General Cable Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 15, 1943

50 N.L.R.B. 524 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter Of GENERAL CABLE CORPORATION and INTERSTATE
COPPER & BRASS WORKERS UNION
Case No. R-5378.-Decided June 15, 193
Mr. A. Leon Fergenson , of New York City, for the Company.
Mr. Harold Massey, of Rome, N. Y., for the Interstate.
Mr. Raymond Adey, of Rome, N. Y., for the Guild.
Miss Viola James, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION.
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by Interstate Copper & Brass Workers
Union, herein called the Interstate, alleging that a question affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of
General Cable Corporation, Rome, New York, herein called the
Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an ap-
propriate hearing upon due notice before, Francis IT. Cole, Trial
Examiner. Said hearing was held at Rome, New York, on May 12,
1943. The Company, the Interstate, and Cable Guild, herein called
the Guild, appeared an& 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 Company
moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that its contract with .
the Guild is a bar to the proceedings herein. The Trial Examiner
reserved ruling on the motion for the Board. For the reasons
appearing in Section III, below, the motion is hereby denied. The
Trial Examiner's other rulings are free from prejudicial error and
are hereby affirmed. The Company filed a brief on May 25, 1943,
which the Board has considered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. TILE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
General Cable Corporation, a New Jersey corporation, is engaged,
at its plant in Rome, New York, in the manufacture of copper and
50 N. L. R. B, No. 81.
524
GENERAL CABLE CORPORATION 525
brass cable and wire. During 1942, the-Company used at its Rome
plant raw materials valued in excess of $1,000,000, more .than 50
percent of which represents shipments from points outside the State
of New York. During the same period, this plant manufactured
finished products valued in, excess of $1,000,000, of which more than
50 percent represents shipments to points ,outside the State 'of New
York. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
.II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Interstate Copper & Brass Workers Union and Cable Guild are
labor organizations, each admitting to membership employees of the'
Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Interstate claims to represent a majority of the Company's
office and clerical employees and seeks recognition as their exclusive
bargaining representative. The Company refuses such recognition
on the ground that it has an exclusive bargaining agreement with the
Guild. -
In 1941 the Guild won over the Interstate in a consent election con-
ducted by the Regional Director in a unit of production and main-
tenance employees. The office and clerical employees neither voted
in the consent election' nor were they members of the Guild at that
time. Thereafter, the Company and the Guild entered into a bar-
gaining agreement, which by reason of a renewal clause, will not ex-
pire until November 1943. Although the contract contains no specific
references with respect to office and clerical employees, the Company
and the Guild nevertheless contend that the contract is a bar to the
proceedings herein because the Guild is recognized in the terms of
the contract as the exclusive bargaining representative of all the
Company's employees. We do not accept this contention for the rea-
son that the office and clerical employees had no opportunity to select
a representative of their own choice before the execution of the con-
tract, and for the further reason that the Company and the Guild, in
contracting on the basis of a unit larger than the employees who
voted in the consent election, executed the contract subject to a later
determination by the Board of the appropriate unit or units.' Al-
"though it appears that a considerable number of office and clerical
employees joined the Guild after the execution of the contract, and,
although the Guild has since that time bargained in their behalf, the
evidence also reveals that there is a substantial doubt as to whether
1 See-Matter of Savannah Electric al id Power Cdnapany, 48 N L R B 33.
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526 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL, LABOR • RE1ATIO\ S BOARD
or not the office and clerical employees joined the Guild of their own
volition. Under- these circumstances, we find that neither the con-
tract nor the subsequent bargaining by the Guild on behalf of the
office and clerical employees is a bar to the present representation pro-
ceedings.
A statement of the Field Examiner, introduced into evidence at
the hearing, indicates that the Interstate represents a substantial, num-
ber 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 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The parties agree that the office and clerical employees of the Com-
pany located in the main office building in the departments listed
under Appendix A, excluding the specific exclusions noted therein,
constitute an appropriate unit. Additionally, the Interstate, and the
Guild would,include, and the Company would exclude, the employees
discussed below, except the supervisor of Order Editing in the Cost
Control-Products Engineering department, whom the Company agrees
to include, and the senior and junior time-study men, whom the. Guild
agrees with the Company to_ exclude. " •
1. Secretary, to Randle: Randle is the assistant plant manager.
His secretary prepares and. handles control and job grading reports
and supervises the work of four other employees. As she is a super-
visory employee, we find that the secretary to, Randle should be ex-
cluded. ' '
. 2. Chief cost clerk in the Cost and Estimating division of the Plant
Accounting department: This employee lays out the work of eight
other employees and is in complete charge of his division in the ab-
sence of the head supervisor: We find that the chief cost 'clerk in
this 'division is a supervisory employee and should be excluded.
