51 N.L.R.B. 835 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

Eugene Fruit Growers Association

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsJul 29, 1943

51 N.L.R.B. 835 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of EUGENE FRUIT GROWERS ASSOCIATION JUNCTION CITY PLANT) and CANNERY WORKERS UNION, LOCAL 23031, AFFILIATED WITH THE A. F. OF L. In the Matter of EUGENE FRUIT GROWERS ASSOCIATION EUGENE PLANT) and CANNERY WORKERS UNION, LOCAL 23031, AFFILIATED WITH THE A. F. OF L. Cases Nos. R-5456 and R-5607 respectively .Decided July 29, 1943 Messrs. Lawrence T. Harris and E. A. McCornack , both of Eugene, Oreg. , for the Company. Mr. Henry George, of Portland , Oreg., for the Cannery Workers. Mr. Glenn L. Moller, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed in Case No. R-5456 by Cannery Workers Union, Local 23031, affiliated with the A. F. of L., herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concern- ing the -representation of employees of Eugene Fruit Growers Asso- ciation, herein called the Company, at its Junction City plant, Junc- tion City, Oregon, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before William H. Bartley, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Eugene, Oregon, on May 21, 1943. The Company and the Union 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 Company obtained permission from the Trial Examiner to in- troduce into the record after the hearing a summary, sworn to before a notary, of the pay-roll records for each of two regular warehouse employees at the Junction City plant. The Company filed with the Board certain affidavits and the Union objected to the inclusion of these affidavits in the record. Inasmuch as the affidavits in question are not such a summary of pay-roll records as the parties agreed might 51 N. L. R. B., No. M. 540612-44-vol 51-54 835 836 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD be included in the record, but are individual affidavits of the employees involved and of their supervisor, the Union's objection is sustained and the said affidavits are rejected. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board. Thereafter, the Union duly filed a petition in Case No. R-5607, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company at its Eugene plant, Eugene, Oregon. The Board thereupon provided for an appropriate hearing before John E. Hedrick, Trial Examiner, which was held at Eugene, Oregon, on June 28, 1943. The Company and the Union 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 parties stipulated that all rele- vant portions of the testimony at the hearing in Case No. R-5456 should be incorporated into the record of the instant proceeding. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the later hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board. Since both of the aforesaid cases have been pending before the Board at the same time and for reasons which will appear hereafter in this Decision, the two cases are hereby consolidated for the purposes of decision. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS of FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Eugene Fruit Growers Association is an Orton corporation with its principal place of business in Eugene, Oregon, doing business on a cooperative basis. It is engaged in the business of canning, process- ing, packing, selling and distributing of fruits, vegetables, nuts and other food products at its two plants, one in Eugene, Oregon, the other at Junction City, Oregon. During the year 1942 the Company purchased -for use at its two plants supplies and equipment valued at approximately $850,668, approximately 27 percent of which was shipped to the plants from points outside the State of Oregon. During the same period the Company sold and shipped from its plants finished products valued at approximately $3,772,335, approximately 74 percent of which was sold and shipped to points outside the State of Oregon. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. EUGENE FRUIT GROWERS ASSOCIATION II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED 837 Cannery Workers Union, Local 23031, chartered by and affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. M. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The parties stipulated in both cases that the petitioner had requested recognition by the Company as the exclusive bargaining representative of the Company's employees at the Junction City plant and its Eugene plant, respectively, and that the Company has refused to grant such recognition until the Union has been certified by the Board in an appro- priate unit or units. Statements of the Regional Attorney, introduced into evidence-at the hearing, indicate that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate 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 Union seeks separate units consisting of all employees except office workers and supervisory employees who were employed during both the 1941 and 1942 seasons at Junction City and Eugene, respec- tively. The Company contends that neither of the aforesaid units sought by the Union is appropriate and that the only appropriate unit is a single unit of the employees at both plants. The Company operates two canneries, one at Eugene, Oregon, em- ploying 2,300 employees over the period of a year, and a plant at Junction City, Oregon, employing about 285 employees during its entire canning year. The plaints are about 14 miles apart. The Eugene plant processes annually from 35 to 40 crops of vegetables and fruits, whereas the Junction City plant processes only two crops, beans and carrots. Both plants are treated by the Company as parts of a 1 The Regional Attorney reported , in Case No . R-5456, that the Union submitted authori- zation cards bearing the apparently genuine signatures of 102 persons whose names appeared on the pay rolls of the Company at its Junction City plant for both the years 1941 and 1942 The names of 145 persons appear on both the 1941 and 1942 pay rolls of the Junction City plant. The Regional Attorney reported , in Case No . R-5607, that the Union submitted 251 authorization cards bearing apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear on the pay rolls of the Company at its Eugene plant for both the years 1941 and 1942.' These pay rolls contain the names of 880 persons whose names appear on both pay rolls. Thus, the Union has submitted cards signed by 353 persons out of a total of 1,025 employed during both 1941 and 1942 seasons in both plants. Since the greater portion of the 1943 personnel has not yet been employed , we cannot base our finding of substantial showing upon the 1943 pay roll. 838 DECISIONS OF NATPONAi, LABOR