Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 26, 1951

94 N.L.R.B. 1559 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES, INC. 1559
Accordingly, we find that a question affecting commerce exists con-
cerning the representation of employees of the Employer within the
,meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7). of the Act.
4. The appropriate unit :
In accordance with the agreement of the parties, we find that all
production and maintenance employees at the Employer's Marion,
Indiana, electrical wire and cable plant, excluding powerhouse em-
ployees, the machine shop group, office clerical employees, guards,
-professional employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act, con-
-stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective- bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
-BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES , INC. and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIA-
TION OF MACHINISTS , PETITIONER . Case No. 2-RC 204. June 26,
1951
Decision and Direction of Elections
Upon a' petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Eugene M. Purver,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-mem-
ber panel [Members Houston, Reynolds, and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.'
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the represen-
tation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
6'(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
The Intervenor's predecessor and the Employer on September 30,
1948, executed a contract to run for an initial 21/2-year period, to
March 29, 19511, and from year to year thereafter absent 60 days' no-
tice of termination. The contract covered all maintenance and re-
search production employees of the Employer at its New York City
i Communications Workers of America, Local 1161 , CIO, hereinafter called the Inter-
venor , was permitted to intervene at the hearing.
94 NLRB No. 224. -
1560 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
operation and at five suburban and field laboratories located in New
Jersey at Murray Hill, Deal, Holmdel, Whippany, and Chester.2
The original petition in this case was filed on December 22, 1950,
and an amended petition was filed on January 23, 1951. In the mean-
time the Intervenor and Employer had reopened their contract and
negotiated an amendment thereto, the terms of which were embodied
in a memorandum signed by the parties on December 14, 1950, and
after ratification by the membership of the Intervenor, incorporated
in a formal agreement on December 21, 1950. This amendment ex-
tended the term of the 1948 contract to March 29, 1952. The Employer
and Intervenor urge the 1948 contract as extended as a bar to. the
petition.
Both the original petition and the amended petition herein were
timely filed with respect to the automatic renewal date of the 1948
contract, as originally drawn. Even assuming that the petition, or
amended petition, as the Intervenor contends, was not filed before the
execution of the amendment to the 1948 contract, the amended con-
tract may not operate as a bar to either petition, inasmuch as it pre-
maturely extended the 1948 contract.'
Accordingly, we find that a question affecting commerce exists con-
cerning the representation of employees of the Employer within the
meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate unit :
The Employer is engaged in the development of ideas, inventions,
and designs in the field of communication. Its main plant is located
in New York City, and it has 6 other plants in New York City and
in New Jersey. The production and maintenance employees at all 7
plants are covered by the existing contract between the Intervenor
and the Employer. Included in the contract unit are the following
groups : Restaurant group, building service group, power plant
group, print reproduction group, telephone operator, general service
group, building shop group, development shops group.
The development shops group contains 23 classifications. The
Petitioner seeks to sever from this group the following two units com-
prising altogether 9 of these classifications, in all the Employer's
plants 4
2 The contract unit comprises eight groups as follows : Restaurant group, building service
group, power plant group, print reproduction group, telephone operator , general service
group, building shop group , development shops group.
3 See Western Electric Company , Inc., 94 NLRB 54, reaffirming the rule, that when
a contract is prematurely extended , a petition timely filed with respect to the automatic
renewal of the original contract will not be barred by the extended contract.
In any event , neither the original 1948 contract nor the amended contract could operate
as a bar to the instant petition, as they both contain an illegal union -security clause.
Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation, 93 NLRB 527.
4 It was stipulated at the hearing that there was no objection to the lnultiplant scope
of the units sought by the Petitioner , and that some of the plants contained less than all,
or none, of the classifications included in the proposed units.
BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES, INC. 1561
Unit A-All the Employer's instrument and tool makers, instru-
ment and tool. makers precision, instrument makers, shop mechanics,
lathe operators, lathe operators precision, milling machine operators,
and milling machine operators precision.
Unit B-All the Employer's carpenter-cabinet makers.5
In.addition to the foregoing, the development shops group contains
the following classifications :
Shop hand, assembler, bench machine operator and assembler, tool-
room attendant, metal or wood finisher, junior mechanic, machine op-
erator, calibrator and tester, assembler and wireman, general labora-
tory mechanic, senior metal or wood finisher, senior calibrator and
tester, senior assembler and wireman, and laboratory mechanic.
It appears from the record that the employees in the categories
sought to be included in unit A are required to exercise the skills
traditionally associated with the machinist's craft, involving the op-
eration of a wide variety of machine tools and precision instruments,
and, in some cases, the fabrication of tools and dies.
The carpenter-cabinet makers, sought to be included in unit B, are
required to have at least 5 years' experience in. the work of their craft;
some of them work in a separate cabinet shop, while others work in
the same shop as the electricians. They are under different super-
vision from the other employees in the development shops group.
Their supervisor also supervises other categories of maintenance em-
ployees, who are not sought to be included in the proposed unit. .
As to the categories in the development shops group excluded from
the proposed units, the record indicates the following :
1. The shop hand, assembler, bench machine operator and assembler,
toolroom attendant, and junior mechanic, while required to work with
some machinist's tools, are not required to exercise craft skill.
