47 N.L.R.B. 1229 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

Bohn Aluminum & Brass Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsFeb 27, 1943

47 N.L.R.B. 1229 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

I In the Matter of BORN ALUMINUM & BRASS CORPORATION and INDUS- TRIAL OFFICE WORKERS ' UNIONS LOCAL 889, INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE , AIRCRAFT & AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT, WORK- ERS OF AMERICA, CIO Case No. R-4785.-Decided February 27, 1943 Jurisdiction : ordnance manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : recog- nition refused on ground unit sought was inappropriate ; election necessary.' Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all office and plant clerical" em- ployees at one plant of company, including timekeepers, but excluding super- visory employees, employees listed in Appendix A, and employees in the' employment and personnel department. Butzel, Eaman, Long, Gust cC Bills, by Mr. Victor W. Klein, of De- troit, Mic11:;; for the, Company. Mr. Maurice M. Sugar and Mr. Jack N. Tucker, of Detroit, Mich., for the Union. Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board'. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by Industrial Office Workers Union, Local 889, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of Ametica, CIO, herein, cal led the, Union,. alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em- ployees of Bohn Aluminum & Brass Corporation, Detroit, Michigan, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board pro- vided for an appropriate hearing upon due, notice before Harold A. Cranefield, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Detroit, Mich- igan, on January 18 and 21, 1943. The Company and the Union ap- peared, 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 hear-- ing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. On February; 9, 1943, the Company and the Union filed briefs which the Board has considered. 47 N. L. R. B, No 148. 1229 1230 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY .Bohn Aluminum & Brass Corporation is a Michigan corporation with its principal place of business at Detroit, Michigan. , We are here concerned with its plant at Detroit, Michigan, known as Plant No. 1. The Company is engaged at Plant No. 1 in the manufacture of war materials and uses, raw materials- valued at about $13,000,000 annually, approximately 50 percent of which is shipped to it from points outside the State of Michigan, and manufactures finished'prod- ucts at'Plant No. 1 valued in excess of $13,000,000 annually, approxi- mately 50 percent of which is shipped to points outside the State of Michigan. The Company admits, for the purposes of this proceed- ing, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Na- tional Labor Relations Act. II.,THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Industrial Office Workers Union, Local 889, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is 'a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION r, The Company refuses to recognize the Union as the exclusive repre- sentative of certain of its employees because it contends that the em- ployees claimed by the Union do not constitute an appropriate bar- gaining unit. A statement of the Regional Director, introduced into evidence during the hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate." 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 (G) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union contends that all office and plant clerical employees at Plant No. 1 of the Company with certain inclusions and exclusions noted below constitute an appropriate bargaining unit. - The 'parties are in agreement that the appropriate unit should include all office 1 The Regional Director reported that the Union presented 111 membership application cards bearing apparently genuine signatures , 24 of which bore the names - of persona-who appear on a pay roll of the Company . There are approximately 91 employees in "the appropriate unit. -, BOHN,_'ALUMINUM , & BRASS CORPORATBONI 1231 ` and,plant clerical employees excluding the classifications set forth in Appendix A. They are in disagreement,.however, with regardto the,, - following classifications, whom the Union would include in.the-unit : Employment and- personnel. department. There are 7 employees, in this department, classified as secretary to the director, write-up clerk,on seniority, file clerk, clerks, typists, and finger-printing, and, photographic clerk. All such employees have access to and work -with the Company's confidential personnel records. Under the circum- stances, we shall exclude all employees in the employment and per- sonnel department from the unit. , Timekeepers., The duties of timekeepers (or time-checkers) consist' of checking the starting time and the completion time of each job of the production employees. The record in the instant proceeding dis- closes that the duties of the timekeepers involved â€¢ herein are similar to those of the time-checkers involved in the Murray case.2 The Board' excluded time-checkers in the Murray case and the Company con- tends that for the reasons stated therein they should be excluded in the instant proceeding. Upon reconsideration of the functions per- formed-by timekeepers, we are now of the opinion that they are essen- tially, clerical employees whose duties do not involve the exercise of