General Steel Castings Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 4, 1937

3 N.L.R.B. 779 (N.L.R.B. 1937)

In the Matter of COMMONWEALTH DIVISION OF GENERAL STEEL CAST-
INGS CORPORATION and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF BOILER-
MAKERS, IRON SHIP BUILDERS , WELDERS AND HELPERS OF AMERICA;
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, DISTRICT No. 9; PAT-
TERN MAKERS ASSOCIATION OF ST. LOUIS AND VICINITY, and AMAL-
GAMATED ASSOCIATION OF IRON, STEEL AND TIN WORKERS OF
AMERICA, LOCAL LODGE No. 1022
Cases Nos. R-196 to R-199, inclusive.Decided October 4, 1937
Steel Castings Industry-Investigation of Representatives : controversy con-
cerning representation of employees : rival organizations ; refusal by employer
to recognize union as exclusive representative-Unit Appropriate for Collec-
tive Bargaining : where other considerations determinative of appropriate unit
are such that either of two contentions is valid , decisive factor is the desire
of employees involved ; determination of dependent upon election-Election
Ordered.
Mr. David C. Shaw and Mr. Herbert O. Eby for the Board.
Nagel, Kirby, Orrick d Shepley, by Mr. Arthur B. Shepley, Jr.,
of St. Louis, Mo., for the Company.
Mr. William E. Walter, of Kansas City, Kan., for the Boilermak-
ers union.
Bartley cPc Mayfield, by Mr. Malcolm L. Bartley and Mr. Waldo
C. Mayfield, of St. Louis, Mo., for the I. A. M.
Anderson do Whittington, by Mr. C. S. Anderson, of St. Louis,
Mo., for the P. M. A.
Mr. G. L. Grant, of Springfield, Ill., for the Amalgamated.
Mr. Joseph B. Robison, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On May 18 and 20, 1937, International Brotherhood of Boiler-
makers, Iron Ship Builders, Welders and Helpers of America, herein
called the Boilermakers union; International Association of Ma-
chinists, District No. 9, herein called the I. A. M.; and Pattern
Makers Association of St. Louis and Vicinity, herein called the
P. M. A., filed with the Acting Regional Director for the Fourteenth
Region (St. Louis, Missouri), three separate petitions alleging that
questions affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representa-
tion of those employees of General Steel Castings Corporation,
779
780 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
herein called the Company, who are employed in its Commonwealth
Division, located at Granite City, Illinois, and requesting the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, to conduct
an investigation pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On May 26, 1937,
the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act, and Article
III, Section 3 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula-
tions-Series 1, as amended, authorized the Acting Regional Di-
rector to conduct investigations and to provide for appropriate
hearings.
On June 11, 1937, a petition to the same effect as those described
above was filed with the same Acting Regional Director, by Amal-
gamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers of America,
Local Lodge No. 1022, herein called the Amalgamated. On June
12, 1937, the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act,
and Article III, Section 3, of the above Rules and Regulations,
authorized the Acting Regional Director to conduct an investiga-
tion and provide for an appropriate hearing; and the Board further
ordered, pursuant to Article III, Section 10 (c) (2) of the above
Rules and Regulations, that the four cases be consolidated for the
purposes of the hearing.
Pursuant to a notice of hearing duly issued and served by the
Acting Regional Director upon the Company and the four peti-
tioning unions, a hearing was held in St. Louis, Missouri, on July
2, 3, 6, and 7, 1937, before William Seagle, the Trial Examiner duly
designated by the Board. The Board, the Company, the I. A. M.,
the P. M. A., and the Amalgamated were represented by counsel;
and the Boilermakers union was represented by its International
Secretary and Treasurer. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine
and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing upon
the issues was afforded to all parties.