2. The metal or wood finisher, senior metal or wood finisher, cal-
ibrator and tester, senior calibrator and tester, assembler and wire-
man, and senior assembler and wireman are not required to work with
any of the tools of the machinist's trade.
3. The machine operator is required to operate machine tools.
There was no indication in the record, however, of the degree of skill
required.
4. General laboratory mechanics and laboratory mechanics are re-
quired to exercise a high degree of . skill in working with machine
tools.
5In its amended petition the Petitioner requested the establishment of six separate
units comprising the foregoing classifications . However , in its brief the Petitioner
indicated that it was now seeking only the two units set forth in the text.
1562 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
It appears from the foregoing that there are at least two excluded
classifications-general laboratory mechanics and laboratory me-
chanics-who perform work requiring the same skills as the employees
sought to he included in unit A. - We find, therefore, that unit A. is
not sufficiently comprehensive and may not constitute an appropriate-
unit.
However, we find that a unit comprising the laboratory mechanics
and general laboratory mechanics, in addition to those categories
sought by the Petitioner to be included in unit A, may constitute an
appropriate unit, if the employees involved so desire. As the Peti-
tioner has demonstrated that it has a sufficient interest in unit A, as
thus enlarged, we shall direct an election therein.
Unit B, sought by the Petitioner, as already stated, is limited to,
the carpenter-cabinet makers. It appears from the record, however,
that the Employer employs in its building shop groups persons classi-
fied as "carpenters" 6 who do work requiring the exercise of the tradi-
tional skills of their craft. We find, therefore, that unit B is likewise
not sufficiently comprehensive. However, we find that a unit consist-
ing of both carpenters and carpenter-cabinet makers may constitute
an appropriate unit, for purposes of collective bargaining, if the em-
ployees in those classifications so desire. As the Petitioner has dem-
onstrated that it has a sufficient interest in unit B as thus enlarged, we,
shall direct an election in the larger group.
Upon the entire record, we find that the following groups of em-
ployees may constitute separate, appropriate units for the purposes of
collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the
Act :
(1) All employees of the Employer at its New York City and New
Jersey plants in the following classifications, excluding office, clerical,
and professional employees, watchmen, guards, and supervisors, in-
strument and tool makers, instrument and tool makers precision; in-
strument makers, shop mechanics, lathe operators, lathe operators
precision, milling machine operators, milling machine operators pre-
cision, laboratory mechanics, and general laboratory mechanics.
(2) All the Employer's carpenters and carpenter-cabinet' makers
at its New York and New Jersey plants, excluding office, clerical and
professional employees, watchmen, guards, and supervisors.
6 The only reference to these carpenters is in the list of Job descriptions received. In
evidence as an exhibit. The "carpenters' " duties are there stated to include :
"Repair windows, doors, floors, ladders, etc ., build fences , cover roofs ; build concrete.
forms, lay floors and floor coverings , erect interior wood stud partitions and metal
partitions , and such equipment as benches , and do other carpentry work of a similar
nature."
The carpenter -cabinet maker is required by his job description to "lay out work from
drawings or other information , make and fix parts, assemble and repair woodwork of all.
kinds . . . and erect wool panel and metal partitions and wainscoting. .. .
THE SOUTHLAND CORPORATION 1563
However, we shall make no final unit determinations at this time,
but shall be guided in part by the desires of the employees as expressed
in the elections hereinafter directed. If a majority of the employees
in either of the voting groups described above vote for the Petitioner,
they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a sepa-
rate appropriate unit. Otherwise, they will be taken to have indicated
a desire to remain part of the existing contract unit.'
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]
I If the Petitioner does not wish to proceed to an election in the units as enlarged
herein , it may withdraw its petition upon prompt request to and approval by the Regional
Director.
THE SOUTHLAND CORPORATION, OAK FARMS DAIRIES DIVISION and
LOCAL 745, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUF-
FEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, PETITIONER. Case
No. 16-RC-706. June 06, 1951
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly filed, under Section 9 (c) of the Act a hearing
was held before Charles Y. Latimer, hearing officer. The hearing
officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and
are hereby affirmed.'
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members
Murdock and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. Oak Farms Dairies is 1 of 3 separately managed divisions of The
Southland Corporation, the Employer herein. The other 2 are the
Ice Division, which manufactures and sells ice in numerous Texas
cities, both at retail and to dealers, and the Seven-Eleven Stores Di-
vision, which operates about 95 retail, drive-in grocery stores in the
State. The Dairies Division manufactures and distributes dairy prod-
ucts in a large area of the State both at wholesale and at retail. Its
Dallas plant, here involved, operates on a wholesale basis, manufactur-
ing all the ice cream and cottage cheese for the division. The Dairies
Division's purchases for 1950 amounted to approximately $3,000,000,
in value, of which $370,000 were estimated as representing out-of-State
' The Employer 's motion to dismiss because the petition as filed incorrectly named Oak
Farms, Ltd., as the Employer , rather than Southland Corporation , and because the dairy
operation is local in character , is denied . The petition was corrected by amendment at
the hearing and the Employer has shown no prejudice in this regard . In addition, see-
the Board ' s discussion in paragraph numbered 1 of this Decision and Direction.
94 NLRB 228.