Unibilt Industries, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 28, 1986

278 N.L.R.B. 825 (N.L.R.B. 1986)

UNIBILT INDUSTRIES
Unibilt Industries, Inc. and Miami Valley Carpen-
ters District Council of Dayton , Ohio, affiliated
with United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Join-
ers of America, AFL-CIO, Petitioner . Case 9-
RC-14724
28 February 1986
DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF
REPRESENTATIVE
BY MEMBERS DENNIS, JOHANSEN, AND
BABSON
The National Labor Relations Board, by a three-
member panel, has considered objections to an
election held 18 July 1985 and the Regional Direc-
tor's feport recommending disposition of them.
The election was conducted pursuant to a Stipulat-
ed Election Agreement. The tally of ballots shows
20 for and ' 19 against the Petitioner, with no chal-
lenged ballots. '
The Board has reviewed the record in light of
the exceptions and brief, and absent exceptions pro
forma adopts the Regional Director's recommenda-
tion that Objections 1 and 2 and the portion of Ob-
jection 3 dealing with the Board agent's conduct
during the election be overruled. We do not, how-
ever, adopt the recommendation to set aside the
election because a foreign language ballot was not
provided for a voter. Having overruled the Em-
ployer's objections, we shall issue a certification of
representative.
A Vietnamese worker, employed for 7 years, en-
tered the lunchroom voting area during the elec-
tion to fill out his timecard. The Board agent in-
formed him that if he did not intend to vote, he
must leave the election area. The employee did so.
The Regional Director's investigation revealed that
the employee was not fluent in English and did not
understand the agent's verbal directive, but did un-
derstand the - agent's motioning that he should
leave. The Regional Director, in recommending
that the election be set aside, found that the em-
825
ployee was not afforded an opportunity to learn
the purpose of and to obtain information concern-
ing the election by means of the posted notices of
election and that no foreign language ballot had
been prepared for him which would allow him to
cast his ballot intelligently if he chose to vote.
Contrary to the Regional Director, we find that
the election should not be set aside. Thus, neither
party to the election notified the Regional Director
that bilingual materials were necessary. It is the
parties' responsibility to notify the Board that bilin-
gual election materials are needed. Magic Pan, Inc.
v. NLRB, 627 F.2d 105 (7th Cir. 1980), enfg. 244
NLRB 630 (1979); Wicks Forest Industries, 227
NLRB 299 (1976); Alamo Lumber Co., 187 NLRB
384 (1970), enfd. 455 F.2d 607 (5th Cir. 1971).
Having employed the worker for 7 years, the
Employer was in the best position to know of the
need for foreign language election materials. The
Employer's failure to advise the Board of the need
cannot constitute grounds for a new election.
Magic Pan, supra, 627 F.2d at 108.1
CERTIFICATION OF
REPRESENTATIVE
IT is CERTIFIED that a majority of the valid bal-
lots have been cast for Miami Valley Carpenters
District Council of Dayton, Ohio, affiliated with
United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of
America, AFL-CIO and that it is the exclusive
collective-bargaining representative of the employ-
ees in the following appropriate unit:
All full-time production and maintenance em-
ployees including truck drivers employed by
the Employer at its 4671 Poplar Creek facility,
excluding all office clerical employees, profes-
sional employees, guards and supervisors as
defined in the Act.
1 The investigation revealed conflicting testimony concerning the em-
ployee's intention to vote In view of our decision, we find it unnecessary
to resolve the conflict.
278 NLRB No. 117