RELATIONS BOARD single, integrated operation. All purchases of supplies for both plants are handled by the Company's office at Eugene. The same is true of sales of the Company's products. To which plant a particular load of produce is delivered for processing is determined by the gen- eral manager, who makes such determination- almost from hour to hour during the canning season. His decisions are always based upon the basic consideration of which plant can process the vegetables more economically. This is determined by sundry variable factors, such such as hauling distances, relative current capacities of the two plants, and current availability of necessary supplies. Hence, if labor costs were higher at one plant than at the other, the management would direct a proportionately larger part of the incoming produce to the plant where the costs were lower. In addition to the cannery operations, the Company operates a warehouse division which stores the finished products until they are shipped. The warehouse division has its own supervisory staff and is not responsible to the managers of the canneries. The warehouse manager is responsible to the general manager of the Company's entire operations. Warehouse operations at both plants are under the same management. Although there is very little direct interchange of em- ployees between the canneries, the warehouse division frequently obtains additional employees from the canneries, and these employees are frequently sent back and forth between the warehouses at the two plants. The two full-time warehouse employees at Junction City spend 40 percent of their time at the Eugene plant. We are of the opinion that the two plants here involved are too closely related and integrated to constitute separate appropriate bar- gaining units. We find, therefore, that the appropriate unit should include the employees at both plants. The Union contends that the interests of the employees at the two plants are different and that the Union itself conducts separate meetings for the employees of each plant. While the arguments advanced by the Union may constitute valid reasons for the Union's continuing its present policy with refer- ence to its own internal organization, its arguments do not bear directly upon the propriety of the bargaining unit. Collective bargaining, the evidence reveals, will be conducted with the central management of the Company by the executive officers of the local who will act on behalf of the union members at both plants. These executive officers meet once monthly with the members of the Union at Junction City and three times monthly with the members at Eugene. In accordance with the above conclusions and findings of fact, we find that all persons employed by the Company at its Junction City and Eugene plants, excluding office and clerical employees and super- visory employees having the right to hire, promote, discipline, dis- EUGENE FRUIT GROWERS ASSOCIATION 839 charge, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effec- tively recommend such action, constitute a single unit appropriate for the purposes 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 which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot. The, Company maintains a base pay roll at the Eugene plant of from 125 to 150 em- ployees. During the last 2 weeks of July the Eugene plant payroll begins to expand so that within a few weeks it reaches a peak of from 1,500 to 1,600, where it remains until about the middle of September when it drops to 500 to 700. The pay roll then remains at between' 500 and 700 until early in January of the following year when it is reduced to the base figure of 125 to 150. The canning season at the Junction City plant is much shorter. The Company carries only 7 employees on its base pay roll at Junction City. The bean canning season begins about the first of August and lasts about 7 weeks. At the peak of the bean canning season the pay roll reaches a top figure of about 200 employees. It then drops again to about 7 and almost immediately begins to increase as the carrot season begins. The peak employment during the carrot season is between 100 and 120 employees, which peak is reached about the middle of October. The Company's experience in the past has been that approximately 50 percent of its employees of the preceding year have returned the following year. At the hearings the Union contended that only those persons whose names appear on the Company's pay rolls of both 1941 and 1942 should be permitted to vote. The Company contends that the eligible employees should be those whose names appear not only on the 1941 and 1942 pay rolls, but also on the current 1943 pay roll. The evidence indicates that the abnormal conditions created by the war are such that probably less than 50 percent of the former employees will return this year. Some of the old employees who will return to work for the Company later in the canning season do not yet appear upon. the 1943 pay roll, but have an interest in working con- ditions at the Company's plant because of their definite intention to return. We are of the opinion that the 1943 employees have a sufficient in- terest in these proceedings to entitle them to an opportunity to vote. The evidence indicates that the Company's peak employment will be reached during the first 2 weeks of August. Accordingly, we find that all persons whose names appear on the Company's pay rolls im- mediately preceding August 9, 1943, shall be eligible to vote. In ad- dition, all persons whose names appear on the Company's pay rolls of 840 DEICISPONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOA1RD both 1941 and 1942, whether or not they have worked during the 1943 canning season, shall also be eligible to vote. Accordingly, we shall direct that the question concerning repre- sentation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the periods above set forth, subject to the limitations and ad- ditions 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 ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Eugene Fruit Growers Association, Junction City, Oregon, plant, and Eugene, Oregon, plant, 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 supervision of the Regional Direc- tor for the Nineteenth 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 periods described in Section V, above, including employees who did not work during the designated 1943 pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including em- ployees in the armed forces of the United States who present them- selves in person at the polls, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Cannery Workers Union, Local 23031, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining.