120 N.L.R.B. 1652 (N.L.R.B. 1958)

International Telephone and Telegraph Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsJun 25, 1958

120 N.L.R.B. 1652 (N.L.R.B. 1958)

1652 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Federal Telephone and Radio Company , a Division of Interna- tional Telephone and Telegraph Corporation , Petitioner and Local 1703, International Union of Electrical , Radio and Ma- ,'chine Workers, AFL-CIO. ' Case No. 22-RM-16.1 June 25, 1958 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 Aaron Weissman and John J. Carmody, hearing officers. The hearing officers' 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 [Chairman Leedom and Members Bean and Fanning]. 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 organization involved claims to represent certain employees 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 Employer-Petitioner and the Union generally agree, and we find, that a unit of office-clerical and technical employees at the Employer's Clifton, New Jersey, plant, including those in the cate- gories set forth in' Appendix A, attached, but excluding those in the categories set forth in Appendix B, attached, is appropriate. They disagree, however, as to the unit placement of certain employees, dis- cussed below, whom the Union would include, and whom the Petitioner would exclude as managerial employees. Federal Telephone and Radio Company, herein referred to as FTR, a division of International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, hereinafter called International, is engaged at its Clifton plant in the manufacture of electronic equipment for military use. FTR rents space at the Clifton plant to Federal Electric Corporation, herein called Federal Electric, a subsidiary of International, which is en- gaged in the sale of electrical parts; it also rents space to three other divisions of the Employer: (1) the Telephone Division, also called Kellogg Switchboard and Supply Company, which is engaged in the 1 The original number of this case was 2-RM-868. On February 4, 1958, by order of the General Counsel, the case was transterred to, and continued in, the Twenty-second Region under the case number designated in the caption The instant case was previously consolidated with Cases Nos. 2-RD-362 and 2-RC-9130, both filed by the same petitioner, but during the course of the hearing, the Regional Di- rector approved the requests of the petitioner in those cases to withdraw the petitions therein, and accordingly this case was severed from the others. 120 NLRB No. 207. FEDERAL TELEPHONE AND RADIO COMPANY 1653 manufacture of switchboards and other telephone equipment; (2) the Components Division, engaged in the manufacture of small electrical products; and (3) the Industrial Products Division, engaged in the manufacture of electrical apparatus for commercial purposes. The disputed employees work for Federal Electric and all four divisions of International.2 The Employer has bargained for office-clerical and technical em- ployees for a number of years, from about 1945 to about 1950, with International Federation of Architects, Engineers, Chemists & Tech- nicians, Metropolitan Chapter 31, CIO, and thereafter with the Union involved in the instant proceeding. The units established in the con- tracts between the parties, including that in the current contract between the Petitioner and the Union, were based at least in part on certifications in previous Board cases,3 and included certain specific categories which the Employer, contrary to the Union, now wishes to exclude. It appears, however, that the unit placement of these dis- puted categories was not litigated in those cases. Under these cir- cumstances, we find that such certification and agreements are not controlling' We shall, therefore, consider the unit placement of the disputed categories on their merits. Buyers A, buyers B, and buyers' assistants : Both buyers A and buyers B purchase materials and equipment. In the course of their work, they may visit vendors' plants. Buyers' assistants do clerical work, may buy certain items, and serve as helpers to buyers. They are being trained to be buyers and normally progress to such posi- tions. The record indicates that in the Telephone and Components Divisions, buyers order merchandise amounting to less than $2,500 without any approval. While there was testimony that in the other 2 divisions, FTR and the Industrial Products Division, an assistant 2 The Union moves to dismiss the petition on the ground, in substance, that FTR is not the employer of certain of the employees involved herein but that Federal Electric and the other three divisions of International are their employers and should therefore have been made parties to this proceeding. However, it is clear that the Employer of all the employees of the four divisions involved is International Neither FTR nor the other 3 divisions are legal