Buffalo Arms Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 16, 1943

46 N.L.R.B. 1176 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of BUFFALO ARMS CORPORATION and UNITED AUTOMO-
BILE, AIRCRAFT & AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA,
C. I. O. LOCAL #141
'Case No. R-463,9.-Decided January 16, 1943
Jurisdiction : ordnance manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question:
refusal to bargain because of existing contract; contract providing for repre-
sentation of members only held no bar ; employees transferred from another
of Company's plants held eligible to vote at plant where presently employed;
election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance
employees at one of Company's plants, with specified inclusions and exclusions..
Mr. Peter J. Crotty, for the Board.
Mr. Edward D. Flaherty, of Buffalo, N. Y., for the Company.
Mr. David Diamond, of Buffalo, N. Y., for the U. A. W.
Raichle & Tucker, by Mr. Emery S. Tucker, of Buffalo; N. Y.,, for
the Association.
Miss Muriel J. Levor, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On petition duly filed by United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricul-
tural Implement Workers of America, C. I. 0., Local $141, herein
called the U. A. W., alleging that a question affecting commerce had
arisen concerning the representation of employees of Buffalo Arms
Corporation, Cheektowaga, New York, herein called the Company,
the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate
hearing upon due notice before Charles E. Persons, Trial Examiner.
Said hearing was held at Buffalo, New York, on December 7, 1942.
'The Company, the U. A. W., and United Victory Workers Associa-
tion, herein called the Association, appeared, participated, and were
afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine
witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial
46 N. L. R. B., No. 141.
1176
BUFFALO ARMS CORPORATION 1177
Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial
error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY,,
Buffalo Arms Corporation, a Michigan corporation authorized'
to do business in the State of New York, is a subsidiary of Houdaille-
Hershey Corporation. It is engaged in the manufacture of war
material at its Cheektowaga; New York, plant, with which this pro-
ceeding is alone concerned. During the 6-month period ending De-
cember 1, 1942, the Company in this-plant used raw materials valued
at over $1,500,000, of which approximately 30 percent was shipped
from points outside the State of New York. During the same period,
the Company manufactured finished products at this plant valued
at over $3,000,000, of which approximately 60 percent was shipped to
points outside the State of New York.
The Company admits for the purposes -of this proceeding that it is,
engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of
America, Local #141, is a labor organization affiliated with the'Con-
gress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees
of the Company.
United Victory Workers Association is an unaffiliated labor organi-
zation, admitting to membership employees -of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
About September 16, ;1942, the U. A. W. in a letter to the Company
asked for a conference for the purpose of collective bargaining. The
Company refused to recognize the U. A. W. as an exclusive bargaining
agency unless and until the U. A. W. is duly certified as such by the
Board. J
A contract which will expire March 1, 1943, was executed between
the Company and the Association recognizing the latter as bargaining
representative of those employees of the Company who were its mem;
bers. The Association asserts this contract precludes a present deter-
mination of representatives. • Since the contract recognizes the Associa-
1178 DECISIONS OF NATIOIQIAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tion as the representative of its members only, we find that it does not
constitute a bar.'
The parties stipulated at the hearing that both the U. A. W. and the
Association had a substantial representation among the employees of
the Company.'
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 Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The parties agreed at the hearing as to the composition of the appro-
priate unit, as discussed more fully below, except that the Company
desires the exclusion of the shipping room employees whereas the
U. A. W. and the Association urge that they be included.
The Company would exclude these shipping room employees on
the ground that their work necessarily places them in the possession
of highly confidential information.. They work in an area of the
plant where other employees are forbidden to go and they know
the' destination and the quantity of military products manufactured
by the Company. However, the possession of important information
is of itself insufficient to justify exclusion from collective bargaining.3
Accordingly, we shall include the shipping room employees in the
unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the
Company's Cheektowaga, New, York, plant, including shipping room
employees, tool store clerks, tool control clerks who do not exercise
supervisory authority, and employees of the receiving department,
but excluding office and clerical employees, employees in the time
study, drafting and engineering departments, department clerks or
personnel clerks, watchmen, cafeteria employees, and all production
clerks, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
1 See Matter of Pressed Steel Car Company, Inc and International Union, United Auto-
mobile, Aircraft and Agricultuial Implement Workers, C. I. 0., 46 N. L R. B. 262;
Birmingham Tank Company, Division of the Ingalls Iron Works Company, Inc and
International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers, Shopmen's
Local #539 , 25 N. L. R. B 1306
2 The U. A W. submitted about 1, 800 application -for-membership cards to the Regional
Director of the Board The Association, in a sworn statement admitted in evidence at
the hearing , claimed a membership 'of 2,500. The Company did not submit a pay roll,
but its personnel director testified that the Company employs slightly more than 3,500
persons. _
'See Matter of Cieammery Package Manufacturing Company (Lake Mills Plant) and
S teel Workers Organizing Committee , C.'I. 0, 34 N L . R. B. 108.
BUFFALO ARMS CORPORATION
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
1179
When production began at the Company's Cheektowaga plant,
.about 200 employees were transferred from the plant of Houde En-
gineering Corporation, herein called the Houde plant, also a sub-
-sidiary of Houdaille-Hershey Corporation, to fill key positions and
to assist in breaking in new employees and in installing equipment.
The original number of such employees had been reduced to 39 at the
time of the hearing. Both the Company and the Association desire
that these employees be deemed eligible to vote, but the U. A. W.
contends that they should be excluded from participating in the elec-
tion. The transferred employees retain their seniority at the Houde
plant as of the date of transfer, in the event they return, but they do
not accumulate seniority at the IIoude plant during their employment
.at the Company's plant, where their status is the same at that of the
other employees of the Company. Their interest in collective bar-
gaining and in the result of a. Board election is identical with that
.of employees generally. It appears from the record that if the Houde
plant seeks to recall them, they may, if they so desire, retain their
present employment with the Company. We have already held in
a case involving the Houde plant 4 that these same employees were
ineligible to vote. Consequently they would be deprived of repre-
sentation if not permitted to vote in the election among the Company's
other employees. We find that the employees transferred from the
Houde plant have a substantial interest in the selection of a bargain-
ing representative by employees of the Company and are therefore
eligible to vote. -
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elec-
tion 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 Re-
lations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to determine representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Buffalo Arms
'Matter of Houde Engineering Corporation and International Union, U . A W -C. 1 0.,
Local 850, 36 N. L. R B. 587.
1180 DEICISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Corporation, Cheektowaga, . New York, an election by secret ' ballot
shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty' (30)
days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Third 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 employees,who did not work during
said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or tempo-
rarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the
United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but ex-
cluding any who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to,
determine whether they desire to be represented by United Automo-
bile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Local
#141, affiliated with the C. I. 0., or by United Victory Workers Asso-
ciation, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
.,