Electro Metallurgical Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 16, 1944

56 N.L.R.B. 1464 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of ELECTRO METALLURGICAL COMPANY and UNITED
BROTHERHOOD' OF WELDORS, CUTTERS AND HELPERS OF AMERICA,
LOCAL 42 ,
In the Matter of ELECTRO METALLURGICAL COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL
UNION OF MINE, MILL AND SMELTER WORKERS, CIO
Cases Nos. 19-R-1299 and 19-R-1318 respectively. Decided June 16,
1944 '
'Mr. Edwin H. Mangan, of Spokane, Wash ., and Mr. Gunther F.
Krause , of Portland , Oreg., for the Company.
Mr. Henry A . Doty, of Seattle , Wash., for the Weldors.
Mr. George Knott, of Kellogg, Idaho, for -the CIO.
Mr. P. H. LaRiviere , of Spokane , Wash., for the Council.
Miss Frances Lopinsky , of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petitions duly filed by United Brotherhood of Weldors, Cut-
ters and Helpers of America, Local 42, herein called the vTeldors, and
by International Union of, Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, CIO,
herein called the CIO, alleging that questions affecting commerce have
arisen concerning the representation of employees of Electro Metal-
lurgical Company, Spokane, Washington, herein called the Company,
the National Labor, Relations Board provided for an appropriate hear-
ing upon due notice before John E.' Hedrick, Trial Examiner. Said
hearing was held at Spokane, Washington, on April 28, 1944. The
Company, the Weldors, the CIO, and Spokane Metal Trades Council,
herein called the Council, 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 prejudicial error
'and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded an opportunity to
file briefs with the Board.
56 N. L. R. B., N. 262.
1464
ELECTRO METALLURGICAL COMPANY 1465
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Electro Metallurgical Company, a West Virginia corporation,
maintains its principal office in New York City. It operates eight
plants in various cities of the United States, one of which, located
in Spokane, Washington, is involved in this proceeding. At the
Spokane plant, the Company, as agent for the Defense Plant Corpo-
ration, manufactures magnesium. In its operations, the Company
purchases in excess of $500,000 worth of raw materials per year,
approximately 10 percent of which is shipped to the Spokane plant
from points outside the State of Washington. The Company pro-
duces magnesium of a value in excess of $500,000 per year, approxi-
mately 80 percent of which is shipped to points outside the State of
Washington. One hundred percent of the products of the Company
is used for defense purposes.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Brotherhood of Weldors, Cutters and Helpers of America,
Local 42, is a; labor organization admitting to membership employees
of the Company. I
. International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
Spokane Metal Trades Council, affiliated with the American Fed-
eration of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to membership
employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to any labor organi-
zation as the exclusive bargaining representative of its employees
until it has been certified by the Board in an appropriate -unit.
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear-
ing, indicates that each of , the labor organizations participating
herein represents a substantial number of employees in the unit which
it alleges to be appropriate."
1 The Field Examiner reported that the Weldors submitted a petition bearing 47 signa-
tures ; that the names of 26 persons ' appearing on the petition were listed on the Company's
I
1466 DECISIONS, OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
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 Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Weldors requests a unit of welders, burners, lay-out men and
welder's helpers. The Council-requests a-unit of all millwrights, elec-
trical workers, sheet-metal workers, pipefitters, and machinists and
their respective helpers. The Company and the CIO contend that only
.a plant-wide unit exclusive of supervisory and clerical employees and
guards is appropriate for bargaining at the Company's plant. The
Company would exclude laboratory workers from the plant-wide unit;
the CIO would include these employees.
- The welders in the plant are a part of the Maintenance Department.
Although they are under the jurisdiction of the supervisory hierarchy
of that department, they are directly supervised by a man who is
presently termed a.straw boss, whom the Company is training to be a
welders' foreman. This man tours the plant and retains jurisdiction
over the welders no matter where they are working. The welders re-
port for work at three central locations, two of which are welders'
shops at the ends of buildings; the third' is the general machine shop
where all maintenance employees report. Whenever possible, they do
their work in the parts of the plant where their equipment is set up
or in the machine shop. However, when a piece of equipment is too:
large to be brought to the machine shop'or the welders' shops, the weld-"
ers take portable machinery' into the plant to perform their work.
