American Marsh Pumps, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 12, 1943

51 N.L.R.B. 263 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of AMERICAN MARSH PUMPS , INC. and INTERNATIONAL
MOLDERS & FOUNDRY WORKERS UNION OF N. A. LOCAL 251
In the Matter of AMERICAN MARSH PUMPS, INC. and INTERNATIONAL
ASSN OF MACHINISTS LODGE No. 46
Cases Nos. R-5470 and R-5471 respectively.Decided July 12, 1913
Mr. G. Franklin Killeen, of Lansing, Mich., for the Company.
Mr. Henry J. Murphy, of Detroit, Mich., and Mr. William E.
Wiedenheck, of Battle Creek, Mich., for the I. A. M.
Mr. Frank Voit, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mr. E. M. Jarvis, of Battle
Creek, Mich., for the Molders.
Miss Muriel L. Levor, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by International Ass'n of Machinists Lodge
No. 46 , herein called the I . A. M., and upon amended petition duly
filed by International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of N. A.
Local 251, herein called the Molders, alleging that questions affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of
American Marsh Pumps, Inc., Battle Creek , Michigan , herein called
the Company,' the National Labor Relations Board provided for an ap-
propriate consolidated hearing upon due notice before Robert J.
Wiener, Trial Examiner . Said hearing was held at Battle Creek,
Michigan , on June 1, 1943. The Company, the I . A. M., and the
Molders 2 appeared , participated , and 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 opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
1 By stipulation at the hearing the pleadings and other documents were corrected to set
forth the name of the Company, as above
P Pattern Makers' Association of Detroit and Vicinity (A F. L although served with
notice of hearing, did not appear
51 N. L R. B., No. 57.
263
264 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATION'S BOARD
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
American Marsh Pumps , Inc., is a Michigan corporation engaged in
the manufacture of various types of pumps for use by the United
States Army, the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and
Lend -Lease Administration . During the year 1942 the Company's
principal purchases of raw material consisted of steel and other
metals. During that period the Company 's purchases exceeded $500,-
000, of which approximately 90 percent was shipped from points
outside the State of Michigan . During the same period the Company's
sales exceeded $1,000,000, of which approximately 95 percent was
shipped to points outside the State of Michigan.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Ass'n of Machinists Lodge No. 46, is a labor organiza-
tion, admitting to membership employees of the Company.
International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of N. A. Local
251, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On or about March 15, 1943, the I. A. M. requested the Company to
recognize it as the exclusive bargaining representative of certain cate-
gories of the Company's employees and on or about March 20, 1943,
the Molders requested recognition as exclusive bargaining representa-
tive of the foundry workers. The Company has not granted either
request. _
A statement of the Acting Regional Director, introduced into evi-
dence at the hearing, indicates that the I. A. M. and the Molders each
represents a substantial number of employees in the unit each claims
to be appropriate .3
We find that questions affecting commerce have, arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 , (6) and (7) of the National Labor
Relations Act.
$ The Acting Regional Director reported , that the I. A. M. submitted 164 designations,
of which 157 bearing apparently genuine original signatures correspond with names on
Company's pay roll of April 16 , 1943, containing 269 names in the unit claimed by the
I A. M.
The Acting Regional Director also reported that the Molders submitted 31 designations,
of which 30 bearing apparently genuine original signatures correspond with names on the
aforesaid pay roll containing 47 names in the unit claimed by the Molders.
IAMERIOAN MARSH PUMPS, INC. 265
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNITS
The I. A. M. claims as appropriate a unit composed of the Com-
pany's production and maintenance employees excluding those who
work in the foundry. The Molders requests a unit composed of the
Company's foundry employees. The Company contends that a plant-
wide unit is appropriate. To support this contention the Company
adverts to the physical and managerial integration of the plant and
its policy of utilizing the services of employees in each of the proposed
units for work in the other unit. The merits of these contentions and
of the exclusion or inclusion of various employees alleged, to be super-
visory, will be discussed below.
The plant consists of a number of buildings, all of which are lo-
cated on adjoining city blocks. Some of them are connected and some
are not. The foundry, which is situated in a separate building, is
connected with one of the buildings in the unit claimed by the I. A. M.
The lowest plant official whe exercises common supervision over
both the foundry and machine-shop departments is the plant superin-
tendent. There is a separate foundry superintendent whose super-
visory authority extends over the whole foundry and is limited to it.
Each of the machine-shop departments is supervised by a foreman
who has no authority over any work performed in the foundry.
