G.R. No. L-15459; October 31, 1960
UNITED STATES LINES COMPANY, petitioner, vs. COURT OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, ET AL., respondents.

FACTS

On or about February 21, 1956, the Associated Watchmen & Security Union (PTWO) filed a petition (Case No. 328-MC) with the Court of Industrial Relations (CIR) seeking certification as the collective bargaining agent for a unit of watchmen employed by the United States Lines Company to watch aboard its ships while docked in Philippine waters. The petition was later amended to cover only the Port of Manila. The Maligaya Ship Watchmen Agency was allowed to intervene. After joint hearings with related cases, the CIR, on December 20, 1956, ordered the Department of Labor to conduct a certification election among the watchmen. This decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court on May 11, 1958. The election was held on January 2, 1959, and the Agency won. Consequently, on January 23, 1959, the CIR issued an order certifying the Agency “as the sole and exclusive representative of all employees and laborers of the United States Lines” for collective bargaining. The Company moved for reconsideration, arguing that this order improperly expanded the bargaining unit from the watchmen in the Port of Manila to all employees and laborers of the Company nationwide. The CIR en banc denied the motion on February 19, 1959. The Company then filed this petition for review.

ISSUE

Whether the CIR order of January 23, 1959, certifying the Maligaya Ship Watchmen Agency as the exclusive bargaining representative for “all employees and laborers of the United States Lines,” should be construed as applying only to the watchmen working on the Company’s vessels in the Port of Manila, consistent with the original petition and subsequent proceedings.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the CIR order, but construed it in the limited sense intended by the proceedings. The Court held that the issue had become moot. It was conceded by all parties, including the CIR in its answer, that the pleadings, evidence, and prior decisions (including the Supreme Court’s affirmation) authorized a certification election only for the bargaining unit consisting of watchmen rendering service on the Company’s vessels in the Port of Manila. The CIR expressly stated it had no intention to expand the bargaining unit beyond this scope. Since the Agency did not oppose the petition for review, and there was no dispute that its right was limited to representing only the said watchmen, the order of January 23, 1959, was to be understood and applied solely within that limited context. Therefore, the order was affirmed as referring only to the watchmen in the Port of Manila unit, not to all employees and laborers of the Company.