Brown & Willliamson Tobacco Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 16, 1951

92 N.L.R.B. 1380 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

In the Matter of BROWN & WILLIAMSON TOBACCO COMPANY, EMPLOYER
and TOBACCO WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 9-RC-1013.-Decided January 16, 1951
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing Was held before Alan A. Bruckner, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at ,the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of. Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member
panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Reynolds and Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
Act.
2. ' The labor organization involved claims to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. The question concerning representation :
After Board certification, a contract was executed on December
1, 1947, by the Employer and Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied
Workers of America, CIO, and its Local 66. This contract was to
continue until November 1, 1948, and from. year to year thereafter in
the absence of written notice to terminate or modify given by either
party sixty (60) days before any anniversary date. No such notice
has ever" been given. The _ petition herein was filed on Octobei 2_,
1.950, after the automatic renewal date of this contract. The Em-
ployer does not urge this contract as a bar.to this proceeding, but
requests the Board to make a ruling on this point, considering the
circumstances which existed on the automatic renewal date. The
Petitioner contends that the contract is not a bar because' the con-
tracting union has been defunct for some time. Neither of the con-
tracting labor organizations, although properly served notice,
appeared in these proceedings.
Since 1948, no activity by Local 66 has come to the attention of
the Employer,' nor has it had any communication with Local -66
since January 1949. On January 12, 1949, the checkoff of union dues
provided for under the contract Was discontinued by the Employer
because authorizations of only two employees remained in effect. In
I No notices have been posted, no grievances processed , and no shop stewards appointed.
92 NLRB No. 207.
1380
BROWN & WILLIAMSON TOBACCO COMPANY 1381
November 1949, just before the beginning of the season,' the Em-
ployer attempted to contact Local 66, in connection with the new
Wages and Hours law, but was unsuccessful.- Its registered letter was
returned with the notation "address unknown" ; it was advised that the
phone had been disconnected, and upon visiting the building it found
that Local 66 did not appear on the building directory and was ad-
vised that they had vacated the building some time ago. After in-
,Nyestigation, the Employer was satisfied that Local 66 no longer main-
tained offices in Lexington, Kentucky. Furthermore the record con-
tains no evidence to support a contrary belief.
As previously noted, both the FTA and Local 66 3 received notifica-
tion of this proceeding, but did not appear at the hearing or evince
any interest in representing the employees petitioned for here.
The record thus establishes that the contract has not been adminis-
tered by either of the contracting union's since 1948. This, together
with other facts noted above, establish that long before the September
1, 1950, operative date of the automatic renewal clause in the contract,
the contracting unions had become defunct insofar as the employees
involved in this proceeding are concerned. Hence we find that in
1950 the contracting unions were incapable of renewing the contract
on behalf of these employees, and had in fact abandoned their con-
tract. We conclude therefore that the 1947 contract is not a bar to a
current determination of representatives.'
A question affecting commerce exists 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.
4. The, following employees of the Employer constitute a unit ap-
propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
All production and maintenance employees at the Lexington Leaf
Department of the Employer, Lexington, Kentucky, including seasonal
employees, but excluding professional, office and clerical employees,
guards, and all supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
Y The - Employer 's season lasts from December 1 to the end of February of each year.
During this period it employs between 400 and 450 employees , approximately 85 percent
of whom return each season. During the remainder of the year , except for the cleanup
period, there are only 10 to 15 employees.
8 Registered receipts for the notice of hearing addressed to Local 66, % Distributive,
.Processing and Office Workers of America, at its New York office and % FTA at its office
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were returned to the Board's office duly signed.
* See Schaefer Body, Inc., 85 NLRB 195 ; Perfection Spring and Equipment Company,
72 NLRB 590 ; Koppers Company. Inc., Wood Preserving Division, 72 NLRB 31 , and cases
cited therein . In view of our ruling it becomes unnecessary to determine on the evidence
before us whether Local 66 is in fact no longer in existence.