Armstrong Cork Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 18, 1952

100 N.L.R.B. 1163 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY 1163
successors, or assigns, which requires the employees of the said company
to join or maintain membership in our union, or any successor labor organi-
zation , as a condition of employment , unless such agreement has been
authorized, and only to the extent permitted, under the National Labor
Relations Act.
WE WILL NOT in any other manner restrain or coerce employees of NORTH
AMERICAN REFRACTORIES COMPANY, its successors or assigns, in the exercise
of the rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act, except to the extent that
such rights may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a
labor organization as a condition of employment, as authorized by Section 8
(a) (3) of the Act.
WE WILL notify NORTH AMERICAN REFRACTORIES COMPANY that we have
withdrawn our objections to the employment of Arthur Neeper and that
we have no objections to the employment of said individual by said company.
WE WILL make whole Arthur Neeper for any loss of pay suffered because
of the discrimination against him.
UNITED BRICK AND CLAY WORKERS OF AMERICA, AFL,
AND
UNITED BRICK AND CLAY WORKERS OF AMERICA,
LOCAL No. 448, AFL,
Labor Organizations.
Dated-------------------- By--------------------------------------------
(Representative ) (International ) (Title)
Dated-------------------- By--------------------------------------------
(Representative ) ( Local ) ( Title)
This notice must remain posted for 60 days from the date hereof, and must
not be altered, defaced, or covered by any other material.
ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
BOILERMAKERS, IRON SHIPBUILDERS AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, A. F.
OF L., PETITIONER
ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY and LOCAL 676, INTERNATIONAL BROTHER-
HOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF
AMERICA, A. F. of L., PETITIONER. Cases Nos . 4-RC-1552 to 1558
and 4-RC-1562. September 18, 1952
Decision, Order, and Direction of Elections
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before
Harold X. Summers, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings
made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.,
I At the hearing, the Intervenor, United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers
of America, C. 1 0., and its Local Union No 242, moved to dismiss the petitions of Inter-
national Brotherhood of Boilermakers , Iron Shipbuilders and Helpers of America, A. F.
of L., herein called the Boilermakers , upon the ground that the units which the latter
seeks to represent are inappropriate . For the reasons given infra, the motion is granted
as to the petitions filed in cases numbered 4-RC-1555 and 4-RC-1558, and denied as to
the others.
100 NLRB No. 186.
1164 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with these cases to a three-
member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and
Murdock].
Upon the entire record in these cases, 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 em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists 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 Boilermakers seeks to represent seven separate craft units as
follows : Electricians, sheet metal workers, welders, masons, machin-
ists, pipefitters, and carpenters.' In the alternative, it asks for a single
unit to include these seven classifications of employees .3 Local 676,
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen
and Helpers of America, A. F. of L., herein called the Teamsters, seeks
to represent a unit of all truck drivers, dump truck drivers, truck
driver helpers, yard truck helpers, garage mechanics, and station
wagon drivers.
The Employer and the Intervenor contend that the units sought by
the Boilermakers are inappropriate because of the history of collective
bargaining on a plant-wide basis and the composition of several of the
units. They further contend that the unit sought by the Teamsters
is inappropriate because of the inclusion therein of yard truck helpers.
The present proceeding involves only the Employer's plant at Cam-
den, New Jersey, which is engaged in the manufacture of cork insula-
tion. For about 10 years, the Intervenor has represented in a single
unit the plant's production and maintenance employees, excluding a
truck drivers unit represented by the Teamsters. For a somewhat
longer period, the Teamsters has represented a unit of truck drivers,
truck driver helpers, dump truck drivers, garage mechanics, and sta-
tion wagon drivers. In the present case, the Teamsters seeks a unit
which includes not only the employees whom it has historically repre-
sented, but also the yard truck helpers who have been part of the pro-
duction and maintenance unit.
The Employer concedes that the facts in the present cases are sub-
stantially like those in a recent case involving the Lancaster plant of
8 The Boilermakers desires to include apprentices and helpers in each of the craft units.
The Employer does not employ either classification.
8In view of the bargaining history on a plant -wide basis , a multicraft unit of mainte-
nance employees is not appropriate . Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 94 NLRB 804.
ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY 1165
the Employer, where the Board found that craft units similar to those
which the Boilermakers seeks to represent might be appropriate,
despite an established history of bargaining on a plant-wide basis 4
For the reasons set forth in that case, we reject the contention of the
Employer and the Intervenor that craft units may not be severed from
the existing plant-wide unit.
Of the units sought by the Boilermakers two-the mason and car-
penter units-each contains only one employee. Our policy is not
to find appropriate a unit of only one employee.5 Accordingly, we
shall dismiss the petitions in these cases.6
In Case No. 4-RC-1552, the proposed unit includes four electricians
and one lubricator. The electricians are craftsmen who perform elec-
trical repair and maintenance work. The lubricator spends all his time
oiling motors. He does not have the skill of an electrician, nor does
he help the electricians. As his interests appear to be different from
'those of the electricians, we shall, as urged by the Employer and the
Intervenor, exclude him.'
In Case No. 4-RC-1553, the proposed unit includes five sheet metal
workers and two saw filers. The sheet metal workers perform the
work usually associated with their craft. The saw filers sharpen and
repair woodworking saws and knives. The two categories have dif-
ferent skills and perform different work. No sufficient reason has
been advanced why saw filers should be included in a sheet metal
workers craft unit. We shall therefore, as argued by the Employer
and the Intervenor, exclude them.
