Underwood Corp.Download PDFNational Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsJun 18, 1954108 N.L.R.B. 1368 (N.L.R.B. 1954) Copy Citation 1368 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD will accordingly leave the selection of the place of the election to the Regional Director's discretion. The Regional Director is of course expected to make such a determination with a view to serving the best interests of all parties involved in the proceeding. However, if either party is able to show that the selection of the place for the election, when finally made by the Regional Director, is prejudicial, it may either file a motion for reconsideration by the Board, setting forth its objection thereto, or make such action by the Regional Director the subject of objections to the election. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] UNDERWOOD CORPORATION and INTERNATIONAL ASSO- CIATION OF MACHINISTS, AFL, Petitioner and INTERNA- TIONAL UNION OF ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS, CIO (IUE-CIO). Case No. 2-RC-6296. June 18, 1954 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES On March 9, 1954, pursuant to a Decision and Direction of Election' issued by the Board, an election by secret ballot among employees of the Employer in the unit found appropriate was conducted under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director of the Second Region. The tally of ballots shows that, of the 902 ballots cast, 106 were cast for the Petitioner, 455 were cast for the Intervenor, 321 were cast against the participating labor organizations, 16 ballots were challenged, and 4 ballots were void. Thereafter, the Employer filed timely objections to the election,' alleging in substance that the Petitioner and the Intervenor interfered with the free choice of a bargaining representative in that (1) they threatened and coerced the employees, and (2) they solicited and cam- paigned on company time and property during the election, and that (3) the Intervenor made speeches to the employees on the Employer' s premises within 24 hours of the election, thereby violating the Board's rule in the Peerless Plywood case.' 1107 NLRB 1132. 2 In agreement with the Regional Director, the Employer's fourth objection is overruled because it was not timely filed. General Electric Company, 103 NLRB 108. The Employer also requests oral argument. in our opinion the record in the case, the exceptions, and the briefs fully present the issues and the positions of the parties. Accordingly, the request is denied. ' In Peerless Plywood Company, 107 NLRB 1127, the Board held that "employers and unions alike will be prohibited from making election speeches on company time to massed assemblies of employees within 24 hours of the scheduled time for conducting the election. Violation of this rule will cause an election to be set aside whenever valid objections are filed. " 108 NLRB No. 199. TENNESSEE-CAROLINA TRANSPORTATION, INC. 1369 After an investigation, the Regional Director, on April 8, 1954, issued his report on objections, in which he found that the objections of the Employer were without merit, and recom- mended that the objections be overruled and the appropriate certification be issued. Specifically, the Regional Director found that there is no evidence that either of the two Unions threatened or coerced any of the employees, or electioneered at or near the polling areas while the election was being conducted, and that the non- coercive speeches which the Intervenor made during the lunch hour on the day before the election from loudspeakers located outside the plants, and which could be heard by em- ployees in the plants during that time, did not violate the Peerless Plywood rule because attendance was voluntary and the speeches were made on the employees' own time. The Employer filed timely exceptions to the Regional Di- rector's report, in which it urges that the Board set aside the election or direct a hearing on the objections. We have considered the objections to the election, the Regional Director's report, and the Employer's exceptions thereto. In agreement with the Regional Director, and for the reasons set forth in his report, we find that the objections raise no substantial or material issues with respect to the conduct of the election, and we therefore overrule them. Because the tally of ballots shows that the Intervenor re- ceived a majority of the valid votes cast," we shall certify the Intervenor as the bargaining representative of the em- ployees in the appropriate unit. [The Board certified International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers, CIO (IUE-CIO), as the designated collective-bargaining representative of the employees in the unit found appropriate in the Decision and Direction of Elec- tion herein.] 4The challenged ballots are insufficient in number to affect the results of the election. TENNESSEE-CAROLINA TRANSPORTATION, INC. and TEAM- STERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS LOCAL UNION NO. 621, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL. Case No. 10-CA-1726. June 21, 1954 DECISION AND ORDER On August 24, 1953, Trial Examiner C. W. Whittemore issued his Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceed- ing, finding that the Respondent had engaged in and was en- gaging in certain unfair labor practices and recommending that 108 NLRB No. 179. Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation