Westinghouse Electric Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 13, 1949

84 N.L.R.B. 213 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter Of WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION, EMPLOYER AND
PETITIONER and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, DIS-
TRICT LODGE No. 93 and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL
WORKERS, LOCAL UNION 332, A. F. L.
In the Matter Of WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION, EMPLOYER AND
PETITIONER and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, DIS-
TRICT LODGE No. 93 and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL
WORKERS, LOCAL UNION 332, A. F. L.
In the Matter Of WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, DISTRICT LODGE No. 93
PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 20-RM-31, 20-ISM-33, and 920IBC-473, respectively.-
Decided Jzs e 1311949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon separate petitions duly filed, a hearing in the above- consol-
idated cases was held before Louis S. Penfield and Benjamin B. Law,
hearing officers of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing
officers' rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error
and are hereby affirmed.,
After the hearing, the I. A. M. moved to reopen the record in these
cases to insert, as exhibits, decisions of the Superior Court of the
State of California directing the Employer and the I. A. M. to arbi-
trate their dispute concerning the coverage of their contract, and also
1 We find no merit in the contention made by United Electrical , Radio and Machine
Workers of America, C I. 0 , herein called the U E , that its current contract covering
the Employer ' s Emeryville , California, plant , applies to certain employees at the Em-
ployer ' s Sunnyvale , California, plant As the U E. has not complied with the filing
requirements of Section 9 (f) and (h) of the Act and has no current contractual interest
covering any of the employees involved herein, the hearing officers properly denied its
motion for intervention Matter of Campbell Soup Company , 76 N. L. R B 950. The
hearing also properly denied the motion to intervene made by United Steelworkers of
America, C I. 0 , berein-called the Steelworkers , which has not complied with the filing
requirements of Section 9 (f) and (h) of the Act. The motion of the Steelworkers to
overrule the hearing officers ' denial of its motion for intervention upon the ground that
these provisions of the Act are unconstitutional is hereby denied, for the reasons stated
in Matter of Rate-Form Corset Company , Inc., 75 N. L. R. B. 174. The hearing officers
properly granted the motion to intervene made by the Independent . See footnote 5, infra:
84 N. L. R. B., No. 27. 213
853396-50-vol. 84-15
214 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
an Arbitration Award made pursuant to these decisions, declaring that
the Employer had violated the contract by bargaining with the I. B.
E. W. rather than with the I. A. Al. in regard to employees engaged
in electrical production work. Although the Employer may have
violated its agreement with the I. A. M. by bargaining with the I. B.
E. W., this contract has now expired. Moreover, the proposed exhibits
are limited to an interpretation of this contract and do not affect the
history of collective bargaining with respect to the employees involved
herein.' We have therefore denied the motion of the I. A. Al. to re-
open the record and have rejected its proposed exhibits.3
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
these cases to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members
Houston and Reynolds].
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The organizations involved : 4
International Association of Machinists, District Lodge No. 93,
herein called the I. A. M.; International Brotherhood -of Electrical
Workers, Local Union 332, A. F. L., herein called the I. B. E. W.; Inde-
pendent Westinghouse Workers Union, herein called the Independ-
ent; 5 and Sales-Delivery Drivers and Warehousemen's Union, Local
2 See paragraph numbered 4, infra , for a discussion of the history of collective bargaining.
3 By order dated April 19, 1949. The I A M. also requested pei mission to file a reply
brief in order to refute the statements made by the Independent in a letter and affidavit
submitted in lieu of a brief As we are not considering the statements made in the
affidavit submitted by the Independent , we have also denied this request of the I A M by
older dated April 19, 1949
4 Although Santa Clara Valley District Council of Cai penters, United Brotherhood of
Carpenters & Joiners of America , A. F L , hei ein called the Carpenters , had a contractual
interest in this matter, it did not appear at the hearing
5 The hearing officers granted the Independent ' s motion to intervene , over the objections
of the Employer, the I A M , and the Teamsters Both the Employer and the I A M
contend in their briefs that the Independent is not a labor organization- within the meaning
of the Act , and that it has not complied and cannot comply with the filing requirements of
the Act As the record discloses that it was organized for the purpose of bargaining
collectively with the Employer with regard to wages, hours, and other conditions of
employment , and was authorized by emplo3ees to represent them for such purpose, we
find that the Independent is a labor organization within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of
the Act Matter of Ptittsburgh Limestone Corporation , 77 N L It. B. 710.
