Cleveland Decals, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 16, 1952

99 N.L.R.B. 745 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

.CLEVELAND, DECALS, INC. ' 745
CLEVELAND DECALS, INC. and JEANNE PHILLIPS, PETITIONER and
BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS, DECORATORS AND PAPERHANGERS OF
AMERICA, SIGN, DISPLAY AND PICTORIAL LOCAL UNION 639, AFL.
Case No. 8-RD-6-7. June 16, 195.t
Decision and Order
Upon a petition for decertification duly filed, a hearing was held
before Bernard Ness, hearing officer. The hearing officers' rulings
made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Members Houston, Styles, and
Peterson].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in -commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The:=Petitioner asserts that. 'the Union no longer represents em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. Following certification of the Union on July 19, 1950, as bargain-
ing representative of the Employer's employees, a contract was en-
tered into with the Employer effective until March 30, 1952, and con-
taining a 60-day automatic renewal clause. Beginning in November
1951, no union membership dues were paid and no grievances were
processed under the contract. In October or November 1951, the
business agent of the Union informed the employees and the Em-
ployer that a new business agent named Jones was going to repre-
sent the employees. Neither the Union nor the Employer requested
renewal or renegotiation of the contract before the January 30, 1952,
automatic renewal date. The petition herein was filed on March 3,
1952. Thereafter Jones, who was the business agent of Local 1747,
a sister local of the Union, informed the Employer that the Union
had ceded jurisdiction as bargaining representative to Local 1747.
The Employer declined to recognize Local 1747. Jones also informed
the employees of the transfer of jurisdiction and of the failure of
Local 639 to fulfill the contract. The employees protested the trans-
fer on the ground that they had not been consulted. Although served
with notice, the Union did not appear at the hearing nor did Local
1747. After the hearing, in a letter to the Regional Director of the
Board, the Union stated :
... Local 639, wish to be recorded as withdrawn [sic] any claim
to represent the Employees of Cleveland Decals Inc. . . .
The International Brotherhood of Painters of which we are
99 NLRB No. 115.
746 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
affiliated has set up a new local for Screen Process workers Local
1747 and, [Mr. Warren Jones] represents those who have trans-
ferred to that local.
The Employer and the Petitioner assert that neither the Union nor
Local 1747 represents a majority of the employees herein.
It is clear that as the Union is not now a functioning bargaining
agent for the employees concerned, the contract is not a bar., More-
over, the Union's unequivocal disclaimer of interest in the Employer's,
employees cancels whatever vitality its certificate as bargaining repre-
sentative might otherwise possess 2 Nor is Local 1747 the successor
in interest to the contract or to the certification, as the purported
transfer of bargaining authority to it from the Union was accom-
plished neither at the behest nor with the consent of the employees
of the Employer.3
Accordingly, we find that as there is no certified or recognized
bargaining representative at present, no question affecting commerce
exists concerning the representation of employees of the Employer,
within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) (A) (ii) and Section 2 (6}
and (7) of the Act, and we shall therefore dismiss the petition.
Order
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition filed by Jeanne Phillips
for decertification of Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paper-
hangers of America, Sign, Display and Pictorial Local Union 639,
AFL, as bargaining representative of employees of Cleveland Decals,
Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
Southern Union Oa8 Company, 93 NLRB 736.
Central Optical Co. Inc., 88 NLRB 567.
Cf. Cadillac Automobile Company of Boston , 90 NLRB 460
WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED and INTERNATIONAL
BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS , AFL, PETITIONER. Case
No. 34-RC-382. June 16, 1963
Decision and Order
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Bernard L. Balicer, 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-mem-
ber panel [Members Houston, Styles, and Peterson].
99 NLRB No. 118.