Wagner Electric Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 19, 1952

99 N.L.R.B. 815 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

WAGNER ELECTRIC CORPORATION 815
Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act 12
12 The Employer and the Intervenor also contend that because the Petitioner is a na-
tional union , and not a local union, it should not represent the employees in question.
The record does not indicate that there exists a local union of the Petitioner or that the
Petitioner intends to establish a local union for the employees concerned . Moreover,
under existing law, the division of function and responsibility between International and
local unons with respect to bargaining is clearly a matter of their internal affairs of
which the Board will not take cognizance , unless thereby some policy of the Act is vio-
lated. We find no merit to this contention. See Lane Wells Company, 79 NLRB 252
(Members Reynolds and Gray dissenting ) ; Granite Textile Mills, 76 NLRB 613.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
WAGNER ELECTRIC CORPORATION and DISTRICT NO. 9, INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, A. F. L., PETITIONER. Case No.
14-RC-1741. June 19, 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 Harry G. Carlson,
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-member
panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Murdock].
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 organizations involved 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 from an existing multiplant pro-
duction and maintenance unit, a "skilled craft" unit of toolroom
employees, tool and die makers, toolroom machinists, their apprentices,
and other employees with related skills of the machinists craft.' In
i In its brief , the Petitioner indicated that it seeks specifically to represent all employees
In the following classifications in the various plant departments indicated : All tool and
die makers , tool and die maker group leaders, toolroom machinists , D. W. O. bench hands
C, toolroom vapor blast-brazers, heat treat and tool hardeners, tool and die gage grinders
in department 65, the main toolroom ; all tool and die makers , toolroom machinists,
machine repairmen, machine repairmen -resident and die grinders in department 60, the
die repair room ; all tool and die makers , toolroom machinists , and machine repairmen
in department 54, the tool repair room, small motor division ; all machine repairmen and
machinists , machine builders in department 61, the machine repair shop ; the tool and die
makers in department 50, the small motor winding division ; the tool and die maker-
99 NLRB No. 124.
816 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the alternative the Petitioner is willing to represent any machinists
craft unit that the Board might find to be appropriate. The Em-
ployer, International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers, Local 1104, CIO, herein called the IUE, and Local 1104,
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE),
herein called the UE, contend that the proposed unit is inappropriate,
asserting that the only appropriate unit is the multiplant production
and maintenance unit currently represented by the IUE.2 As the
Petitioner stated at the hearing that it is not seeking a distinctive
toolroom departmental unit and as, in any event, a request for such a
unit would be incompatible with the request for a tool and die makers
and machinists unit on a strictly craft basis, we construe the Peti-
tioner's proposed unit as a request to represent only those employees
in the afore-mentioned categories who are true craftsmen.
The Employer is engaged in the manufacture and sale of electrical
motors, air and hydraulic brakes, transformers, and related products
at several plants located in St. Louis, Missouri, and at individual
plants located in Berkley, Missouri, Edwardsville, Illinois, and Mt.
Vernon, Illinois. The Employer's manufacturing operations are
headed by its general superintendent at St. Louis. These operations
are organized for administrative purposes into about 90 to 95 depart-
ments, each under a superintendent who, in turn, is directly responsible
to a division superintendent. Of the approximately 285 employees
sought by the Petitioner, 123 are employed in the main toolroom
(department 65), 43 in the die repair room (department 60), 15 in the
small motor repair division (department 54), 26 in the development
work order section of the special parts department (department 8),
27 in machine repair (department 61), 1 in small motor winding
(department 50), 1 in master cylinder milling rolls (department 16),
1 in a department not otherwise described in record (department 26),
and 10 in the master tool and gage checkup room (department 96).
The foregoing departments are located in the Employer's Plymouth
Street plant in St. Louis. Among those sought are also 5 employees
in the Edwardsville plant (department 19 of the Employer' s opera-
tions) 3
toolroom machinist and tool sharpener in department 16, the master cylinder milling rolls
department ; all tool and die makers, toolroom machinists and machine repairmen in
department 19, the Edwardsville plant ; all tool and gage inspectors in department 96,
the master tool and gage checkup room ; and the master gage checker in department 26 ;
all bench hands, model makers, internal-external grinders, milling machine operators, and
engine lathe operators in the development work order section of department 8 ; and all
resident machine repairmen in the various production departments
2 Since March 7, 1950, the IUE has bargained, on a multiplant basis, for all the
Employer's hourly rated production, maintenance, and clerical employees , pursuant to
Board certification For a period of about 13 years before that (late, these employees
were represented by the UE The IUE's most recent contract with the Employer was
executed on May 19, 1950, and was to remain in effect from May 1. 1950, to April 1, 1952.
At the hearing, neither party asserted that this agreement was a bar to this proceeding.
3 . few employees in the classification of resident-machine repairman, which the Peti-
WAGNE'R' ELECTRIC CORPORATION 817
Most of the Employer's tool and die makers are assigned to the
main toolroom and the two smaller toolrooms-the die repair room
and the small motor repair room-where they make and repair various
types of tools, dies, fixtures, and special machinery. The others are
located in several production departments, for purposes of convenience,
where they perform similar duties. Most of the Employer's tool
machinists, machine repairmen A, B, and C, and machinists-machine
builders, are quartered in the toolrooms mentioned above and in the
machine repair shop. The several other employees in these classifica-
tions are assigned to the Edwardsville plant. They repair all kinds
of plant machinery and small motors and make replacement parts.
The bench hands, model markers, located in the model room of the
development work order section; perform duties quite similar to those
.of the tool and die makers and tool machinists described above. They
make dies and machinery for experimental purposes , and special parts
and machinery for special customer orders where such work is re-
quired to be done on a "job shop" basis and cannot be performed in
the production departments. Tool and die makers, machinists, ma-
chinists-machine builders, machine repairmen A, B, C, and bench
hands, model makers use the customary machine and hand tools of
the machinists trade and are required to work to very close tolerances.
The employees in the top grades of these classifications are likewise re-
quired to have a knowledge of mathematics and frequently work from
drawings and sketches. Most of their work is performed in the tool-
rooms, model room, and machine shop. However, tool and die makers
and machinists occasionally are required to perform some of their
work on large machines, e. g., very large punch presses, outside their
respective shops because of the lack of such heavy equipment in their
own shops.
In addition to the machine repairmen and machinists-machine
builders employed in the machine repair shop, the Employer also has
several employees classified as machine repairmen, all-around, in
department 54, the small motors division, and in department 19, the
Edwardsville plant, and a considerable number classified as resident
machine repairmen permanently assigned to about one-half of the
Employer's approximately 90 production departments. Their duties
consist of making routine repairs on production machinery. They
perform no heavy, or major , machine repair work, all of which is
done by the machine repairmen A, B, and C, or the machinists-
machine builders in the machine repair shop. The resident machine
repairmen also function as setup men in the various production de-
tioner seeks to include in the unit , are located in the departments enumerated above.
However, most of the resident -machine repairmen , probably numbering about 30 or 40,
are employed in various production departments not specifically listed . A few in other
classifications sought are also located in production departments
818 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARL
partments, changing tools and making minor mechanical adjustments
on plant machinery. They utilize only a few hand tools in carrying
out their duties, such as a hammer, chisel, and a wrench. None uses
the large machine tools in the toolrooms, nor the other customary
hand tools of the machinists trade. Although the record indicates
that the skills of the all-around machine repairmen are slightly greater
than those of the resident machine repairmen, the skills of employees
in both these classifications are considerably less than those of the
machine repairmen A, B, and C, and the machinists assigned to the
machine repair shop and the several toolrooms.
The record shows that the toolroom vapor brazers, heat treat ana
hardeners, and the tool and die gage grinders employed in the main
t oolroom, the die grinders in the die repair room, the internal-external
grinders, milling machine operators, and engine lathe operators in the
model room are engaged almost continuously in the performance of
specialized machine operations requiring a high degree of skill in the
use of their respective machines, performing duties such as tool cutting
and treating. The record also 'shows that there are a number of
employees scattered throughout the Plymouth and Edwardsville
plants, such as turret lathe operators and shaft grinders, not sought
by the Petitioner, who possess comparable skills and perform work
similar to that of the af ore-mentioned employees.
The tool and gage inspectors and the master gage checker are located
in separate departments and have quarters apart from the toolroom
employees. They inspect dies, gages, and fixtures made by the tool and
die makers and machinists to ascertain whether such products con-
form to required tolerances. None performs any tool and die or
machinists' work. Although they must be skilled in the technique of
examining tools and dies for defects, it does not appear that they
possess or exercise the skill of tool and die makers, or machinists.
The Employer maintains a formal apprentice program for all its
tool and die makers and several classifications of machinists 4 Al-
though the record reveals that about 50 percent of all the employees
in the varied classifications sought by the Petitioner were transferred
to their present jobs from other plant positions, it is clear that a sub-
stantial number of employees in the tool and die maker and machinists
classifications were either hired as journeymen tool and die makers or
machinists, or progressed to such classifications after an apprentice-
ship or comparable on-the-job training.
It is likewise clear from the record that the tool and die makers,
toolroom machinists, machinists-machine builders, machine repair-
men, A, B, and C, and bench hands, model makers, sought herein per-
form the traditional work of the machinists craft and the related work
4 Each apprentice is required to complete a 4-year training course, or approximately
8,300 hours of training.
WAGNER ELECTRIC CORPORATION 819
of the tool and die makers craft, involving a high degree of craft
skill. Although some of them work alongside, or occasionally in
conjunction with, employees in other occupations, they nevertheless
work within the ambit of their own craft. We have held that em-
ployees engaged in craft work of a distinctive character although they
may work in close association with other employees, may constitute
separate bargaining units.5 Nor does it appear that the work of any
of the Employer's tool and die makers and the several classifications
of machinists is so integrated with its production process as to pre-
clude their severance.6 As factors of integration that could serve to
prevent the severance of these employees are not present in this case,
and because the tool and die makers, toolroom machinists, machine
repairmen A, B, and C, machinists-machine builders, and bench hands,
model makers, compose an indentifiable, homogeneous craft group,'
we find that they may be severed from the existing multiplant produc-
tion and maintenance group, notwithstanding the fact that some of
them perform production work exclusively s
As the toolroom vapor blast-brazers, heat treat and tool hardeners,
tool and die gage grinders, die grinders, internal-external grinders,
milling machine operators, and engine lathe operators, are engaged
in the performance of routine, repetitive operations not requiring the
exercise of true craft skills, we shall exclude them from the voting
group.9 We shall also exclude the machine repairmen, all-round,
machine repairmen-resident, die and gage inspectors, and the master
gage checker from the voting group because it is clear that they do not
possess or exercise the skill of craftsmen 1s
Accordingly, we shall direct an election in a voting group consisting
of all the Employer's employees classified as tool and die makers A, B,
and C, tool and die maker group leaders, toolroom machinists A, B,
and C, machinists-machine builders, machine repairmen A, B, and C,
bench hands, model makers, A, B, and C, and their apprentices, ex-
cluding toolroom vapor blast brazers, heat treat and tool hardeners,
tool and die gage grinders, die grinders, internal-external grinders,
milling machine operators, engine lathe operators, machine repair-
men, all-around, machine repairmen resident, tool and gage inspectors,
the master gage checker, all other employees, and supervisors as de-
fined in the Act.
If a majority vote for the Petitioner or the UE, they will be taken
'The Baldwin Locomotive Works, Eddystone Division, 89 NLRB 403, and cases cited
therein.
6 Raytheon Manufacturing Company , 98 NLRB 785.
7 Armstrong Cork Company , 97 NLRB 1057 , and case cited therein.
8 The Baldwin Locomotive Works, Eddystone Division, supra ; Raytheon Manufacturing
Company, supra.
9 Ford Motor Company, Aircraft Engine Division, 96 NLRB 1075; Jahn Trailer Division,
Pressed Steel Car Company, Inc., 96 NLRB No 123.
10 Ford Motor Company, Aircraft Engine Division, supra ; United States Time Corpora-
tion, 95 NLRB 941.
,820 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate appropriate
unit, and the Regional Director conducting the election directed here-
in is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the Peti-
tioner, or the UE, for the unit described above which the Board, under
such circumstances, finds to be appropriate for the purposes of col-
lective bargaining. In the event a majority vote for the IUE, the
Board finds the existing unit to be appropriate and the Regional Direc-
tor will issue a certificate of results of election to such effect.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
-volume.]
W. H. ANDERSON Co., INC. and MECHANICS EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY OF
AMERICA, PETITIONER . Case No. 7-RC-1685. June 19, 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 William E. Rhodes, 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 National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members
Styles and Peterson].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The Petitioner and Local 324, International Union of Operating
Engineers, AFL, the Intervenor herein, are labor organizations
claiming to represent certain employees of the Employer.
3. The Employer and the Intervenor contend that their current
contract is a bar to the petition for manufacturing department em-
ployees filed herein. We do not agree. This contract, executed after
a consent election on March 5, 1951, and renewed on January 10, 1952,
covers "all employees engaged in maintenance, installation, and repair
of construction machinery and equipment." Manufacturing depart-
ment employees have not been bargained for under this contract, nor
is there any evidence that the contracting parties intended, either at
the time the contract was made or when it was renewed, to embrace
them within its terms. Indeed, the manufacturing department, as
such, was not in existence when the original contract was executed.
Although approximately 25 employees were doing this type of work
at the time of the consent election, only 1 of them was placed on the
eligibility list and permitted to vote in the election. Accordingly,
99 NLRB No. 127.