Inland Container Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 23, 1943

47 N.L.R.B. 952 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the, Matter Of INLAND CONTAINER CORPORATION apd UNITED PAPER,
NOVELTY & Toy WORIiERS,INTERNATIONAL UNION, C. I. O.
Case No. R-4811.-Decided February 23, 1943
Jurisdiction : paper board container manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to recognize petitioner because of contract with another union ; amended
three-year contract in effect for more than a year held to-be no bar ; election
necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance
employees at Middletown plant, including firemen, watchmen, and engineers,
but excluding, supervisory and clerical employees and foremen ; stipulation
as to. -
1 L
Mr. Kurt F. Pantzer, of Indianapolis, Ind., and Mr. Elliott D.
Levey, of Middletown, Ohio, for the Company.
Mr. Julius Holzberg, of Cincinnati, Ohio, for the C.- I. O.
Mr. C. W. Elliott, of Middletown, Ohio, and Mr. Keith Wentz, of
Cincinnati, Ohio, for'the A. F. of L.
• J&. Robert Silagi, of counsel "to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
'Upon, a petition duly filed by the United Paper, Novelty & ' Toy
Workers International Union, C. I. O:, herein called the C. I. 0., alleg-
ing that a question affecting; commerce had arisen concerning the rep-
resentation,-of employees of Inland Container Corporation, -Middle-
town, Ohio,•herein. called the Company, the National Labor Relations
Board provided -for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before
Peter- J., Ward, Trial Examiner. Said hearing' was held, at Middle-
town,, Ohio, on January 28, -1943. The Company, the C. I. 0., and
International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers,
Local 317, A. F. of L;, herein called the A. F. of L., appeared, partici-
pated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine
and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the
issues.
During'the hearing the Company made a motion to dismiss the
petition, to which -the Trial Examiner reserved ruling. The motion
47 N. L. R. B., No. 120.' _
952
INLAND CONTAINER CORPORATION 953
is hereby'denied. The Trial Examiner sustained an objection to ,the
introduction by the C. I. O. of evidence relating to the A. F. of L.'s
majority status at the time of the execution of its contract with
the Company. The C. I. O. thereupon made several offers of proof
to the effect that at no time since December 1941, did the A. F. of L.
represent' a majority of employees in the Middletown plant. The
A. F. of L. and the Company moved to strike the offers of proof from,
the record and the Trial Examiner reserved ruling on the motion
for the Board. The motions to strike are hereby denied. However,
since for other reasons we hold in Section III, below; that the con-
tract is not a bar to a determination of representatives, the ruling
of the Trial Examiner in excluding the above-mentioned evidence
was not prejudicial. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
On February 5, 1943, the A. F. of L. filed a brief which the Board has
considered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Inland Container Corporation is an Indiana corporation, licensed
to do business in the State of Ohio. In addition to its Middletown,
'Ohio, plant, which alone is involved in this proceeding, the com-
pany operates plants at -Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Indianapolis and
Evansville, Indiana. The Company is engaged in the manufacture,
sale, and distribution of paper board containers. The principal
raw materials used by the Company are sulphate, craft, liner board,
chestnut corrugating materials, silicate, and starch. During 1942,
the Company purchased raw materials valued in excess of $1,000,000,
and during that same year sold finished products valued in excess of
$1,000,000. About 90 percent of these raw materials were purchased
outside the States in which the four plants are located and shipped in
interstate commerce from points outside such States to said plants.
During the same period approximately 12 percent of the finished
products of the four plants was shipped to points outside-the States
in which said plants are located.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE 'ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Paper, Novelty & Toy Workers International Union,
affiliated with-the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor
organization, admitting to membership employees of the Company.
054 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS, BOARD
International Brotherhood of Pulp,' Sulphite and Paper _ Mill
Workers,- Local 317, affiliated with the American - Federation of
Labor, is a labor organization, admitting to membership employees
of the Company. ' .
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On January 13, 1942, the Company and the A. _F.- of L: entered
into a 3-year contract made retroactive to December 1, 1941. This
contract was to continue until December 14, 1944, and from year to
year thereafter unless terminated or amended upon 30 days' written
notice by either party prior to the anniversary date. The contract
also provided for, negotiations with respect to wages upon 30 days'
notice prior to December 14, 1942, or to-any succeeding December 14.