During the course of the hearing on July 2, 1937, it appeared that
there was in existence at the Commonwealth plant of the Company,
a labor organization known as the Works Council Plan, herein called
the W. C. P., and that no formal notification of these proceedings
had ever been sent to any representative thereof. The hearing was
thereupon adjourned until the following day, at which time John
W. Tatum, general chairman of the W. C. P., appeared and waived
the right of any official notice and the right to intervene and partici-
pate in these proceedings. As general chairman of the W. C. P.,
Mr. Tatum has authority to take any action necessary to protect its
interests.
Only one objection to, the introduction of evidence was made dur.
ing the course of the hearing by counsel for the parties. The Board
I
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 781
has reviewed the ruling of the Trial Examiner and finds that no
prejudicial error was committed. The ruling is hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Company is a Delaware corporation, with its principal exe-
cutive offices at Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Its securities are regis-
tered on the New York Stock Exchange. It has two wholly owned
subsidiaries, one of which is an Illinois corporation. Its voting
stock is owned one-third by the American Locomotive Company;
one-third by American Steel Foundries; and one-third together by
Baldwin Locomotive Works and the Pullman Company. It is en-
gaged in the manufacture of steel castings, chiefly for use in loco-
motives and railroad cars.
The Company was incorporated in 1928 for the purpose of build-
ing a steel foundry at Eddystone, Pennsylvania. In 1929, before the
Eddystone plant had been completed, the Company bought out the
assets and assumed the liabilities of the Commonwealth Steel Com-
pany, herein called Commonwealth, an Illinois corporation, which
had been operating a steel castings plant at Granite City, Illinois,
since 19021 Commonwealth, at the time it was bought out, was
engaged almost exclusively in the production of specialty railroad
castings.
Thus at present, the Company owns and operates two plants,
each of which consists of a foundry, a machine shop, and service
departments. The Eddystone plant occupies 112 acres, and em-
ploys 1,400 men; and the Commonwealth plant occupies 239 acres,
and employs between 2,800 and 2,900 men. There are also two other
plants, located at Chester, Pennsylvania, which, however, are not in
operation. Altogether, the Company operates ten per cent of the
country's capacity for the production of steel castings and is second
in that respect only to American Steel Foundries, which, as noted
above, owns one-third of its voting stock. In 1936, it produced a
total of 22,500 tons of castings.
The controversy in this case concerns only the men employed at
the Company's Commonwealth plant. The operations of that plant,
consequently, are our chief concern. Practically all of the work is
done on specifications laid down by customers. There is almost no
1 John H Locke , vice president of the Company in charge of production , testified that
Commonwealth had been dissolved as a corporation. However a corporation of that
name appears as one of the wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company in Board's Ex-
hibit No. 6 . which is a photostatic copy of portions of the registration statement filed by
the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission . This is the Illinois cor-
poration mentioned above.
782 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
standardization in these specifications. No stock is kept on hand,
the castings being shipped as soon as they are finished. Over 90
per cent of the product is intended for use in the railroad industry,
and 70 per cent is used in the manufacture of locomotives. The
product consists largely of underframes and truck castings. The
Commonwealth plant is the largest steel castings plant in the coun-
try, in area and in number of employees; and is the third largest,
in capacity.
The chief raw materials used at the Commonwealth plant are
pig and scrap iron, lime, and coal, and sand for use in making
molds. Of the total amount of raw materials purchased in 1936,
24,500 tons came from within Illinois; and 22,500 tons from other
states. The former figure, includes 1,200 tons of scrap iron which
was bought in junk yards in Illinois, but may have originated in
other states. The chief items which came from outside of the State
were sand and the alloys used in manufacturing steel.2
The total product of the Commonwealth plant in 1936 amounted
to 10,000 tons of which only 15 per cent was shipped to points
within Illinois. The balance was shipped outside of Illinois, to
such states as Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio, a very small per-
centage also going out of the country.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
A. The Federation unions
The Boilermakers union, the I. A. M., and the P. M. A., herein
called collectively the Federation unions, are all labor organizations
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The East St.
