Richardson Scale Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 29, 1952

101 N.L.R.B. 150 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

150 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
certification of results of election or elections concerning such group
or groups, which will remain part of the existing unit.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]
RICHARDSON SCALE COMPANY and SHEET METAL WORKERS LOCAL
UNION No. 172, AFL, PETITIONER . Case No. ?-RC-4651. October
29,1952
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 Arthur Goldberg,
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-mem-
ber 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 Petitioner and the International Association of Machinists,
Lodge 1170, the Intervenor, claim 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 Petitioner seeks to sever a unit of all sheet metal workers 1
from the existing production and maintenance unit represented by
the Intervenor since 1942.2 The Employer and the Intervenor contend
that the sheet metal workers are not craftsmen and therefore should
not be severed from the historical plant-wide unit.
The Employer, which is engaged in the manufacture of scales,
packers, compound bins, bag conveyors, sewing machines, and electrical
panels, employs approximately 75 sheet metal workers. With the
exception of 1 employee, these employees constitute departments 7
and 25, the sheet metal departments, which are located and supervised
separately from other departments. Each department is under a fore-
man who reports directly to the plant manager. The one employee
referred to above is classified as a sheet metal worker but is located
'At the hearing, the Petitioner's motion to redefine the unit described in the petition
was granted.
2 Pursuant to a consent election in Case No. 2-R-3105, the Intervenor was certified as
representative of an over-all unit of the Employer's production and maintenance em-
ployees. Neither the Employer nor the Intervenor urges the current contract as a bar
-to this proceeding.
101 NLRB No. 24.
RICHARDSON SCALE COMPANY 151
in department 15, the repair department , and is supervised by the
supervisor of department 15.
The sheet metal workers perform layout work, shearing, punching,
nibbling, beading, multiple punching as compared with single punch
operations, friction disc cutoff work, acetylene burning , radial drill
press work, sensitive drill press work, welding, and cleaning with
special tools . Departments 7 and 25 perform the same operations
except that department 7 handles the lighter gauged metals and de-
partment 25 the metals of a heavier gauge. The sheet metal worker
in department 15, who is classified as class A, repairs machines that
are returned from the field for rebuilding jobs. Where replacement
of parts is necessary in rebuilding a machine, the new parts are
processed by department 7 or 25.
All of the Employer's employees are classified as class A, class B,
or class C, and those engaged in different occupations with the same
ratings receive the same hourly wage. Thus a class A sheet metal
worker is paid the same as a class A electrician, machinist, or painter
at the same step within the class A grade.
The class C sheet metal worker helps A or B workers to clean and
grind and to straighten distortions in the welding. He also secures
the raw materials from the stores and brings them to the floor where
shearing or layout work is done. The class B sheet metal worker
performs layout work of a simpler nature than that performed by the
class A sheet metal worker. In doing layout work, the B worker fol-
lows a template prepared by an A layout man. He also does shearing
and welding. Class A sheet metal workers primarily do layout
work from blueprints. This consists of interpreting drawings, put-
ting the parts together, and welding them securely with the least
possible distortion. This classification of sheet metal worker works
on the more complicated and intricate items with a minimum of su-
pervision. A relatively small number of class A sheet metal workers
apparently work from very complicated blueprints. The record
indicates that the engineering department simplifies blueprints for
a majority of the class A and class B sheet metal men.
None of the sheet metal workers performs all phases of work in
the sheet metal departments. However, each of them performs a
specific operation until, at his request or the foreman's suggestion,
he is assigned to a different sheet metal operation. Class C sheet
metal workers start at $1.20 and automatically progress to $1.40 an
hour, with an increase each 3 months. Class B sheet metal workers are
those who have advanced from class C and they reach class B only
upon the recommendation of the foreman of the respective depart-
ment. Class B workers earn $1.42 an hour and each 6 months
earn 5 cents more an hour until they reach $1.52. This amount may be
increased to $1.62 upon the recommendation of the foreman. Class
152 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
A employees start at $1.65 an hour and automatically progress to
$1.75 an hour after 6 months, and then to the top rate of $1.90 an
hour upon the foreman's recommendation. If an employee is ca-
pable of performing the required operations he will remain in class
C for approximately a year to a year and a half. If he can advance,
he will stay in the B category for approximately 2 years. He advances
to class A if there is an opening and if he has the requisite ability. Not
all class C workers progress to the higher categories. The record
reflects that a few men have been with the Employer 10 or 15 years
and have not reached the A bracket.
The plant manager testified that the sheet metal foremen have the
qualifications of journeymen sheet metal workers. These men are
drawn from the class A group of sheet metal workers. The record
reflects that some of the most able sheet metal men have taken courses
in sheet metal development and have been tutored by the top super-
visors, foremen, or assistant foremen.
In view of the foregoing, we find that the sheet metal workers are a
craft group, who may be separately represented from the production
and maintenance employees if they so desire.3
Accordingly, we shall direct an election among all sheet metal
workers, including the assistant foremen and leadmen,4 of the Em-
ployer at its Clifton, New Jersey, plant, but excluding the process
inspector,5 office and clerical employees, guards, all other employees,
and all supervisors as defined in the Act. However, we shall make no
final unit determination at this time, but shall be guided in part by the
desires of these employees as expressed in the election hereinafter
directed. If a majority vote for the Petitioner they will be taken to
have indicated their desire to constitute a separate appropriate unit,
and the Regional Director conducting the election directed herein is
instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the Petitioner
for the unit described in paragraph numbered 4, which the Board,
under such circumstances, finds to be appropriate for purposes of col-
lective bargaining. In the event a majority vote for the Intervenor,
the Board finds the existing unit to be appropriate and the Regional
Director will issue a certification of results of election to such effect.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
3 Merck and Company, 88 NLRB 975. Cf . General Electric Company, 89 NLRB 726,
pages 755-756. There the Board denied severance of a unit of sheet metal workers from
a production and maintenance unit because the requested group failed to include produc-
tion sheet metal workers who did not perform varied sheet metal work but who were
nevertheless considered skilled by the Board.
4 The parties stipulated , and we find , that the assistant foremen and leadmen are not
supervisors within the meaning of the Act.
5 Although this employee inspects parts produced by the sheet metal workers , none of
the parties contends that he should , and we find that be should not, be included in this
unit of exclusively craft employees.