NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

138 THIRD ANNUAL REPORT OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
In several cases the problem of the effect of an existing contract
was not passed upon by the Board because none of the parties claimed
that the contract constituted a bar to the proceedings.58
In Matter of Superior Electrical Products Co.," the organization
which filed the petition for investigation and certification claimed
to represent employees in the metal polishing department. The Board
found that on August 2, 1937, the company had executed a contract
recognizing a rival union as the exclusive bargaining agency for all
the production employees; that the contract was to remain in effect
for 1 year from the date of its execution; and that a majority of the
employees in the metal polishing department favored the execution
of the contract and participated in negotiations for it. Under these
circumstances the Board concluded that no question concerning representation
existed and, in its decision issued March 17, 1938, stated :
* * * we will not proceed with an investigation of representatives until
such time as the contract is about to expire and a question then exists as to the
proper representative for collective bargaining with respect to the negotiations
of a new agreement.
We will, therefore, dismiss the present petitions without prejudice to renewal
at a reasonable time before the expiration of the agreement * * *.
(0) THE KFFE01 OF PRIOR EURNJONS
The question concerning representation is not affected by the results
of a prior election sponsored by the employer. In Matter of
The Heller Brothers Company of Newcomerstown," the Board said :
* * we have invariably followed the policy of disregarding the results
of elections conducted by employers. Experience has shown that the presence
of supervisory employees at the polls, the conduct of the election on the employer's
property, the possibility of hidden identification marks on the ballots,
taken together with prior manifestations of preference for a particular labor organization,
preclude the casting of a ballot which registers the free and independent
choice of the employee. Although in the instant case, the mechanics of
the balloting were not impugned, we shall not depart from our usual policy.'
On the other hand, a consent election which was conducted under
the supervision of a Regional Director and which was found by the
Board to have been conducted in a fair and impartial manner and
with a proper decorum being maintained at the polls has been found
to resolve the question concerning representation. Matter of The
National Sugar Refining Company of New Jersey. 62 However, the
Board is not precluded from determining bargaining representatives
by a consent election which included the designation of an organization
found to be company-dominated, as in Matter of S. Blechman cf,
Sons, Inc.; 63 or by a consent election in which the employer, through
6, Matter of Shell Chemical Company and Oil Workers International Union, formerly
International Association of Oil Field, Gas Well and Refinery Workers of America, 4
N. L. R. B. 259; Matter of Novelty Slipper 00. and Employees of Novelty Slipper Co., Inc.,
and Boot & Shoe Workers' Union, A. F. of L., 5 N. L. R. B. 204; Matter of Woodville Lime
Products Company and American Federation of Labor, 7 N. L. R. B. 396.
'a Matter of Superior Electrical Products Igo. and Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers and
Helpers International Union, Local No. 18, 6 N. L. R. B. 19.
00 Matter of The Heller Brothers Company of Newcomerstown and International Brotherhood
of Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers, and Helpers, 7 N. L. R. B. 646.
61
For a similar holding that an election sponsored by the em ployer is not decisive of the
issues involved in the determination of representatives, see Matter of Northrop Corporation
and United Automobile Workers, Local No. e29, 3 N. L. R. B. 228.
a2 Matter of The National Sugar Refining Company of New Jersey and International
Longshoremen's Association, Local 1476, Sugar Refinery Workers, 4 N. L. R. B. 276.
6, Matter of S. Blechman & Sons, Inc. and United Wholesale Employees of New York,
Local 65, Textile Workers Organizing Committee—Committee for Industrial Organization
4 N. L. R. B. 15.