During the spring of 1942 and at a time when there was considerable
public agitation over the problem of "freezing" wages,'the Company
and the A. F. of L. agreed to advance the adjustment (Tate-of De-
cember 14, 1942, to June 1, 1942, and on that latter date signed a
Supplemental Agreement providing for ',increased wages., As con-
sideration for the acceleration of the renegotiation date, it was agreed
that there should be no further adjustment of wages until December
,14, 1943.
On October 28, 1942, the C. I. O. advised the Company that it repre-
sented a majority of the Middletown plant employees and requested
recognition as their collective bargaining agent. The Company
refused to grant this request, on the ground that-it was bound' by its
contract with the A. F. of L. On November 7, 1942, the A. F. of L.
advised the Company of its desire to amend the contract.:' The Com-
pany refused, stating that the terms of the original, contract and the
Supplemental Agreement foreclosed further amenments" until De=
cember 1943. '
At the hearing, the Company and the A. F. of L. asserted their
contract as a bar to this proceeding.
We have frequently held that a contract covering an unreasonable
length of time and which has been in effect for a year or more does
not constitute a bar to a -determination of representatives .2 At the
1 The letter containing the request read, in part , as follows : -
The - Union hereby serves notice upon - the Inland Container Corp . that unless,
prior 'to, December 15, 1942 , the Union and the Company can reach an agreement
covering amendments to our present agreement which will result in a contract- more
in conformity with the usual type of labor contract , the Union will feel free to take
steps to terminate the present agreement ,- and attempt to, negotiate thereafter an
entirely new agreement . ` - ' - ' , - -
2 See, Matter of Metro -Goldwyn-Mayer - Studio,'s and Motion Picture Producers Ass'n
et al. and Screen Writers Guild , Inc, 7 N . L R -B 662; -Matter of Columbia Broadcasting
System, Inc and American Communacations Association, 8 N. L R - B. 508; Matter of M h
J Tracy, Inc and Inland Boatmen's Union, 12 N L R B 936; Matter of Rosedale Knitting
Company and Rosedale Employees Association , 23 N. L. R. B. 527. -' - `- ' 1
INLAND CONTAINER`' CORPORATION 955
date of the hearing, the cbntract Vhad been' in effect for more than a
year and had, almost 2 years to run. 'There is no showing, that con-
tracts for such a long period are customary in this type of industry 3
or in the relationships between this particular employer and labor
organizations. , We find, therefore, that under these circumstances the
contract of January 13, 1942, and the Supplemental Agreement of
June 1, 1942, do not constitute a bar to a determination of repre-
sentatives.4
A statement of the Field Examiner, introduced into evidence at the
hearing, indicates the C. I. O.' represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate .,5
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 'stipulated and we find, that all production and main.
tenance employees of the'Company, employed at its Middletown plant,
including firemen, watchmen, and engineers, but excluding supervisory
and clerical employees and foremen, constitute a' 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 among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-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 Relations
ICf. Matter of Owens-Illinois Pacific Coast Co. and International Longshoremen's and
Warehousemen's Union, Local 6, C I: 0., 36 N. L. R. B. 990, where a contract for a 2-year
term was held a bar.
4 See Matter of Wichita Union Stockyards Company and Packinghouse Workers Organiz-
ing Committee, Local No. 94, affiliated with the A. F. of L, 40 N. L .-R. B 369, and cases
cited therein.
6
The Field Examiner reported that the C I 0. submitted 134 application cards all of
which bore apparently genuine original signatures ; that the names of 109 persons whose
names appeared on the cards were listed on the Companys pay roll of December 16, 1942,
which contained 190 persons in the unit alleged to be appropriate ; that the cards were
dated as follows : April 1942 , 1; July, 1; August, 1; September , 1; October , 50; November,
34 ; December , 5 ; undated, 16
The A. F. . of L. relies upon its contract with the Company as evidence of its membership.
k
956, DECISIONS 'OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS, BOARD
Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela-
tions 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 Inland Container
Corporation, Middletown, Ohio, 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 Director for the Ninth 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 th6
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 temporarily laid off, and
including employees in the armed, forces-'of the United States who
-present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding those employees
who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether
they desire to be represented by United Paper, Novelty & Toy Workers
International Union, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organi-
zations, or by International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and
Paper Mill Workers, Local 317, affiliated with the American Federa-
tion of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.