N. L. R. B. EXHIBIT No. 323-L COMMENT ON CURRENT LABOR SITUATION, 18TH REGION, NOVEMBER, 1938 The labor situation in Iowa was rather quiet during the month. The Swift Packing House strike at Sioux City continued deadlocked throughout the month, the National Guard being withdrawn at the end of the month. Both the A. F. L. and C. I. O. are awaiting with more than usual interest the new legislative session, and both are pressing for a State Labor Relations Act The State A. F. L. Yearbook warmly advocated this, and praised the work of the Board in the State of Iowa. During the month Examiner Voght was successful in securing certification for the Amalgamated in all of the major companies engaged in the pearl button industry at Muscatine. Only a few very small shops remain uncertified. In Northern Minnesota a serious situation is threatening in the timber industry Last fall negotiations looking toward the renewal of the contract between the C. I. O. union and the Employer Association broke down in a deadlock. Actual operations are commencing now, and some of the smaller companies are insisting that their employees joint the Carpenters' Union before being employed. This has resulted in the shut-down by the C. I. O. union of one operation, and a similar threatened situation with several other employers. Charges have been filed with respect to all the employers at present involved, and are now under investigation. Two of the larger operations signed individual renewals of last year's contracts. Last month we reported on vigilante activity in Western North Dakota. In the timber situation just mentioned, there is a threat of vigilante activity, and some definite vigilante action has been taken against the Teamster's union in a case we are handling in Western Minnesota. This is particularly disturbing in these areas, as they are the first manifestations of their kind for some time. We have received our Ford case here involving the discharge of five old enployees. The company insists that the discharges were for cause and we anticipate an early hearing. (Sgd) R. J. W. Robt. J. Wiener. N. L. R. B. EXHIBIT No. 323-M MAY 31, 1937. To: National Labor Relations Board. Last month's report indicated we were uncertain as to the attitude of the employer since the momentous decision of April 12th. We can now make a fair statement on this point based on results. At first the average employer was non-committal and evasive. Then it seemed to gradually dawn on them that the Supreme Court has actually "gone to town" for us. The addition of an information bureau for employers would be a proper adjunct to this office. For instance, in three cases on file, Oregonian Publishing Co., American Can Company and the Post Intelligencer, the management sought our advice and convincingly indicated their desire to comply with the Act. Last month we mentioned the Columbia River Lumber Strike. The settlement of this strike and subsequent arbitration we consider the most effective and far-reaching work done by the Board since its inception and your Director was one of the original staff members in 1933. In two days and seven hours from the time actual negotiations commenced, your Director caused the minds of the respective committees to meet; with only one work day intervening 13,000 men returned to work, involving a $78,000 payroll per day or approximately Heretofore our lumber strikes have lasted from 6 weeks $25,000,000 per year. to 3 months. (Space will not permit further comment, but a copy of the settlement and arbitration award will be mailed any Director upon request.) During the course of the negotitaions many public officials and employers were contacted and they ascertained, some for the first time, the modus operandi of the Board. Since the settlement we have received much favorable comment from the press, employers and workers, organized and unorganized. My last report stressed the seriousness of the CIO-AFofL jurisdictional dispute It is so important that the lumber unions, no raging in the Pacific Northwest. Maritime Federation and Guild are seriously considering affiliating with the C. I. O. John Brophy, CIO, and 'Big' Bill Hutcheson will be in our midst this week. Dave Beck, Int. V. P. of the Teamsters, has returned from the convention at Cincinnati. The battle lines are drawn and the zero hour is near. In three cases last week the employers fired CIO workers rather than be closed by the Teamsters. In the one case which we accepted a settlement was reached by agreement. The Teamsters are leading the fight against the CIO and CIOminded unions. Portland, Oregon has been selected as the battleground. Last week, the ILA's strong [Remainder not furnished by N. L. R. B.] N. L. R. B. EXHIBIT No. 323-N INTER-OFFICE COMMUNICATION NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD JANUARY 31, 1938. To: E. S. Frankfurter. The battle rages on! The solution to the C. I. O.-A. F. of L. controversy seems as far away as ever. During the month all of the mills in the Portland area except one reopened under C. I. Ŏ. Now they are all closed down again except two. The employers are still claiming they cannot operate in the face of the A. F. of L. boycott. The C. I. O. alleges the employers only opened in order to avoid payment of unemployment insurance. This law on unemployment insurance is new, becoming effective in Oregon on January 3, 1938. Last week Governor Martin of Oregon made the statement after the mills decided to reopen, that they would undoubtedly remain open if the NLRB did not interfere. The Governor continues to attack the Administration and labor unions, especially the C. I. O. During the month, Portland's three newspapers were closed down by the Typographical Union strike. The papers were closed for about six days. It is the first time in history that the unions have actually forced the closing of these newspapers. The union obtained its demand for increased wages, but lost on their demand for shorter hours. Where the unions in my region were advised of the cut in our budget by the Senate Appropriations Committee there was an uprising. One telgeram to the Oregon senators was signed by fifteen A. F. of L. unions and fourteen C. I. O. unions. In Seattle, wires were sent to Senators Bone and Schwellenbach by unions representing well over 100,000 workers. Three A. F. of L. unions representing approximately 20,000 members sent vigorous