entities but merely administrative segments of International, and participation herein by that corporation through its representatives is legally suffi- cient insofar as this proceeding involves the employees of the 4 divisions As for Federal Electric, it is a separate legal entity, as a corporate subsidiary of International. How- ever, the record contains a document from Federal Electric delegating to FTR authority to handle all "union relations." We construe this as, in effect, an authorization to Inter- national to. represent Federal Electric in dealing with unions, including representation of Federal Electric in this proceeding As such representative, International has not objected to the failure to make Federal Electric a formal party herein or to serve it with notice of the instant hearing Accordingly, we deny the Union's motion. Moreover, in view of the intercorporate relationship of Federal Electric and International, and the common control of labor relations of the 2 corporations, insofar as the employees involved are concerned, we find- that for unit purposes herein the 2 corporations constitute a single employer. s Federal Telephone and Radio Corporation, 63 NLRB 947, and Case No. 2-RC-2113 not published). 4 Boeing Airplane Company, 116 NLRB 1775, footnote 1; Humble Oil and Refining .Company, 115 NLRB 1485, 1487. 1654 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD purchasing agent or another supervisor must in all cases give advance approval of the purchase, the record shows that for a period of at least ,5 months (October 1956 to March 1957) the buyers in those divisions purchased large quantities of merchandise without prior approval. In view of the foregoing, we find that buyers in all four divisions effectively exercise a prerogative of, and are representatives of, man- -agement. We, therefore, 'find that their interests are allied with management and exclude them from the unit hereinafter found ap- -propriate.1 We shall also exclude their assistants in view of their trainee status.' As the record fails to disclose the duties or authority -of the buyers in Federal Electric, we shall permit them to vote subject to challenge. - Planners : These employees receive sales orders from their super- visors showing, among other things, the items to be manufactured, the necessary components, and delivery dates' make preproduction planning charts; schedule the delivery of materials and parts; and, -working from blueprints (which are generally coded "make" or "buy" as-to components), prepare shop orders for parts to be made at the plant and requisitions for those to be purchased elsewhere' Review of these requisitions by supervisors appears to be perfunctory. Planners may authorize some substitution of materials, and may oc- casionally deviate from the number of "reserve" items that they are allowed to order. They also keep records relating to the jobs with which they are concerned. They consult with buyers and engineers -concerning various aspects of their work. Their wages range from about $87.40 to about $120 per week. We find that the planners are technical employees, rather than managerial employees, and have a sufficient community of interest with other technical employees in the unit to warrant their inclusion therein.' The planner-procurement-installation: This employee does all the procurement and scheduling involved in the installation of telephone systems throughout the country. He handles correspondence with the installers, advising them as to the materials they need and dealing with problems which may arise at the site of installation. His wages are approximately $108 per week. His duties are similar to those of other planners. In these circumstances, we find him to be a technical employee and include him in the unit. Processors A, B, and trainee-assembly and processors A, B, and trainee fabrication:' Processors analyze production jobs and deter- Plankinton Packing Company , 116 NLRB 1225 at 1228. e Allstate Insurance Company, 109 NLRB 578 at 581. 7 If, as sometimes happens, the blueprints are not coded as indicated above , planners must themselves determine whether the components are to be manufactured or purchased. This is called "sourcing 11, 8 Chapman Valve Manufacturmg Company, 119 NLRB 935. e Although the work done by processors A is somewhat more complex than that done by processors B, the work duties of all processors are substantially the same and they will, therefore, be considered together. FEDERAL TELEPHONE AND RADIO COMPANY ' 1655 -mine the production rates that must be maintained in order to com- plete them on time. They prepare operation sheets for shop employ- ees, which are detailed written instructions showing, for example, the tools required for the job and the estimated periods of time of the various operations involved.10 They determine what parts and -equipment are necessary to do particular jobs, and, if they are not