NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

124 THIRD ANNUAL REPORT OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
between the association and the respondent was made confirms the conclusion
that the association is nothing but a tool of the respondent.'
After the Supreme Court declared the act constitutional on April
12, 1937, the Board was presented with several cases 88 in which employers
ostensibly attempted to divest themselves of control of labor
organizations which they continued to dominate. Typical of these
cases is Matter of Swift & Company." In . 1933 Swift & Company
established an Employee Representation Plan at its Evansville ., Ind.,
plant. After the constitutionality of the act was affirmed by the Supreme
Court of the United States on April 12, 1937, Swift & Co.,
realizing that the plan was proscribed under the act, notified the plant
assembly (the governing body of the plan) that "it is not possible
to continue the present representation plan." A statement prepared
by the main office was read to the employees by Becker, the plant
superintendent, at Evansville. After stating that the plan would
have to be discontinued, he continued :
Whether you wish to establish an employees' representation plan for collective
bargaining that will comply with the terms of the law, is a matter for
you to decide. If you wish to adopt a plan for negotiating with the company
on wages, hours, and working conditions, it should not Include management
participation in elections of employee representatives, the furnishing of printed
material by the company, nor company compensation to employee representatives
for time spent away from their work, except when conferring with
management, as this latter is not prohibited by law.
It shall be the policy of the company to continue to consult with its employees
on all matters of mutual interest in an honest effort to find the proper solution
to problems. Finally, the company earnestly desires that the understanding
growing out of our relationships during these past many years will be the basis
upon which the continued good relations between employees and the company
will be maintained.
Becker handed a copy of the statement and a digest of the act to
the representatives. The employee representatives then agreed to
form an unaffiliated organization before adjourning. A petition,
which 195 employees signed, was circulated for this purpose. An
attorney was hired and formal papers prepared for the "Employees'
Association of Swift & Co., Evansville, Ind.," but at a subsequent
meeting not more than 7 of 150 employees attending signed membership
applications in the association. Subsequently, four meetings
were held by the representatives on company property to devise ways
82 See also Matter of Sunshine Mining Company and International Union of Mine, Mill
and Smelter Workers, 7 N. L. R. B. 1252, where the respondent, through the use of a labor
organization which it controlled and of public officials, broke the strike and paved the
way for the formation of a second company-dominated organization to succeed the original
organization
,a Matter of The Falk Corporation and Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin
Workers of America, Lodge 1528, 6 N. L. R. B. 854; Matter of Swift & Company, a Corporation,
and Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, Local
No. 641, and United Packing House Workers Local Industrial Union, No. SOO, 7 N. L. R. B.
269; Matter of Swift & Company and United Automobile Workers of America, Local No.
265; Matter of Swift & Company and United Packing House Workers L. I. Union No. g28,
Affiliate C. L 0., 7 N. L. R. R. 287; Matter of Beloit Iron Works and Pattern . Makers League
of North America; Matter of Beloit Iron Works and International Association of Machinists,
7 N. L. ft. B. 216: Matter of American Radiator Company, a Corporation. and
Local Lodge No. 1770, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers of North
America, Affiliated With the Committee for Industrial Organization, 7 N. L. R, B. 1127
Matter of The Electric Auto-Lite Company, Bay Manufacturing Division and International
Union, United Automobile Workers of America Local No. 526, 7 N. L. R. B. 1179. See also
Matter of The Hoover Company and United Electrical and Radio Workers of America, Local
No. 709, 6 N. L. R. B. 688.
84 Matter of Swift & Company and United Automobile Workers of America, Local No.
26;: Matter of Swift & Company and United Packing House Workers L. I Union No. RS,
Affiliate C. T. O., 7 N. L. R. B. 287.