G.R. No. L-5677 - La Campana Coffee Factory, Inc. vs. Kaisahan ng mga Manggagawa sa La Campana

Tan Tong, operating under the trade name "La Campana Gaugau Packing", engaged in the business of buying and selling gaugau since 1932, initially in Binondo, Manila, later relocating to Quezon City.
On July 6, 1950, Tan Tong and family incorporated La Campana Coffee Factory Co., Inc. at the same location as the gaugau operations.
On July 11, 1949, Tan Tong entered into a collective bargaining agreement with the Philippine Legion of Organized Workers (PLOW), to which his employees’ union was affiliated.
Subsequently, Tan Tong’s employees formed their own union, Kaisahan ng Mga Manggagawa sa La Campana, which applied for registration as an independent labor organization. Pending registration, it was granted a permit as an affiliate of Kalipunan ng Mga Kaisahang Manggagawa.

On July 19, 1951, the respondent Kaisahan (66 members from both La Campana Gaugau Packing and La Campana Coffee Factory) demanded higher wages and more privileges from what they collectively referred to as "La Campana Starch and Coffee Factory".
After failed attempts at conciliation by the Department of Labor, the labor dispute was certified to the Court of Industrial Relations on July 17, 1951 (Case No. 584-V).
On September 5, 1951, the Secretary of Labor revoked the permit of Kalipunan Ng Mga Kaisahang Manggagawa due to alleged subversive domination, and implicitly suspended the permit of its affiliate, Kaisahan, on September 20, 1951.

La Campana Gaugau and Coffee Factory and PLOW moved to dismiss the case on these grounds:

The action was improperly filed against two different entities with distinct personalities (La Campana Starch Factory and La Campana Coffee Factory, Inc.).
The La Campana Coffee Factory, Inc. employed less than 31 workers (jurisdictional requirement).
The labor union lacked legal capacity to sue because its registration was revoked.
A valid contract existed between La Campana Gaugau Packing and the intervenor PLOW binding workers.

The Court of Industrial Relations denied the motions after hearings and ocular inspection, finding that:

La Campana Coffee Factory, Inc. was a family corporation, while La Campana Gaugau Packing was a business name under one management.
Both businesses operated as one enterprise under the name La Campana Starch and Coffee Factory, sharing offices, management, payroll preparation, and labor interchangeability.
Evidence included company signboards, advertisements, packaging, delivery trucks carrying both products, and payroll records.
The legitimacy of the union’s permit prior to suspension was established.

The Court of Industrial Relations lacked jurisdiction to hear the case regarding La Campana Coffee Factory, Inc. due to insufficient number of employees (only 14 laborers).
The suspension of the union’s permit deprived it of collective bargaining rights and legal personality to sue under Commonwealth Act No. 213.

Whether the Court of Industrial Relations had jurisdiction over the labor dispute involving both La Campana Gaugau Packing and La Campana Coffee Factory, Inc., despite corporate distinction and employee count.
Whether the suspension of the labor union’s permit by the Secretary of Labor effectively removed the union’s legal personality and the right to sue or conduct collective bargaining.