on ,hand, whether they can be made at the plant or have to be purchased -elsewhere." In either case, however, the record indicates that ap- proval of a supervisor is necessary. Processors also make rough sketches of tools to be designed, and generally expedite their jobs. In addition, processors prepare "layouts," which are written instruc- tions for adjusting operating areas to meet specific needs, and make estimates as to the space, power, machines, and other facilities neces- sary to do jobs for which the Employer intends to bid. Considering the record in its entirety, we are not convinced that the interests of processors are so intimately allied with those of man- agement as to prevent their inclusion in any bargaining unit; we shall include them as technical employees.12 As processors-trainee normally progress to the processor classification in a year, we shall also include this category in the unit.13 Processors-senior: The parties agreed to exclude this category. However, as these employees admittedly have the same duties and re- sponsibility as the processors discussed above, we shall include them.14 Outside expediters: These employees secure materials from sup- pliers at their places of business; bring them items for further proc- essing; and keep in touch with them to facilitate their deliveries to the Employer. Outside expediters also do some recordkeeping and travel whenever and wherever necessary. As these expediters appear to spend the greater part of their working time away from the Em- ployer's plant, we find that they have different interests from the other employees in the unit and exclude them therefrom. Material suppliers-instruments: The record does not contain suffi- cient evidence as to the work duties and interests of these employees for us to determine their unit placement. We shall, therefore, permit them to vote subject to challenge in the election directed herein. Operation sheet writers-radio: These employees are no longer employed by the Employer. Their duties have been included in those of the processors, whose unit placement has been determined above. We, therefore, find it unnecessary to consider the unit placement of this category. 10 These estimates are taken from standard data. n This is known as "sourcing ." See footnote 7, supra. ' Peninsular Metal Products Corporation , 116 NLRB 452 at 453; Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 113 NLRB 337 at 339; Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Irwin Mica Works ), 97 NLRB 1271. Is Allstate Insurance Company, supra. '- Cf. Raybestos -Manhattan, Inc., 115 NLRB 1036, 1038-39. 1656 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Upon the entire record in this case, we find that the following em- ployees of the Employer at its electrical products plant at Clifton, New Jersey , constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All office-clerical and technical employees, including employees set forth in Appendix A, attached, planners, the planner-procurement- installation, processors A, B, and trainee-assembly, processors A, B, and trainee-fabrication, and processors-senior, but excluding the em- ployees set forth in Appendix B, attached, buyers and their assistants and outside expediters. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] APPENDIX A CATEGORIES WHICH THE PARTIES AGREE TO INCLUDE Accountant I Accountant I-Payroll Bookkeeping Mach . Oper.-A Bookkeeping Mach . Oper.-B Bookkeeping Mach . Oper.-TR. 'Calculating Mach . Oper.-A Calculating Mach . Oper.-B Clerk-Accounting A Clerk-Accounting B Clerk-Bill of Material Clerk-Bookkeeping , Mach . Control Clerk-Contract & Order Serv.-A Clerk-Contract & Order Serv.-B Clerk-Cost A Clerk-Cost B Clerk-File A Clerk-File B Clerk-General A Clerk-General B Clerk-Inventory Analysis Clerk-Labor Records Clerk-Mail Clerk-Payroll A Clerk-Payroll B Clerk-Plant Maintenance Clerk-Prod. Cont. Components Clerk-Production Control, Machine Shop Clerk-Purchasing Clerk-Raw Mat. Analysis Clerk-Reproduction Serv.-A Clerk-Reproduction Serv.-B Clerk-Shipping A Clerk-Shipping B Clerk-Storeroom A Clerk-Storeroom B Clerk-Technical A Clerk-Technical B Clerk-Tech. Tel. Sr. Clerk-Traffic Cost Accountant I Designer-Radio , Sr. (Mech.) Designer-Radio "A" (Elec.) Designer-Radio C (Mech.) Designer-Tel. C (Elect.) Designer-Tel. C (Mech.) Designer-Tool A Designer-Tool B Detailer A (Elect.) Detailer A (Mech.) Detailer B Dispatcher-Traffic Document Control Registrar Draftsman-Radio A (Elect.) Draftsman-Radio A (Mech.) Draftsman-Tel. A (Elect.) Draftsman-Tel. A (Mech.) Draftsman B (Elect.) Draftsman B (Mech.) Draftsman Plant Layout A Draftsman Plant Layout B Expediter Industrial Artist Key Punch Operator Key Punch Operator-Tr. Multilith Operator A Multilith Operator B Paper Cutter-Hand Photographer Plate Maker Designer-Radio A Designer-Telephone A Designer-Radio B (Elect.) Designer-Radio B (Mech.) Designer-Tel. B (Elect.) Designer-Tel. B (Mech.) Designer-Radio C (Elect.) Tabulating Machine Oper.