92 N.L.R.B. 1504 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

International Harvester Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsJan 23, 1951

92 N.L.R.B. 1504 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

In the Matter Of INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY, MCCORMICK WORKS, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGI- NEERS, LoCAL 399, AND INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF FIREMEN, OILERS AND MAINTENANCE LABORERS, LOCAL 7, A. F. L., PETITIONER In the Matter Of INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY, MCCORMICK WORKS, EMPLOYER and UNITED FARM EQUIPMENT AND METAL WORK- ERS LOCAL 108, AFFILIATED WITH UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA (UE), PETITIONER In the Matter Of INTERNATIONAL, HARVESTER COMPANY, MCCORMICK WORKS, EMPLOYER and HENRY E. QUADE, AN INDIVIDUAL, PETI- TIONER Cases Nos. 13-RC-1331, 13-RC-1385, and 13-RD-75.Decided January 23,1951 DECISION, ORDER , AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the Na- tional Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before Richard C. Swander , 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 these cases to a three-member panel [Members Houston, Reynolds , and Styles]. Upon the entire record in these cases , the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent employes of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 ( c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and ( 7) of the Act. 1 For reasons hereinafter set forth, the motion to dismiss the petition in Case No. 13-RD-75 is granted and the several motions to dismiss the other petitions in this con- solidated proceeding are denied. 92 NLRB No. 223. 1504 INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY 1505 4. The Employer operates plants in several States. Only employees in the Employer's farm equipment manufacturing plant at Chicago, Illinois, called the McCormick Works, are involved in this proceeding. Since 1941 the FE-UE 2 has represented production and mainte- nance employees at the Employer's McCormick Works. On March 16, 1949, the Board found that the toolroom employees at the plant constituted an appropriate separate unit, and, on June 13, 1949, cer- tified the UAW-CIO 3 as exclusive bargaining representative 4 of tool- room employees. In the instant proceeding, there are three petitions before the Board. In Case No. 13-RD-T5, Henry E. Quade, an individual, contends that employees in the experimental department at the plant constitute a separate appropriate unit and seeks to decertify the UAW-CIO, in whose present unit these employees fall, as their collective bargaining representative; in Case No. 13-RC-1385, the FE-UE seeks to repre- sent employees in the afore-mentioned unit of toolroom employees; and in Case No. 13-RC-133, the Engineers 5 and the Firemen 6 jointly seek certification as joint representative of the powerhouse employees. A. Experimental department employees Case No. 13-RD-75: As noted above, Quade contends that employees in the experimental department, otherwise known as department 5, constitute an appropriate bargaining unit and seeks to decertify the UAW-CIO as their recognized bargaining representative. The Em- ployer agrees that the experimental department employees may con- stitute a separate appropriate unit. The UAW-CIO urges that the proposed unit is not appropriate because it does not include all ex- perimental employees. The experimental department employees, five-sixths of whom are highly skilled craft machinists, work in an area apart from the tool- room and other employees, are separately supervised, and are engaged in fabricating models of experimental machines, of which the large majority are never placed in production. The Employer's experi- mental operations, however, are not confined to the experimental department, but are also conducted in two other departments, known as the advanced engineering department and the dairy engineering 2 United Farm Equipment and Metal Workers, Local 108, affiliated with United Elec- trical , Radio and Machine Workers of America. 8 International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, CIO. * 82, NLRB 190 . The description of the Employer's McCormick Works is fully set forth in this earlier proceeding . See also 77 NLRB 520. 5 International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 399. B International Brotherhood of Firemen, Oilers and Maintenance Laborers , Local 7, A. F. L. 1506 DECISIONS. OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD department . These departments are under the same general super- vision as the experimental department and are staffed by employees, who, like the employees in that department , possess machinist skills, work in separate areas, and are engaged in the fabrication of experi- mental machine models. In support of the decertification petition , the Employer relies on a prior decision of this Board which permitted a craft severance of ex- perimental department employees from a larger unit at the Employer's Fort Wayne, Indiana, plant. 7 In that case , the Board found that the unit sought to be severed included all experimental employees at the Fort Wayne plant. In the instant case , on the other hand, the ex- perimental department is merely a segment of. the total experimental operations at the Employer's plant . Neither Quade nor the Employer advances a cogent reason in support of the appropriateness of a unit of experimental department employees which excludes employees in other departments of a similar nature. It is well established that the Board will not accord separate representation to an otherwise appro- priate craft group if it fails to include within its scope all like em- ployees of that craft s Accordingly , we find that the unit sought by the Petitioner in Case No. 13-RD-75 is inappropriate for the purposes of collective bargain- ing within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act, and we shall therefore dismiss the petition in that case.9 B. Toolroom employees Case No. 13-RC-1385: As noted above, the FE-UE seeks to rep- resent employees in the toolroom in the same unit heretofore found appropriate for bargaining. The record in the instant case shows that the toolroom operations have remained essentially unchanged since the earlier case. We find that all tool and die makers, die sinkers, lathe hands, grind- ers, layout men, shaper hands, machinists, group leaders, milling ma- chine hands, inspectors, jig borers, tool engravers, setup men, planer hands, tool hardeners, welders, boring machine operators, mechanics .