Reynolds Metals Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 11, 1947

73 N.L.R.B. 352 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter Of REYNOLDS METALS COMPANY, EMPLOYER and UNITED
ALUMINUM & TIN FOIL WORKERS' UNION #19388, A. F. L., PETI-
TIONER
Case No. 9-R-2450.-Decided April 11, 19417
Messrs. Frank Weikel and S.: W. Royse, of Louisville, Ky., for the
Employer.
Messrs. E. G. Bartlett and Matthew Davis, of Louisville, Ky., for
the Petitioner.
Mr. A. C. Stevens, of Louisville, Ky., for the Intervenor.
Mr. Martin Sacks, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Louis-
ville, Kentucky, on January 9, 1947, before Clifford L. Hardy, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. At the hearing,
the Intervenor moved to dismiss the petition. For reasons stated
in Section III, below, the motion is hereby denied.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Reynolds Metals Company, a Delaware corporation, operates plants
in several States. It is engaged in the manufacture of cardboard
cartons and containers and the printing of labels and wrappers at
its Plant No. 10 in Louisville, Kentucky, the only plant involved
herein. During the last 3 months of 1946, the Employer purchased
for use at this plant paper products valued at approximately $50,000, of
which 90 percent represented purchases made outside the State of
Kentucky. During the same period the Employer's sales of its fin-
ished products from this plant amounted to approximately $40,000,
more than 10 percent of which represented shipments to points outside
the State.
73 N L. R B., No. 67.
352
REYNOLDS METAL COMPANY 353
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
International Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union of North
America, Paper Handlers Local 26 and Louisville Printing Pressmen
and Assistants' Union, Local No. 28, herein jointly called the Inter-
venor, are labor organizations affiliated with the American Federation
of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.'
M. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Petitioner made three successive requests of the Employer on
or about June 15, July 2, and October 23, 1946, for recognition as the
exclusive bargaining representative of certain of its employees. When
the Employer stated, in answer to the Petitioner's last request, that it
refused to recognize either the Petitioner or the Intervenor as the bar-
gaining representative for its employees until certified by the Board
in an appropriate unit, the Petitioner filed the instant petition.
At the hearing, the Intervenor moved to dismiss the petition on the
grounds, in effect, (1) that its "Memo of Understanding" with the
Employer bars an election and (2) that, because the American Federa-
tion of Labor has granted jurisdiction to it over the employees in the
unit sought by Petitioner herein, Petitioner may not now seek to repre-
sent these employees. We find no merit in either ground.
With respect to the first ground, the record discloses that the "Memo
of Understanding" relied on by the Intervenor as a bar was entered
into on June 25, 1946, by the Intervenor and the Employer as part of a
series of agreements which commenced in July 1942 with a contract
between the Employer's predecessor and the Intervenor's predecessor.
The "Memo of Understanding," which, by its terms, is to "continue
indefinitely," purports to embody the terms of one of the above series
of contracts which had expired on August 3, 1945, at the end of its one
year term.2 At the hearing, the Intervenor and the Employer took the
position, in effect, that the "Memo of Understanding" was merely an
'Both International Association of Machinists and International Brotherhood of Elec-
trical workers, A F L, entered their appearances at the opening of the hearing for the
purpose of protecting their interest in the employees within their respective jurisdictions
Upon the amendment of the petition herein to exclude such employees, both unions waived
any interest in this Proceeding and withdrew
2 The following is the full text of the Memo of Understanding . "Whereas the Company
and the Union have agreed to grant the employees three cents (3¢) per hour increase,
effective as of July 8, 1946 This memo of understanding is made a part of that contiact
effective as of August 3, 1944, expired on August 3, 1945, and was agreed between both
parties to continue indefinitely "
354 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
extension agreement, rather than a new contract of indefinite duration,
in view of the fact that negotiations for a new contract continued after
the execution of the "Memo of Understanding." We agree that the
"Memo of Understanding" is an extension agreement. However, be-
cause the contract which it purports to extend has been in effect for a
period of one year, and because the extension agreement is of indefinite
duration, we find that the "Memo of Understanding" does not bar an
election at this time.3
As to the second ground, inasmuch as the record discloses that
effective resolution of the jurisdictional dispute between these two
labor organizations cannot be had without resort to the administra-
tive processes of the Act, we shall follow our usual practice in such
cases of proceeding with the investigation.'
We find therefore that a question affecting commerce has arisen
concerning the representation of employees of the Employer, within
the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
In accordance with the agreement of the parties, we find that all
employees at Plant No. 10 of the Employer, excluding machinists,
maintenance mechanics, machinists' helpers and apprentices, elec-
trical maintenance journeymen and electrical maintenance appren-
tices, journeymen and apprentice maintenance carpenters, office cler-
icals, foremen, and any and all other supervisory employees with
authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect
changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such
action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION 5
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Reynolds Metals Company,
Louisville, Kentucky 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 Sec-
tions 203.55 and 203.56, of National Labor Relations Board Rules
and Regulations-Series 4, among the employees in the unit found
appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the
3 See Matter of Hytron Radio t Electronics Corporation, 66 N L R 267
"Matter of Crrinnell Company of the Pacific, 71 N. L. R B 1370, and cases cited therein
5 Any participant in the election herein may, upon its prompt request to, and approval
thereof by, the Regional Diiector, have its name removed born the ballot
REYNOLDS METAL COMPANY 355
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 em-
ployees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have
not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to
determine whether they desire to be represented by United Alumi-'
num & Tin Foil Workers' Union No. 19388, A. F. L., or by Inter-
national Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union of North Amer-
ica, A. F. L., Paper Handlers Local No. 26, and Louisville Printing
Pressmen and Assistants' Union, Local No. 28, for the purposes of
collective bargaining, or by neither.
CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
L