They do nothing but welding, burning, and cutting. No other em-
ployees in the plant weld or burn except a utility man who occasionally
cuts through a piece of pipe. ' They have safety problems common only
to themselves. We,find that the welders employed by the Company at
'its Spokane, Washington, plant are a homogeneous, identifiable, group
working under separate supervision, engaged solely in specialized
operations which, because of their skill and training, they alone are
competent to perform.2 Accordingly, we are of the opinion that the
pay roll of April' 10, 1944, which contained the names of 32 employees in the unit re-
quested by the Weldors.
The CIO submitted 339 cards. The names of 232 persons appearing on the cards were
contained in the aforesaid pay roll which contained the names of 642 employees in the
unit requested by the CIO.
The Council submitted to the Trial Examiner 61 application for membership cards of
the Spokane Aluminum Trades Council, 51 of which bore signatures of persons listed on
the Company's maintenance pay roll of April 10, 1944. Said maintenance pay roll con-
tained 117 names The Company objected to the Intervention of the Council on the
ground that it showed no interest whatsoever. The persons who signed the Aluminum
Trades Council's cards through their representatives directed that the Metal Trades Council
should intervene in their behalf In this proceeding. There Is, therefore, no merit in the
Company's objection.
2 Cf. Port Houston Iron Works, 46 N. L. R. B. 155 ; Matter of Aluminum Company of
America, 54 N. L. R. B. 421. -
ELECTRO METALLURGICAL COMPANY 1467
unit requested by the Weldors may be an appropriate one for bargain-
ing if the employees so desire. "
The Maintenance Department of the Company consists not only of
the millwrights,-1 electrical workers, sheet-metal workers, pipefitters
and machinists and their helpers whom the Council would represent,
but also of blacksmiths, carpenters, painters, boilermakers, operating
engineers, oilers and wipers, track repairmen, 'truck drivers, truck
mechanics, diesel mechanics and their helpers as well as the welders
who we have heretofore found may constitute a separate -unit. They
never take orders from a production foreman ; the production foreman
must make his request of the 'maintenance foreman who, in turn, in-
structs the maintenance employees. Maintenance and production em-
ployees may work side by side, but never on the same job. It appears
therefore, that employees of the Maintenance Department are suffi-
ciently distinguishable from those of the Production Department to
warrant'their being represented in a unit separate and apart from pro-
duction' employees if they so desire. We perceive, however, no basis
for excluding from such a unit maintenance employees other than
welders, whom we have heretofore found to constitute a separate iden-
tifiable group. The unit requested by the Council is neither craft nor
departmental. It comprises a number of crafts while excluding re-
lated crafts; it is confined to a department of the Company but ex-
cludes employees who are a part of that department. We find that the
unit requested by the - Council is not appropriate for bargaining.
However, since that unit comprises'the major portion of the Mainte-
nance Department which we have found may constitute an appropriate
unit, we shall herein treat the request of the Council as if it had been
made for the more inclusive Unit .4
The operations of the entire plant are sufficiently integrated to
make feasible, and appropriate for bargaining, the plant-wide unit
requested by the CIO.,' Since the factors supporting the appropriate-
ness of such a unit and of separate units for welders and other main-
tenance employees, respectively, are evenly balanced, we are of the
opinion that our determination of the unit issue with respect to the
employees in question should depend, in part, upon the desire of such
employees, to be expressed in the elections hereinafter directed among
9 The Company denies that it employs millwrights . It terms these employees "repair-
men." -
See Matter of Western Automatic Machine Screw Co , 51 N. L. R. B. 1042
The feasibility of the plant -wide unit is demonstrated by the fact that the employees
at the Company s Duluth, Minnesota, Ashtabula, Ohio, and West Virginia plants are repre-
sented in plant -wide units . In the Minnesota and West Virginia plants, this form of unit
was set up by agreement of the parties . In the Ashtabula plant, a craft group requested
recognition but the unit requested by it was inappropriate because it was not a segregable,
identifiable group. See Matter of Electro Metallurgical Company ( Duluth, Minnesota), 45
N.- L R B 335; Matter of Electro Metallurgical Company ( 2 plants in `West Virginia),
51 N L It. B. 38; Matter of Electro Metallurgical Company (Ashtabula, Ohio ), 54 N. L.
it. B. 15.
