Commercial Solvents Corp.

In the Matter Of COMMERCIAL SOLVENTS CORPORATION and LOCAL UNION 12504, DISTRICT 50, UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA Case No. R-4312.-Decided October 29, 1912 Jurisdiction : chemical products manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re- fusal to accord petitioner recognition until certified by the Board ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em- ployees at one of Company's plants, with specified inclusions and exclusions. Wicker, Riddell, Bloomer, Jacobi, and McGuire, by Mr. Herbert J. Jacobi, of New York City, for the Company. Mr.-John M. White, of Peoria, Ill., for the Union. Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition and amended petition duly filed by Local Union 12504,. District 50, United Mine Workers of America, herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Commercial Solvents Corporation,. Peoria, Illinois, herein called the Company, the National Labor Rela- tions Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Lester Asher, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Peoria Illinois, on September 25, 1942. The Company and the Union ap- peared, participated, and 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 hear- ing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. On October 12, 1942, the Company filed a brief which the Board has considered. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Commercial Solvents Corporation is a Maryland corporation operat- ing plants in the States of Illinois, Indiana, California, and Louisiana. 45 N. L. R. B., No. 29. 141 142 - DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR 'RELATIONS BOARD We are here concerned with its plant at Peoria, Illinois, where it is engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of organic chemical products, their derivatives, and byproducts. During 1941 the Com= pany purchased raw materials for use at its Peoria plant valued in excess of $2,500,000, approximately 25 percent of which was shipped to it from outside Illinois. During the same period the Company sold finished products from its Peoria plant valued in excess of. $5,000,000, over 90 percent of which was shipped-out of Illinois. H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Local-Union 12504, District 50, United Mine Workers of America, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On August 5, 1942, the Union, claiming to represent a majority of the Company's employees, requested the Company for a collective bargaining conference. The Company replied that it would do noth- ing about the request until such time as the Board determined the bargaining representative of its employees. A statement of the Regional Director, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicates that the Union- represents a substantial number of the employees in the unit alleged by it to be 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 National Labor Relations Act. - IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union urges that all production and maintenance employees at the Peoria plant of the Company, including watchmen, but ex- cluding superintendents, foremen, office and clerical employees, labo- ratory employees, timekeepers, all employees in the powerhouse, engi- neers in the methanol and dry ice departments, master mechanic, chief electrician, maintenance engineer, steam engineers, chief bac- teriologist, chief chemist, general foremen, assistant general foremen, shift supervisors, and shipping foremen, constitute an appropriate unit. The parties are in dispute as to the status of 50 foremen and assistant foremen,2 storekeeper, millers, shipping clerk, assistant ship- The Regional Director reported that the Union presented 280 membership application cards bearing apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear on the Com- pany's pay roll of September 14, 1942. There are 461 employees on that pay roll who are in the alleged appropriate unit. ° S These persons are designated by the Company as pipefitter foremen, rigger foremen, assistant rigger foremen, carpenter foremen,. labor foremen, assistant electrical foremen, COMMERCIAL SOLVENTS CORPORATION 143 ' ping clerk, denaturing plant and bonded warehouse -foremen and Government record clerk, laboratory employees, draftsmen, meter maintenance man, inventory and Government drawings clerk, and priorities clerk. The Union would exclude all such employees from the unit and the Company would include them. In addition, the Company would include all employees in the powerhouse and-engi- neers in the methanol and dry ice departments in the unit. On June 3, 1942, the Board, in another proceeding involving the Company, found that all employees in the powerhouse and engineers in the methanol and dry ice departments employed in the Company's Peoria plant, excluding non-working supervisors, constitute an appro- priate unit.3 The Company now contends that such employees should be part of a larger plant-wide unit. As stated above,' the Union desires that such employees be excluded from the unit in the instant proceeding. Under all the circumstances, we shall exclude employees in the powerhouse and engineers in the methanol and dry ice depart- lnents.from the unit. The Company employs about 50 persons classified by it as various types of foremen or assistant foremen. The record indicates that the foremen involved herein are charged with the duty of seeing that the work assigned to the departments in which they work is properly carried out and they transmit orders from department heads to all other employees in their respective departments. The assistant fore- men work along with the other employees in the departments and are under the supervision of the foremen discussed above. The assistant foremen spend a great deal more time actually performing manual duties than do the foremen. Under all the circumstances, we shall include the assistant foremen in the unit and exclude the foremen from the unit. Laboratory employees.