Milwaukee Gas Light Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 24, 1943

50 N.L.R.B. 809 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of MILWAUKEE GAS LIGHT COMPANY and UNITED GAS,
COKE AND CHEMICAL WORKERS OF AMERICA, (CIO)
Case No. R-5398.-Decided June 24,1943
Miller, Mack c0 Fairchild; by Mr. S. E. Keane, and Messrs. Thomas
Hayes, and E. C. Brenner, all of Milwaukee, Wis., for the Company.
Mr. Chester Walczak, of Milwaukee, Wis., for the CIO.
Messrs. Gene Posner, Walter Hildebrand, and Thos. Lansing, all
of Milwaukee, Wis., and Harold Moon; of St. Paul, Minn.,. for Dis-
trict 50.
Cllr. Glenn L. Moller, of counsel to the Board.
ti
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by United Gas, Coke & Chemical Workers
of America, (CIO), herein called the CIO, alleging that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of Milwaukee Gas Light Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board pro-
vided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Robert T.
Drake, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Milwaukee, Wis-
consin, on May 19, 1943. The Company, the CIO, and Local 12,018,
Gas and By-Product Coke Workers, District 50, United Mine Workers
of America, herein called District 50, appeared and participated. All
parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and
cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bea'ring on the
issues. , The' Trial Examiner's ruling made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were
afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record.in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
II. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Milwaukee Gas Light Company, a Wisconsin corporation, has its
,general office and plant in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and
50 N. L ' R. B, No. 114.
buy
810 DECISIONS OF ' NAfFIONAL , LABOR RELATIONS! BOARD
has additional operating facilities in four counties of that state. The
Company is' engaged in the manufacture, sale and distribution of
illuminating gas and byproducts such as tar.
From November 1, 1942, to May 1, 1943, the Company purchased
and received from points outside the State of Wisconsin, supplies
and raw materials valued at $341,972.75. The Company, purchases
annually raw materials valued at approximately $1,500,000.
For,the year 1942, the Company's sales of gas and appliances
amounted to approximately $7,000,000, all of which sales were made
to persons within the State of Wisconsin. Between November 1,
1942 and May 1, 1943, the Company sold and shipped to points out-
side the State of Wisconsin, tar valued at approximately $15,000,
representing .4 of 1 percent of the total of the Company's sales during
that period.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Gas, Coke & Chemical Workers, of America, affiliated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization ad-'
mitting to membership employees of the Company.
Local 12,018, Gas and By-Product Coke Workers, District 50;
United Mine Workers of America, is a'labor organization admitting
to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION'
The parties stipulated that on April 12, 1943, the CIO requested
recognition by the Company as the exclusive bargaining representa-
tive of employees of the Company and that the Company has refused
to grant such recognition until the CIO is certified by the Board
in an appropriate unit. District 50 urges that its contract with the
Company is a bar to the present proceeding. Since the contract
expired on June 1, 1943, we find that it is not a bar to a present deter-
mination of representatives.
A statement of a Field Examiner for the Board and a supplemental
statement by the Trial Examiner introduced into evidence at the
hearing, indicate that the CIO and District 50 represent substantial
numbers of employees in the unit hereinafter' found appropriate.'
2 The Field Examiner reported that the CIO submitted 196 membership cards bearing
the apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear on the Company's pay
roll-of April 23, 1943 The Field Examiner also reported that District 50 asserted an
interest in the proceeding by virtue of its contract with the Company covering the
employees in question.
The Trial Examiner \reported that at the hearing the CIO submitted eight additional
membership cards , bearing apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear
on the Company ' s pay roll of the same date.
District 50 offered in evidence at the hearing 40 letters apparently signed by persons
MILWAUKEE GAS LIGHT COMPANY 811
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
At the opening of the hearing, the parties stipulated that all pro-
duction and maintenance employees of the Company in the Meter
Shops, Third Ward Works, Street Department, West Works and
Meter Reading Department, excluding superintendents, assistant
superintendents, foremen, yard foremen, salaried electricians, chem-
ists, assistant chemists, dispatchers, inspectors, clerks doing clerical
work 80 percent of the ,time, rural service men, distribution engineer
of the Street Department, chief power plant engineers, assistant chief
power plant engineers, general foremen, supervisor of the Meter
Reading Department, chief storekeepers and civil engineers, constitute
an appropriate unit. This conforms essentially to the unit covered
by the recent contract. The parties disagree as to the inclusion or
exclusion of eight specifically named employees, all of whom the CIO
seeks to include, and the Company and District 50 seek to exclude
from the appropriate unit.
Joseph Rosinski, a licensed electrician, does repair work on Com-
pany premises and also does repair and installation work for the
Company's customers. He is one of three electricians in the depart-
ments included in the proposed unit.2 Rosinski is paid on a salaried
basis. He works without supervision, but he is directly responsible
to the superintendent of the West Works. Although the parties stipu-
lated that salaried electricians should be excluded from the unit, and
the CIO's request for the inclusion of Rosinski is inconsistent with
the stipulation, the evidence reveals no persuasive reason why any of
the three aforementioned electricians should be excluded. The Corn-
pany contends that Rosinski is a supervisory employee, but this con`-
tention is supported only by evidence that once or twice a year he
has been assigned to tasks in which he required assistance, at which
time he has been given a few helpers whom he supervised on the par-
ticular job. We do not regard these rare occurrences as placing
Rosinski in the category of supervisory employees. We shall include
him, and the other two electricians as well, in the appropriate unit.
