Alaska Salmon Industry, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 17, 1952

98 N.L.R.B. 1203 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

ALASKA SALMON INDUSTRY, INC. 1203
ALASKA SALMON INDUSTRY , INC. and BERING SEA FISHERMEN'S
UNION 1 ( INDEPENDENT ) and ALASKA FISHERMEN'S UNION,2 PARTY
TO THE CONTRACT . Case No. 19-CA-489 . April 17, 1953
Decision and Order
On November 26, 1951, Trial Examiner Wallace E. Royster issued
his Intermediate Report in this proceeding, finding that the Re-
spondent had engaged in and was engaging in certain unfair labor
practices and recommending that it cease and desist therefrom and
take certain affirmative action, as set forth in the Intermediate Report
attached hereto. Thereafter the Respondent filed exceptions to the
remedy recommended by the Trial Examiner and a supporting brief.
The Board has reviewed the rulings made by the Trial Examiner
at the hearing and finds that ho prejudicial error was committed.
The rulings are hereby affirmed. The Board has considered the In-
termediate Report, the exceptions and brief, and the entire record
in the case, and hereby adopts the findings,3 conclusions, and recom-
mendations of the Trial Examiner to the limited extent that they are
consistent with this Decision and Order.
The Trial Examiner found that Respondent engaged in conduct
violative of Section 8 (a) (1) and (2) of the Act by recognizing,
bargaining collectively with, and executing a contract with the in
cumbent union, AFU, on May 12, 1951, for a unit of resident and
nonresident fishermen and related workers at a time when the Bering
Sea's petition for representation in Case No. 19-RC-746 was pend-
ing before the Board. In that petition, Bering Sea requested a sepa-
rate unit of resident fishermen and related employees. Although in
the original decision on this petition 4 the Board found that the only
appropriate unit was one which included both resident and non-
resident fishermen, the Board has since reconsidered that decision
and, in a supplemental decision issued this day,' now finds that a
unit limited to the resident fishermen and related employees 6 may
be appropriate and directs an election limited to those employees.
In these circumstances, the only real question concerning representa-
tion which is raised by the Bering Sea petition is one which concerns
Herein called Bering Sea.
Herein called AFU.
e We hereby grant the General Counsel 's motion to correct the Intermediate Report by
substituting "Alaska Fishermen" for "Bering Sea" In section III, line 13, page 3.
' Alaska Salmon Industry, Inc., 94 NLRB 1211.
e Ibtd 98 NLRB No. 179.
"Resident fishermen and set netters , beachmen , net tenders , boat crews ( including
cooks on tenders and tally scows ), mess house employees , tally men , and utility men
employed by the Employer in the Bristol Bay area in Alaska."
98 NLRB No. 180.
1204 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the resident fishermen. As to these employees, the exclusive recogni-
tion which the Respondent accorded AFU violated Section 8 (a) (1)
and (2) under the Midwest Piping doctrine.'
However, consistent with the manner in which the Board construed
that doctrine in the recent William Penn Broadcasting Company
case,8 it cannot be said that the Respondent violated the Act insofar
as it recognized the incumbent AFU as the exclusive bargaining
representative of the nonresident fishermen and related categories
of workers. We shall therefore dismiss the complaint to the extent
that it alleges that the Act was violated with respect to the non-
resident fishermen.
The Remedy
As we have found that the Respondent's conduct was violative of
the Act only insofar as the resident fishermen and related categories
of employees are concerned, we shall modify the order recommended
by the Trial Examiner consistent with such finding." In view of the
special circumstances created by the seasonal character of the industry
involved herein, and the need for expediting the election directed in
Case No. 17-RC-746, we shall also limit the requirement of posting- of
a notice to a period of 30 days before the beginning of the 1952 em-
ployment season 'o
Order
Upon the entire record in this case, and pursuant to Section 10 (c)
of the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations
Board hereby orders that the Respondent, Alaska Salmon Industry,
Inc., its officers, agents, successors, and assigns shall :
1. Cease and desist from :
(a) Assisting or supporting Alaska Fishermen's Union or any suc-
cessor thereto.