-Tr. FEDERAL TELEPHONE AND RADIO COMPANY Technical Publisher A Technical Publisher B Technical Cost Analyst Technical Editor Telegraph Operator Telephone Operator-Senior Tracer Typist A Typist B Typist-Statistical A Typist-Statistical B Vari-Typist A CATEGORIES Vari-Typist B Receptionist Secretary Stenographer A Stenographer B. Tabulating Mach. Oper. A Tabulating Mach. Oper. B 1657 Telephone Operator APPENDIX B WHICH THE PARTIES AGREE To EXCLUDE Accountant Accountant-Cost Analyst-Labor Analyst-Market Research, Sr. (may supervise) Analyst-Market Research Analyst-Sales Order Analyst-Cost Control Analyst-Warehousing Senior Analyst-General Systems & Procedures Junior Analyst-General Systems & Procedures Analyst-IBM Method Auditor Auditor-Senior (may supervise) Auditor-Estimator Cost Control Advertising Clerk Chef Cost Control Trainee Engineer (may supervise) Engineer , Assistant Engineer, Electrical-Testing Engineer-Packaging (may supervise) Engineer-Packaging, Assistant Engineer-Sales Engineer-Sales, Senior (may super- vise) Engineer-Senior (may supervise) Engineer-Test Engineer-Time Study Engineer-Plant ( may supervise) Engineer-Plant, Assistant (may super- vise) Engineer-Plant Layout (may super- vise) Estimator-(may supervise) Estimator-Cost Control Laboratory Assistant Message and Procedures Clerk Public Relations Representative Representative-Ind. Rel. Sr. Representative-Sales Representative-Sales, Sr. (may super- vise) Executive Secretary, Senior Technician-Electrometrolog Lab. Technician-Quality Control Physicist Warehouse Assistant Accountant "A"-Confidential Accountant 'B"-Confidential Administrative Assistant Analysis-Market Research Assistant-Special Auditor-Assistant Butcher Cashier Cashier, Cafeteria Chef-Cafeteria Chief Draftsman-Assistant Chief Nurse Chief Telephone Operator Chief Telephone Operator, Assistant Clerk, Industrial Relations "A" Clerk, Industrial Relations "B" Clerk, Personnel "A" Clerk, Personnel "B" Commissary Steward Cook, Second Cost Accountant , Assistant Desk Clerk, Nutley Club Engineer, Intermediate Engineer, Junior Engineer, Student Estimator, Assistant Estimator, Correspondent Executive Secretary Field Process Man, Assistant Fire Chief Fireman 1658 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD General Accountant, Assistant Industrial Relations Representative Industrial Relations Representative, As- sistant Installer, Field, Radio, Intermediate Installer, Field, Radio, Junior Interviewer "A" Interviewer "B" Lieutenant of Police Message Accountant, Assistant Motor Vehicle Dispatcher Supervisor, Production Control-Assist- ant Supervisor, Sales, Service, Selenum and Intelin Supervisor, Stores Supervisor, Tabulating Assistant Supervisor, Telephone Engineer, Service Supervisor, Telephone Service Supervisor, Tool and Commodity Rec- ords Sales Order Editor, Telephone Tabulating Machine Operator-Confi- dential Nurse Payroll Clerk, Confidential Plant Layout Man, Assistant Publicity Writer Purchasing Agent, Assistant Quality Control Engineer, Intermediate Quality Control Engineer , Junior Rectifier Shop Chemist Restaurant Manager, Assistant Safety Inspector Sales Assistant Sales Order Analyst Sales Representative, Assistant Section Supervisor Supervisor, Clerk Supervisor, Factory Porters Supervisor, Follow Up Supervisor, Ground Crew Supervisor, Mailroom Supervisor, Material Control-Assistant Supervisor, Plant Cafeteria Supervisor, Plant Protection Technical Writer-Radio Telephone Engineer-Intermediate Telephone Engineer-Jr. Telephone Engineer-Student -Test Engineer-Intermediate Test Engineer-Jr. Time Study Man, Sr. Time Study Man, Intermediate Time Study Man, Jr. Traffic Manager-Assistant Trainee Accountant Writer-Technical, Electronics; Sr. Writer-Technical, Electronics, Jr. Confidential Secretary 1 Guards All other managerial and executive per- sonnel General foremen Foremen senior All other supervisors as defined in the Act. i The parties agreed at the hearing, and we find, that the only persons in this category are B Kero, D. Stefaniak, H. Keller, and D. McSorley. The Petitioner sought to exclude confidential stenographers and chauffeurs. However, since, at the time of the hearing, the Employer had no employees in the category of confidential stenographer and as the record fails to indicate whether it had any. employees in the category of confidential chauffeur, we find it unnecessary to consider the unit placement of these categories. Local No. 511, United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, AFL-CIO; Local No.'475, Hod Carriers, Building & Common Laborers International Union, AFL-CIO and New Mexico Building Branch, Associated General Contractors of America. Case No. 33-CC-24. June 26,1958 DECISION AND ORDER On February 21, 1958, Trial Examiner Howard Myers issued his Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that 120 NLRB No. 211.