Luckenbach Steamship Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 30, 1952

100 N.L.R.B. 1301 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

LUCKENBACH STEAMSHIP COMPANY, INC. 1301
which the Board, under such circumstances, finds to be appropriate
for purposes of collective bargaining. In the event a majority
in each or any of these voting groups vote for the Intervenor, the
Board finds their inclusion in the existing unit to be appropriate
and the Regional Director will issue a certificate of results of election
to such effect.
Order
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petitions filed in Cases Nos. 20-RC-
1829 and 20-RC-1831 by International Union of Machinists, District
Lodge No. 115, AFL, be, and they hereby are, dismissed.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this,
volume.]
LUCKENBACH STEAMSHIP COMPANY, INC. and LOCAL 253, DISTRIBUTIVE,
PROCESSING AND OFFICE WORKERS OF AMERICA, PETITIONER. Case
No. 21-RC-2575. September 30, 1952
Supplemental Decision and Direction
Pursuant to a Decision and Direction of Election,' issued on July
22, 1952, in the above proceeding, an election by secret ballot was
conducted on August 8, 1952, under the direction and supervision of
the Regional Director for the Twenty-first Region. At the conclu-
sion of the election, the parties were furnished with a tally of ballots
which shows that of approximately 9 eligible voters, 9 cast ballots, of
which 4 were for the Petitioner, 2 were cast against the participating
labor organization, and 3 were challenged.
As the challenged ballots were sufficient in number to affect the
results of the election, the Regional Director, pursuant to the Board's
Rules and Regulations, conducted an investigation and, on August
20, 1952, issued and served upon the parties a report on challenged
ballots. On September 2, 1952, the Employer filed exceptions to the
Regional Director's report.2
1 Luckenbach Steamship Company, Inc , 21-RC-2575, not reported in printed volumes of
Board decisions.
2 The Employer 's request for oral argument is hereby denied as the record , exceptions,
and briefs , in our opinion , adequately present the issues and the positions of the parties.
On September 5, 1952 , the Employer further requested that the entire record be reopened
on the ;round that the Department of Justice may be seeking indictments for perjury
against the officers of the Petitioner for falsification of certain affidavits filed under Sec-
tion 9 ( h) of the Act As the Board does not go behind the affidavits required to be filed
under this section of the Act, and as the filed affidavits have not been vitiated by any
proceedings under Section 35 (a) of the Criminal Code, we see no basis for reopening the
record and shall deny the Employer 's request. American Seating Company, 85 NLRB 269
Alpert ( Alpert, 92 NLRB S06
100 NLRB No. 211.
1302 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the basis of the entire record in this case, the Board' makes
the following :
Findings of Fact
In his report, the Regional Director found that Beatrice Campbell,
Florence E. Hansen, and Diantha Whittaker, challenged as confi-
dential employees, were not confidential employees. He therefore
recommended that the challenges to their ballots be overruled and that
their ballots be opened and counted.
As no exceptions to the Regional Director's report on challenges
have been filed with respect to the challenged ballots of Beatrice Camp-
bell and Florence E. Hansen, we hereby adopt the Regional Director's
recommendation that the challenges to their ballots be overruled.
The Employer takes exception to the Regional Director's recom-
mendation that the ballot of Diantha Whittaker be opened and
counted. The Employer argues that Whittaker is a confidential em-
ployee within the Board's definition of that term, and that, in any
event, the "Board's definition imposing the condition that all confi-
dential employees must be in the confidence of a person formulating
or effectuating labor relations policies for the employer is unsound
and improper."
The Regional Director found, among other things, that Diantha
Whittaker is classified by the Employer as an accountant; is assistant
to G. A. Pearson, cashier for the Employer's Los Angeles district and
office manager of the dock office; collects money for freight charges;
distributes all billings; prepares the payroll for the dock office and
Los Angeles office; has access to all payrolls and confidential records
of the Employer ; has access to the locked files and holds the combina-
tion of the office safe and key to the strongbox within the safe. He
found further that, at the present time, no person in the Los Angeles
office or dock office participates in formulating or effectuating the labor
relations policies of the Employer as all its labor relations are currently
handled by the Pacific Maritime Association'
s 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].
* The Employer urged, during the Regional Director 's investigation , that in the event the
Petitioner should win the election Pearson would participate in the contract negotiations
and therefore would be instrumental in formulating and effectuating labor relations policies,
in which event Whittaker would be in the confidence of a person who formulates and effec-
tuates general labor policy . The Regional Director concluded that eligibility of a voter
should be decided on the voter 's status at the time of the election and not in anticipation
that his status may change . Like the Regional Director , our eligibility findings in this
instance are based on Whittaker ' s status at the time of the election and not on the specu-
lative,possibility that such status may change in the future.
ARTHUR MURRAY DANCE STUDIOS 1303
The Employer does not except to the Regional Director 's findings
concerning Diantha Whittaker 's duties and responsibilities , but chal-
lenges his conclusion that she is not a confidential employee. How-
ever, as it does not appear that the alleged confidential matters handled
by Diantha Whittaker relate to the general labor relations policy of
the Employer, or that this employee acts in a confidential capacity to
one who formulates or effectuates the Employer 's general labor policy,
it is well established , as the Regional Director found, that she is not a
confidential employee.5 And we find no merit in the Employer's chal-
lenge to existing Board criteria for determining the confidential status
of an employee.
Accordingly, we shall order that the ballot of Diantha Whittaker be
opened and counted.
Direction
IT Is HEREBY DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain
representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with the
Employer, the Regional Director for the Twenty-first Region shall,
pursuant to 'National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations,
within ten (10) days from the date of this Direction, open and count
the ballots of Beatrice Campbell, Florence E. Hansen, and Diantha
Whittaker; and thereafter prepare and cause to be served upon the
parties a supplemental tally of ballots, including therein the count of
the ballots described above.
6 The Muller Company, Ltd., 98 NLRB 737; Wilson & Co., Ino., 97 NLRB 1388.
ETHEL FISTERE, AN INDIVIDUAL T/A ARTHUR MURRAY DANCE STUDIOS;
FIs rERE INCORPORATED OF ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, D/B/A ARTHUR
MURRAY DANCE STUDIOS ; FisTERE INCORPORATED OF ARLINGTON, VIR-
GINIA, DIB/A ARTHUR. MURRAY DANCE STUDIOS; FisTERE INCi0RPO-
RATED OF SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND, D/B/A ARTHUR MURRAY DANCE
STUDIOS 1 and WASHINGTON ASSOCIATION OF DANCE INSTRUCTORS,
PETITIONER . Case No. 5-RC-1083. September 80,195
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Henry L. Segal, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
I The names of the Employers appear as amended at the hearing.
100 NLRB No. 212.