Houston Lighting & Power Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 8, 1952

100 N.L.R.B. 76 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

76 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER COMPANY and LOCAL 968, INTERNATIONAL
BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS , CHAUFFEURS , WAREHOUSEMEN & HELP-
ERS OF AMERICA , AFL, PETITIONER . Case No. 39-RC-44.5. July
8,1950
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Clifford W. Potter, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-
member panel [Members Houston, Murdock, and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer?
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner requests a unit, as amended at the hearing, of all
laborers in the transmission and distribution department of the Em-
ployer's Houston, Texas, electric light and power plant. The
Employer and the Intervenor contend that the only appropriate unit
is a plant-wide unit including laborers with the production, mainte-
nance, and operating employees. The Intervenor has been the col-
lective bargaining representative of the major portion of the employees
in the plant for the past 30 years. Throughout the entire bargaining
history, however, employees classified as laborers have been excluded
from the unit 2 The Intervenor would now add the laborers and
certain other excluded classifications to the unit.
There are about 110 to 125 laborers employed at the plant of whom
approximately 62 to 75 are assigned to the sections making up the
transmission and distribution department. Other laborers are as-
signed to the Employer's power department, transportation depart-
ment, and stores department. The laborers, no matter what
I Local 66 , International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL, herein termed the
Intervenor , was granted intervention in this proceeding upon showing of an interest in
the representation of these employees.
2 The present unit has been enlarged throughout this period and now includes all pro-
duction, maintenance , and operating employees excluding plant protection employees , super-
visors as defined in the Act, professional employees (including nurses ), office and clerical
employees , janitors , metes readers, laborers , time and material men, and warehouse clerks
and helpers
100 NLRB No. 16
HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER COMPANY 77
department they are assigned to, perform common labor not requir-
ing the use of any particular skill and including such duties as
digging trenches and manholes and unskilled repair work. They
are hourly paid, while the remainder of the employees are paid by
the month, and do not attain permanent employee status required for
some fringe benefits such as pensions, vacations, and bonuses, until
they have been employed for a year. Other employees attain perma-
nent status after employment for 6 months. The record also shows
that the laborers are not eligible for transfer or promotion to higher
classifications. All the Employer's laborers have the same working
conditions, pay scale, and general type of work. Moreover, there
appears to be extensive interchange between laborers in the trans-
mission and distribution department and laborers in the other de-
partments of the Employer.
Upon the entire record the Board rejects the Petitioner's primary
request for a unit limited to those laborers assigned to the Employer's
transmission and distribution department in view of the community
of,interests, conditions of employment, and duties existing among all
employees of this classification at the plant.'
The Intervenor has requested that the Board direct an election
among all the Employer's laborers, warehouse clerks and helpers, time
and material men, and truck drivers in the stores department to deter-
mine whether or not these employees desire to be included in the
plant-wide unit from which they are now excluded 4 The Employer
concurred in this request and the Petitioner stated as an alternative
position that it wished to appear on the ballot if such an election were
directed.
The record shows that the Employer's laborers, warehouse clerks
and helpers, time and material men, and the truck drivers in the stores
department have duties, interests, and conditions of employment in
common with the employees in the unit now represented by the Inter-
venor. As such, they might appropriately be included in that larger
unit. On the other hand, these employees constitute a residual group
unrepresented in the past by the Intervenor and with some distin-
guishing employment conditions, particularly in the case of the
laborers as noted above. Accordingly, we shall direct an election
among all laborers, warehouse clerks and helpers, time and material
men, and truck drivers in the stores department of the Employer's
Houston, Texas, electric light and power plant excluding supervisors
as defined in the amended Act, and all other employees. If a majority
3 The Petitioner made an alternative request that the Board find a unit of all the
Employer 's laborers appropriate The Petitioner 's showing of interest is insufficient to
sustain a petition for this larger unit, however , and no other union requests such a unit.
* The existing unit was set forth in a consent election held in August 1951, at which
time the employees now sought by the Intervenor were excluded from the unit upon the
urging of the Employer.
78 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
vote for Local 66, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
AFL, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to be included
in the unit now represented by Local 66, International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers, AFL, and the Regional Director conducting
the election directed herein is instructed to issue a certification of
results of election to such effect. In the event a majority vote for
Local 968, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Ware-
housemen & Helpers of America, AFL, they will be taken to have
indicated their desire to constitute a separate appropriate unit and the
Regional Director is instructed to issue a certification of representa-
tives to Local 968, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauf-
feurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America, AFL, for such unit r,
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
6 The Intervenor and the Employer contend the Petitioner should not be allowed to
appear on the ballot in the election directed among the residual group. We find no merit
to this contention . The Board has in certain circumstances allowed such residual groups
to constitute separate appropriate units. We do not believe the purposes of the Act
would be effectuated in this situation by denying the employees the right to choose between
the two representatives . Cf. Jordan Marsh Company , 85 NLRB 1503.
TRANSFILM, INCORPORATED and NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCAST
ENGINEERS & TECHNICIANS, CIO," PETITIONER. Case No. 2i-RC-
3517. July 8, 1952
Decision and Direction of Elections
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Lloyd S. Greenidge, hearing
officer 2 The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
i Herein called NABET.
2 International Photographers, Local No. 644 , herein called Local 644, Motion Picture
Studio Mechanics Local No. 52, herein called Local 52, and Make-Up Artists and Hair
Stylists Union, Local No. 798, herein called Local 798-all affiliated with International
Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of United
States and Canada , AFL, herein called IATSE-were permitted to Intervene on the basis
of their showing of interest.
The hearing officer referred to the Board the Intervenors ' motion to strike the testi-
mony of John J. Wingerter, a witness called on behalf of NABET, who became Ill during
the course of the hearing and could not return for cross -examination . We find merit in
this contention and hereby grant the Intervenors' motion.
100 NLRB No. 11.