Crocker-Wheeler Electrical Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 18, 1943

49 N.L.R.B. 864 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

i
In the Matter of JosIiuA HENnY IuON WORrs, DivisioN, CROCKER-
`PHEET. ELECTRICAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL
BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL 1159 B, A. F. of L.
Case No. R-5198.Decided May 18, 19Ir,3
Mr. Norbury C. Murray, of Newark, N. J., and Mr. C. R. Mason, of
Ampere, N. J., for the Company.
Messrs . T'honua L. Pdrsonnet and Earl Conrad, of Newark, N. J.,
for the I. B. E. W.
Mr. Edward J. Abramson, of Newark, N. J., for the Independent.
Miss Muriel J. Levor, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon amended petition duly filed by International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers, Local 1159 B, A. F. of L., herein called the
I. B. E. W., alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen
concerning the representation of employees of Joshua Hendy Iron
Works, Division, Crocker-Wheeler Electrical Manufacturing Com-
pany,°Ampere, New Jersey, herein called the Company,l.the.National
Liibor Relations Board provided for,an.appropriate;hearinguppn-due
notice before Martin I. Rose, Trial Examiner.'. Said hearing was held
at Newark, New Jersey, on April 13, 1943. ' The Company, the
I. B. E. •W., and the Independent Workers Union of New Jersey,
herein called the Independent, appeared, participated, and were af-
forded 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. -
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
'A motion was made and granted at the hearing to amend the petition and other
documents to set forth the Company 's name as above
49 N. L. R. B., No. 122.
864
- ',JOSHUA HENDY IRON WORKS
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
865,
Joshua Hendy Iron Works, a Nevada corporation, has its principal
office at Sunnyvale, California. It operates plants at Sunnyvale and
Los Angeles, California, and a plant at Ampere, New Jersey, called
the Plant herein, which is alone involved in this proceeding. The
Plant formerly belonged to the Crocker-Wheeler Manufacturing Com-
pany. Joshua Hendy Iron Works installed the new management in
January 1943 and operates the plant as its Division, Crocker-Wheeler
Manufacturing Company. The Company is engaged in the manufac-
ture, sale, and distribution of electric motors and generators. The
principal raw materials used by the Company at the Plant are copper
and steel. During the 6-month period preceding April 2, 1943, the
Company purchased and used at the Plant $3,000,000 worth of such
materials, of which approximately 80 percent was shipped from points
outside the State of New Jersey. During the same period the Com-
pany manufactured, at the Plant, finished products of the approximate
value of $4,500,000, of which 85 percent was shipped to points outside
the,State of New Jersey.
The Company concedes that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Brotherhood of-Electrical Workers, Local 1159'B, is
a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
Independent--Workers Union of New Jersey, is an unaffiliated labor
,organization, admitting to membership employees, of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On April 1 , 1941 , the Crocker -Wheeler Electrical Manufacturing
Company and the Independent entered into a contract recognizing the
Independent as exclusive bargaining agent of Plant employees with
certain , specified exceptions . This contract contained a,maintenance
of membership clause and it provided that it was to remain in force for
1 year and to be renewed automatically in the absence of 30 days ' notice
of desire to terminate . ' On or about February 23, 1943, the Independ-
ent notified the Company , by letter, of its intention to reopen the con-
tract to make changes , and on March 1, 1943, the Company acknowl-
edged receipt of the letter and announced that it , too, desired to make
changes. Prior to this exchange of letters , on February 10, 1943, the
I. B. E, W . filed the petition herein, and on or about March 26, 1943,
• 866 DECISIONS - OF NATIONAL ' LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
advised the Company by =letter , that a new contract should not be
executed until the question of representation had -been determined by
the pending proceedings befoi 'e'the Board. - On March 31, 1943, the
Company and the Independent entered- into a temporary agreement
terminable on 30 clays ' notice to continue the terms of the expired con-
tract, and which was expressly 'made subject to, these proceedings.
Neither the Company nor the fiidependent asserts 'that the contract
'is a bar , to an election . Under these circumstances ' the contract does
not constitute a bar' to an investigation - of 'representatives.