John Hintz, clerk in the Meter Reading Department, is a former
meter reader. Virtually all of his time is spent at a desk in the de-
partment, which is located, in 'the Main Office Building, though on
whose names appear on cards submitted by the CIO , asking for the return or the destruc-
tion of their CIO cards.
There are approximately 431 employees in the appropriate unit.
8 A Company witness testified that there was only one other licensed electrician in the
Company's employ. This testimony suggests that the third electrician appearing on the
pay roll is not licensed.
812 DECISIONS OF NAtrIONAL LABOR RELAT'ONS BOARD
.occasion he reads a few meters. He' lays out' the routes of the meter
readers and'keeps' records 'of these routes. • He is under 'the supervi-
sion of the assistant'secretary of the Company, who- is supervisor'of
the office employees. It also appears that there is a separate union
k of office employees, to' which Hintz is eligible for membership.. Since
he spends from 95 to 93 percent of his time doing clerical work, Hintz
falls within the,classification of clerical employees who are excluded
from the unit by the stipulation and our finding herein. We shall
exclude him from the unit. '
William Dern,, Jr., is a timekeeper and clerk, located at the West
Works, which is an operating station, not an' office building. He is
under the supervision of the engineer in charge of distribution in the
Street Department. Because of his separation from the Main Office,
he has few contacts with the clerical employees. We shall include him
in the unit.'
Albert Nawrock, a storeroom clerk in theWeter Shops, spends much
of his time at a desk, but he also handles fittings and other repair
parts. The parties stipulated that another storeroom clerk, who
'works with Nawrock, should-be included in the unit. The storeroom
is under-the supervision of a dispatcher who is responsible to the
engineer of distribution in the Street Department. Nawrock's prin-
cipal contacts are with production and maintenance rather than
clerical employees. He is paid on a salary basis, whereas most of the
production and, maintenance employees are paid on an hourly basis.
Although the Company has contended that he should be classified as a
clerical employee, District 50 has bargained on behalf of Nawrock and
obtained, an increase in salary for him. We shall include him in
the unit.
' William E. Young, also a storeroom keeper, keeps records of parts
and supplies. He also handles parts and fittings which are requested
by the employees, sometimes loading them onto trucks. He is paid
oii an hourly basis. District 50 has handled a specific wage claim
on his behalf, obtaining an adjustment for him.. Like Nawrock, his
contacts are more-with production and maintenance than with cleri-
..cal employees., We -shall include Young in the appropriate unit.
The remaining 3 employees in dispute, John Kurer, Joseph Miclotz
and, Joseph L. Price,, are main line gang foremen. They have direct
charge of gangs of from 6 to 11. men which are assigned to heavy gas
main, repairs and installation work. Their work is entirely super-
visory though. they do manual work in an emergency. They have no
power to hire or discharge, but their recommendations on-the dis-
charge;' discipline of advt ncemedt of their subordinates, are given
•
-' See Hatter of Aluminum Company of America, Lafayette .Works, 44 N: L R. B. 490
MILWAUKEE GAS LIGHT COMPANY 813
special consideration by the Company. We shall exclude them from
the unit.
The parties have stipulated that another category of employees,
known as "red order" foremen, who supervise smaller gangs of from
four to six men, should be included in the unit.4 These smaller gangs
do repair and installation work on gas pipe under 4 inches in diam-
eter. On occasion, the main line gangs have done "red order" work
when there was no heavier work available and, likewise, "red order"
galigs-have done main line work. The "red order" foremen receive
a slightly lower wage than main line foremen, but other than that,
their status as supervisors is the same as that of the main line fore-
men. We shall exclude both main line foremen and "red order"
foremen from the unit.
-In accordance with the stipulation of the parties and the foregoing
findings, we find that all production and maintenance employees in
the Meter Shops, Third Ward Works, Street Department, West Works
and Meter Reading Department, including all electricians in those
departments, William Dern,, Jr., Albert Nawroek and William E.
Young, but excluding superintendents, assistant superintendents, fore-
men, main line gang foremen, "red order" gang foremen, yard fore-
men, chemists, assistant chemists, dispatchers, inspectors, 'clerks doing
clerical work 80 percent of the time, rural service men, distribution
engineer of the Street Department, chief power plant engineers, as-
sistant chief'power plant engineers, general foremen, supervisor of
the Meter Reading Department, chief storekeepeia and civil engi-
neers, employed by the Company 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 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 Rela-
tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
4 The term "red order" arises from the fact that the instructions for smaller repairs
are set forth on red order forms.
814- DE CISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is
hereby - 1 -11
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives, for the purposes of collective bargaining with Milwaukee Gas
Light Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 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 super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region, acting in
this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and sub-
ject 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 preceding
the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work dur-
ing said pay-roll period because they were'ill or on vacation or tem-
'porarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the
United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but ex-
cluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for
,cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by United
Gas, Coke & Chemical Workers of America, affiliated with the Con-
gress of Industrial Organizations, or by Local 12,018, Gas and By-
Product Coke Workers, District 50, United Mine Workers of America,
for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
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