Revere Copper and Brass, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 6, 1945

61 N.L.R.B. 392 (N.L.R.B. 1945)

In the Matter of REVERE COPPER AND BRASS, INCORPORATED (DALLAS
AND ORDNANCE DIVISIONS) and CHICAGO DIE SINKERS, LOCAL 100,
OF THE INTERNATIONAL DIE SINKERS CONFERENCE
Case No. 13-R-2813.-Decided April 6,1945
Seyfarth, Shaw and Fairweather, by Mr. H. E. Seyfarth, of Chicago,
Ill., for the Company.
Messrs. J. G. Meiner and Walter T. Lynch, of Cleveland, Ohio, for
the Die Sinkers.
Meyers d Meyers, by Mr. Ben Meyers, of Chicago, Ill., for the
C. I. O.
Messrs. Anthony Gruszka and Angelo Inciso, of Chicago, Ill., for
the A. F. L.
Mr. Harry Nathanson, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by Chicago Die Sinkers, Local 100, of the
International Die Sinkers Conference, herein called the Die Sinkers,
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of Revere Copper and Brass, Incor-
porated (Dallas and Ordnance Divisions), Chicago, Illinois, herein
called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided
for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before J. G. Evans, Trial
Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chicago, Illinois, on February
15, 1945. The Company, the Die Sinkers, United Automobile, Air-
craft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, C. I. 0.,
herein called the C. 1. 0., and United Automobile Workers of America,
A. F. L., herein called the A. F. L., 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 rulings 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 :
61 N. L R. B., No. 53.
392
REVERE COPPER AND BRASS, INCORPORATED
FINDINGS -OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
393
Revere Copper and Brass, Incorporated, is a Maryland corporation.
In the course and conduct of its business, the Company operates plants
in the States of Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Michigan, and
Illinois. We are here concerned with the Company's Chicago, Illinois,
operations which it conducts in plants designated as the Dallas Divi-
sion and the Ordnance Division. For the past year the Company
purchased for the Dallas Division, owned and operated by it, and for
the Ordnance Division, owned by the United States Government and
operated by the Company, raw materials valued in excess of $1,000,000,
of which more than 80 percent was purchased outside the State of
Illinois. For the same period the total value of its finished products
at the Chicago plants was in excess of $1,000,000, of which approxi-
mately 80 percent was shipped to points outside the State of Illinois.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Chicago Die Sinkers, Local 100, affiliated with the International Die
Sinkers Conference, is a labor organization admitting to membership
employees of the Company.
United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers
of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations,
is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the
Company.
United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to
membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On December 14, 1944, the Die Sinkers filed its petition:
On August 28, 1944, the A. F. L. and the Company executed a 1-year
collective bargaining agreement covering all hourly rated employees
at the Dallas and Ordnance Divisions. In the late fall of that year a
movement by the Company's employees developed to withdraw from
the A. F. L. and join the C. I.O. On November 29, 1944, the Company
filed a petition with the Board for an investigation and certification
' The Company asks that the petition be dismissed because the Die Sinkers failed to re-
quest recognition prior to the filing thereof It is clear, however , that the Company refuses
to recognize the Die Sinkers in the absence of certification by the Board . Consequently,
we do not believe that dismissal is warranted . See Matter of Houston Blow Pipe and
Sheet Metal Works, 53 N . L. R. B. 184.
394 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
of representatives.2 Thereafter, an December 14, 1944, the Company,
the C. I. 0., and the A. F. L. entered into a consent election agreement.
Among other things, the agreement provided that the Company's
hourly rated employees were to determine whether they desired to be
represented by the C. I. 0., the A. F. L., or by neither. In addition
thereto, the agreement provided that, in the event a petition were filed
with the Board by the Die Sinkers prior to January 4, 1945, the agree-
ment and the results of the election were to be without prejudice to
the rights of the Die Sinkers. In accordance with the provisions of
the agreement an election was held on January 5, 1945, and the votes
cast by the Company's die sinkers were segregated and unopened.3
A statement of the Trial Examiner made at the hearing indicates
that the Die Sinkers represents a substantial number of employees in
the unit hereinafter found appropriate.4
We find that a question 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 DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Die Sinkers seeks a unit of all the Company's employees work-
ing on dies and parts of dies used in the manufacture and completion
of forgings. The C. I. 0., the A. F. L., and the Company contend that
the proposed unit is inappropriate, claiming that collective bargaining
at the Company's Chicago plants 5 has been conducted on the basis of
a production and maintenance unit, including die workers.
Since 1938, the Company had had annual collective bargaining
agreements,6 either with the C. I. O. or the A. F. L. embracing its pro-
duction and maintenance employees, including die workers. On No-
vember 19, 1940, the Die Sinkers filed a partition with the Board re-
questing a unit of the Company's die workers. After a hearing, the
Board, in dismissing the petition, stated, in part, as follows : 7
In view of all the circumstances, including the history of collec-
tive bargaining between the Company and the [A. F. L.] on a
plant-wide basis for over 3 years and the failure of the Die Sinkers
s Case No. 13-RE-33.