Although the Independent was organized only a few days before the hearing and has
therefore not yet complied with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f) and ( h) of the
Act, it is in the process of effecting compliance . We shall therefore place the name of the
Independent on the ballot , but subject to the conditions set forth in footnote 20, infra.
Matter of New Indiana Chair Company , Inc, 80 N L R B 1686 ; Matter of United States
Gypsum Company, 79 N. L R B 48 ; Matter of Continental Industries, Incorporated, of
Kansas City, Missouri , 76 N. L R B 561 Nor does it appear , as suggested by the
Employer, that the Independent is acting as an agent for the U. E for the purpose of
evading the filing requirements of the Act , or that it will not , if successful , be the actual
representative of the employees involved . Matter of New Indiana Chair Company, Inc.,
supra But Cf Matter of Campbell Soup Company, supra
WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION 215
No. 296, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Ware-
housemen and Helpers of America, A. F. L., are labor organizations
claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
3. Questions affecting commerce exist 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.
4. The appropriate unit :
Contentions of the parties
The I. A. M. seeks to represent a unit of all production and mainte-
nance employees employed at the Employer's Sunnyvale, California,
plant, including employees engaged in the assembly and production
of electrical equipment, but excluding maintenance electricians, their
helpers and apprentices, maintenance carpenters, their helpers and ap-
prentices, transportation and warehouse employees,6 office, clerical, and
technical employees, professional employees, guards, and supervisors.
The I. A. M. contends that this is the unit which has been covered by its
recently expired contract with the Employer.
The I. B. E. W. seeks to represent a unit of all electrical production
and maintenance employees employed at the Employer's Sunnyvale,
California, plant, excluding all employees engaged in mechanical pro-
duction and maintenance work,7 transportation and warehouse em-
ployees, maintenance carpenters, their helpers and apprentices, office
and clerical employees, professional employees, and supervisors. The
I. B. E. W. contends that, basically, this is the-unit which it has repre-
sented pursuant to its recently expired contract with the Employer.,
The Independent seeks a plant-wide unit, including all maintenance
employees and transportation and warehouse employees, but excluding
office, clerical, and technical employees, professional employees,
guards, and supervisors.
The Teamsters seeks to represent a unit consisting of all transporta-
tion and warehouse employees plus all packers and craters employed
in the Shipping and Crating Department 9 of the Employer's Sunny-
vale plant. The Teamsters admits that the packers and craters have
been covered by the I. A. M.'s contract with the Employer, but con-
6 Maintenance electricians , maintenance carpenters, and transportation and warehouse
employees have been represented respectively by the I. B. E . W., the Carpenters , and the
Teamsters, pursuant to contracts which expired on March 31, 1949.
' These employees have been covered by the contract between the I. A. M. and the
Employer which expired on March 31, 1949.
'The I B E W admits that employees engaged in the assembly and production of
water heaters and employees engaged in micarta fabrication have been represented by
the I A M , but it now seeks to include these employees in the unit of electrical production
and maintenance employees See footnotes 13 and 19, infra
9 Department X-36, discussed below.
216 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tends that their interests are more closely allied to those of the trans-
portation and warehouse employees whom it has represented than to
those of the employees who have been represented by the I. A. M.
The Employer agrees with the unit position of the I. B. E. W., that
electrical production and maintenance employees should be included
in a separate unit from other production and maintenance employees.
History of collective bargaining
The Employer is engaged, at its plant in Sunnyvale, California, in
the manufacture and sale of electrical and steam equipment, including
transformers, panelboards and switch gear apparatus, circuit breakers,
regulators, large and small electrical motors, home heaters, water
heaters, turbines, valves, and gates. Joshua Hendy Iron Works,
herein called Hendy, operated the Sunnyvale plant until March 1,
1947, when the Employer succeeded to its interests.
From about 1942 to March 1, 1947, Hendy had bargained continu-
ously with both the I. A. M.- and the I. B. E. W. and had entered into
successive collective bargaining agreements with them. Before 1942,
Hendy had been engaged exclusively in heavy mechanical production
work; it had written contracts with the I. A. M. covering mechanical
production employees, maintenance machinists, and tool and die
makers, and oral agreements with the I. B. E. W. for maintenance
electricians. In 1942, because of its inability to obtain certain electric
generators needed for the manufacture of its turbines, Hendy started
manufacturing generators, and continued to manufacture them until
1945. The written contract between Hendy and the I. B. E. W. which
became effective on April 1, 1943, was, for the first time, extended to
cover "electrical production workers," who were employed in the pro-
duction of these generators. The I. B. E. W. continued to represent
electrical production employees as well as maintenance electricians
until Hendy ceased to produce generators in 1945. Although the 1946
contract between Hendy and the I. B. E. W. covered only maintenance
electricians, it provided that "when classifications not herein enumer-
ated are established for production or other' type of work, the parties
agree to negotiate rates for such classifications, which shall become
effective from date of establishment of such classifications." The 1946
contract between Hendy and the I. A. M. covered all production and
maintenance employees, but specifically excluded certain enumerated
jobs and "specific classifications covered by collective bargaining agree-
ments currently in effect."
