TWENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT - National Labor Relations Board

Representation Cases 53
tion year is held to merge with the contract, the contract becoming
controlling with respect to the timeliness of a rival petition
Absent unusual circumstances, a Board certification is binding on
a "successor" employer, without the requirement of express adoption "
However, where following a Board certification a small poi tion of
the certified unit was splintered from the huger part of the unit and
put in independent operation under a different company, the Boaid
held the certification no bar to a petition for this relatively small segment
of employees, as they had been effectively separated for unit
imposes from the othei employees covered by the certification 69
b Twelve-Month Limitation
Section 9(c) (3) prohibits the holding of an election in any bargaining
unit or any subdivision in which a valid election was held during
the preceding 12-month period The Board gives the same effect to
elections conducted by responsible State agencies as to Boai d-conducted
elections, wheie they afford the employees involved an opportunity
to express their true desires as to a collective-bargaining agent
and are not attended by iriegulatities 70 Under this policy, a Board
majority sustained a legional directoes dismissal of a petition because
of a recent election held under the auspices of the Virgin Islands
Cornmissionei of Apiculture and Labor in the proposed bargaining
unit 71 In giving the Virgin Islands election the same effect
as an election under section 9, the majority noted that although the
challenge procedures of the Virgin Islands did not conform to the
Board's, the parties voluntarily participated in the election and the
election was conducted without substantial deviation from due process
equirements
It has been the Board's view that section 9(c) (3) only piohibits the
holding of an election during the proscribed period, but does not require
the Board to dismiss any petition filed during the 12-monthi
pound as untimely However, i ecognizing the desn ability of establishing
specific periods for the timely filing of petitions, the Board
has adopted the policy that petitions filed mole than 60 clays before
the expiration of the statutoly 12-month period will be dismissed
forthwith 72
18 See, eg, Ray Brooke v NLRB, 348 US at 97 98 (1954)
American Concrete Pipe of Hawaii, faa, 128 NLRB 720
"See Bluefield Produce ti Proviaton Co. 117 NLRB 1660, 16133 (1957) , Olin mathieeon
Chemical Corp, 115 NLRB 1501 (1956)
la Wart Indian 00 ,129 NLRB 1203, Member Kimball dissenting
"See Vickers, /no, 124 NLRB 1051, 1052-1053 (1959) , Twenty-fifth Annual Report
(1960), pp 36-87