(both bench and setup), sawyers, and apprentices in departments 5 and 7, including all employees in other departments of the Employ- er's plant in the classifications enumerated in "Schedule A," attached hereto, but excluding laborers, stockkeepers=tools and supplies, em- ployees of the industrial truck repair section, tool crib attendants, International Harvester Company, Fort Wayne Works, 13-RC-762 (unpublished). B. F. Avery & Sons Company, 86 NLRB 24. In view of our holding herein, we find it unnecessary to consider the other issues raised to this case. INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY 1507 janitors, the blacksmith, blacksmith's helpers, pattern vault attendant, cutoff saw man, carpenter, learner, cotton pickers, known as mechanic bench (simple), and truck drivers in departments 5 and 7, and all office, technical, and clerical employees and supervisors, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. C. Powerhouse employees Case No. 13-RC-1331: As noted above, the Engineers and the Fire- men seek to sever the powerhouse employees from the unit of produc- tion and maintenance employees currently represented by the FE-UE. The FE-UE contends that the powerhouse unit proposed in this case is not appropriate for bargaining and that the petition should be dismissed. The powerhouse employees at the Employer's plant, classified as department 11, include 29 licensed stationary engineers, 22 helpers or firemen, 2 boiler repairmen, 2 utility men, and 6 group leaders, all of whom operate the powerhouse air compressor room, the main engine rooms, and boiler rooms located in various buildings of the Employer's plant. These employees perform the customary duties of their classi- fications 10 and, with the exception of boiler repairmen and utility men, operate on a round-the-clock schedule, as distinguished from the pro- duction employees, who are on a day schedule. Powerhouse em- ployees do not regularly interchange with other plant employees n Although other craft groups occasionally perform work in powerhouse areas , they at no time come under, powerhouse supervision. Under these circumstances, we conclude, contrary to the contention of the FE-UE, that the powerhouse employees constitute a well- defined homogeneous, and traditionally severable group, and we there- fore find that they may, if they so desire, constitute a separate appro- priate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean- ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act 12 We shall direct an election among these employees and, if a majority of them select the Engineers and the Firemen as their joint representative, they will be taken to have "These duties include the operation of turbines , gas compressors , and boilers ; firing boilers ; maintaining oil pressures ; and oiling , cleaning , repairing , and replacing power- house equipment. 11 The record reveals only one instance of the transfer of a production employee from the production group to the powerhouse group, during a layoff period; this employee has since then been retransferred to production work. The record reveals no instance of a powerhouse employee having been transferred to the production group. 12 Chase Candy Company, 88 NLRB 27. We find no merit in the contention of the UE -FE that the petition should be dismissed because neither the Firemen nor the Engineers has jurisdiction over all the employee categories in the unit . International Harvester Company, West Pullman Works, 89 NLRB 413. 1508 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD indicated their desire to constitute a separate appropriate unit, and we shall certify their designated representatives as their collective bar- gaining agent; otherwise we shall dismiss the petition. The following employees shall constitute the voting group : All employees in department 11 at the Employer's plant, including sta- tionary engineers, engineer helpers, group leaders, boiler repair men, and utility men, but excluding crane operators 13 and supervisors. 5. Because certain of the Employer's toolroom employees, laid off in June and October 1949, are entitled to reinstatement, the parties join in a request that the Board, in order to safeguard the voting privileges of these employees, establish April 19, 1949, as the eligi- bility date. for the elections hereinafter directed. The request is denied, because the granting thereof would jeopardize the voting privi- leges of persons hired since that date. The afore-mentioned em- ployees, since only temporarily laid off and awaiting reinstatement, may, however, vote in the election. ORDER IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition in Case No. 13-RD-(5 be and the same hereby is dismissed. [Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this volume.] SCHEDULE A Department Classification Title 67--------------------------------------- L-81 ------------------L-81------------------ Layout Man-Shop equipment. 9---------------------------------------- L-82-B ----------------L-82-B---------------- Lathe Hand-Engine-All round.9, 13, 60, 26, 27, 30----------------------- M-1-C ----M-1-C---- ----------- Machinist-All round. 32, , 60,61 ---------------------------------0, 61--------------------------------- N-6-B---------------- Machinist-Repair. 13 Crane operators , nominally in department 11, spend substantial portions of their time in production departments under production supervision.