10 Before March, 1946, Lodge No. 68 represented the employees at Sunnyvale. At that
time, however , the International transferred jurisdiction over these employees from Lodge
No. 68 to Lodge No. 504 of District Lodge No. 93.
WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION 217
When the Employer took over the operation of the Sunnyvale plant,
on March 1, 1947, Hendy was carrying out contracts for the manufac-
ture of Diesel engines, a wind tunnel, a printing press, steam turbines,
and some gate valves. The Employer completed these contracts and,
,on July 10, 1947, started to manufacture various types of electrical
equipment. Since that time, manufacturing has greatly increased and
the type of work done has gradually changed from mechanical to
electrical production. With the exception of turbines, valves, and
gates, which Hendy also produced, the Employer now manufactures
only electrical products.
In May 1947, the present Employer executed its first contracts with
the I. A. M. and the I. B. E. W. These contracts were to remain in
effect until March 31, 1949, subject to automatic renewal for yearly
periods thereafter." The I. A. M. contract covered ".all production
and/or maintenance employees" with certain specified exclusions,
among which were "specific classifications covered by other collective
bargaining agreements currently in effect." Although the I. B. E. W.
contract did not specifically include electrical production classifica-
tions, it appears that their inclusion was contemplated, because the con-
tract provided, in Section 2, that "if during the term of this Agreement
the classifications listed in Appendix A are not adequate, additional
classifications as may be required for the production or assembly of
electrical equipment or other types of electrical work shall be estab-
lished and appropriate wage rates provided therefor." When the Em-
ployer started to hire electrical production workers in July 1947, new
rates and classifications were added to Appendix A of the I. B. E. W.
contract.
It appears that, before the Employer commenced its electrical
production work, it apprised both the I. A. M. and the I. B. E. W.
of its plans, and informed the I. A. M. that such work would be covered
by its contract with the I. B. E. W. The I. A. M. apparently acquiesced
in this arrangement, as it had when electrical production was under-
taken by Hendy. It raised no objection to the Employer's interpreta-
tion of these contracts until about August 1948, when the expansion of
the electrical production departments had been substantially com-
pleted. Since that time, the I. A. M. has protested that it is entitled to
represent all production employees, including those engaged in the
assembly and production of electrical equipment, pursuant to the
terms of its agreement.
n These contracts have now expired . On January 24, 1949, and January 26 , 1949, the
I. B. E. W. and the I. A. M., respectively , notified the Employer of their desire to amend
their respective agreements . On January 27, 1949, the Employer notified both the
I. B. E. W. and the I. A. M. of its intent to terminate these contracts on March 31, 1949.
218 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Teamsters has represented transportation and warehouse em-
ployees at the Sunnyvale plant since 1942.12 The Employer and the
Teamsters executed an agreement on June 6, 1947, which expired on
March 31, 1949, covering storekeepers, stock checkers, lift truck opera-
tors, and truck drivers.
The Carpenters have, for many years, represented all maintenance
carpenters, their helpers and apprentices employed at the Sunnyvale
plant. In May 1947, the Employer and the Carpenters entered into
an agreement covering these employees, which expired on March 31,
1949.
The operations at Sunnyvale
As stated above, the Employer's Sunnyvale plant was owned and
operated by Joshua Hendy Iron Works until March 1, 1947. Hendy
had had primarily a machine shop operation and, although it had for
a short period, from 1942 until 1945, manufactured electric generators,
it was engaged solely in mechanical production at the time the Em-
ployer took over its operations. The Employer has continued to
manufacture turbines, valves, and gates, which Hendy also produced,
-but has gradually added the manufacture of electrical products. It
appears that this is the only plant of the Employer which is engaged in
the production of such a variety of unrelated items, combining, as it
does, the manufacture of heavy mechanical products with the produc-
tion of electrical industrial equipment and electrical home appliances.