Louis Local of the Boilermakers union admits to membership weld-
ers and acetylene cutters at the Commonwealth plant, as well as
men working at other plants in the vicinity .3 The I. A. M. admits
to membership the machinists at the plant. These men belong to
several different Locals within District No. 9, and all of these Locals
include men working in other plants in that District. The P. M. A.
admits the pattern makers at the Commonwealth plant to member-
ship. It also includes men working at others plants in the St. Louis
area.
B. The Amalgamated
Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers of
America is affiliated with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee
It was stated by Mr. Locke that the percentage of raw materials purchased within
the State in 1936 was below normal, because during that year very little pig iron, which
the Company procures chiefly in Illinois, was purchased.
8 It was stated at the hearing that a separate local would be formed for the men at
the Commonwealth plant if the Boilermakers union was certified by the Board as a rep-
resentative for the purposes of collective bargaining.
1
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 783
and with the Committee for Industrial Organization. Local Lodge
No. 1022 is restricted to men at the Commonwealth plant, and ad-
mits to membership all employees engaged in production and main-
tenance, exclusive of supervisory employees.
III. QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
A. The physical set-up of the plant
A general description at this point of the nature of the work done
at the Commonwealth plant will be helpful in understanding the
issues involved in this case. Further details will be considered in
connection with the claims of each of the unions.
On June- 28, 1937, there were employed at the Commonwealth
plant, in addition to some 75 supervisory and technical employees,
2,831 men.4 Of these, about 100 were foremen; about 130 were cleri-
cal employees; and about 80 were employed in such departments as
the cafeteria and the welfare house. Of the remaining 2,520, ap-
proximately 990 were considered by a representative of the Company
as skilled workers; 960, as semi-skilled; and 540, as unskilled. It
will be seen that an unusually high proportion of skilled and semi-
skilled employees is here involved.
The production process can be roughly divided into three parts;
the production of the mold, the production and pouring of the liquid
steel, and the finishing of the casting. Only about 40 men are em-
ployed at the second of these tasks, the balance of the production
workers being about evenly divided between the first and third.
There are, in addition, maintenance and other employees who cannot
be allocated to any one of the three parts. A more detailed break-
down shows that there are eight major departments. They are the
pattern makers, the core makers, and the molders, who together con-
tribute to the making of the molds; the open hearth workers, who
produce the steel 5; the chippers, welders, and machine men, who do
the finishing work; and the maintenance men. There are in addition
several minor departments such as the storeroom and the power-
house.
The plant occupies a 239-acre tract of land., .Most of the work
of production is done in a group of structures which for its purposes
the Company considers separate buildings, but which are in fact all
physically connected. Some of the departments mentioned above
occupy clearly defined areas. Others, notably those in the finishing
department, are wide-spread and intermingled with each other. Every
department contributes to production and all are indispensable. The
* Board's Exhibit No. 9 is a detailed list of the departments in the plant and the num-
ber of men employed in each on June 28, 1937.
5 The Company manufactures its own steel from pig and scrap iron.
784 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
work done at the plant is unusually heavy, since, as noted above, a
large part of the product consists of underframes for locomotives
and railroad cars, and these castings are, of course, tremendous
in size.
B. The background of organization at the plant
Up to 1921, there appear to have been friendly relations between
Commonwealth and several unions. Oral agreements were reached
as early as 1905, and at least after 1916, relations were close enough
to effectuate adjustments of wage scales. In 1919 and 1920, Com-
monwealth signed contracts with the Pattern Makers League ; with
the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners ; two with the
International Molders Union, one for core-makers and one for mold-
ers; with the International Association of Machinists; and with the
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. All of the contracts were for
the term of one year and were substantially identical in form. They
fixed wages, hours, and other terms of employment, and set up
machinery for negotiation.'
