National Labor Relations Board v. Gala-Mo Arts, Inc.

232 F.2d 102, 38 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2090, 1956 U.S. App. LEXIS 4518
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedApril 26, 1956
Docket15453
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 232 F.2d 102 (National Labor Relations Board v. Gala-Mo Arts, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Labor Relations Board v. Gala-Mo Arts, Inc., 232 F.2d 102, 38 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2090, 1956 U.S. App. LEXIS 4518 (8th Cir. 1956).

Opinion

GARDNER, Chief Judge.

This matter is before us on petition of the National Labor Relations Board to enforce its order directing Gala-Mo Arts, Inc. to cease and desist from certain alleged unfair labor practices and to reinstate and make whole one Dee UthofE an employee allegedly improperly discharged.

Respondent, a Missouri corporation, was organized in 1952 and was at all times pertinent engaged in the production of ceramic products at Sikeston, Missouri. It began business in 1952 and at the time of the hearing employed some forty to forty-five workmen. On January 28, 1953 an election was held for the purpose of determining whether the Feder *103 ation of Glass, Ceramic and Silica Sand Workers of America, CIO, Local 157, represented a majority of the employees for collective bargaining purposes. A majority of the vote cast favored the union and it was in due course designated as the bargaining representative for respondent’s employees. Following the designation of the union as the authorized representative of respondent’s employees for collective bargaining purposes negotiations were begun with respondent’s management with a view to agreeing upon a contract but no contract had in fact been agreed upon at the time of the alleged violations of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 151 et seq.

Pending these negotiations between the representatives of the union and the management, William E. Helms, president of the union, made verbal complaint to Norvill A. Tindall, foreman of respondent’s casting department, that the work was being unfairly distributed in the* casting department. As the result of this incident Tindall called C. E. Golladay, president of respondent. At this conference C. E. Golladay inquired of Helms what the trouble was, to which inquiry Helms answered that Tindall was unfit to act as foreman and that if Tindall and another foreman, Clarence Mandrell, were not fired the men would walk out. Confronted with this threat Mr. Golladay said he would have to have time to think the matter over and that he would let Helms know by ten o’clock that morning. On advice of counsel Mr. Golladay invited Reverend Madron G. Joyce, who was a Methodist minister, to attend the proposed conference and at the hour designated Mr. Helms and Mr. James Adcock, president and vice-president respectively of the union, appeared and met with Mr. Robert A. Dempster, respondent’s attorney, Reverend Joyce, Mr. C. E. Golladay and B. L. Golladay. There was a sharp conflict in the evidence as to what was said, particularly by Helms, at that conference. At the hearing Helms testified that he had not demanded that the foremen be fired and that he had been fired. On the other hand, Reverend Joyce testified that Helms had demanded the discharge of the two foremen under threat of a walkout and that nothing was said about discharging Helms. The trial examiner and the Board discredited Helms’ testimony as to what was said, particularly by him, and accepted the testimony of Reverend Joyce. At this conference in response to an inquiry as to what the trouble was Helms stated that Tindall and Mandrell were unfair and abusive, that Tindall was incapable of being a foreman and that Mandrell was too young to be a foreman. Helms declared that if the two foremen were not fired the men were walking out. Helms and Adcock were then asked to leave the meeting for a few minutes and they did so. Tindall was called in and questioned about the charges. Tindall was excused from the meeting and Helms and Adcock were recalled. Upon their return Helms and Adcock were told that the company was satisfied with the work and conduct of the two foremen and that the company was unwilling to discharge them. Helms thereupon announced that the men were walking out.

Of the approximately forty-three employees thirteen, including Helms, walked out and at noontime on October 1, 1953 the union established picket lines at the entrances to respondent’s plant. Following this walkout, on the afternoon of October 1 the company called persons who had previously applied and others whom they knew wanted jobs to replace the thirteen striking employees and by the end of the afternoon of October 1 all of the vacancies had been filled. Some of the new employees reported and began work the same afternoon and the others reported and began work the morning of October 2.

The proceeding culminating in the Board’s order was initiated October 19, 1953 by the filing of charges by the union alleging certain unfair labor practices on behalf of respondent. Based on these charges the Board, on December 4, 1953, filed formal complaint and there *104 after on December 29, 1953 filed its amended complaint. The respondent filed answer to this amended complaint and on the issues joined hearing was begun January 3, 1954. In substance, so far as here pertinent, the amended complaint charged that respondent had discriminatorily discharged Helms on October 1 and had discriminatorily discharged the other strikers on October 2, 1953. It also charged that the company had discriminatorily discharged Dee Uthoff on September 4, 1953, and there were other charges of interference and violations of the Act.

The issues were heard before a trial examiner who on June 15, 1954 filed an extended report and recommendations. He found, inter alia, that ten of the fourteen employees named in the amended complaint had been discriminatorily refused reinstatement after having gone on strike but that respondent had not discriminated against four others named in the amended complaint though respondent was guilty of the unfair labor practices as charged in the amended complaint and he recommended that the Board enter its order requiring respondent to reinstate and make whole the ten named employees improperly refused reinstatement and to cease and desist from engaging in the unfair labor practices charged in the complaint.

On the filing of the intermediate report by the trial examiner the respondent filed exceptions thereto. On consideration of the exceptions so filed and on consideration of the entire record the Board entered findings drastically modifying the findings of the trial examiner’s. intermediate report, and on the decision and findings so made and entered, entered its order which it now seeks to have enforced. The Board found that none of respondent’s employees save Uthoff had been discriminatorily discharged or improperly refused reinstatement but it in effect adopted the examiner’s findings with reference to the other alleged unfair labor practices.

In resisting enforcement of the Board’s order respondent in effect contends: (1) That the Board’s order and findings of fact are not supported by the preponderance of the evidence and are not supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole. (2) That the Board’s order and findings of fact regarding Dee Uthoff are not supported by the preponderance of the evidence and are not supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole, and (3) That the Board’s denial of respondent’s motion to make the complaint more definite and certain and motion to take depositions, deprived respondent of due notice and process as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, and particularly the Fifth Amendment thereto.

The Board in effect concurred in, approved and adopted the findings of the trial examiner that respondent interfered with, restrained and coerced its employees by denying William E.

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232 F.2d 102, 38 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2090, 1956 U.S. App. LEXIS 4518, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-labor-relations-board-v-gala-mo-arts-inc-ca8-1956.