Worthington Pump and Machinery Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 28, 1951

93 N.L.R.B. 527 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

WORTHINGTON PUMP AND MACHINERY CORPORATION 527
WORTHINGTON PUMP AND MACHINERY CORPORATION and INTERNATIONAL
BROTHERHOOD OF FIREMEN , OILERS, HELPERS AND MAINTENANCE
MEN, LOCAL 55, PETITIONER. Cases Nos. 2-RC-2433 and
2-RC-2498. February 28, 1951
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before I. L. Broadwin,
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 this case to a three-
member panel [Members Houston, Murdock, and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. The question concerning representation :
United Steelworkers of America, CIO, herein called the Intervenor,
and its Local 1833, have for a number of years been the contractual
representatives of a unit of production and maintenance employees
at the Employer's Harrison, New Jersey, plant, the only plant herein
involved. On June 15, 1950, representatives of the Employer, of
Local 1833, and of District No. 2 of the CIO executed a bargaining
agreement covering the same unit., This agreement contained the
following provision :
If and when the Union complies with that-section of the Labor
Management Relations Act of 1947 concerned with elections for
Union Shop, or if Congress removes such requirement, the follow-
ing shall become effective.
(a) Any employee who is a member of the Union at such
time shall, as a condition of employment, maintain his mem-
bership in the Union to the extent of paying membership dues.
On June 15, 1950, the Petitioner filed a petition seeking an election
among employees of the' Employer's powerhouse. On July 10, 1950,
the Petitioner filed a petition seeking an election among the railroad
employees of the Employer's yard department.
' It appears that this agreement was executed by the president and secretary-treasurer of
the United Steelworkers, CIO, sometime later In view of our disposition of the question.
concerning representation on other grounds , we do not find it necessary to discuss the other-
contract bar issues.
93 NLRB No. 79.
528 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
On July 12, 1950, a union-authorization election was held, and on
July 20, 1950, Local 1833 was certified by the Board as authorized to
make or enforce certain types of union-security provisions. As the
provision for union security quoted above requires as a condition of .
employment maintenance-of-membership in the Union on the effective
date of the provision rather than "on or after the thirtieth day follow-
ing the beginning of such employment or the effective date of such
agreement, whichever is the later . . .," it appears that the provision
exceeds the limited form of union-security permitted by Section 8
(a) (3) of the Act. Although at the time of the filing of the petitions,
the operation of the illegal clause was effectively suspended,2 the pro-
vision became operative after the Board's certification of Local 1833
on July 20, 1950.3 From that date, the June 1950 agreement was
ineffectual as a bar by reason of its provision for a type of union
security not authorized by the Act 4
Accordingly, we find that a question affecting commerce exists con-
cerning the representation 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:
The Petitioner seeks to sever from the production and maintenance
unit two separate units, one composed of the powerhouse employees
and the other of the railroad employees in the yard department. The
Employer and the Intervenor contend that the only appropriate unit
is the production and maintenance unit.
The powerhouse employees.-This department is composed of 23
employees who are classified as engineers, firemen, oilers, boiler
cleaners, boiler cleaner leader, and powerhouse maintenance mechanic.
The group as a whole is separately housed, separately supervised, and
receives an average wage considerably lower than that of other skilled
maintenance and nonincentive workers. Engineers and firemen must
have licenses from the State of New Jersey. As it appears that these
employees form a distinct homogeneous group of a type traditionally
granted separate representation, we shall direct an election to ascertain
their desires.5
The railroad employees.-The Petitioner seeks to sever nine em-
ployees of the yard department, four of whom are locomotive crane
engineers, one of whom is a locomotive engineer, and four of whom
are brakemen. The engineers fire, operate, and service yard steam
2 Gulf Shtpside Storage Corporation , 91 NLRB 181.
8 Kingston Cake Company, Inc, 91 NLRB 447.
' Shepherd Manu facturing Company, Inc, 90 NLRB 2196 , The 2l atconal Foundry c6
Furnace Company, 88 NLRB 1083
1 Baugh and Sons Company, 82 NLRB 1399.
WORTHINGTON PUMP AND MACHINERY CORPORATION 529
cranes or yard switch engines which run on the mile of track, switches,
and spurs in the Employer's yard. These five employees are all re-
quired to have licenses, and their duties, which necessitate the ob-
servance of a large number of safety precautions, are not interchange-
able with those of other employees in the yard department. The
brakemen throw switches for the locomotive and steam cranes and
signal to the engineers. The work of the brakemen, however, requires
only 2 or 3 days of instruction and is often performed by yard laborers
whose duties the brakemen, in turn, may sometimes perform.
The engineers perform work distinguishable from that of any other
employees, and constitute a craft group which the Board customarily
accords an opportunity for separate representation even where there
has been a history of collective bargaining on a broader basis.6 The
duties of the brakemen, however, do not appear to justify severing
them from the other yard employees whose interests they share more
closely than they do those of the engineers. Accordingly, we shall
direct an election among the locomotive and locomotive crane engineers
in the Employer's yard department.
In accordance with the foregoing determinations, and in order to
ascertain the desires of the powerhouse employees and of the engineers
as to inclusion in a single unit with hourly rated production and
maintenance employees, we shall direct separate elections in the fol-
lowing voting groups, ' excluding from each all other employees,
guards, and supervisors :
(1) All powerhouse employees, including engineers, firemen, oilers,
boiler cleaners, the boiler cleaner leader, and the powerhouse main-
tenance mechanic.
(2) All licensed locomotive engineers, including locomotive crane
engineers, but excluding brakemen.
If a majority of the voting employees in these separate voting groups'
select the Petitioner, they will be taken to have indicated their desire
to constitute separate bargaining units. If a majority vote fore they
Intervenor, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to remaih
part of the larger unit represented by the Intervenor. ' '
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this,
volume.]
O Kaiser Steel Corporation, 87 NLRB 643 ; General Motor8 Corporation , 64 NLRB 688.
943732-51-35