(b) Recognizing Alaska Fishermen's Union or any successor there-
to as the exclusive representative of the resident employees of Re-
spondent's member companies as described in the voting group in
which an election has been directed in Case No. 17-RC-746 for pur-
poses of collective bargaining with respect to grievances, labor dis-
putes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or other conditions
of employment unless and until such organization shall have been
certified by the Board as entitled to continue to represent such em-
ployees.
4 Midwest Piping and Supply Co ., Inc., 63 NLRB 1060.
8 93 NLRB 1104.
9 As our Order herein obviates the factors upon which the Respondent relied in its request
therefor, we find no necessity of passing upon the propriety of members-only contracts
pending a Board-directed election , or the conditions under which an employer may maintain
such contracts without discrimination within the meaning of Section 8 (a) (3) or other
sections of the Act.
30 See The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company. 76 NLRB 889.
ALASKA SALMON INDUSTRY, INC. 1205
(c) Giving effect to or performing its contract of May 12, 1951,
with Alaska Fishermen's Union or any extension, renewal, modifica-
tion, supplement, or superseding contract with that organization so
far as it relates to the resident employees, as described above, unless or
until a Board certification permits.
(d) In any like or related manner interfering with, restraining, or
coercing its employees in the exercise of the right freely to select their
own bargaining representatives.
2. Take the following affirmative action which the Board finds will
effectuate the policies of the Act:
(a) Withdraw and withhold recognition from Alaska Fishermen's
Union or any successor thereof as the exclusive representative of any
of the resident employees of Respondent's member companies as de-
scribed above, unless and until that organization or its successor shall
have been certified by the Board as entitled to continue to represent
such employees.
(b) Post in conspicuous places -where notices to employees of its
members are customarily posted for employees in the Bristol Bay area
and at all employment offices operated by its members for employees
in the Bristol Bay area, copies of the, notice attached hereto and
marked "Appendix A." 11 Copies of said notice, to be furnished by
the Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region, shall, after being
duly signed by the representatives of the Respondent, be posted by it
for a period of thirty (30) days before the beginning of the 1952 em-
ployment season. Reasonable steps shall be taken by the Respondent
to insure that said notices are not altered, defaced, or covered by other
material.
(c) Notify the, Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region, in
writing, within ten (10) days from the date of this Order what steps
the Respondent has taken in compliance herewith.
IT IS HERESY ORDERED that the complaint be, and it hereby is, dis-
missed to the extent that it alleges violations in relation to the non-
resident fishermen and related workers.
Appendix A
NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYEES
Pursuant to a decision and order of the National Labor Relations
Board, and in order to effectuate the policies of the National Labor
Relations Act, we hereby notify our employees that :
WE WILL withdraw and withhold recognition from ALASKA
FISIIERMEN's UNION, or any successor thereof, as the exclusive
In the event that this Order is enforced by a decree of a United States Court of
Appeals, there shall be inserted before the words , "A Decision and Order ," the words,
"A Decree of the United States Court of Appeals, Enforcing an Order."
998666-vol 98-53-77
1206 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
representative of any of the resident employees of member com-
panies of Alaska Salmon Industry, Inc., embraced within the
voting group set up in Case No. 19-RC-746, for purposes of col-
lective bargaining with respect to grievances, labor disputes,
wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or other conditions of
employment unless and until the said ALASKA FISHERMEN'S
UNION, or its successor, shall have been certified by the Board as
entitled to continue to represent such employees.
WE WILL NOT render any support to ALASKA FISHERMEN'S
UNION or any successors thereto as the exclusive representative
of any resident employees of member companies of Alaska Salmon
Industry, Inc., herein called Respondent, within that group for
the purposes of dealing with the Respondent concerning griev-
ances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment,
or other conditions of employment.
WE WILL NOT recognize ALASKA FISHERMEN'S UNION, or any
successor thereto, as the exclusive representative of the resident
employees of member companies of Respondent in the voting
group set up in Case No. 19-RC-746 for the purpose of collec-
tive bargaining with respect to grievances, labor disputes, wages,
rates of pay, hours of employment, or other conditions of employ-
ment, unless and until that organization shall have been certified
by the Board as entitled to continue to represent such employees.
