Long Beach Oil Development Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 6, 1944

58 N.L.R.B. 794 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of "LONG BEACH OIL DEVELOPMENT CO. and OIL WORKERS
INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL 128, CIO
Case No.21-R-2419.-Decided October 6 ,1944
Mr. Gordon Lawson, of Los Angeles , Calif ., for the Company.
Mr. J. Elro Brown, of Long Beach , Calif., for the Union.
Mr. Philip Licari , of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by Oil Workers International Union, Lo-
cal 128, CIO, herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of
Long Beach Oil Development Co., Long Beach, California, herein
called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for
an appropriate hearing upon clue notice before William B. Esterman,
Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Los Angeles, California,
on September 1, 1944. The Company and the Union appeared and
participated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard,
to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence
bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All
parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Long Beach Oil Development Co., a Nevada corporation, is engaged
at Long Beach, California, in the drilling and operation of oil wells.
The Company is engaged solely as a contractor in developing oil lands
and operating oil wells wholly owned by the city of Long Beach. In
its operations the Company uses equipment owned by the city which
also owns the oil and gas produced by the Company. It is clear that,
58 N. L. R. B. f No. 155.
794 ,
LONG BEACH OIL DEVELOPMENT CO. 795
among others, all persons engaged in-the operation of the oil wells
are employees of the Company.
During the year ending May 31, 1944, the Company, at the direction
of the pity, delivered crude oil valued at $2,117,584.27 to the Hancock
Oil Company of California, which after processing it into unfinished
gasoline, kerosene distillate, diesel oil and fuel oil, delivered a substan-
tial portion of the diesel oil and fuel oil to the Richfield Oil Corpora-
tion, a corporation doing business in California and apparently en-
gaged in the transportation and distribution of oil products to points
outside that State. During the same period, the Hancock Oil Company
sold to consumers outside the State of California, diesel oil and kero-
sene distillate valued at $118,000, all of which was processed from crude
oil produced by the Company. Also during the same period, the Com-
pany delivered, at the direction of the city, to Signal Oil and Gas Com-
pany, Los Angeles, California, crude oil valued at $3,526,978.75, all of
which was sold to Standard Oil Company of California; a corporation
apparently engaged in the transportation and distribution of oil prod-
ucts to, points outside the State of California. In the same period, the
Company bought, for the account of the city, equipment and raw ma-
terials valued at $2,000,000, most of which originated from points out-
side the State of California.
The Company is managed by an operating committee composed of
Will J. Reid, president of the Company, John W. Hancock, assistant
to the president of Hancock Oil Company of California, R. H. Green,
vice president of Signal Oil and Gas Company of California, and War-
ren C. Johnson, a manager for Standard Oil Company of California.
Each of the last three mentioned corporations owns 281/2 percent of the
corporate stock of the Company. All checks issued by the Company
must be signed by any two of the above-mentioned officials.
Upon all the facts above set forth, contrary to the Company's conten-
tion, we find that its activities at Long Beach, California, affect com-
merce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Oil Workers International Union, Local 128, affiliated with the Con-
gress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to
memb@rship employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as the
exclusive bargaining representative of certain of its employees until the
Union has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
796 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
A statement of a Field Examiner for the Board, introduced into
evidence at the hearing, indicates that the Union represents a sub-
stantial number of employees in the unit- hereinafter found ap- -
propriate 1 , '
We find that a question affecting commercetiis' arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UN IT
The Company and the Union agree upon the composition of the
appropriate unit, except that the Company would include tool pushers,
whereas the Union would exclude them on the asserted ground that
they are representatives of management.
The Company employs four tool pushers whose function is to assist
the drilling foremen in connection with the well-drilling operations
performed by subcontractor of the Company. They are engaged in
and about the well-drilling operations for the purpose of checkilTg
and making reports on depths, gravities, and condition of tools. Their
work requires no particular technical or engineering skill. There is
no evidence indicating that they are supervisory employees within
the meaning of our customary definition of that term despite the fact
that they are salaried employees, while all the employees whom the
parties agree to include in the unit are hourly paid. Nor is there any
evidence to indicate that they are, in any other manner closely identi-
fied with management. We shall therefore include them.
We find, in accordance with the agreement of the parties and our
foregoing determination relating to tool pushers, that all non-super-
visory maintenance, production, repair, and construction workers
employed by the Company, including tool pushers, carpenters,, gang
pushers, gas engine mechanics, head well pullers, well .pullers, in-
spectors, janitors, pumpers, roustabouts, warehouse floormen, me-
chanics, repairmen, but excluding office and administrative employees,
engineers, storekeepers, assistant foremen, foremen, and all other
supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge,
discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or
effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
3 The Field Examiner reported that the Union submitted 41 authorization cards, all of
which bore the names of persons listed on the Company 's pay roll of June 15, 1944, which
contained the names of 62 employees in the appropriate unit, and that the cards were dated
between November 1943 and June 1944.
YANG BEACH OIL DEVELOPMENT CO. 797
V. THE DETERMTNATIO? OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election
herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the
Direction.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
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, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Re-
lations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Long Beach Oil
Development Co., Long Beach, California, an election by secret ballot
shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30)
days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Twenty-first Region, acting in
this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and.
subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regula-
tions, among the employees in the unit found appropriate-in Section
IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of the Direction, including employees who did
not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vaca-
tion or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed
forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the
polls, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been dis-
charged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior ta'
the date of the election, to determine whether or not they desire to
be represented by Oil Workers International Union, Local 128, affil-
iated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes
of collective bargaining.
Mn. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.