The Employer's electrical production operations at Sunnyvale are
mainly of an assembly nature. It purchases the electrical units which
go into its products from outside suppliers or obtains them from its
other plants throughout the country. Some of the parts, however, are
fabricated and machined at the Sunnyvale plant, in Buildings 61, 41,
and the North Side of Building 31. The employees in these three
buildings are primarily skilled machinists and related machine opera-
tors, engaged in mechanical or machining work. Neither the Employer
nor the I. B. E. W. seeks to have them included in the allegedly ap-
propriate unit of electrical production and maintenance employees.
A plant manager is in charge of the entire Sunnyvale plant. His
immediate subordinates, who report directly to him, are the mechan-
ical superintendent, the electrical superintendent, the supervisor of
quality control, and the plant services superintendent. The me-
chanical superintendent is in charge of Building 41 and the North
Side of Building 31, where all machine work for products made at
12 Until January 1, 1946, Local 287 had represented these employees. On that date,
Local 296 succeeded to the interests of Local 287, and since then has bargained for these
employees at the Sunnyvale plant.
-WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION 219
the Sunnyvale plant 13 and all production of nonelectrical equipment
are carried on. The electrical superintendent is in charge of all elec-
trical production and of the fabrication of parts for electrical products
carried on in Building 6114
The supervisor of quality control has charge of the quality con-
trol department, which is responsible for the inspection and testing
of products at various stages of production. There are two supervisors
working directly under him, one responsible for mechanical inspection
and the other for electrical testing. The plant services superintend-
ent has charge of the tool room, the maintenance department," and
the store rooms, receiving departments, and shipping and crating
department.
Most of the employees engaged in electrical production work are
unskilled or semiskilled. Inexperienced persons are hired and trained
on the job to perform the specific assembly or finishing operation for
which they have been employed. Employees engaged in mechanical
production, however, are considerably more skilled. There is there-
fore virtually no interchange between the Employer's electrical pro-
duction employees and those in Buildings 61, 41, and the North Side
of 31, who are engaged in mechanical production and machining op-
erations. Although a single plant-wide unit of production and main-
tenance employees might be appropriate, the above-mentioned factors
and the history of collective bargaining indicate that the electrical
production and maintenance departments and the mechanical produc-
tion and maintenance departments can also function at this plant as
two separate units."
All employees engaged in unloading, receiving, handling, storing,
and_ distributing materials and in transporting them from building to
13 Micarta machining , however, is caiiied on in one of the electrical production buildings,
subject to the supervision of the electrical superintendent The three employees in the
micarta department are skilled machinists who cut, punch , drill , and bore micarta, a plastic
used as insulation material Both the Employer and the I. B. E. W . would include the
micarta machinists in the allegedly appropriate unit of electrical production and main-
tenance employees As their work is similar to that done by the employees in Building 41,
who, the Employer and the I B E W. agree , should be included in a unit of mechanical
production and maintenance employees, and as they are skilled machinists , we shall
include the micarta machinists in the voting group of mechanical production and mainte-
nance employees herein found appropriate
14 As over 90 percent of the parts fabricated here are used in the assembly of electrical
products . Building 61 is under the supervision of the electrical superintendent. The
work done , however , is of a mechanical nature Thus , about 40 percent of the employees
work with machine tools, such as punch presses, drill presses , shears, and welding equip-
ment, about 45 percent are employed as welders , and the remaining 15 percent are lay-out
men, degreasers , painters , and air and pressure testers. As previously set forth, the
Employer and the I B E W agree to the inclusion of these employees in a unit of
mechanical production and maintenance employees.
'8 There are about 30 employees in the maintenance department, including maintenance
machinists , maintenance electricians , and maintenance carpenters , all of whom are highly
skilled journeymen.
1$ Matter of Manhattan Coil Corporation, 79 N. L. R B. 187.
220 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
building within the plant have been represented by the Teamsters
-in the past. Employees engaged in packing and crating products
manufactured at the plant, however, have been represented either by
the I. A. M. or by the I. B. E. W. Small electrical products are packed
or crated at the end of their respective assembly lines, and the em-
ployees engaged in this work have been represented by the same union
which has represented the employees engaged in the assembly and
finishing of these products. All large equipment, both mechanical
and electrical, is crated in the shipping and crating department,
known as Department X-36, where employees classified as "Packers A
and B" pack, crate, and load the products for shipment outside the
plant. They cut lumber, build crates, and load them on trucks or
railroad cars for shipment. Although the I. A. M. has represented
these employees in the past, the Teamsters seeks to include them in its
allegedly appropriate unit, but does not seek to include employees
engaged in packing small electrical equipment. At is appears that the
"Packers A and B," who are engaged primarily in building crates,
do work.and possess skills different from those of the employees en-
gaged in the storing and transportation of materials, we shall riot
include them in the voting group of transportation and warehouse
employees, but shall include them in the voting group of mechanical
production and maintenance employees herein found appropriate.
