Edgewater Steel Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 29, 1944

56 N.L.R.B. 1778 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of EDGEWATER STEEL COMPANY and UNITED STEEL-
WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO
Case No. 6-R-953.-Decided June 09, J944
Messrs. C. M. Thorp, Jr., and Davitt S. Bell, both of Pittsburgh, Pa.,
for the Company.
Mr. Philip M. Curran, of Pittsburgh, Pa., Mr. S. Harold Grossman,
of Tarentum, Pa., and Mr. Stanley J. Browning, of Oakmont, Pa., for
the Union.
Mr. Glenn L. Moller, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
I STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by United Steelworkers of America, CIO,
herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce
had arisen concerning the representation of'employees of Edgewater
Steel Company, Oakmont, Pennsylvania, herein called the Company,
the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hear-
ing upon due notice before Allen Sinsheimer, Jr., Trial Examiner.
Said hearing was held at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 19, 1944.
The Company and the Union appeared and participated. All parties
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 prej-
udicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded an
opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Edgewater Steel Company, a Pennsylvania corporation, with its
principal office and place of business in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, is-
-'Edgewater Employees Independent Union was duly notified of the hearing, but failed
to appear.
56 N. L. R. B., No. 317.
1778
EDGEWATER STEEL COMPANY 1779
engaged in the manufacture of steel products, principally, ocomotive
tires, rolled steel railroad wheels, rolled steel rings, and-ring springs.
During .the year 1943, the Company purchased raw materials, con-
sisting principally of pig iron, scrap, bars, billets, coal, oil, and • gas,
amounting in value to approximately $8,000,000. Approximately 34
percent of the. aforesaid raw materials used by the Company was
shipped to the Company's Oakmont-plant from points outside the
State of Pennsylvania: During the same period the Company pro-
duced finished products valued in excess of $20,000,000,, approximately
70 percent of which was shipped from the Company's Oakmont plant
to points outside the State of Pennsylvania.
The Company admits, and we find, that it is' engaged in commerce-
within the meaning'of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
United Steelworkers of America, Local No. 1246, affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor. organization admit-
ting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On March 9, 1944, the Union wrote to the Company requesting rec-
ognition as the exclusive bargaining representative of the Company's
employees. On March 16, - 1944, the Company replied, refusing to
grant such recognition until the Union has been certified by the Board
in an appropriate unit. '
A statement of a- Board agent, introduced into- evidence at the
hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found 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 (6)'and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union contends that the appropriate unit' consists of all pro-
duction and maintenance employees at the Company's plant at Oak-
mont, Pennsylvania, including truck drivers, leadmen, lay-out men,,
stencilers, checkers, toolroom 'attendants, powerhouse attendants,
janitors, and first janitor, locomotive engineers, elevator operators,
and inspectors, but excluding. all salaried employees, plant guards,
watchmen, clerical employees, trainers, servicemen, laboratory employ-
2 The Board agent reported that the Union submitted 461 authorization cards ; and that
there are approximately 1,257 employees in the appropriate unit.
t
1780 'DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR REL'ATIONS'"BOARD
ees, recorders, weighmen, chief inspector, gang leaders and all other
supervisory employees with authority to hire, 'promote, discipline,
discharge, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or
effectively to recommend such action.3 The Company agrees gener-
ally that the unit sought by the Union is, appropriate but contends
that trainers, servicemen, labofa.tory employees, recorders, watchmen,
.weighmen, and gang leaders should be included in the appropriate
unit. , The Company also contends that the fact that an employee is
salaried rather than hourly paid does not justify his exclusion from
the bargaining unit.
The Union seeks to exclude from the unit all salaried employees.'
Where it appears that the basis upon which employees are compen-
sated is directly. related to a reasonable classification 'of such
employees with respect to their status, functions, educational qualifica-
tions, or other factors bearing upon their concerns in collective bar-
gaining, we will consider the form in which particular individuals or
categories are compensated as an aid to the determination of their-
proper classification for unit purposes. Here, however, it appears
that the method of computing the employees' compensation bears
little or no relations either to their functions, skill, or status. Thus,
some gang leaders, servicemen; toohroom attendants, and recorders
are salaried, while others are hourly paid, although the duties, func-
tions and responsibilities of all employees in each category appear
to be identical. Under these circumstances, it is evident that the
{ manner, in which the employees involved herein are paid is Inot a
reliable criterion for determining how they should be grouped for
bargaining purposes. We shall not, therefore, exclude from the unit
salaried employees per se.
Trainers are-older, experienced employees who teach new employees
to operate the machines and to perform the other functions required
of them., They are paid on an hourly, piece-rate basis, like most
of the other employees, their piece-work rate being determined by
the, average piece-work-rate which they maintained when'they them-
selves were engaged in, production work. They have no authority
over the employees and have no duty to make recommendations con-
cerning-the employees whom they instruct. In the event that the.
Company's business decreases, they will resume regular production
work. The Union contends that they are neither production nor main-
tenance employees, and should, therefore, be excluded. Their func-
tions, however, are closely related to. and integrated with those of
The record shows clearly that leadmen and the first janitor are not supervisory
employees.
°EDGEWATER STEEL COMPANY 1781
the production employees. We shall include them in the appropriate
unit.
Servicevzen are attached to the -various 'production departments
and are responsible tothe department foremen and superintendents.