telegram. Dave Beck, International Teamster representative for the Pacific Coast, is still vigorously attacking the C. I. O., while Harry Bridges is occupied right now with attempts to deport him. Same is true of Harold Pritchett, president of International Woodworkers of America. The election for the presidency of the I. W. A. will be completed in a few days. During the month we closed 89 cases involving 14,287 workers. We received only sixteen new cases, leaving cases pending on February 1st, 89 involving 11,086 workers. We have scheduled six hearings for February. We completed three hearings in January. During the past month many employer groups have invited Mr. Patterson and myself to speak on the Wagner Act. Wherever we have spoken we have found a very favorable reaction. Today your director was invited to speak next week before the Knights of the Round Table and the Exchange Clubs. We mention this fact because we have been urging an educational program on the intent of the Act and the results of the actual operation of the Board. There have been a large number of strikes in my region the past month, the most important one being the alleged lockout of the longshoremen by the waterfront employers. Joseph P. Kennedy, new ambassador to England, was passing through Seattle at the time, and he stopped long enough to bring the contending groups together. The strikes have been caused by the C. I. O.-A. F. of L. fight, and because many employers have attempted to cut wages, giving the recession as their excuse. Many unions are asking for increases, so it is very obvious that many differences arise, and it so happens there have been a large number of strikes. Armour & Company was closed yesterday by reason of a demand of the Meal (Signed) CHARLES W. HOPE. Charles W. Hope. N. L. R. B. EXHIBIT No. 323-0 22 Reg. AUGUST 1, 1938 We received seventeen new cases during the month of July, 1938, and disposed of sixteen. There is a marked increase of labor activity, including a number of threatened strikes. In Colorado a strike called by the Denver Newspaper Guild because of the r fusal of the Denver Post to sign an agreement was averted through our intervention. After numerous conferences with both sides, an agreement was firaly reached and signed. We also were able to settle a strike at Greeley, Colorado, among employees of a pea packing and shipping contractor. In this case the sheriff had arrested a number of the pickets and had been supplied with tear gas for the purpose of breaking up the strike. County officials had pledged their support to the employer. In general, it was understood that if the strike was successfully defeated, organization in the beet fields would be completely fr trated. The strike was therefore held out by the local newspapers as an "example". Through our intervention the arrested pickets were released without preferment of charges and a closed shop contract was signed by the employer with the union. In Montana we adjusted a strike involving all of the auto mechanics in Helers. In regard to these cases involving the auto dealers, we have received several requests from other regions concerning the question of jurisdiction. In the cases affecting the Automobile Dealers Association in Denver, Colorado, we assumed jurisdiction and held a hearing on the theory that dealers who distributed cars in several states and sold a good part of their products in states other than Coiorado were engaged in interstate commerce. All of the dealers concerned sold between approximately 15 and 25 per cent of their products in surrounding states. We think there has developed a tendency on the part of employers in our Region to settle cases. A number of cases we had expected to go to hearing settled after the issuance of the complaint. The result of this wave of adjustments and anticipated adjustments is that we have only one case scheduled for hearing at the present time. This is a very encouraging factor. We would be very interested in hearing from other Regions as to whether this is really a trend. We note also the increased use of other facilities than ours in the holding of elections. In several recent cases we have received petitions or inquiries as to the holding of an election and have found, upon investigation, that an election has already been held by a state agency. The employer then seeks to impress us with the fact that our intervention is totally unnecessary, since the question has been settled. This appears to be a ruse to secure the holding of an election at a time which best suits the employer. During the past month we completed our hearing in the case of the Colorado Fuel & Iron Corporation, which was held both at Pueblo, Colorado, and at Sunrise, Wyoming. The main issue involved was the Employees' Representation Plan, which was alleged to be company-dominated. One In Utah we have concluded a long series of hearings against various respondents and have lately been approached by attorneys who express a desire to cooperate rather than to oppose the Board in the matter of securing adjustment. attorney who formerly had formed and represented many of the company unions in Salt Lake City has advised us that the time for company unions has passed and that he fully realized the necessity for his clients to deal with "legitimate" organizations. His sudden conversion may be due in part to the results of the hearings or may be attributed to an understanding between himself and certain representatives of organized labor. There are disturbing signs in Utah which indicate a number of company-dominated unions may be taken over by and receive charters from national labor organizations. However, this requires further observation and study. In general the summer cessation of work is over and our office is humming with activity. Industrial leaders in this vicinity seem more cheerful about the business outlook. In some cases, such as the Colorado Fuel & Iron Corporation and the Utah Copper Company, business has resumed on a large scale after a shutdown, and the effect on the workers in this region is marked. (N. L. R. B. Exhibit Nos. 324-366 were received as N. L. R. B. Supplement to Exhibit No. 1615, introduced in Volume 24, Part I, August 1, 1940], N. L. R. B. EXHIBIT NO. 324. ALLIS-CHALMERS MFG. CO., XII-R-194. To: John G. Shott, Director, 12th Region. From: Nathan Witt, Secretary. Subject: Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co., Case