A new phase in the labor relations at the Commonwealth plant
began in 1921. During that year the plant shut down for a brief
period and when it reopened, the men were asked to come back at
reduced wage? This caused some resentment but little organized
resistance. In July of that year Commonwealth instituted a new
policy with the formation of the Works Council Plan, mentioned
above. The W. C. P. has been in existence ever since, except between
October 1931 and March 1934 when the plant was not in operation.7
Its most recent constitution indicates that the chief purpose of the
W. C. P. was to provide machinery for the presentation and discus-
sion of grievances and suggestions. The plant was divided into 14
departments, each of which had a shop committee of three men.
The chairman of each of these committees was a member of the
general committee.
It appears that the unions were not demolished completely by the
events of 1921. Activity continued at least until 1923, but in that
year an unsuccessful strike ended all attempts at bargaining with
Commonwealth. From that time on and until 1937, there were no
negotiations between any outside unions and the management of
the plant.
The Amalgamated, in conjunction with the Steel Workers Organ-
izing Committee, started an organizing drive at the Commonwealth
6 Further facts concerning early labor relations with Commonwealth 'are discussed
separately below in connection with the welders, machinists, and pattern makers.
7A representative of the Company stated that the monthly meetings of the W. C. P.
were being continued as a "point of contact" with the men, and would be discontinued
as soon as the issues in this case were settled. The General Chairman of the W. C. P.
concurred in this statement of policy.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 785
plant in July 1936. By March 1937 the Amalgamated felt itself
to be in a position to bargain with the Company, and it presented
to one of the officials a written proposal. Some time later, appar-
ently after the middle of April, it attempted to have this proposal
considered further, but was then told that certain other unions
had also requested bargaining rights, and that the Company could
not act until the Board had certified representatives of its employees.
There is little to show that any other unions were active at the
plant prior to April 1937. On April 17, 1937, Mr. Locke, a vice-
president of the Company, called a meeting of the general com-
mittee of the W. C. P. and informed them that the W. C. P. was to
be discontinued. The members of the committee communicated with
the American Federation of Labor and on the following day they
met with Mr. Theiss, a representative of that organization. He in-
formed them that the A. F. of L. would organize a single Federal
Local at the plant, taking in all production and maintenance men.
A meeting of Commonwealth employees was called for April 20,
1937, and at this meeting, which took place at the A. F. of L. office
in Granite City, Mr. Theiss informed the men that they would be
expected to join the several unions corresponding to the various
crafts at the plant. There was considerable dissatisfaction at this
change of plan, and 90 per cent of the 700 men present left the
meeting and went to the office of the Amalgamated in the same
building and signed application cards to that union. A similar
course of events occurred on the following morning at a ,meeting
held for the employees on the night shift which was attended by
about 450 men. Nevertheless, the Federation unions were successful
in procuring a substantial number of members, and they too applied
to the management of the Company for recognition. They were
told that in view of the claims of the Amalgamated, the Company
could not act without the approval of the Board.
C. The claims of the various Unions
The P. M. A. claims to represent the pattern makers, pattern
maker apprentices, and some of the handymen employed in the
pattern shops. These groups total about 175. There can be little
question as to their essential separability. Pattern making is done
in two pattern shops that occupy a clearly defined area. The men
are very rarely called to do work elsewhere in the plant. While
there are some men in the pattern shops who are not claimed by the
P. M. A., these are chiefly common laborers, such as pattern carriers.
The pattern makers constitute one of the most highly skilled groups
in the foundry. Their department is considered a separate unit on
786 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the Company's management chart, and it was also treated as one
of the 14 departments in the W. C. P.
- The Pattern Makers League of North America, the parent body of
the P. M. A., had a separate written contract with Commonwealth
in 1920, and as early as 1905, had oral agreements providing for
union hiring. It procured an adjustment of wages in 1917 and waQ
among the last to retain its early organization abandoning it only
after the strike of 1923, in which it participated. In May 1937 the
P. M. A. submitted a detailed written proposal to the management
of the Company, which has not been acted on. It claims a member-
ship, at present, of 131 men at the plant,8 but the names of some at
least of the men on its list appear also on the list of the Amalgamated.
