Compton v. United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, Puerto Rico District Council

220 F. Supp. 280, 53 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2967, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7102
District Court, D. Puerto Rico·Decided July 18, 1963·No. Civ. No. 245-63·Published

Opinion

RUIZ-NAZARIO, Chief Judge.

This cause came on to be heard upon the verified petition of Raymond J. Compton, Regional Director of the Twenty-Fourth Region of the National Labor Relations Board (herein called the Board), for a temporary injunction pursuant to Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended (herein called the Act), until the final disposition of the matters involved herein now pending before the Board, and upon the issuance of an order to show cause why injunctive relief should not be granted as prayed in said petition. Respondent filed an answer to said petition. A hearing on the issues raised by the petition and answer was duly held on July 11, 1963. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, to present evidence bearing on the issue, and to argue on the evidence and the law. The Court has fully considered the petition, answer, evidence, arguments and memoranda of counsel for the petitioner and for the respondent. Upon the entire record, the Court makes the following:

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Petitioner is Regional Director of the Twenty-Fourth Region of the Board, an agency of the United States, and filed the petition herein for and on behalf of the Board.

2. On or about May 24, 1963 Uhlhorn International, S. A. (herein called the Company) pursuant to the provisions of the Act, filed a charge at the Board’s Twenty-fourth Regional Office in San-turce, P. R., against the respondent alleging that it had violated and was violating Sections 8(b) (3) and 8(b) (1) (B) of the Act.

3. The aforesaid charge was referred to the petitioner as Regional Director of the 24th Region of the Board for investigation who found, on the basis of said investigation, that there was reasonable cause to believe that the Respondent was violating Section 8(b) (3) and 8(b) (1) (B) of the Act. Thereafter on June 25, 1963 the General Counsel of the Board on behalf of the Board, through the petitioner herein, issued a complaint against the respondent pursuant to Section 10(b) of the Act, alleging that respondent had engaged in and was engaging in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Sections 8(b) (3) and 8(b) (1) (B) of the Act and affecting commerce within the meaning of Sections 2(6) and (7) of the Act. On July 8, 1963 the petitioner amended the allegations of the original complaint without, however, changing the nature of the violations alleged against the respondent. Said amended complaint was served upon the respondent after the filing of the petition in this matter but before the hearing was held thereon. The respondent made no objection to the hearing being held on the petition notwithstanding the issuance of the amended complaint after the filing of the petition.

4. There is reasonable cause to believe that the allegations to that effect contained in the amended complaint issued by the petitioner on July 8, 1963 are true and that the respondent has engaged in and is engaging in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Sections 8(b) (3) and 8(b) (1) (B) of the Act and affecting commerce within the meaning of Sections 2(6) and (7) of the Act as follows:

(a) The Company is, and has been at all times material herein, a corporation organized under the laws of the Republic of Panama and duly registered to do business in Puerto Rico (Certificate of Registry Number 1713). At all times material herein, the Company has maintained an office and place of business at Santurce, P. R., where it is and has been [282]*282at all times material herein, engaged in a construction project for the United States Navy.

(b) The Company is, and has been at all times material herein, engaged in the construction of a radio communications station at Toa Baja, P. R. for the U. S. Navy. This is the only construction project which the company has on the island of Puerto Rico at the present time.

(c) During the past year the Company, in the course and conduct of its business operations in Puerto Rico, purchased and received materials and supplies valued at in excess of $50,000 which originated from places outside the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(d) The Company is and has been at all times material herein, engaged in commerce within the meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.

(e) United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Puerto Rico District Council, AFL-CIO, an unincorporated association, is a labor organization within the meaning of Sections 2 (5) and 8(b) of the Act, and at all times material herein has been engaged in this judicial district in promoting and protecting the interests of its employee members.

(f) All construction workers and maintenance employees employed by the Employer at its project site located at Barrio Ingenio, Toa Baja, P. R. exclusive of all office clerical employees, heavy equipment operators, professional employees, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act constitute a unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act.

(g) On or about March 15, 1963, a majority of the employees of the company in the unit described above, by a secret ballot election conducted under the supervision of the Regional Director for the 24th Region of the Board, designated and selected the respondent as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining with the Company, and on or about March 25, 1963, said Regional Director certified the respondent as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the employees in said unit.

(h) At all times since on or about March 25, 1963, and continuing to date, the respondent has been the representative for the purpose of collective bargaining of the employees in the unit described above, and by virtue of Section 9(a) of the Act, has been and is now, the exclusive representative of all the employees in said unit for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other terms and conditions of employment.

(i) On or about April 15, 1963 the respondent submitted a written contract proposal, described as the Mc-Donough Construction Co. contract, to be used as a basis for the negotiation of the contract to cover the employees of the Company working on its Toa Baja construction project. Thereafter and on May 3, 1963, representatives of the company and of the respondent met and discussed at length said contract proposal. I find, contrary to the respondent’s contention, that no meeting of the minds took place at said meeting on all of the terms of the contract to be applied to the employees of the company working at its Toa Baja project. On May 7, 1963 the respondent submitted a contract proposal containing some terms and conditions which were not contained in the McDonough contract and which had not been discussed by the parties.

(j) On May 13, 1963 the Company selected its attorney, Sarah Torres Per-alta to act as its negotiator for the purpose of negotiating the final terms of the collective bargaining contract to-be applied to the employees of its Toa Baja project. On May 14, 1963 said Sarah Torres Peralta orally advised the respondent’s representatives of her appointment as the negotiator of the Company for the purpose of negotiating the contract to be applied to its employees working at its Toa Baja construction project.

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Compton v. United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, Puerto Rico District Council, 220 F. Supp. 280, 53 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2967, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7102 (prd 1963).

220 F. Supp. 280 (Compton v. United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, Puerto Rico District Council) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.