50 N.L.R.B. 87 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

Pomona Terra Cotta Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsJun 3, 1943

50 N.L.R.B. 87 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter Of POMONA TERRA COTTA COMPANY and UNITED STONE AND ALLIED PRODUCTS WORKERS OF AMERICA, C. I. O. Case No. R-5414.-Decided June 3, 1943 Mr. Robert Levett, for the Board. . Hines c Boren, by Mr. Charles A. Hines and Mr. Norman A. Boren, of Greensboro, N. C., for the Company. - Mr. Sam H. Scott and Mr. John C. Ceope, of Winston-Salem, N. C., for the Union. Mrs. Augusta Spaulding, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by United Stone and Allied Products Workers of America, C. I. 0., herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning -the representa- tion of employees of Pomona Terra Cotta Company, Pomona, North Carolina, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before J. J. Fitzpatrick, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Greens- boro, North Carolina, on May 20, 1943. The Board, the- Company, and the Union appeared and participated. At the close of the hearing the Company moved to dismiss this proceeding, on the ground that the Union did not disclose sufficient present interest among the Com- pany's employees to warrant an' election. The Trial Examiner did not rule upon this motion. For reasons which appear in Section III, below, the motion is denied. All parties were afforded, full oppor- tunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rul- ings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. 50 N. L . R. B., No. 19. 87 88 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Pomona Terra Cotta Company is engaged in the manufacture and -sale of vitrified clay products, such as sewerage pipe, brick, and flue lining at Pomona, North Carolina. The principal products used by the Company in its manufacture,are clay, shale, and coal, the annual value' of which is approximately $150,000. -About two-thirds of the raw materials used by the Company originates outside North Carolina. The Company annually finishes at its plant products valued at approx- imately $700,000, of which 25 percent is shipped outside North Carolina. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED United Stone and Allied Products Workers of America is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION In March 1943, the Union asked the Company to bargain on behalf of employees at its plant. The Company refused to bargain, denying that the Union represented a majority of its employees. A statement prepared by the Regional Director and introduced into evidence at the hearing indicates that the Union represents a substan- tial number of employees in the unit herein 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 National Labor Rela= - 1 The Union submitted 169, authorization cards, dated between November 1942 and April' 1943 ; 113 of which appear to bear the genuine original signatures of employees on the 6ompany ' s pay roll of April 23, 1943 . There are approximately 244 employees in the appropriate bargaining unit. The Company contends that the Union has made insufficient showing of present representation among the employees herein concerned and that for this reason the Board should, dismiss this proceeding . We find this contention without merit.. As- we, have frequently ' stated, authorization or membership cards are required , not as a proof of the precise number of employees who desire to be represented by a labor organiza Lion, or as a basis for determining the appropriate representative , but simply to provide a reasonable safeguard against the indiscriminate institution of representation proceedings by labor organizations which might have little or no membership in the unit claimed to-be appropriate Matter of H. G. Hill Stores , Inc. Warehouse and local 2-7, Internataonal- Longshoremen's and Wa,ehousenien 's Union, affiliated with the 0. I. 0.; 39 N. L. R. B. 874, and cases cited therein. POMONA TERRA COTTA COMPANY IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT _ 89 We find, in accordance with a stipulation of the parties, that all pro- duction and maintenance employees of the Company, excluding em- -ployees in a supervisory capacity and office workers, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the mean- ing of Section 9 (c) 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 employees of the Company in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our 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 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 Pomona Terra Cotta Company, Pomona, North Carolina, 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 Fifth 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 all employees of the Company within the unit found appropriate in Sec- tion IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period imme- diately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during such 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 employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause , to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by United Stone and Allied Products Workers of America, C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective bargaining.