A statement of the Regional Director , uhtr6d aced in evidence at the
'hearing, indicates that the I. B. E. IV. ` submitted 343`,siboed'applica-
tion -foi•=membership cards of which 297 , dated December 1; 1942,'to
February 20, 1943, bearing apparently genuine origmuil signatures,
correspond with names on the Company's. pay roll of February 22,
1943 , containing a total of 1 ,250 names in the unit hereinafter found
appropriate. - ' '
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the iepresentation of employees of the Company within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6)' and (7)" of the Aqt.
IV. THE APPROPRL\TE UNIT-
.
The-parties stipulated that all production and maintenance em-
ployees, including group leaders, stock clerks, checking clerks, ,pack=
ing clerks, shipping clerks, receiving clerks, warehouse clerks, and
drafting room employees, exclusive of executives, confidential secre-
taries to executives, supervisory employees above'the rank' of foremen,
foremen, assistant foremen, plant or chief en gineer,'chief electrician,
guards, professional electrical and mechanical engineers,'chief drafts-
man, office salaried subdivision heads and their assistants;'expediters,
safety'engineers, nurses, sales engineers, salesmen, and training chief,
constitute part of an appropriate bargaining unit. There is a con-
troversy concerning the inclusion of certain categories of employees
hereinafter discussed. ,
-01fice Clerical, Shop Clerical, and Production Control Employees
The 'I. B. E. W., which does not admit them to membership, desires
the exclusion of clerical employees whether employed in the general
office or doing work which the Company designates as shop clerical
or production control. The Independent and the Company contend
that clerical employees of all types should be,included in the unit.
Such employees were included in the coverage of the,ekpired contract
referred to above.
The problems of the employees in dispute differ considerably from
.those of production` and maintenance employees, and in consequence
JOSHUA HENDY IRON WORKS 867
it has been the Board's general policy to exclude-them from production
and maintenance units because of the obvious functional differences.'
The production control group herein contains timekeepers who_tinle
production employees-with stopwatches, and rate setters who set pay
rates. - We shall exclude all three groups of these clerical employees
from the production and maintenance unit.'
Powerhouse E'mpio.yees
Both the I. B. EA. W. and the Independent desire the inclusion of,the
powerhouse employees. The Company contends that they should be
excluded from the production) unit. Powerhouse employees are
clearly'maintenailce employees whom it has been our custom to include
unless special circumstances are present. None appears here. We
shall include powerhouse employees.4
the find that all production and maintenance enlployees,of •the Com-
pany at its Ampere, New Jersey, plant,, including powerhouse em-
ployees, group leaders, stock clerks, checking clerks, packing clerks,
'shipping clerks, receiving clerks, warehouse clerks, and drafting room
employees, but excluding executives, confidential secretaries to execu-
-tives, supervisory employees above the rank of foremen, fohemen,
assistant foremen, plant or chief engineer, chief electrician, guards,
professional electl;ical.and mechanical engineers, office and shop cleri-
cal and-production control employees, the chief draftsman, office sala-
ried subdivision ]leads and their assistants, expediters, safety engineers,
nurses, sales engineers, salesmen,' and the training chief, constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. -
V. THE DETEIRMINATION, OF ]REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees 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 prover vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,
3'rhese employees do not peeaform manual labor and are clerical employees in it true
sense Their duties are theiefoie distinguishable from those of the employees whom the
parties concede constitute part of the appropriate unit
3Cannon Manufacta,and Cotpei-at+on and Cannon Electrical Developnaeat Coinpanit and
United Electaical, Radio me Machine lrorkeis of Ameuuca, Local 1421, C. 1. 0., 46 N. L It B,
392
4 Mills Noaa;lty Coaalurny and Independent Enapln ice s 4 aocaation, 46 N L R B , 1207
531647-43-vol. 49-56
868 DECI SIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIOc S BOARD
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 purpose of collective bargaining with Joshua Hendy Iron
Works, Division , Crocker-Wheeler Electrical Manufacturing Com-
pany, Ampere , New Jersey , an election by secret ballot shall be con-
ducted 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 Second Region , acting in this matter as
agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject 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 im mediately 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 arined 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
they desire to be represented by International Brotherhood of Elec-
trical Workers, Local 1159 B, affiliated with the American Federation
of Labor, or by Independent Workers - Union of -New Jersey, for the
purposes of collective 'bargaining , or by neither.
MR.,GERARD D. REILLY too no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
I'