It further appears that heat is poured in the foundry for about 2
hours on 3 days a week. On these occasions extra help is needed and
from two to four men from the machine-shop departments have been
assigned to the foundry for these brief peak periods. The record
indicates that laborers or other persons without special skill do this
periodic work in foundries which comprise an entire plant. The
only employees in the I. A. M.'s proposed unit who work in the
foundry are maintenance employees doing repair work. Recently
some of the foundry "employees have been employed in the machine
shop for work of an unspecified but temporary nature. This ap-
pears to be the extent of interchange between the two proposed units.
Foundry employees perform work of a distinctive nature which,
we have frequently held, renders appropriate a seperate unit, par-
ticularly where only one labor organization desires it. The fore-
going facts do not reveal any substantial reasons for departing from
our usual policy. Accordingly, we find that foundry employees con-
stitute a separate unit.
There remains for consideration the composition of the two units.
A. The I. A. M.'s unit
The unit claimed by the I. A. M. is composed of employees in vari-
ous departments including machine rooms, toolrooms, assembly,
266 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
painting and testing, shipping, and the stockroom. The I. A. M. de-
sires the exclusion of clerical employees who work in the Company's
office; employees in the engineering and drafting department, in the
foundry, and in the core room; and supervisory employees who per-
form no manual work. The sole controversy relates to which em-
ployees shall be excluded as supervisory. It appears that all the
Company's supervisory employees below the position of plant super-
intendent do some manual work. The Company contends that the
foremen and assistant foremen should be excluded from the unit
while the I. A. M. desires that they be included since they are work-
ing foremen and working assistant foremen.
The record does not make clear the extent of the supervisory au-
thority of these contested employees. It is conceded that the foremen
"supervise" the men under them on the day shift. It appears that in
addition to laying out the work they have the power effectively to
recommend changes in the, status of the employees under them. As-
sistant foremen, found in large departments, work as ordinary em-
ployees, during the day, and from 6 p. in. to midnight see that work
laid out by the foremen is done properly on the night shift. This
appears to be the extent of their supervisory duties. We shall exclude
the formen as supervisory employees. Assistant foremen will be in-
cluded or excluded depending upon whether their duties fit the defi-
nition of supervisory employees set forth below.
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the
Company, but excluding foremen, and any other supervisory em-
ployees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, descipline, or
otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively
recommiend such action, office employees, and employees in the engi-
neering and drafting department, foundry and core room, constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
B. The Molders' unit
The unit desired by the folders is composed of "all employees of
the foundry department except those wholly in charge of supervision."
The foundry superintendent is the only such person and the Company
concurs in this exclusion. The sole controversy concerns two alleged
foremen whom the Company desires excluded and whom the Molders
claims'should be included within the unit as having no substantial
supervisory authority.
McCool is an unusually experienced employee who occasionally
aids his coworkers. His status is no different from that of one Setter-
berg whom the Company concedes does not have supervisory
authority.
AMERICAN MARSH PUMPS, INC. 267
Wilson is a working foreman in the core room, where he lays out
the work for his fellow employees. However, he spends a very small
portion of his time seeing that the other men do their work properly.
He does not have the power effectively to recommend changes in
status of his fellow employees. We find that he has no substantial
supervisory authority and we shall include him and McCool within
the unit.
We find that employees of the Company's foundry department, in-
cluding McCool and Wilson, but excluding the foundry superintend-
ent and any other supervisory employees with authority to hire, pro-
mote, 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 mean-
ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATION
We shall direct that the questions concerning representation which
have arisen be resolved by means of elections by secret ballot among
the employees of the Company in the appropriate units who were
employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date
of the Direction of Elections herein, subject to the limitations and
additions set forth in the Direction.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it
is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with American Marsh
Pumps, Inc., Battle Creek, Michigan, 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 supervision
of the Regional Director for the Seventh Region, acting in this matter
as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Arti-
cle III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, among the em-
ployees in the units 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 including employees in the armed forces of the United
States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding
268 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RE'LArrIONS BOARD
any who have since quit or been discharged for cause ( 1) to deter-
mine whether or not production and maintenance employees of the
Company, excluding foremen , and any other supervisory employees
with authority to hire, promote , discharge , discipline , or otherwise
effect changes in the, status of employees , or effectively recommend
such action, office employees , employees in the engineering and draft-
ing department , foundry and core room desire to be represented by
International Ass'n of Machinists Lodge No. 46 , for the purposes of
collective bargaining; (2) to determine whether or not employees
of the Company 's foundry department , including McCool and Wilson,
but excluding the foundry superintendent and any other supervisory
employees with authority to hire, promote , discharge , discipline, or
otherwise effect changes in the status of employees , or effectively
recommend such action desire to be represented by International
Molders & Foundry Workers Union of N. A. Local 251, for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining.
CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Elections.