Finally it may be noted that the P. M. A. has oral contracts with
many steel plants in the St. Louis vicinity.
The Boilermakers union claims to represent the welders and
acetylene cutters employed by the Company. These groups total
about 170 men. With the apparent exception of only a small num-
ber, they operate in the finishing department. Their work is spread
out all over the plant, but they have a building which constitutes
their center of operations, and they are under a single general fore-
man. They also appear separately on the Company's management
chart. In the W. C. P. they were treated as a department together
with some common laborers and clerical workers. Although they
work to some extent under the' supervision of the foremen in charge
of the departments to which they are sent, they are assigned to jobs
by their own foremen and report to the latter in case of trouble or
difficulty. They are considered skilled laborers.
The Boilermakers union was not among the unions which had con-
tracts with Commonwealth in 1920. The men it now claims were
apparently included in the I. A. M. contract of that period. As
early as 1934, however, it made an attempt to bargain with the
Company, but was told at that time that the W. C. P. was satis-
factory to the management.
The names of 86 members of the Boilermakers union were read
into the record. There is a certain amount of duplication between
these names and those appearing in the Amalgamated list. Also
they seem to include some men who are not within the groups claimed
by the Boilermakers union. These names have not been checked
against the Company pay roll.
The I. A. M. claims to represent the maintenance machinists em-
ployed in the three machine shops at the plant. It does not appear
from the record how many men this includes. Of the three Fed-
8 The P. 114. A. read into the record the names of 117 men who appear in their records
as paid-up members . They also submitted photostatic copies of 14 application cards.
The names submitted by them have not been checked against the Company pay roll.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 787
eration unions, its claim to jurisdiction has been the most difficult
to apprehend. Nevertheless, it appears that while these machinists
are sent all over the foundry, they work out of three machine shops,
each of which has its own foreman. These three shops, together
with a few other sub-departments such as the blacksmiths and pipe
fitters constitute the maintenance department on the Company's man-
agement chart. Their work is skilled, and consists of building spe-
cial tools and jigs, and in repairing and maintaining machines
throughout the shop. In the W. C. P. they had representation to-
gether with the balance of the repair department.
Although the I. A. M. was among the unions which had contracts
with Commonwealth in 1920, it included at that time a far broader
group than that claimed now. It had between 400 and 500 members
and seems to have taken in all production workers who were not
within the jurisdiction of the other unions which procured con-
tracts. Previous to 1920 it had oral contracts with Commonwealth
as far back as 1909, and it continued to have a large membership at
the plant until 1923.
The I. A. M. introduced in evidence a list of 64 members now
working at the plant. There appears to be little duplication between
this list and that of the Amalgamated. As in the case of the other
two Federation unions, these names have not been checked against
the Company pay roll. The I. A. M. has contracts with several other
steel plants in the St. Louis area.
The Amalgamated claims t' represent all production and main-
tenance workers, exclusive of clerical and supervisory employees.
These appear to total between 2,400 and 2,450. It introduced in
evidence photostatic copies of its membership cards which were
checked against the Company payroll for July 16, 1937. This check
showed 2,121 members at the plant. Although its cards included
those of seven janitors and four cafeteria workers, there can be little
doubt that the Amalgamated has a substantial majority of the men
it claims to represent. It may be noted that the Amalgamated has
contracts with nearly all of the steel mills in the St. Louis area.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Amalgamated contends that the entire Commonwealth plant
should be treated as a single unit appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining; and in view of the evidence of the essential
interrelation of the various departments of the plant, there can be
little doubt that the Board could find that the unit claimed is a logical
one. The Federation unions, however, have shown that there exist
in the plant separate groups which, in the absence of conflicting
claims by other unions, could be found by the Board to constitute
separate units appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
788 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
They have, in addition, shown that they have a substantial number
of members in each of these groups. The Board has held, in a some-
what similar situation '9 that in such a case, the men in the smaller
groups claimed should be given an opportunity to determine for
themselves whether they desire to be represented separately or to-
gether with the balance of the plant.
