Armour & Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 27, 1943

47 N.L.R.B. 1236 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

i
In the Matter, of ARMOUR & COMPANY and UNITED PACKINGHOUSE
WORKERS or AMERICA, PACKINGHOUSE WORKERS ORGANIZING COM-
MITTEE, C. I. O.
Case No. R-4871.Decided February R7,1943
Jurisdiction : meatpacking industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : no
, reply to request for recognition; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all hourly paid and piece-work
production and maintenance employees at the Fort Worth plant of company,
with specified inclusions and exclusions.
Mr. Paul Blanchard, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company.
Mr. H. A. Pittman, of Fort Worth, Tex., and Mr. James P. Dean,
of Oklahoma City, Okla., for the Union.
Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by United Packinghouse Workers of Amer-
ica, Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee, C. I. 0., herein
called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had
arisen concerning the representation of employees of Armour & Com-
pany, Fort Worth, Texas, herein called the, Company, the-National
Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon
due notice before Elmer P. Davis, Trial Examiner. 'Said hearing was
held at Fort Worth, Texas, on February 9, 1943. The Company and
the Union appeared and participated in the hearing.' All parties
were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-
examine 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 .2
1 Although Amalgamated Meat Cutters-& Butcher Workmen of North America, A. F. of L,
was served with notice of heaiing , it did not appear.
On February ` 15, ,1943, ;, counsel for the Company moved that the instant proceedings
be stayed pending ' a requested card check by the Regional Director to determine whether
or not the Union represents a majority . The motion is hereby denied.
47 N. L. R. B., No. 149
1236
ARMOUR. & COMPANY 1237
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Arlnour & Company is an Illinois corporation with its principal
place of business at Chicago, Illinois. We are here concerned with
its packing plant at Fort Worth, Texas. The Company uses supplies
valued at about 20 million dollars annually at its Fort Worth plant,
approximately 19 percent'of which is shipped to it from points outside
the State of Texas and in turn manufactures products valued at about
42- million dollars annually, approximately 48 percent of which is
shipped to points outside the State of Texas.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
United Packinghouse Workers of America, Packinghouse Workers
Organizing Committee, is a labor organization affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership em-
ployees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONOERNING REPRESENTATION
During January 1943, the Union requested the Company to recog-
nize it as the exclusive representative of the employees at the Fort
Worth, Texas, plant of the Company. The Company did not reply
to this request.
A statement of a Field Examiner of the Board, introduced into
evidence at the hearing, indicates that the Union represents a sub-
stantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found to be
appropriate.3
We find ' that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Re-
lations Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union contends that all hourly paid and piece-work production
and maintenance employees at the Fort Worth plant of the Company,
including gang leaders and scalers, but excluding executives, foremen,
assistant foremen, employees classified by the Company as receiving
and shipping clerks, technical employees, plant protection employees,
'The Field Examiner reported that the Union presented 720 membership application
cards bearing apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear on the Com-
pany ' s pay roll of January 16, 1943. There are 1 ,956 employees on that pay roll who
are in the appropriate unit.
1238 DECISIONS OF. NAnONA2;"I.ABOR RELATIONS BOARD
truck'drivers, wholesale market employees, salesmen, stock buyers, and
office employees, and clerks in the canned meats, box factory, beef
cookers, pork trim, sweet pickle, smoked meats, sewing and packing'
select meats cooler, beef,cuts, freezer,. loading dock, boiled ham manu-
facturing, lard manufacturing, mechanical, general stero room, and
canned meats departments, constitute an appropriate unit. The Com-
pany took no position with respect to the unit.
All but one of the Company's truck drivers work outside its plant.
As stated above, the Union would exclude all truck drivers from the
unit. One driver, named Gilliland, hauls boxes by truck to the various
departments within the plant. The Company would include him in
the unit. Inasmuch as his duties are those of,a truck driver, we shall
exclude Gilliland from the unit.
We find that all hourly,paid and piece-work production and main-
tenance employees at the Fort Worth plant of the Company, including
gang leaders and scalers, but excluding executives, foremen, assistant
foremen, employees classified by the Company as receiving and ship-
ping clerks, technical employees, plant protection, employees, all truck
drivers, wholesale market employees, salesmen, stock buyers, and all
office employees, and clerks in the canned meats, box factory, beef
coolers, pork trim, sweet pickle, smoked meats, sewing and packing,
select meats cooler, beef cuts, freezer, loading dock, boiled ham manu-
facturing,- lard 'manufacturing, mechanical, general stero room, and'
canned meats departments, constitute a unit appropriate for the 'pur- .
poses of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of
the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation be re-
solved by means of an election by secret ballot among the employees
in. the,appropriate.unit who,were,employed during,thepay-roll period
immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein,
subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction.
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 Rela-
tions Act, -and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of the 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 Armour & Com-
pany, Fort Worth, Texas, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted
as early as possible, but not later than thirty ( 30) days from the date
ARMOUR & COMPANY 1239
of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional
Director for the Sixteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for,
the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section
10, of said Rules and Regulations, among the, employees in. the unit
found,appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during
the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction,
including any such employees who did not work during said pay-roll'
period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off,'and
including employees in the armed forces of the United States who
present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have
since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not
they desire to be represented by United Packinghouse Workers of
America, Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining.
MR. WM. M. LEISERSON took no part in the consideration of the
above Decision and Direction of Election.