Armour and Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 23, 1940

20 N.L.R.B. 702 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter of ARMOUR AND COMPANY ( ST. Louis BRANCH HOUSE)
and AMALGAMATED MEAT CUTTERS & BUTCHER WORKMEN OF NORTH
AMERICA, LOCAL 545, A. F. OF L.
Case No. R 1688. Decided February 23, 1940
Meat Packing Industry-Investigation of Representatives : controversy con-
cerning representation of employees : refusal by employer to recognize either
union as exclusive , representative-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining:
all production and maintenance employees , excluding supervisory and office em-
ployees, chauffeurs , truck drivers, and inside salesmen-Election Ordered
Mr. Thurlow Smoot, for the Board.,
Mr. Walter C. Kirk, of Chicago , Ill., for the Company.
Mr. E. W. Jimerson , of East St. Louis , Ill., for the Amalgamated.
Mr. John J. Brownlee , of Chicago, Ill., and Mr. Vernon Ford, of
St. Louis, Mo., for the United.
Mr. Ray Johnson, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On July 11, 1939, Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen
of North America, Local 545, A. F. of L., herein called the Amalga-
mated, filed with the Regional Director for the Fourteenth Region
(St. Louis, Missouri), a petition alleging that a question affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of
Armour and Company (St. Louis Branch House), St. Louis, Missouri,
herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certi-
fication of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On Decem-
ber 29, 1939, 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, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director
to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due
notice.
20 N. L. R. B., No. 70.
702
ARMOUR AND COMPANY 703
On January 8, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear-
ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, upon the
Amalgamated, and upon United Packinghouse Workers of America
of Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with the
C. I. 0., herein called the United, a labor organization claiming to
represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant
to notice, a hearing was held on January 18, 1940, at St. Louis, Mis-
souri, before Charles E. Persons, the Trial Examiner duly designated
by the Board. The Board, the Company, the Amalgamated, and the
United 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 Trial Examiner made several
rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence.
The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds
that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Armour and Company, an Illinois corporation, is engaged in the
meat-packing and distributing business. Directly and through its sub-
sidiaries, it operates approximately 30 meat-packing plants in 23
States and about 300 branch houses throughout the United States.
During the fiscal year ending October 28, 1939, the total sales of
Armour and Company and its subsidiaries were $715,318,909.
The branch house involved in this proceeding is located at 2030
Clark Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri. During the year 1939, this branch
house sold and distributed approximately 37,000,000 pounds of meat
and meat products, valued at more than $5,000,000, approximately 97
per cent of which originated outside the State of Missouri, and almost
all of which was sold within the State of Missouri.
IT. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North Amer-
ica, Local 545, is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor. It admits to its membership all production and
maintenance employees of the Company, excluding supervisory and
office employees, chauffeurs, and truck drivers.
United Packinghouse Workers of America of Packinghouse Work-
ers Organizing Committee is a labor organization affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations. It admits to its membership
704 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
all production and maintenance employees of the Company, exclud-
ing supervisory and office employees, chauffeurs, and truck drivers.,
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
At the hearing, all parties stipulated that the Company has re-
fused to bargain with either the Amalgamated or the United as the
exclusive representative of all its production and maintenance em-
ployees until one is certified by the Board.
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
At the hearing, all parties stipulated that the appropriate unit con-
sisted of all production and maintenance employees of the Company,
excluding supervisory and office employees, chauffeurs, and truck driv-
ers. The Amalgamated seeks to include inside salesmen in the unit,
claiming that they are production employees. The United seeks to
exclude them claiming that in addition to being supervisory employees,
they do not devote an appreciable portion of their time to production
and maintenance work.
E. J. Harrington, the manager of the Company, testified that he
considered inside salesmen as supervisory employees. The evidence
shows that inside salesmen act in a supervisory capacity by issuing
orders to the operative employees. We have previously held that in-
side salesmen in the packing industry should be excluded from a unit
of production employees because of the supervisory nature of their
duties., In view of these facts, we shall exclude the inside salesmen
from the unit.2
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Com-
pany, excluding supervisory and office employees, chauffeurs, truck
1 Armour & Co. (West Harlem- Market) and The Coin mittee for Industrial Organizations
4 N. L. R. B. 951.
2 Only P. L. Hinni and J. Kulik are listed on the pay roll as inside salesmen. The
manager testified , however, that J. Calcaterra , F. J. Bahr, T. W . Driesewerd , E. Hazel-
horst, T.• C. Peters ; and G: W. Stevens were also considered inside salesmen . We shall
exclude these employees from the unit.
ARMOUR AND' COMPANY 705
'drivers, and inside salesmen, constitute a unit appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining and that said 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
The Amalgamated and the United stipulated that each represented
a substantial number of the Company's employees, and that an elec-
tion by secret ballot is necessary to settle the question concerning repre-
sentation. We shall therefore order an election by secret ballot.
The Amalgamated and the United agreed that a current pay roll
should be used to determine eligibility to vote. We shall follow the
agreement of the parties and direct that those persons eligible to vote
shall be the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed by
the' Company during the pay-roll period next preceding the date of
this Directionincluding employees who did not work during such
pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation, and employees
who were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding
those who have since quit or been discharged for cause.
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
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Armour and Company (St. Louis Branch
House), St. Louis, Missouri, within the meaning of Section 9 (c)
and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. All production and maintenance employees of the Company, ex-
cluding supervisory and office employees, chauffeurs, truck drivers,
and inside salesmen constitute a unit appropriate for the purpose of
collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) 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 authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining
with Armour and Company (St. Louis Branch House), St. Louis,
Missouri, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as
706 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
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 Fourteenth 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 pro-
duction and maintenance employees who were employed by the Com-
pany during the pay-roll period next preceding the date of this
Direction, including employees who did not work during such pay-
roll period because they were ill or on vacation, and employees who
were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding super-
visory and office employees, chauffeurs, truck drivers, inside salesmen,
and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to
determine whether they desire to be represented by Amalgamated
Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America, Local 545,
A. F. of L., by United Packinghouse Workers of America of Packing-
house Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with the C. I. 0.,
or by neither, for the purposes of collective bargaining.