T. C. Wheaton Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 12, 1944

56 N.L.R.B. 451 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of T. C. WHEATON, COMPANY and FEDERATION OF GLASS,
CERAMIC & SILICA SAND WORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED 'WITH
THE C. I. O.
Case No. 4-R-15-P,5.-Decided May 12, 19414
A. R. McAllister, Jr., of Bridgeton, N. J., for the Company.
'Holmes, Lewis & Menendez, by Mr. .-W. T. Lewis, of Columbus,
Ohio, and Mr. Herman Leiner, of Columbia, Ohio, for the CIO.,
Mr. Albert K. Plone, of Camden, N. J., and. Mr. Thomas Eames,
.of Philadelphia, Pa., for the GBBA.
Miss Frances Lopinsky, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon an- amended petition duly filed by Federation of Glass,'
Ceramic & Silica Sand Workers,of America, affiliated with the CIO,
herein called the CIO, alleging that a question affecting commerce
had arisen concerning the- representation of employees of T. C.
Wheaton Company, Millville, New Jersey, herein called the Com-
pany, the 'National Labor Relations Board' provided for an appro-
priate hearing upon due notice before Herman Lazarus, Trial
Examiner. Said hearing was held at Millville, New Jersey, on
March 22; 1944. The Company, the CIO, and Glass Bottle Blowers
Association of United States and Canada, AFL, herein called the
GBBA, appeared, participated,,,and were- afforded full opportunity
to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, •.to =introduce
'evidence bearing' on the issues and to file briefs with the Board.
'The Trial Examiner's rulings made'at, the hearing are free 'from
_prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following::
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE'COMPANY "
X
T. C. Wheaton Company,, a New Jersey corporation,, is engaged at
-_its plant at, Millville; New' Jersey, in, the .manufacture of glass
5G N. L. R. B, No. 87.
451
452 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
containers, pressed glassware, scientific glassware, and decorative
glassware. During the year' 1943, the Company used slightly less
than $1,000,000-worth of raw materials, over,95 percent of which was
was shipped to the Millville plant from States other than the State
bf New Jersey. During, the same year the Company sold- over
$1,000,000 worth of its products, about 90 percent of which was
shipped outside of the State of New Jersey. ,
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Federation of Glass, Ceramic & Silica Sand Workers of America,
affiliated with the'Congress of Industrial Organizations, and Glass
Bottle Blowers Association of United States and Canada, affiliated
with the American Federation-of Labor, are labor organizations
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III: THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNIT
The CIO requests a unit comprised of the male packers and sorters
in the hot metal part of the Company's pbint.1 The GBBA and the
Company contend that these employees are but one group of packers
and sorters employed in the plant, that all packers and ' sorters fall
into the category known in the glass industry as "miscellaneous
employees" and that the only appropriate ufiit in which' these packers
and sorters can be represented is one comprised of all miscellaneous
employees. The Company presently recognizes the 'GBBA as the
exclusive bargaining representative 6f--its miscellaneous employees,
including packers and sorters, having entered' into a union shop
contract with the GBBA covering such employees on or about
December 17,1943 .2 -
The CIO bases its contention that the unit it requests is appropriate
on the fact that the employees therein have for a long time been
recognized by the Company as an identifiable ' group for the purposes
-of, collective bargaining, and on the further fact that such a unit'
was found by the Board to be appropriate in Matter' of Armstrong
Cork Co. (Wlzitall-Tatum Division, Millville, New Jersey).'
' The employees whom the CIO would represent-have traditionally been termed packers
and sorters . They have successfully fought infiltration of female employees into their
ranks at` the Company ' s plant The CIO contends that no emplo3ees outside this, tra-
ditional group can be termed packers and soi tei s The descriptive term as used herein
corresponds with the CIO's interpretation thereof except Phere it'is clear from the context
that a larger group is contemplated. - -
2Inasmuch as this contract was entered into after the CIO had notified the Company
that it claimed to represent " the packers 'and miscellaneous workers ," neither the Com-
pany nor the GBBA asserts that it is a bar to this proceeding. -
3 28 N. L It. B 950; Certification, 29 N. L. R B. 1185.
T. C. WHBATOIV COMPANY '453
In 1889 the, glass packers and sorters employed by the Company,
those employed by Whitall-Tatum Company, predecessor of Arm-
strong Cork Company, and those employed by one or more manufac=
turing plants in the Millville vicinity, organized a union, which, was
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. `In 1898 this local
dropped its affiliation and continued as an unaffiliated -union until
August 1940. Membership, in the organization, herein called the Inde-
pendent, was at all times limited to packers and sorters. From the
time the Independent was founded until 1940, representatives of the
Independent negotiated at regular intervals with Whitall-Tatum
Company and its successor, Armstrong Cork Company (both prede-
cessor and successor companies being hereinafter 'referred to as Arm-
strong), concerning wages and working conditions of packers and
sorters. These negotiations resulted during the earlier years in writ-
ten contracts and more recently in annual oral contracts. The Com-
pany carried on no extensive negotiations with the Independent, but
from 1926 to 1940, as each of the Independent's contracts with Arm-
strong was agreed upon, the Company met,with a committee represent-
ing the packers and sorters in its employ 4 and usually agreed to follow
the terms of the Armstrong contract. In 1940 the Independent voted
to affiliate with the Congress. of Industrial Organizations. There-
after, the Company met from time to time with representatives of its
packers and sorters but did not recognize the CIO as their bargaining
representative and bargained with them without reference to the Arm-
strong contract. In 1941 the CIO petitioned the Board for certifica-
tion as representative of a unit of packers and sorters in the Armstrong
plant. The Board directed self-determination elections in two sep-
arate voting groups composed of packers and sorters and other.miscel-
laneous employees, respectively. The GBBA and the CIO appeared
on both ballots. As a 'result of the elections, the CIO-was certified
as the representative of the packers and sorters, and the GBBA as
the representative of all other miscellaneous employees in the Arm-
strong plant.,'
In the manufacture of glass receptacles,, raw materials pass from
group to group and from process to process in one continuous opera-
tion. Except for the skilled workmen who actually shape the glass,
all production employees participating in the manufacture of glass-
ware are classified as miscellaneous employees. Inspecting is done by
employees who pack and sort, that is, they inspect the ware, set aside
the faulty pieces and pack the perfect ones. In the Armstrong plant
as well as in the Wheaton plant, the group of packers and sorters which
* The committee consisted of representatives of the Company's packers and sorters
usually accompanied by officials of the Independent who were employees of Armstrong.