3. Secretary-stenographer to the supervisor, of the Cost -Control-
Products Engineering department: The majority of this employees'
duties are devoted to personnel work for the department supervisor
and in handling confidential records. We find that she should be
excluded.
4. Supervisor of Order Editing in the Cost Control-Products En-
gineering department: 'At the hearing the Company withdrew its
objection to the inclusion of this employee, as desired by both unions.
We shall include the Supervisor of Order'Editing in the unit, since
The Field Examiner reported that the Interstate submitted 150 authorization cards, all
bearing apparently genuine original signatures ; that 137 of the cards bore the names of
persons on the Company 's pay roll of March 31 , 1943, which listed 221 persons within the
alleged appropriate unit; and that,of the 137 cards, 132 were dated in Marchand 5 were
,dated in April 1943.
GENERAL CABLE CORPORATION ' 527
he is the only employee in the department and performs ,no super-
visory duties.
, 5.. Senior and junior time-study men: These, employees determine
what the daily production should be from a time study of the various
machines. In view of the confidential nature of their work, we are
of the opinion that these 'employees should be excluded. -
6. Senior surplus stock clerk and planning, scheduling and expedit-
ing clerk in the Production-Control department, and the assistant
to the Plant Traffic Manager in the Traffic department: These em-
ployees are specialists in their respective fields. As their duties are
of a technical nature, we shall exclude them.
We find that the office and clerical employees of the Company
located in the main office building in the departments listed under
Appendix A, including the supervisor of Order Editing in the Cost
Control-Products Engineering department, but excluding the em-
ployees specifically excluded in Appendix A, the secretary to Randle,
the chief cost clerk- in ,the Cost and Estimating division of the Plant
Accounting department, the secretary-stenographer to the supervisor
of the Cost Control-Products Engineering department, , the senior
and junior time-study men, the senior surplus stock clerk and'-plan-
`ning, scheduling and expediting clerk in the Production-Control
department, and the assistant to the Plant Traffic Manager in the
Traffic department, constitute a unit appropriate 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 which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot alnong'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.3 - , . ,
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
-By virtue of and pursuant to-the power vested in • the "National
La A bor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Re-
lations Act, 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 purposes of collective bargaining with General Cable
$'The Interstate and the Guild requested that they be allowed to appear on the ballot as
"Interstate Union" and "Cable'Guild," respectively. We hereby grant•both requests.
528 DECISIONS OF NAT 'TONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Corporation , Rome, New York , 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 Third Region, acting in this mat-
ter 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 immediately preced-
ing 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 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 they desire to be represented by Interstate Union
or by Cable Guild for the purposes of collective bargaining; or by
neither.
APPENDIx A
Plant Manager department
Excluded :
Plant Manager, Technical Superintendent, Assistant Plant
Manager, and secretary to the Plant Manager.
General Office department
Excluded :
Office Manager, Supervisor of Mailing department, and Super-
visor of General File and Telegraph department.
Purchasing -department
Excluded :
Plant Purchasing Agent.
Billing department
Excluded :
Supervisor and Assistant to Supervisor.
Plant Engineering department
Excluded :
Plant Engineer, Chief Draftsman, Mechanical Designer, and
Equipment and Construction Engineers.
Plant Accounting department
Excluded :
Plant Accountant, Assistant Plant Accountant, Cashier and
Salaried Paymasters, Supervisor of General Accounting,
Supervisor of Cost and Estimating, Paymaster and Assistant
Paymaster, Supervisor of Tabulating, and Senior Clerk of
Labor Budget.
GENERAL CABLE CORPORATION 529
Products Engineering-Magnet Wire department
Excluded :
Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor.
Cost Control-Products Engineering department
Excluded :
Supervisor and Products Engineer.
Cost Control-Time- Study department
Excluded
Supervisor.
Production Control department
Excluded :
Supervisor, secretary to Supervisor, Supervisor of Sales Serv-
ice and Order Entry, Senior Clerk, Supervisor of Raw
Material Division, and Supervisor of Planning and
Scheduling.
Traffic department
Excluded :
Plant, Traffic Manager.
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