United Gas Pipe Line Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 18, 1944

56 N.L.R.B. 669 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter Of UNITED GAS PIPE LINE COMPANY and OIL WORKERS
INTERNATIONAL UNION, CIO
Case No. 16-I1-871.-Decided May 18, 1944
Vinson , Elkins , Weems d Francis , by Mr. W. O. Crain , of Houston,
Tex., for the Company.
Mr. Sidney Cohen, of Fort Worth , Tex., for the Union.
Mrs. Ma?°garet L. Fassig, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by Oil Workers International Union,
CIO, herein called the Union, 'alleging that a question affecting com-
merce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of the
United Gas Pipe Line Company, Shreveport, Louisiana; herein called
the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice before Elmer Davis, Trial Ex-
aminer. Said hearing was held at Dallas, Texas, on March 31, 1944.
The Company and the Union appeared and participated. All parties
wef•e afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-ex-
amine 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 oppor-
tunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
United Gas Pipe Line Company is a Delaware corporation and is
engaged in the States of Texas, Louisiana, Ahibama, Florida, and Mis-
sissippi in the purchase, transportation, and sale at wholesale' of
natural gas. The Company's headquarters are in Shreveport, Louisi=
ana, but the instant proceeding is concerned only with what is known
56 N. L. R. B., No. 130. '
i
669
670 DECISIONS ' OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
as the Dallas District which has its office- located on a company,plat
or camp just outside the city limits of Dallas,, Texas. The Dallas
District encompasses generally an area extending west as far as Fort
Worth, east to a point near the Texas-Louisiana line, and south 'to a
point near Center, Texas, and including the towns of Groveton and
Huntsville, Texas. The Company sells natural gas to distributing
companies for various' municipalities, industrial consumers, and to
Government agencies within the district. During the month of Feb-
ruary 1944, the Company transported and sold through its lines .within
the district, 5,615,502,000 cubic feet of natural -gas. Of this amount,
3,880,391,000 cubic feet was, produced, within the district and 1,735,-
111,000 cubic feet was transported into the district from 'the Shreve-
port, Louisiana, district. . Sales within the district within the same
period of time amounted to 2,953,597,000 cubic feet. Some natural
,gas is transported from the Dallas District into Louisiana and other
States in which the Company operates. However, it is commingled/
in the lines, and figures are not available as to the amount produced
within the State of Texas which is transported to other States.
We find that the Company is engaged in commerce within the mean-
ing of the National Labor Relations Act.' .
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Oil Workers'International Union, affiliated with the Congress of
Industrial Organizations; is a labor organization admitting to mem-
bership employees of the Company.
Ila. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has.refused to grant recognition to the Union -as the
exclusive' bargaining representative of its employees in its Dallas Dis-
trict until the Union has been certified by the Board'in an appropriate
unit.
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear-
ing,.indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of em-
ployees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.2
' We find that a question affecting commerce has 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.
See Matter of Union Producing Company and associated companies , United Gas Pipe
Line Company and Houston Gulf Gas Company, 53 N. L R. B. 1287
2 The Field Examiner reported that the Union had submitted 41 membership application
cards ; that the Company 's pay roll contained the names of approximately 80 employees
in the appropriate unit ; that the , cards were dated as follows • 30 in February and 11.in
March 1944 ; and that the rate of turn -over for a period of 6 months immediately prior to
March 21, 1944 , was 9 percent per month. • -
UNITED GAS PIPE , LINE COMPANY
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
671
A. Scope-of the unit
The Union contends that the production and maintenance employ-
ees of the Company who work under the supervision and direction of
the Company's Dallas, Texas, District Manager, subject,to certain
specific inclusions and exclusions, constitute a unit appropriate for col-
lective bargaining purposes. , The Company contends that the, dis-
trict unit claimed by the Union is inappropriate, and that the only
unit which would be appropriate for collective bargaining purposes
would be one comprised of the production and maintenance, employees
of not only this Company but also of the Union Producing,Company,
Houston Gulf Gas Company, and the United Oil Pipe Line Company,
all of which are affiliated with the subject Company, on the basis that
the four companies together constitute an integrated system for, the
production, gathering, transporting, and delivering of oil and gas.
In a prior proceeding involving this same company 3 and its affil-
iates, the Company made the same contention, but the Board never-'
theless found appropriate on the basis of the, limited scope of organi-
zation of the Union, petitioner in that case, two separate-appropriate
units, consisting of the San Antonio and Beeville districts. The rec-
ord in this proceeding indicates that there has been no substantial'
change in the situation with respect to the operations of the Company
or the organization or division of its employees into administrative
geographical units. - Furthermore, it still appears, as in the 'prior
proceeding, that no labor organization has yet organized the employ-
ees on the basis of a system-wide unit. Therefore, for the same rea-
sons as those set forth in our decision in the prior representation pro=
ceeding, we are of the opinion that although-the operations of the four-
affiliated companies are closely integrated and coordinated, the em=
ployees under the supervision and direction of the Company's Dallas,'
Texas, District Manager presently constitute a separate unit appro-
priate for collective bargaining purposes. This conclusion, however,
will not preclude 'a later redetermination of the question of the appro-
priateness of a company-wide or system-wide unit.
