Pittsburgh Coke & Iron Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 29, 1944

56 N.L.R.B. 1770 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the, Matter Of PITTSBURGH ' COKE & IRON COMPANY and UNITED
STEELWORKERS OF AMERIOA , AFFILIATED WITH .THE C. I. O.
Case No. 6-R-951.-Decided June 29 , 1944
Mr., G. E. Dignan, of Neville Island, Pa., for the Company.
Mr. Phillip' M. Cwrran, of Pittsburgh , Pa., 'for the Union.
Mr. Bernard Goldberg, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION -
'AND.
DIRECTION ' OF ' ELECTION,
STATEMENT'OF THE CASE
,-Upon a petition duly filed by United • Steelworkers of America,
C. I. 0., herein called the Union, alleging.',that a question affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation. of employees of
Pittsburgh Coke & Iron Company, Neville Island, Pennsylvania, here'-
in called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided
for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Allen Sinsheimer,
Jr., Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Pittsburgh, Pennsyl-
vania, on May 22, 1944. The Company. and the Union 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, ruling 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.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board; makes the following :
FINDINGS • OF FACT '
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Pittsburgh Coke & Iron Company is 'a' Pennsylvania corporation
operating five plants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and one
in the State of Michigan. We are'here concerned with its plant at
Neville Island, Pennsylvania, where' it is engaged in the manufacture
of pig iron, byproduct coke, byproduct chemicals, cement, and acti-
vated charcoal. During the past 12 months,' this plant used approx-
56 N. L. R. B., No. 315.
1770 '
PITTSBURGH COKE & IRON COMPANY 1771'
imately $2,500,000 worth of coal, all of which came from ' within the
Commonwealth-of Pennsylvania. During the same period it manu-
factured products -valued at approximately $16,000,000, of -which 20
to 25 percent was shipped to points outside' the Commonwealth.
The Company admits that it is ' engaged in commerce within the
meaning of theNational Labor Relations Act.'
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
United Steelworkers of America, affiliated with the Congress of
Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to member-
ship employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has, refused to grant recognition to the Union as the,
exclusive,bargaining representative of its production and maintenance
employees until the Union has been certified by the Board in an appro-
priate unit?
•'A statement of a'Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear-
ing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found 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 Union seeks a unit consisting of'all production and maintenance•
employees -including instrument repairmen and truck drivers, but
excluding salaried' employees, office and clerical employees, plant pro-
tection employees, nurses, cafeteria employees; civil engineers, copyist-
draftsmen, -surveyor's assistants, laboratory analysts, samplers, and
physical testers, executives,` superintendents, foremen, regular part-
time foremen and all supervisory employees. The Company is in sub-
stantial agreement but urges the- inclusion of copyist-draftsmen, sur-
veyor's, assistants, and laboratory analysts, samplers and physical
testers' as well. ' '
1'A previous petition'for substantially the same unit was dismissed by order of the Board'
on August 6, 1943 after the Union had failed to secure a majority vote in an election held
on July'28, 1943 pursuant to direction of the Board. Matter of Pittsburgh Coke and Iron
Company, 51 N. L R B. 56
2 The Field Examiner reported that the Union submitted 512 membership cards bearing
apparently genuine signatures of which 396 also appeared on the Company's pay roll for
March 31, 1944; the pay roll 'contained the names of 713 employees in the unit peti-
tioned for Of the 396 cards containing names also appearing on the Company's pay,
roll 29 were dated in 1941, 49'in 1942; 69 in 1943, 156 in.1944, and 93 were undated.
1772 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Copyist-draftsmen.=These men work in the engineering department
located in the main office building tracing the designs created by the
Company's engineers so that blue prints can be made. Since their
work is clerical in nature , we shall exclude them from the unit.
Surveyor's assistant.-This employee performs the duties of a rod
man or lineman in the engineering department assisting the civil engi-
neer in new construction and maintenance work . We find that, like the
civil engineer whom the parties agreed should be excluded , the sur
veyor's assistant has duties and interests sufficiently different from the
production and maintenance employees to warrant his exclusion from
the unit. We shall exclude him. ,
Laboratory men.-Men engaged in making routine production tests
and analyses are classified by the Company as samplers , analysts and
physical testers. The sampler goes out to the plant and takes samples
of the raw or finished product which he brings back 'to the laboratory
f or analysis and testing. - The analyst makes routine chemical tests of
the sample . The physical tester makes tests for tensile and com-
pression strength . The men performing these duties are paid on an
hourly basis like other production and maintenance employees, are
required to have only a high school education with no special knowledge
of chemistry , and can be taught all they, need to know for the work
in two months. These men do no research work, devise no formulas,
and do not even make the standard chemical mixtures with which
titrations are made. For research work, the Company has a special
laboratory staffed entirely by salaried graduate chemists. Laboratory
employees of the type in question are eligible to join the Union and
have been admitted to its membership in other -plants. We shall include
them in the unit 3
We find that , all production and maintenance employees of the
Company's Neville , Island plant including instrument repairmen,
truck drivers , laboratory analysts , samplers ,4 and physical testers, but
excluding salaried employees , office and clerical employees, plant pro-
tection employees , nurses, cafeteria employees , civil engineers, copyist-
draftsmen , surveyor 's assistants , executives , superintendents , foremen,
regular part-time foremen ,5 and all or any other supervisory em-
ployees ' with authority to hire, promote , discharge, discipline, or
otherwise effect changes in the status of employees , or effectively rec-
ommend such action , constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the
Act.,
Matter (if Commercial Solvents Corporation, 45 N. L. R. B. 141 ; Matter of Monarch
Alunnnnm Co , 53 N. L R B. 756. '
4 This category includes James A. McMurtry who is considered to be a sampler in the
carbon plant.
6 Included in this category are Jackson H. Davidson, Vincenzo A. Manfredi, and Bohumel
R. Hornyck.
PITTSBURGH -COKE & IRON COMPANY 1773
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 Election
herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direc-
tion. The parties have agreed , and we find , that high school students
working part time are not eligible to vote. -
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 R31a-
tions 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 Pittsburgh Coke
& Iron Company, Neville Island, Pennsylvania, 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 Sixth Region, acting
in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and -
subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regula-
tions, 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 during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vaca-
tion 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 those employees who have since quit or been dis-
charged for cause- and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to
the date of the election, to determine whether or not they desire to be
represented by United Steelworkers" of America, C. I. 0., for the
purposes of collective bargaining.
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