In case No. 4-RC-1556, the proposed unit consists of one shop
leader, eight mechanics, two shift mechanics, one rigger, one setup
man in the mold department, one setup man in the finishing depart-
ment, one belt and elevator mechanic, and one tool attendant. The
Employer and the Intervenor would exclude all but the shop leader
and the eight mechanics from the unit.
The eight mechanics work interchangeably as machinists and mill-
wrights. Each of the two shift mechanics works alone as a "trouble-
shooter" on one of the night shifts. The shift mechanic may be called
upon to do all kinds of repair work. The rigger sets up chain blocks,
rope tackle, and cable equipment for the installation or moving of
equipment. The mechanics, the shift mechanics, and the rigger work
out of the machine shop and receive their work assignments from the
shop leader who, the parties agree, is not a supervisor.
4 Armstrong Cork Company ( Lancaster Floor and Closure Plants ), 97 NLRB 1057.
6 Independent Motion Picture Producers Association , 88 NLRB 1285.
Cases Nos 4-RC-1555 and 4-RC-1558
7 West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company , 89 NLRB 815.
1166 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The setup men in the mold and finishing departments set up ma-
chines for production work and make adjustments in them while they
are running. They work in the production departments taking
orders for the setup from production foremen, although they are
under the supervision of the foreman (mechanical) for the mechanical
aspects of their work. The belt and elevator mechanic inspects and
maintains elevator equipment. He also makes and repairs belts for
all kinds of drives. His skill is specialized and is different from that
of the other mechanics. The tool attendant hands out tools to all
maintenance employees and keeps necessary records.
We believe that the shop leader and the employees to whom he
hands out work assignments (the eight mechanics, the two shift me-
chanics, and the rigger) are a homogeneous group who may consti-
tute a separate unit. We shall exclude therefrom the setup men,
the belt and elevator mechanic, and the tool attendant, who do not
appear to have any special interests linking them with other employees
in this unit.
In Case No. 4-RC-1557, the proposed unit consists of four pipe-
fitters and one pipe coverer. The Employer and the Intervenor con-
tend that the pipe coverer should be excluded. The pipefitters per-
form the customary work of their craft. Two are licensed plumbers.
The pipe coverer or insulation mechanic, as he is classified by the
Employer, does insulation work, covering pipes and ducts with insula-
tion material. The pipefitters and the pipe coverer have different
supervisors and different skills. We shall exclude the pipe coverer.
In Case No. 4-RC-1562, the proposed unit includes truck drivers,
truck driver helpers, dump truck drivers, garage mechanics, station
wagon drivers, and yard truck helpers. As stated above, the Teamsters
has represented all these employees, except the yard truck helpers,
in a separate unit for many,years. The Employer and the Intervenor
do not dispute this representation, but contend that the yard truck
helpers, who have been included in the production and maintenance
unit for 10 years, should not be included in the Teamsters unit, or
at least not included without a separate self-determination election.
The Teamsters does not desire such an election.
The yard truck helpers work about the plant premises removing
trash and loading it on the dump truck, which is driven by a driver
who is included in the truck drivers unit. One or more of the helpers
also accompanies the driver to the dump where the refuse is unloaded.
The yard truck helpers are a fringe group of employees. In most
respects, they are like custodial employees who are included in the
production and maintenance unit. Whatever disposition might be
ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY 1167
made of them in the absence of bargaining history, the long-time
inclusion of the yard truck helpers in the production and mainte-
nance unit precludes their inclusion in the truck drivers unit at this
time, particularly without affording them an opportunity of express-
ing their own desires in a separate representation election.8 As
neither the Teamsters nor any other party apparently desires an
election in a truck drivers unit, excluding yard truck helpers, we shall
dismiss the petition in this case.
We find that the following employees at the Employer's Camden,
New Jersey, plant, excluding guards, professional employees, and
supervisors as defined in the Act, may constitute separate units appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
1. All electricians (Case No. 4-RC-1552).
2. All sheet metal workers (Case No. 4-RC-1553).
3. All welders (Case No. 4-RC-1554).
4. All mechanics, shift mechanics, rigger, and shop leader (Case
No. 4-RC-1556).
5. All pipefitters (Case No. 4-RC-1557). •
If a majority in any of the voting groups vote for the Boilermakers,
they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a sepa-
rate appropriate unit, and the Regional Director conducting the
elections directed herein is instructed to issue a certification of repre-
sentatives to the Boilermakers for each such voting group described
above, which the Board, under such circumstances, finds to be a unit
appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining. In the event that
a majority in any voting group vote for the Intervenor, the Board
finds the inclusion of such employees in the existing unit to be appro-
priate and the Regional Director will issue a certificate of results of
election to such effect.
Order
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petitions filed in cases numbered
4-RC-1555, 4-RC-1558, and 4-RC-1562 be, and they hereby are,
dismissed,
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]
8 Cf. Silver Knit Hosiery Mills, Inc., 93 NLRB 791 ; Kearney i Trecker Corporation, 93
NLRB 890 ; Waterous Company , 92 NLRB 76.
The contract covering the truck drivers unit expires on December 31, 1952. Neither
contracting party asserts that this contract is a bar , although the Intervenor does make
this contention . In view of our determination to dismiss the petition in this case on other
grounds, we find it unnecessary to consider this bar contention.