B. Constituency of the bargaining unit
The Union contends that all production and maintenance employ-
ees of the Company who'work under the supervision and direction
of the Company's Dallas, Texas, District Manager, including meter
inspectors, dispatchers, telegraphers, and warehouse clerks, but ex-
eluding office and clerical employees, technical, professional, admin-
See footnote 1, supra
672 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
istrative, and supervisory employees, constitute an appropriate bar-
gaining unit. Subject to its contention relative to the scope of the
unit, the,Company agrees to the appropriateness of the categories
of employees to-be included and excluded in the bargaining unit, and
further, requests that all employees classified by the Company as tem-
porary, be excluded from the, bargaining unit. 'The Company clas-
sifies as temporary ' the following :
(a) Any person employed in a regularly established position
in any department of our organization for a period of less than
three months, such three months' period to be calculated from the
date of employment to the corresponding day of the third month
following;
(b) All persons (other than regular employees already on our
payroll) specifically employed for a construction job;
(c) Employees (other than regular employees already on our
payroll) of Plant Reclassification, Inventory and Appraisal De-
partments, or other such special groups that may be set up;
(d) All persons.. employed -in designated occupations caused
by the national emergency.
The employees covered by the provisions of paragraph (a) will be
discussed hereinafter in Section V.
At the time of the hearing there were no employees covered by para-
graphs (b) and (c) above, within the Dallas District, and the Com
pany did not expect to have any such employees within a period of at
least 6 months. The Union agreed to the exclusion of any_ such em-
-ployees from the bargaining unit. We are of the opinion that the
categories of employees referred to in paragraphs' (b) and (c) are
properly excluded from a unit of production and maintenance em-
ployees, and accordingly we shall exclude them from the unit.
The only category of employees covered by the description in para-
graph (d) is that of'armed guards. There 'are five or six guards em-
ployed within the district. The Company's guards were formerly
militarized, but the militarization program has been abandoned and
the guards have been demilitarized, although they still are armed, and
some of them carry deputy commissions. The Union agreed to, the
exclusion of the guards. Although we do not, subscribe to the Com-
pany's contention that the exclusion of these employees is warranted
by the fact that they are employed only for the duration of the war,4
we find that they may be properly excluded from the unit of produc-
tion and maintenance employees as a separate functional group, and
accordingly we shall exclude the armed guards.
Therefore 'we find, in substantial accordance with the agreement
of the parties, that all production and maintenance employees of the
iSee Matter 'o f Emerson Radio & Phonograph Go., 53 N. L. R. B. 1359.
UNITED GAS PIPE LINE COMPANY 673'
Company, who work tinder the supervision and direction of the Com-
pany's Dallas, Texas , District Manager, including meter . inspectors,
dispatcheis ,, telegraphers , and'warehouse clerks , but excluding office
and clerical employees , technical , professional , and administrative
employees , armed guards , temporary construction employees , tempo-
rary employees in the Plant Reclassification , Inventory , and Appraisal
Departments , or other such special groups, and 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 purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. The Union
agreed with the Company that the Company's regular part-time em-
ployees and its employees described in paragraph (a), Section IV B,
sup,ra,who',have not completed their 37month probationary -period of
employment shouldbe ineligible to vote in the election.5 Although the
Company considers these employees as "temporary," they are em-
ployed in regularly established positions and will be reclassified as
"regular" employees upon successful completion of a 3-month pro-
bationary 'period. It appears they have a substantial expectancy ^of
permanent employment. We find, therefore, that they are eligible to
vote in the elections
The Company has approximately six regular part-time employees
who-change the charts at the Company's stations. At'some stations
the meters have 24-hour charts which must be changed daily, and at
other stations the charts are changed weekly. Therefore, some of
these part-time employees work.a few hours each day and others work
only a few days out of each month. They usually do not work more
than 10 percent of a normal workday for this Company, and most of
them are employed full-time by other companies or are self-employed
as farmers. However, there is no indication in the evidence'that these
part-time employees work on any different basis than full-time em-
ployees as to .rates of pay, duties, or other conditions of employment.
The Board does not regard the regular employment of these part-time
employees by other employers as precluding their right to participate
in the election of representatives. We have frequently in the past
declared regular part-time employees eligible to Vote for bargaining
At the time of the hearing there were four or five persons who had been einployed
in regular positions as laborers for less than 3 months
6 See Matter of Nineteen Hundred Corporation, 32 N. L. R. B 327, and cases' cited
therein ; also Matter of Indian Refining Company, 44 N. L. R. B. 774, and cases cited
therein.
587784-45-vol. 56-44
I
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674 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
representatives,' and therefore find here that all part-time employees
regularly employed by the'Company are eligible to vote. _
The Company urges that all employees within the appropriate unit
who are in the armed forces of the United States-be permitted to vote
by mail. -The Union did not take any position on this matter. Since,
as we fully stated in Matter of Mine Safety Appliances Co., etc., 55
N. L. R. B., No. 215, if is administratively impracticable to provide
for mail balloting of employees on, military leave who are unable to
appear at the polls and a safeguard has been' established for their
interests, only those employees in the armed forces of the United
States who present themselves in person at the polls will be permitted
to vote.
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 Relations
Board Rules and Regulations=Series 3; it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with United Gas Pipe
Line Company, Shreveport, Louisiana, 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 Sixteenth Region, acting in
this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and sub-
ject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations,
and the findings in Section V, above, 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 this Direction,
including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period
because they were ill or,on vacation or temporarily laid off, and' in-
cluding employees in the armed forces of the United States who
present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding those em-
ployees who, have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not
been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine
whether or not they desire to be represented by Oil Workers Inter-
national, Union, CIO, for .the purposes of collective bargaining.,
' See Matter of Wagner Folding Box Corporation, 49 N L. R. B. 346 , and cases cited
therein.
I.