managerial discretion to a degree which would justify identification of timekeepers as representatives of management. As clerical em- ployees they are properly part of a clerical unit. We accordingly over- rule the Murray case insofar as it is inconsistent with the findings herein. We shall therefore include timekeepers in the unit. - We find that all office and, plant clerical employees at Plant No. 1 of the Company, including timekeepers, but excluding supervisory employees, employees listed in Appendix A, and employees in the Employment and Personnel Department, constitute a unit appro- priate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We shall direct that the question concerning representation be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot among the employees 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, =Matter of The Murray Corporattion of America and International Union, United Auto- mobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO), Amalgam- ated Local 889, 45 N L. R. B. 854. , 1232 DECISIONS'- OF 1VATIOINTAL` LABOR RELA'1TONS BOARD and 'pu'rsuant to Article III, Section 9, -of National Labor Relations `Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it isâ€¢hereby DmEC ED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Bohn Aluminum & Brass Corporation, Detroit, 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 super- vision of the Regional Director for the Seventh Region,- acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations''Boâ€¢ard, and sub- ject to Article III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, 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 any such employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vaca- tion 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 any who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire -to be represented by Industrial Office Workers Union, Local 889, United Automobile, Air- craft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining. MR. Wibi. M. LEISERSON took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election. - APPENDIX A MANAGEMENT (Top) Plant Manager Assistant Plant Manager Secretary to Plant Manager SHOP SUPERVISION General Superintendent 'Superintendent, Commercial Division Superintendent, Aircraft Division ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT Chief Engineer Secretary to-Chief Engineer Tool Engineering Chief Tool Engineer Secretary to Chief Tool Engineer Chief. Draftsman Service Engineering '-Assistant Chief Draftsman Assistant Tool Engineer BOHN ALUMINUM & -BRASS CORPORATION 1233 Experimental Engineering - Experimental Designer Engineers Die Designer Special Project, Designer and Engineer Machine Designer Tool Designers Draftsmen PlantEngineering Plant Engineer Secretary to Plant Engineer - Assistant Plant Engineer Supervisor of Stock and Supplies Plant Layout Engineers and Draftsmen Process Engineering 1 Chief Process Engineer Process Engineers Controlled Materials Supervisor, Controlled Materials Secretary to Supervisor, Controlled Materials Assistant Supervisor, Controlled Materials Product and -Design- Engineering , Product and Design Engineer Assistant Product and Design Engineer Draftsmen and Tool Designers Draftsmen , Supervisor, Design Changes Supervisor, Print Control S Assistant Supervisor, Print Control Secretary to Product and Design Engineer and Supervisors in Designing Department - Blueprint Machine Operator Project Engineering Project Engineer Liaison Engineers S - PLANT PROTECTION All employees in the Plant Protection 'Department MEDICAL DEPARTMENT Doctors Nurses S Secretary to Chief of Staff- Any and all other employees in the Medical Department MAST'ER' MECHANIC Master Mechanic 513024-43-vol. 47-78 1234 ' DECISIONS OF, -NATIONAL , LABOR RELATIONS' BOARD LABOR RELATIONS DEPARTMENT , . , Director Secretary - All employees in, the Labor Relations Department STANDARDS AND TIME STUDY Department Head Analysts EMPLOYMENT AND PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT Director Assistant Director PRODUCTION CONTROL DIVISION Manager Secretary to Manager , , Materials Procurement Division, Manager Secretary to Manager Assistant , Steel Controls Secretary to Assistant, Steel Controls Planning Control Orders ,-Maclaine Loads Superintendent Plant'Schedule Supervisor Outside Scheduling Supervisor Production Record Supervisor Assistant Superintendent of Planning Division Superintendent_ Customer's Follow Up Superintendent , Air' Craft, Division Secretary to Superintendent , Air Craft Division Superintendent , Automotive Division Secretary to Superintendent , Automotive Division Service Division Superintendent Secretary to Service Division Superintendent Diesel Division Superintendent Superintendent , Brass Division Material Expeditors Superintendent Assistant Superintendents ( 2nd arid,3rd shifts) OFFICE, AND PLANT ACCOUNTING ' '. Office Manager and Plant Accountant Secretary to Office Manager 'and Plant Accountant Assistant Plant Accountant Billing . Division Manager BOHN ALUMINUM & BRASS I CORPORATION 1235 Cost Department Cost Accountant Assistant Cost Accountant SHIPPING DEPARTMENT Traffic Manager Assistant Traffic Manager Secretary to Traffic Manager RECEIVING DEPARTMENT ' Receiving-and Shipping Superintendent PAY MASTER DEPARTMENT Pay Roll Supervisor Assistant Pay Master Secretary to Pay Roll Supervisor Chief Rate Supervisor TIMEKEEPERS Head Timekeeper Supervisors for each of three shifts