No. R-215. MAY 1, 1940. This is with reference to your memorandum of April 26, 1940, addressed to Miss Frankfurter. Our files indicate that the situation is as follows: The petition in this case was filed on June 14, 1937. Hearings were held from July 12 through July 28, 1937. A Decision and Direction of Election was issued on November 20, 1937, and it was stated that those employees entitled to vote were those on the pay roll of the week including November 20, 1937. The election was conducted on January 3 and 4, 1938. On February 9, 1938, the Board issued a Supplemental Decision and Certification of Representatives. The Board certified on the basis of the election that had been held and stated, also, that: "Before the elections were held, but after the issuance of the Board's decision, questions arose as to the eligibility of indentured apprentices, cooperative students, and graduate students, and as to whether or not assistant foremen and inspectors were employed in supervisory capacities. The Regional Director ordered that the ballots cast by these employees be segregated. The number of employees in these classifications who cast ballots are as follows: These ballots cannot affect the results of the elections listed above. In order to facilitate collective bargaining and to extend to the employees as quickly as possible the benefits of the collective bargaining that has already taken place, the Board will issue a Certification applicable to the employees other than those in these five categories. When the Board has made a final determination as to the status of assistant foremen, inspectors, graduate students, indentured apprentices and cooperative students, it will, if it finds that any of these groups are to be included within the appropriate unit, issue another certification embodying that finding.' However, the Board has taken no action with respect to the supplementary hearing on the status of assistant foremen, graduate students, indentured apprentices, cooperative students, and inspectors up to the present time, except that on August 16, 1938, it issued a "notice of Supplementary Hearing" and on September 8, 1938, it issued a Notice of postponement of supplementary hearing. The reason for the delay in the determination of the issue with respect to these five groups of employees was, first, that it was thought the issues could be amicably settled between the parties during their regular negotiations, and, secondly, because of a split in the U. A. W. A. local. Because of the great lapse of time, we are no longer considering this as a pending proceeding. You may so inform the parties if the question should ever come up again. We do not believe it necessary to take any formal action in respect to revoking the Notice of Supplementary Hearing and the Notice of postponement of that hearing. MRK:RS N. L. R. B. EXHIBIT No. 325 ALUMINUM GOODS MFG., Co., XII-R-160 N. L. R. B. EXHIBIT No. 325-A Inter-office Communication NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD To: All Regional Directors. NOVEMBER 20, 1939. From: Nathan Witt, Secretary. Subject: Consolidation of C and R cases. The Board has considered the problem of original consolidation of C and R cases, and has decided that hereafter C and R cases filed by the same union sha! not be consolidated originally, excepting R cases and 8 (5) cases which do Lo involve direct 8 (1) allegations. The reason for this decision is that the normal lapse of time before issuance of a decision in a C case usually makes the record in an R case heard at the same t stale. The Board believes that it would be better to hold a new hearing in ar R case after the C case has been disposed of, especially now that R cases are beg disposed of more expeditiously. For these reasons, the Board directs that hereafter, where an R case is filed by the same union with a C case, the R case should be withdrawn without prejudice in the event the C case goes to hearing. When a C case is filed by the same union after filing an R case, the union should be advised to withdraw the R case without prejudice in the event that the C case goes to hearing. The union, in such cases, should be advised to make a written request to the employer for recognition and collective bargaining. Such a request will protect the union in the event that the employer desires thereafter to enter negotiations or make an agreement with some other labor organization. Under the present procedure, the petitioner is protected in such a case by having its petition on file; with the withdrawal of the petition, the suggested request will give the necessary protection. A special variant of the situation last discussed arises in cases where the union wishes to file an 8 (5) charge after it has filed a petition. In such cases, if the petition is withdrawn, for reasons stated above or for other reasons, the union should be advised to make a written request to the employer after withdrawal of the petition and before filing of the charge. Unions which file petitions and charges at the same time should be advised at the time of filing that in the event the C case goes to formal hearing, they will be expected to withdraw the petition without prejudice as specified above. Where. of course, the C case is settled informally, the Regional office may proceed on the R case originally filed; or if the union has withdrawn the R case, it can always file a new one, if necessary. Where the union has, because of the explanation above, not filed a petition with the C case, it can always file one if the C case is settled informally. The above sets forth the procedure which the Board intends to follow hereafter However, you should feel perfectly free to suggest consolidation in such cases where the circumstances seem to you to so warrant. N. L. R. B. EXHIBIT NO. 325-B INTER-OFFICE COMMUNICATION NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD SN W JANUARY 15, 1940 To: John G. Shott. From: Beatrice M. Stern. Subject: Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Co., XII-R-160, C-1096. Pursuant to Mr. Witt's memorandum M-1079, I am requesting that you attempt to secure the withdrawal of the petition filed by A. G. M. Workers Association on July 1, 1938. You should, of course, explain to the union that the procedure is indicated for the reason set forth in that memorandum and that f |