on the Company's pay roll
of March 25 , 1942 The Company 's pay roll of March 25 , 1942, contains 609 names,
approximately 600 of which are in the unit hereinafter found appropriate
n This witness testified that he thought the Independent had 35 members on Match 1,
1942 As set forth in footnote 10, supra, the Company ' s pay roll of March 25 , 1942, con-
tained approximately 600 names
12 But of Matter of General Electric Company and The G E Industrial Union of the
Bridgeport Works Inc 75 N L R B 1018
v At the hearing herein, the United without objection amended its petition to exclude
Armand Vardi and Mario Gatti from the unit alleged to be appropriate It appears that the
Company no longer employs these men and has employed no other men in the positions
formerly held by them
j9'x
VERMONT MARBLE COMPANY 189
teal agreement, but contend, as they did in the prior proceeding, that,
in the event an election is directed, powerhouse employees, mill
checkers, shop designers, and shop checkers should be included in the
unit It also appears, although the record is not entirely clear, that
the Company wants mill graders included in the unit As indicated
above, the powerhouse employees, mill checkers, shop designers, shop
checkers, and mill graders were specifically excluded from the unit
found appropriate in the prior proceeding No new evidence to war-
rant the inclusion, at this time, of these groups of employees has
been presented herein. We have reviewed the record in the prior
proceeding and, for the reasons stated in our prior Decision,14 we
shall-exclude the powerhouse employees, mill checkers, shop designers,
shop checkers, and mill graders
We find that the production, maintenance, and railroad employees
of the Company and its auxiliaiy companies, Vermarco Lime Com-
pany and Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad, at Center Rutland,
West Rutland, Danby, Florence, Proctor, Swanton, and Middlebury,
Vermont, including the tablemen and- helpers, the sampler, the office
janitors, the passenger chauffeurs, the truck drivers, and the auto-
mobile repairmen, but excluding supervisory, clerical, office, and
powerhouse employees, executives, part-time exhibit employees, mill
graders, mill checkers, shop designers, shop checkers, and watchmen,
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing, 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 means of an election by secret ballot among
the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed duiing
the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Diiection
of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth
in the Du ection -
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By viitue 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 Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended,
it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Vermont Marble
Company, Proctor, Vermont, an election by secret ballot shall be
11 28 N L R B 1239
0
190 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days
from the date of this Direction of Election, under the direction and
supervision of the Regional Director for the First Region, acting
in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and
subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations,
among all employees of the Company in the unit found appropriate
in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period
immediately preceding the date of this Diiection of Election, includ-
ing employees who did not work during such pay ,roll period because
they were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or train-
ing of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding
employees, who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to
determine whether they desire to be represented by United Stone
and Allied Products Woikers of America (C I 0 ), or by Inde-
pendent Marble Workers of Vermont, for the purposes of collective
bargaining, or by neither '