Their functions are similar to those of expediters,- except that they
are attached to departments. rather than being directly responsible
to the central management, and they do not follow materials through
the entire production process. It is their responsibility to see that
their own departments have the necessary materials and tools to do
the jobs assigned to them. After their departments have completed
their part of the production process, the responsibility of the serv-
icemen with respect to the products ceases. They have no authority of
any kind over the men in their departments. Although they assume
some of the duties of the foremen in the event that the latter are
absent, they do not assume any of'-the foremen's supervisory duties,
which are taken over entirely by the department superintendents.
Although 'the Union contends that servicemen are supervisory em-
ployees,'it offered no evidence to substantiate its contention. ,We shall
include the servicemen in the appropriate unit.
Laboratory employees: The Company maintains atesting laboratory
in which it "tests its finished products to insure their conformance to
the required standards of quality. The employees in the laboratory
are not specially trained and perform only routine tests which require
no particular discretion or technical knowledge. They are salaried
employees'and for this reason the Union seeks to exclude them from
the unit. For the reasons hereinbefore stated, we do not consider the
basis of compensation of the employees to be a decisive consideration
'in the instant case. We find no persuasive reason for excluding the
laboratory employees from the appropriate unit, and accordingly shall
include them4'
Recorders (also called production recorders) are attached to the
various production departments and are responsible to the department
superintendents and foremen. Their duties are almost entirely clerical
in nature, including making up the piece-work data which determines
the income of the employees in their departments, filling out time
sheets and production records, collecting figures on materials produced
and used in the departments, and seeing that materials arrive on time.
Since their duties are primarily clerical and the Union wishes to
exclude them, we shall exclude the recorders (production recorders)
from the appropriate unit .5
4 Matter of Ptittsburgh Plate G lass Company, 53 N. L . R. B. 1181,; Matter of Monarch
Aluminum Mfg. Co., 53 N. L. R. B. 756.
5 Matter of New Britain Machine Company, 48 N. L. R. B. 263.
1782 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS , BOARD
Watchmen: The Company has armed, uniformed, and militarized
guards, who both parties agree should be excluded from the unit.
In addition to the guards, the Company has a group of employees
known as watchmen. The watchmen are uniformed but are not armed
or militarized. Their duties are simply to patrol the property and to
watch for fires or other conditions which might endanger the Com-
pany's property. Since. they are watchmen, as distinguished from
specialized plant 'protection, guards, we shall. include them in the'
appropriate unit.°
, Weighmen operate the scales upon which the finished products are
weighed. The work is unskilled and manual in nature. Weighmen
have frequently become handlers or inspectors, more skilled and more
highly paid categories, both of which the parties agree are properly
part of the appropriate unit. In addition to their duties as operators
of the scales, weighmen sometimes cut stencils, sweep the floors, and
do other routine tasks. It appears that there is presently only:Qne
,weighman in the Company's employ. The Union contends that weigh-
men should be excluded because they are neither production nor main-
tenance employees. We find no merit to this contention, and shall
include this category in the appropriate bargaining' unit.
Gang leade7'8: The Union contends that gang leaders are supervisory
employees and, therefore, should be excluded from the unit. The
Company, denies that they possess supervisory powers and desires their
inclusion. Gang leaders, of whom there are about 50, work alone or
with groups of employees generally, about 5 or 6 in number. They
are usually the more experienced employees of the Company. They
convey orders from the foremen to the employees and are consulted
by the men as to possible changes or corrections with respect to equip-
ment, but they have no authority to order that such changes be made-
They have no authority to hire, discharge, or otherwise effect changes
in the status of employees, nor do their recommendations with, respect
to such matters carry more weight than those of other employees.
Since the gang leaders possess none. of the indicia of supervisory em-
ployees, we shall include them in the appropriate unit.7
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the
Company at its plant at Oakmont, Pennsylvania, including truck
drivers, leadmen, watchmen, lay-out men, stencilers, janitors, the first
,janitor, checkers, toolroom attendants, powerhouse attendants, locomo-
tive engineers, elevator operators, trainers, servicemen, laboratory em-
ployees, weighmen and gang leaders, but excluding superintendents,.
6 Matter of Corn Products Refining Company,% 56 N. L R .• B. 1140; Matter of Ash
Grove Lime and Porcelain Cement Company , 55 N L. R B. 1007.
Matter of Faultless Caster Corporation, 53 N. L . R. B. 1335.
EDGEWATER STEEL COMPANY 1783
assistant superintendents, foremen, the chief inspector , timekeepers,
all plant guards , recorders (production recorders ), clerical employees
and any and all supervisory employees with authority to hire, pro-
mote, discipline , discharge, 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 REPRESENTATIVES,
The Company frequently employs, persons to do extra work on week
ends. These are usually, either school boys or persons who are regu-
larly employed elsewhere. None of them works regularly from week
to week. The parties both agree that such employees should be ex-
cluded from participation in the election. We agree that these cas-
ual-employees do not have sufficient interest in the determination, of
representatives to justify their participation in the election, and we
find, therefore, that they are ineligible to vote.
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 Elec-
tion 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,
and pursuant to Artice III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Edgewater Steel
Company, Oakmont, Pennsylvania, 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 Sixth Region, acting in this matter
as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Ar-
ticle III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, and our
determination in Section V, above, 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,
s The Union requested that eligibility be based upon the Company's pay roll as of the
date of the filing of the petition, but offers no substantial reason why our customary
procedure should not be followed. The Union's request is denied.
1784 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period
because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and includ-
ing employees in the armed forces of the United States who present
themselves in person at the polls, but excluding those employees who
have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired
or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether
or not they desire to be represented by United Steelworkers of
America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for
the purposes of collective bargaining.
M.R. JOHN M. HousTONN took no part in the consideration of the above-
Decision and Direction of Election. -
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