The results of the election were as follows : Number of eligible voters , 1,819 ; void
ballots, 15 ; votes cast for the C . I. O , 803 ; votes cast for the A F L , 790 , votes cast
against participating labor organizations , 11 , valid votes counted , 1,604 , unopened
challenged ballots, 8. ,
' The Trial Examiner reported that the Die Sinkers presented evidence of representation
for seven employees and that there were eight employees in the unit which it alleges to be
appropriate . The results of the election , footnote 3, supra, reflect the interests of the
A. F. L. and the C I. O.
c The parties agree that the workers sought by the Die Sinkers are employed at the
Company's Dallas Division.
9 The last of these agreements , dated August 28, 1944 , was made with the A. F L.
7 Matter of Revere Copper and Brass , Incorporated, 30 N. L . It. B. 964 , decided April 7,
1941.
REVERE COPPER AND BRASS, INCORPORATED 395
to seek to bargain with the Company for more than a year after the
Company had recognized the [A. F. L.], we believe that the unit
urged by the Die Sinkers is inappropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining, and we so find.
The Company employs at its Chicago Dallas Division approximately
eight die workers who perform the usual functons associated with their
craft, such as making, sinking, trimming and repairing dies and parts
of dies. They comprise a single department under the direct super-
vision of an assistant foreman, who is a die maker by trade and familiar
with the peculiar problems related to this craft. The various die op-
erations are generally segregated from other plant operations .8 Die
workers are the most highly skilled of the Company's employees and
receive the highest rate of pay. It is clear that these employees are
members of a highly skilled craft which requires an apprenticeship of
at least 6 to 9 years to become a journeyman die sinker.
The record indicates that from sometime prior to 1940 to the present
the Company's die workers have been members of the Die Sinkers.
Following the dismissal of the Die Sinkers' petition in 1940 the Com-
pany's die workers became members of the A. F. L. However, this
was done after permission to join the A. F. L. had been granted them
by the Die Sinkers subject to the conditions that they remained dues-
paying members of the Die Sinkers, and that the Die Sinkers, in turn,
would pay their dues to the A. F. L. Under this arrangement, which
continued until January 1, 1945,9 the Company's die workers became
members of the A. F. L. on or about July 20, 1941. Thus, as testified,
the die workers indicated their desire to maintain their separate
identity in the hope that in the future there would arise an occasion
when they could obtain separate representation by their own craft
organization.
There is evidence in the record that, subsequent to 1940, a 20 cent
an hour increase was obtained for the Company's die workers as a result
of the A. F. L.'s negotiations with the Company. It is clear, yiowever,
that the War Labor Board's approval of this increase was obtained in
large measure through the efforts and cooperation of the Die Sinkers.
In view of the facts presented in this case, we are of the opinion that
die workers may constitute a separate bargaining unit or be bargained
for as part of a more comprehensive unit."' Therefore, before making
a final determination with respect to `the appropriate unit, we shall
first ascertain the desires of the employees themselves, as reflected by an
election. Upon the results of the election will depend, in part, our
determination. We shall direct that an election by secret ballot be
O Die workers are segregated in the east end of the tool and die department in the
Dallas Division
9 The Die Sinkers ceased paying dues to the A F L. after this date.
10 See Matter of Moore Drop Forging Company, 60 N. L. R B 494: Matter of General
Electric Company (Lynn River Works and Everett Plant), 58 N. L. It. B. 57.
396 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
conducted among all the Company's employees working on dies and
parts of dies used in the manufacture and completion of forgings, ex-
cluding all supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, dis-
charge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of em-
ployees, or effectively recommend such action," who were employed
during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the
Direction of Election, subject to the limitations and additions set forth
therein, to determine whether they desire to be represented by the Die
Sinkers, the A. F. L., or the C. I. O. If a majority of the employees in
this voting group select the same representative chosen by the remain-
ing hourly rated employees as a consequence of the consent election
mentioned above, they will thereby have indicated their desire to be
bargained for together with such employees; selection of a different rep-
resentative, however, will indicate a 'desire to constitute a separate unit.
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 Relations Act,
and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Revere Copper and
Brass, Incorporated (Dallas and Ordnance Divisions), Chicago, Illi-
nois, 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
Thirteenth 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 Regulations, among the employees in the voting
group set forth in Section IV, above, who were employed during the
pay-rol^ period immediately preceding the date of this Direction,
including employees who did not work during the said pay-roll period
because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and includ-
ing 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 discharged for cause and have not been rehired
or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether they
desire to be represented by Chicago Die Sinkers, Local 100, of the In-
ternational Die Sinkers Conference, or by United Automobile, Air-
craft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, C. I. 0., or by
United Automobile Workers of America, A. F. L., for the purposes of
collective bargaining, or by none of them.
11 All parties agree that Carl Weinberger is a supervisory employee within the meaning
of the Board 's definition.