We will, therefore, order elections to be held separately for the
pattern makers, for the welders and acetylene cutters and for the
maintenance machinists. It will not be necessary to hold an elec-
tion of the employees outside of these three groups. The Amal-
gamated has introduced satisfactory evidence of at least 2100 mem-
bers among the at most 2450 men in the unit which it claims. The
three groups claimed by the Federation unions together do not
include more than 450 men. If we assume, for the purpose of deter-
mining whether it has a majority of the men outside of the three
smaller units, that all of the 450 men in those units are among the
2100 members of the Amalgamated, it is clear that that union would
still have a clear majority of 1650 out of the 2000 men in question.
No certification of the Amalgamated' will be made, however, until
the men in the smaller units have had an opportunity to decide
whether they desire to join with the larger group. Upon the outcome
of the elections ordered in these smaller units will depend the deter-
mination of the appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining. Such of the groups as do not choose the Amalgamated will
constitute separate and distinct appropriate units, and such as do
choose the Amalgamated will, together with the balance of the pro-
duction and maintenance workers, constitute a single appropriate
unit.
All of the parties stipulated at the hearing that in any election
which the Board might order those men should be allowed to vote
who were on the pay-roll of the Company for the Commonwealth
plant at the time of the payment of wages immediately preceding the
date on which elections were ordered, except for those employees who
voluntarily left between that date and the date of the elections.
V. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTIONS OF REPRESENTATION ON COMMERCE
We find that the questions of representation which have arisen,
occurring in connection with the operations of the Company de-
scribed in Section I above, have a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, and
tend to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
9In the Matter of The Globe Machine and Stamping Co. and Metal Polishers Union,
Local No. 3, International Association of Machinists , Distract No. 54, Federal Labor
Union, 18788, and United Automobile Workers of America, Cases No. R 178-180, decided
August 11, 1937, supra, p 294.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 789
CONCLUSION OF LAW
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact, the Board makes the
following conclusion of law :
Questions affecting commerce have arisen concerning the represen-
tation of the employees of ' Common wealth Division of General Steel
Castings Corporation, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and
Section 2, subdivisions (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations
Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
By virtue of and pursuant to ' the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8 of
National Labor Relations Board Rules, and Regulations-Series 1,
as amended, it is'
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigations authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining
with Commonwealth Division of General Steel Castings Corporation,
elections by secret ballot shall be conducted within fifteen (15) days
from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision
of the Acting Regional Director for the Fourteenth Region, acting in
this matter as' agent 'for'the National Labor Relations Board, and
subject to Article III, Section 9 of said Rules and Regulations, among
those employees of General Steel Castings Corporation who are em-
ployed in its Commonwealth Division, and who fall within the groups
described below :
(a) I The' welders and acetylene cutters, to. determine whether they
desire to be represented by International Brotherhood of Boiler-
makers, Iron Ship Builders, Welders and Helpers of America, affili-
ated with the American Federation of Labor, or Amalgamated Asso-
ciation of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers of America, Local Lodge No.
1022, affiliated with the ,Committee for Industrial Organization, for
the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
(b) The maintenance machinists, to determine whether they desire
to be represented by International Association of Machinists, District
No. 9, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, or Amalga-
mated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers of America, Local
Lodge No. 1022, affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organi-
zation, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
(c) The pattern makers, to determine whether they desire to be
represented by Pattern Makers Association of St. Louis and Vicinity,
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, or Amalgamated
Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers of America, Local Lodge
No. 1022, affiliated-with the Committee for Industrial Organization,
for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
49446-38-vol. nn-51
790 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
And that only those employees above described be allowed to par-
ticipate in the said elections who were on the pay roll of Common-
wealth Division of General Steel Castings Corporation at the time of
the payment of wages immediately preceding the date of this Direc-
tion, exclusive of those who have voluntarily left the employ of the
said Company or who have been discharged for cause between that
date and the date of the elections.
