1 - National Labor Relations Board

Representation Cases 71
vidual employees or nonemployees and that their conduct cannot
probatively be attributed either to employer or to the union. The
significant fact is that a free election was thereby rendered impossible."
A similar result was reached in Landis Morgan Transportation,
91 where certain acts of sabotage committed by unknown
persons prior to the election precluded "a rational coerced expression
of choice."
d. Secrecy of the Ballot
Section 9(c) (1) of the Act requires all Board elections to be
conducted by secret ballot. The Board enforced adherence to this
policy in T & G Mfg.," where it refused to accept the stipulation
of the parties that an employee's challenged but commingled ballot
was cast for the union. In its view acceptance of such an
agreement would not be consistent with the Board's purpose "of
preserving the secrecy of the election process." As stated, "There
is no way of ascertaining with certainty how the vote was cast.
We will not permit solicitation of such information from the
voter, nor allow the parties to stipulate how a voter exercised
his franchise, for this would create the very opportunity for
collusion, coercion, and election abuse the Board is committed to
prevent."
Similarly protective of the election process was the decision
in J. Weingarten, 93 where the regional director had begun his investigation
of a determinative ballot challenged by an incumbent
union intervening in the election because of the alleged supervisory
status of the voter. In sustaining the regional director's
denial of a request, made during the investigation, to withdraw
the challenge, the Board stated :
Where, as here, the challenged ballot is still uncounted and not commingled
with the other ballots, and the Regional Director's incomplete investigation
has revealed that in all likelihood, the challenged voter is ineligible to vote
because he is a supervisor, we hold that it is incumbent upon the Regional
Director to complete his investigation and to resolve the issue as to the voter's
status, notwithstanding a request to withdraw the challenge.
pi General Truckdrivera, Warehousemen & Helpers Union, Loc. 980, Teamsters, 177 NLRB
No. 51.
" 173 NLRB No. 231.
" 172 NLRB No. 228.
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