6 See footnote 3. sepra.
454 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the CIO would represent as a, separate unit makes the first and, for
ordinary ware, the only inspection of the glass as it comes from the,
Lehr. Before the advent of 'machine-made glass the work of packers
and sorters was, skilled., They were required to serve an apprentice-
ship of 1 year before being classified as journeymen packers and sorters.
Although the Company still follows the apprenticeship system regard-
ing'packers and sorters when the employees insist' upon it the evidence
establishes that the year of training is unnecessary and that the work is
not of a skilled nature." -
The Wheaton plant manufactures certain decorative glass and pre-
cisioli laboratory equipment of a type not made by Armstrong. The
packers and sorters whom the'CIO desires to represent do. not pack
these pieces but inspect them,and send•them through the plant, in the
one case for decoration, in .the other for more'careful inspection. The
girls who decorate the ware also cull and pack the finished decorative
pieces. Employees termed gauge girls check'the laboratory equipment, .
for size. Most inspectors pack. The main difference between the
work of the employees whom the CIO would segregate and other in-
spectors, is in the flaws 'which they must detect. However, the girls
who decorate the ware sometimes reject it for flaws which should have
been detected by the packers and sorters. The foreman of the packers
and sorters whom the CIO,seeks to represent also, supervises all other
inspectors and packers'as well as'all employees engaged in the making
.of cartons. -
We regard this case as distinguishable from the Armstrong Cork
case upon which the petitioner relies. Our decision,in that proceed-
ing was based upon the 'two circumstances, that, Armstrong'had for a
period. of 51 years recognized and. bargained with a labor organiza-
tion representing the packers and sorters, and that there appeared to
be a clear line of demarcation between the packers and sorters ,and
other miscellaneous employees. In the- instant case, although the
Company has, since-1926 treated its packers and sorters as a distinct
group for the purposes of bargaining, its negotiations with these em-,_
ployees'have been oral and extremely informal.' Furthermore, `it is
evident- that the 'Company's packers and sorters are not validly dis-
tinguishable in respect to skill or function from other miscellaneous
employees whom the CIO seeks to'exclude from its-proposed unit.
We note,, in addition, that the CIO has apparently organized mis-
cellaneous employees of-the Company other than packers and sorters .8
0In January 1944 all packers and sorters went on strike . The Company did not have
to cease operations but used employees from other departments of the plant to do the work
of packers and sorters . These employees, although untrained in that specific trade, per-
'formed the work so well that no complaints , have been received on the ware which they
inspected. -t
? See Matter of Corn Products Reflnting Company, 52 N. L R B 1324.
8 In its brief, the CIO requests that if the Board should direct separate elections in two
voting groups comprised respectively of the packers and sorters and the miscellaneous
T. C. iWHEATON COMPANY , 455
In its original petition the CIO requested a unit of miscellaneous em-
ployees, including packers and sorters .9 Collective bargaining upon
the basis of a unit of miscellaneous employees, including packers and,
sorters among others, is traditional and customary in the glass manu-
facturing industry. We are not persuaded that the circumstances
present in this case afford sufficient justification for varying the normal
pattern by setting apart a subsidiary and.ill-defined group of miscel-
laneous employees. We find, therefore, that the unit sought by the
CIO is inappropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
Iv. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Since the bargaining unit sought to be establisHed by the petitioner
is not appropriate as stated in Section III, above, we find that no
question concerning representation of employees, of the 'Company in
an "appropriate bargaining unit has' arisen within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) of the Act. Accordingly, the petition will be dismissed:
ORDER
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and the entire record
in the case , the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the
petition for, investigation and certification of representatives of em-
^ployee 's of T . C. Wheaton Company, ' Millville , New Jersey, filed by
Federation of Glass, Ceramic & Silica. Sand Workers of America, affili-
ated with the CIO , be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
MR. GERARD D.,REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Order.
employees , it be accorded a place on the ballot in, both elections . This request appears to
be based upon a misconception of-the issues ' presented to us by,the petition ' and motions
herein. The CIO's petition requests _ a determination of representatives only as to the
Company 's packers and sorters. The GBBA, which is presently recognized as the exclusive
representative of all the miscellaneous employees subject to our disposition of the CIO's
petition; intervened only for the purpose of seeking dismissal of the petition on the ground
that the unit proposed therein is inappropriate.
9 According to the report made by, the Field Examiner and filed as an Exhibit at the
hearing , the CIO submitted 47 authorization cards , of persons working as packers and
sorters for the Company , and 177 authorization cards of other miscellaneous' employees.
The GBBA submitted 37 application-for-membership cards of persons whom it terms 'packers
and sorters ; none of persons in the CIO 's` alleged unit , and 452, including the 37 above-
mentioned , of persons classified as miscellaneous employees.