1468 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the voting groups set forth below . Consequently , we shall make
no final determination of _the unit at this ' time, but shall , defer the,
determination pending the results of said elections.
The Company contends that helpers and lay-out men should not
vote with the welders and that laboratory workers should be excluded
from the unit requested by the CIO . Originally each helper em-
ployed by the Company was permanently attached to a specific craft
group. The Company has now changed the designation of helpers
and employs a pool of helpers called repairmen 's helpers. These
helpers are still regularly assigned to assist the same craftsmen with
whom they worked prior to the change. The Company, however,
intends to use them wherever they are needed . The lay-out men pre-
pare materials for the welders to work upon, and inform the welders
what is to be done. The Company intends to use lay-out men in a
similar capacity in all repair work as soon - as the present unusual
need for welding has slackened . It appears , therefore , that neither
the helpers nor ,the lay-out men are more peculiarly identified with
the welders group, than with the residue of the Maintenance De-
partment,° 'and we shall direct that they vote with the other em-
ployees in the Maintenance Department . The laboratory workers
are trained technicians who have , no contact with maintenance and
production employees. Since in our opinion the interests of tech-
nical employees are so 'divergent from those of production and
maintenance employees as in most instances to require separate units
for bargaining for the respective employees , we shall exclude the labo-
ratory employees from the voting group of production employees.?
We shall direct that the questions concerning representation which
have arisen shall be resolved by separate ' elections by secret ballot to
be held among the employees of the Company at its Spokane, Wash-
ington, plant, within each of the voting groups listed below 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. Our determination of an ap-
propriate unit, or units, if any, will depend in part upon the results
of said elections. There shall be excluded from-each of said voting
groups in addition to the employees specifically mentioned therein,-,
all clerical and technical employees, guards, and all supervisory em-
ployees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or
otherwise effect changes in the status of employees or effectively recom-
mend such action. The respective voting groups shall be: '
1. All welders and burners, excluding helpers and lay-out men:
, See Matter of Pure Oil Company, 55 N. L. R B 1455.
See Matter of Boston Edison Company, 51 N. L. R. B. 118.
ELECTRO METALLURGICAL COMPANY, ' 1469
2. All employees in the Maintenance Department of the Company,
exclusive of welders and burners.
3., All other employees of he Company, excluding laboratory em-',
ployees and the employees in voting groups 1 and 2.
Should the Council not desire to participate in the elections as herein
directed, and notify the Regional Director within ten (10) days after
the date of the issuance of this Decision and Direction of Elections
of its desire not to participate, we shall allow the Council to withdraw
from the proceedings. In such case, voting groups 2 and 3 herein
shall be consolidated and vote as one.
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 Relations Act,
and pursuant to Article 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 Electro Metal-
lurgical Company, Spokane, Washington, elections 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 Nineteenth Region, acting in
this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and sub-
ject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations,
among the following groups of employees 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 be-
cause they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including
employees in the armed forces of the United States who present them-
selves 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 elections, and 1excluding also all
clerical and technical employees, guards, and all supervisory employees
with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise
effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend
such action :
(1) All welders and burners employed by the Company at its Spo-
kane, Washington, plant, excluding'helpers and lay-out men, to deter-
mine whether they desire to be represented by United Brotherhood
of Weldors, Cutters and Helpers of America, Local 42, or by Interna-
tional Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, CIO, for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining, or by neither;
587784-45-vol. 56-94
1470 - DECISIONS' OF NATIONAL LABOR' RELATIONS BOARD
(2) All employees of the Maintenance Department of the Spo-
kane plant,. exclusive of welders and burners, to determine whether
they desire to be represented by Spokane"Metal Trades Council, A. F.
of L., or by International Union of. Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers,
CIO, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither;
(3) All other employees at the Spokane plant, excluding laboratory
employees and the employees in voting groups (1) and (2) to deter-
mine whether or not they desire to be, represented by International
Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, CIO, for the purposes of
collective bargaining.
CHAIRMAN MiLLis 'took no part in the' consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Elections.