[SAME TITLE
AMENDMENT TO DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
October 19, 1937
On October 4, 1937, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Elections in the
above-entitled case. The Direction of Elections provided that elec-
tions by secret ballot be conducted within fifteen (15) days, among
three groups of employees of Commonwealth Division of General
Steel Castings Corporation, to determine whether they desired to be
represented by one of three unions affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor or by the Amalgamated Association of Iron,
Steel and Tin Workers of America, Local Lodge No. 1022, herein
called the Amalgamated, or by neither, for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
On October 18, 1937, the Amalgamated filed a petition 'with the
Board requesting that its name be withdrawn from the ballot in
all three of the elections, and that the election be postponed; In
order to give consideration to the issues raised by this petition the
Board hereby
DIRECTS that the elections which on October 4, 1937, were directed
to be held in the above-entitled case be postponed for ten (10) days.
CHAIRMAN MADDEN took no part in the consideration of the above
Amendment to Direction of Elections.
[SAME TITLE]
AMENDMENT TO DECISION AND DIRECTION OF
ELECTIONS
October 20, 1937
On October 4, 1937, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Elections in the
above-entitled case. The Direction of Elections provided that elec-
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 791
tions by secret ballot be conducted within fifteen (15)' days among
three groups of employees of Commonwealth Division of General
Steel Castings Corporation, to determine whether they, desired to
be represented by one of three unions affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor or -by the Amalgamated Association, of Iron,
Steel and Tin Workers of America, Local Lodge No. 1022, herein
called the Amalgamated, or by neither, for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining. '
On October 18, 1937, the Amalgamated filed a petition with the
Board requesting that its name be withdrawn from the ballot in all
three of the elections, and that the elections be postponed. On Octo-
ber 19, 1937, the Board, in order to give consideration to the issues
raised by this petition, issued an Amendment to the Direction of
Elections postponing the elections for ten days.
Upon consideration of the petition, the Board believes that the
Direction of Elections should be further amended to provide that
the men in each of the three groups will decide merely whether or
not they desire to be represented by the American Federation of
Labor union claiming to represent the group in question. We will
amend our Decision to conform to this change in the Direction of
Elections.
Therefore the Decision in the above-entitled case, issued on Octo-
ber 4, 1937, is amended by striking therefrom the third paragraph
of the Findings of Fact, Section IV, and substituting therefore the
following :
No certification of the Amalgamated will be made, however,
until the men in the smaller units have had an opportunity to
decide whether or not they desire to be represented by one of
the Federation unions. Such of the groups as choose to be rep-
resented by one of these unions will constitute separate and dis-
tinct appropriate units, and such as do not so choose will be
excluded from any of the units found by the Board to be
appropriate.
The Direction of Elections is hereby amended by striking there-
from the words, "within fifteen (15) days from the date of this
Direction", and substituting therefor the words, "within ten (10)
days after October 20, 1937;" and it is further amended by striking
therefrom paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), and substituting therefor
the following :
(a) The welders and acetylene cutters, to determine whether
or not they desire to be represented by International Brother-
hood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Welders and Helpers
of America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
for the purposes of collective bargaining.
792 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
•(b) The maintenance machinists, to determine whether or not
they desire to be represented by International; Association of
Machinists, District No. 9, affiliated with the American Federa-
tion of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining. ,
(c) The pattern makers, to determine whether, or not they
desire to be represented by Pattern Makers Association of St.
Louis and Vicinity, affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining. ,
The Amendment to the Direction of Elections issued by • the 'Board
on October 19, 1937, is hereby withdrawn.