We shall make no final unit determinations at this time, but shall
first ascertain the desires of the employees as expressed in the elections
hereinafter directed. We shall direct that elections be held among the
following groups of employees at the Employer's Sunnyvale, Cali-
fornia, plant, excluding from the voting groups office, clerical, and
technical employees, professional employees, guards, and all super-
visors as defined in the Act :
(a) All mechanical production and maintenance employees,, in-
cluding all employees engaged in the general fabrication of parts, in
welding, in machining," and in the assembly of nonelectrical equip-
ment, all tool and die makers, their helpers and apprentices, tool crib
attendants, maintenance machinists, their helpers and apprentices,
crane operators and hook-on men, the dinkey engine operator, and
spray painters, packers and craters employed in the shipping and
crating department, but excluding all electrical production em-
ployees, maintenance electricians, their helpers and apprentices, main-
tenance carpenters, their helpers and apprentices,'8 and transportation
and.warehouse employees;
lr Including the micarta machinists See footnote 13, supra.
ie As maintenance carpenters have been and apparently still are being bargained for as a
separate unit, we are excluding them from voting groups (a) and (b).
WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION 221
(b) All electrical production and maintenance employees, includ-
ing all employees engaged in winding, treating, wiring, assembling,
painting, testing, packing, and crating panelboards and switch gear
apparatus, transformers, Buffalo motors, T & G motors, regulators,
circuit breakers, water heaters,19 and home heaters, employees engaged
in insulation detail fabrication and stamping and forming of bus bar
copper, and all maintenance electricians, their helpers and apprentices,
-but excluding all mechanical production and maintenance employees,
maintenance carpenters, their helpers and apprentices, and transpor-
tation and warehouse employees;
(c) All employees engaged in unloading, receiving, handling, stor-
ing, distributing, and transporting materials, excluding crane opera-
tors and the dinkey engine operator, and all packers and craters.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, separate elec-
tions by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not
later than 30 days from the date of this Direction, under the
direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Twentieth
Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among
the employees in the voting groups described in paragraph numbered
4, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction of Elections, including employees
who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill
or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees
who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been
rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the elections, and also exclud-
ing employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to
determine :
('1) Whether the employees in voting group (a) desire to be repre-
sented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by International Asso-
ciation of Machinists, District Lodge No. 93, or by Independent West-
inghouse Workers Union, or by neither;
19 The water heater department is under the supervision of the electrical superin-
tendent and the work done here is similar to that done in other departments where
electrical products are assembled The employees in this department , however, have been
represented by the I A M When the Employer informed the I. A. M. and the I B. E W.
that it was moving its water heater and home heater departments from its Emeryville
plant, a controversy arose as to the coverage of their respective contracts. As a com-
promise, the parties agreed that employees in the water heater department would be
covered by the I. A. Al. contract and those in the home heater department by the I. B.
E. W. contract . In view of their supervision and the nature of their work, we are
including the employees in the water heater department in the voting group of electrical
production and maintenance employees.
222 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
(2) Whether the employees in voting group (b) desire to be repre-
sented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by International Broth-
erhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 332, A. F. L., or by Inter-
national Association of Machinists, District Lodge No. 93, or by Inde-
pendent Westinghouse Workers Union, or by none;
(3) Whether the employees in voting group (c) desire to be repre-
sented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by Sales-Delivery Driv-
ers and Warehousemen's Union, Local No. 296, International Brother-
hood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of Amer-
ica, A. F. L., or by Independent Westinghouse Workers Union, or by
neither 20
20 The compliance status of Local No 296 has lapsed since the hearing in this matter,
and the Independent has not yet effected compliance The Regional Director is herewith
instructed to delete the Independent from the ballots in all the elections directed herein
if it is not in full compliance with Section 9 (f) and ( h) within 2 weeks from the date
of this Decision and Direction of Elections No election shall be scheduled within the
2-week period allowed until and unless compliance has been determined . If Local No. 296
has not complied with the provisions of Section 9 (f), (g), and ( h) of the Act within 2
weeks from this date, the Regional Director is to advise the Board to that effect, and no
election shall be conducted among the employees in the voting group ( c) unless and until
Local No. 296 has renewed its compliance.