WE WILL NOT give effect to any contract, including the one dated
May 12, 1951, with ALASKA FISHERMEN'S UNION, relating to is
of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of
employment, wherein that organization is recognized as the ex-
clusive representative of the resident employees in that group
until a Board certification permits.
WE WILL NOT in any like or similar manner interfere with, re-
strain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the right to self-
organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bar-
gain collectively through representatives of their own choosing
and to engage in concerted activities for purposes of collective
bargaining or other mutual aid and protection or to refrain from
any or all such activity as guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act.
The voting group set up in Case No. 19-RC-746 consists of all
resident fishermen, set netters, beachmen, net tenders, boat crews (in-
cluding cooks on tenders and tally scows), mess house employees, tally
men, and utility men employed by the member companies of Alaska
Salmon Industry, Inc., in the Bristol Bay area, excluding office and
ALASKA SALMON INDUSTRY, INC. 1207
clerical employees, machinists, carpenters, radio operators, doctors,
nurses, timekeepers, storekeepers, resident and nonresident inside can-
nery employees, and supervisors.
ALASKA SALMON INDUSTRY, INC.,
Employer.
Dated --------------- By ----------------------------------
(Representative ) (Title)
This notice must be posted for a period of 30 days before the begin-
ning of the 1952 employment season, and must not be altered, defaced,
or covered by any other material.
Intermediate Report and Recommended Order
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a charge and amended charges filed by Bering Sea Fishermen's Union
(Independent), herein called Bering Sea, the General Counsel of the National
Labor Relations Board issued his complaint dated October 2, 1951, alleging that
Alaska Salmon Industry, Inc., herein called the Respondent, had committed
unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 (a) (1) and (2) and
Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act, 61 Stat. 136, herein
called the Act.
With respect to unfair labor practices, the complaint alleged in substance
that the Respondent had contributed and is contributing financial or other sup-
port to Alaska Fishermen's Union, herein called Alaska Fishermen, by enter-
ing into a contract with that organization at a time when a question concerning
representation had been raised by Bering Sea.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held before the undersigned Trial Examiner
in Seattle, Washington, on November 2, 1951; The General Counsel, Bering
Sea, and Alaska Fishermen were represented by counsel and participated in
the hearing. The Respondent did not appear at the hearing, but subsequently
filed a motion with the Trial Examiner with respect to the form of cease and
desist order sought by the General Counsel.
The entire record in this proceeding consists of a fact stipulation by all
parties, references to the record in a representation case hearing, proposed find-
ings of fact and conclusions of law submitted by the General Counsel, and excep-
tions and argument to the form of order sought by the General Counsel filed
by counsel for the Respondent. The last instrument is 'hereby admitted into
evidence as part of the record.
Upon the basis of the record, I make the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENT
The Respondent, a nonprofit Delaware corporation with its principal othce•
and place of business in Seattle, Washington, is engaged in part in the negotia-
tion of collective bargaining contracts and the administration of labor relations.
and kindred matters affecting employers engaged in the salmon canning indus-
try. Members of the Respondent operate in excess of 100 salmon canneries in
Alaska, annually packing salmon valued at approximately $90,000,000, sub-
stantially all of which is transported from Alaska by means of oceangoing com-
mon carriers and through channels of interstate commerce to destinations in.
1208 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
several States of the United States. In the processing of the salmon pack,
substantial amounts of materials, equipment, gear, and supplies are purchased
in the United States and thereafter shipped through channels of interstate
commerce to the canneries. The Respondent concedes that its operations affect
commerce within the meaning of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act, and the
Board has heretofore asserted jurisdiction over it.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Bering Sea Fishermen's Union (Independent) and Alaska Fishermen's Union
are labor organizations admitting to membership employees of Respondent's
members.
III. THE UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
On or about January 29,1951, Bering Sea filed a petition with the Board in Case
No. 19-RF746, asserting that a question concerning representation of the em-
ployees of Respondent's member companies existed. Thereafter, on or about
June 14, 1951, the Board issued its Decision ancj Direction of Election on the
petition (94 NLRB 1211), finding that :
All resident and nonresident fishermen, set netters, beachmen, net tenders,
boat crews (including cooks on tenders and tally scows), mess house em-
ployees, tally men, and utility men employed by the Employer in the Bristol
Bay area, excluding office clerical employees, machinists, carpenters, radio
operators, doctors and nurses, timekeepers, storekeepers, resident and non-
resident inside cannery workers, mess house employees serving nonresident
inside cannery workers, guards, other employees, and supervisors,
constituted a unit appropriate for collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (b) of the Act and directing the conduct of an election by secret
ballot among the employees embraced within that unit to determine whether
they desired to be represented for purposes of collective bargaining by Bering
;Sea, by Alaska Fishermen, or by neither.
However, from January 29, 1951, to and including May 12 of that year, the
Respondent recognized and bargained collectively with Alaska Fishermen, and
on the latter date entered into a written agreement with that organization
covering terms and conditions of employment of the workers embraced by that
unit and granting exclusive recognition to Alaska Fishermen as bargaining
agent.
I find, consistent with the Decision and Order of the Board referred to above,
that the unit above described is appropriate for purposes of collective bargain-
ing and further, in accordance with the Board's decision, that a question con-
cerning representation has existed at all times since January 29, 1951, with
respect thereto. It follows that by extending exclusive recognition to Bering
'Sea and by entering into an exclusive recognition contract with that organiza-
tion on May 12, 1951, the Respondent has arrogated to itself the right to resolve
the question concerning representation and by extending exclusive recognition to
Alaska Fishermen has assisted and supported that organization in violation
of Section 8 (a) (2) of the Act1 By such assistance and support and by de-
i". . . a direct interference with the Board 's election procedures and with the right of
the employees to select bargaining representatives of their own choosing ." Hoover Co. v.
N. L. R. B., 191 F. 2d 380, 386 (C. A. 6).
ALASKA SALMON INDUSTRY, IN C. 1209
priving the employees of its members of their right freely to select their own
bargaining representative, the Respondent has interfered with, restrained, and
coerced the employees of its members in the exercise of rights guaranteed by
Section 7 of the Act and has thus violated Section 8 (a) (1) of the Act. It
is so found.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES UPON COMMERCE
The activities of the Respondent set forth in Section III, above, occurring in
connection with the operations of Respondent's members described in Section I,
above, have a close, intimate, and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and
commerce among the several States and Territories and tend to lead to labor
disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE REMEDY
p
Having found that Respondent has assisted and supported Alaska Fishermen
and has interfered with, restrained , and coerced the employees of its members
in respect to rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act, it will be recommended
that it cease and desist from such conduct and take certain affirmative action
which I find will serve to effectuate the purposes and policies of the Act.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record in
the case, I make the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. Bering Sea Fishermen's Union (Independent) and Alaska Fishermen's
Union are labor organizations within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the Act.
2. All resident and nonresident fishermen, set netters, beachmen, net tenders,
boat crews (including cooks on tenders and tally scows), mess house employees,
tally men, and utility men employed by members of Alaska Salmon Industry,
Inc., in the Bristol Bay area, excluding office clerical employees, machinists,
carpenters, radio operators, doctors and nurses, timekeepers, storekeepers, resi-
dent and nonresident inside cannery workers, mess house employees serving
nonresident inside cannery workers, guards, other employees, and supervisors
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
3. The petition filed by Bering Sea Fishermen's Union on or about January
29, 1951, raised a question concerning the representation of employees of Re-
spondent's members. By extending exclusive recognition to and bargaining
with Alaska Fishermen's Union since January 29, 1951, and by entering into
an exclusive contract with that organization the Respondent has assisted and
supported Alaska Fishermen's Union, in violation of Section 8 (a) (2) of
the Act.
4. By such conduct the Respondent has interfered with, restrained, and
coerced the employees of its members in respect to their rights under Section 7
of the Act and has thereby violated Section 8 (a) (1) of the Act.
5. The aforesaid unfair labor practices are unfair labor practices affecting
commerce within the meaning of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
[Recommendations omitted from publication in this volume.]