-The Company maintains a bacteriological laboratory and a chemical laboratory at its Peoria plant. The parties agree to exclude the chief bacteriologist and the chief chemist from the unit. In addition, the Union would exclude all laboratory em- ployees from the unit. The laboratories in the plant are not scientific research laboratories used for experimental purposes, but are main- tained for the purposes of making routine tests and checks on the ma- terials used in the various manufacturing processes. Most 'of the laboratory employees have no technical training and they are in the medium or low-wage brackets at the Company's plant.' We shall in- clude-the laboratory employees in the unit.- - machine shop foremen, assistant machine shop foremen, repair foremen, millwright foremen, mill and feed plant repair foremen , working shift foremen, assistant working shift fore- men, mill foremen, working foremen, first operators , shift foremen , and watchmen foremen. "Matter of Commercial Solvents Corporation and Joint Council of Local Union No. 8 of International Union of Operating Engineers, affiliated with--the A. F of L, et al, 41 N. L. R. B. 642. 144 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Draftsmen.-The Company has one employee designated by it as chief draftsman and two as assistant draftsmen . These employees work in the Company's office building and draw plans and blue prints. Inasmuch as their work .is technical and clerical in nature , we shall exclude' them from the unit. . Meter maintenance man.-The Union contends that this person should be excluded from the unit on the ground that he is a clerical employee. Although this employee has an office in the office building, he spends most of his time in the plant repairing meters and automatic control instruments. We shall include him in the unit. Inventory and Government drawings clerk.-This person performs no manual duties but spends his time obtaining information and study- ing inventories . In addition , he has charge of drawings which are submitted to the United States Government. We shall exclude him from the unit. - Priorities clerk.-This person is charged with the duty of obtaining priorities for plant equipment which entails the performance of clerical functions. We shall exclude him from the unit. Head storekeeper.-`hhe record indicates that this person has five persons under him to whom he transmits orders. We shall exclude him from the unit. Millers.-The Union contends that such employees are supervisory and should be excluded from the unit . The millers watch the flow of grain from the elevators to the mills and regulate the amount of steam used in the softening processes. Although they do have helpers, their supervision over them is no greater than that,exercised by other employees, admittedly in the unit, over their helpers. We shall in- clude the millers in the unit. Shipping clerk and assistant shipping and anti-freeze inventory clerk..The duties of this employee are admittedly clerical in nature, and we shall therefore exclude him from the unit. Government record clerk and bonded warehouse foreman.-This employee keeps a record of all inventory in the Company 's bonded warehouses and also weighs and mixes alcohol in the denaturing plant. He spends about 50 percent of his time performing clerical duties and, in addition, has some supervisory powers. We shall exclude him from the unit. We find that all production and maintenance employees at the Peoria, Illinois, plant of the Company, including watchmen , assist- ant foremen,' laboratory employees , meter maintenance man, and millers, but excluding superintendents , office and clerical `employees, master mechanic, chief electrician , timekeepers , maintenance engi- neer, steam engineer , chief bacteriologist , chief chemist , general fore- men, assistant general. foremen, shift supervisors, shipping foremen; See footnote 2, supra. COMMERCIAL SOLVENTS CORPORATION 145 foremen,5 draftsmen, inventory and Government drawings clerk, pri- orities clerk, head storekeeper, shipping clerk, assistant shipping and anti-freeze inventory clerk, and Government record clerk and bonded warehouse foreman, employees in the powerhouse, and engineers in the methanol and dry ice departments, 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 employees 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 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 Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of -collective bargaining with Commercial Solvents Corporation, Peoria, Illinois, an election by secret ballot - shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty 00) 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, 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 any such employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or training of the United States, or temporarily. aid off; but exclud- ing any who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to deter- mine whether or not they desire to be represented by Local Union 12504, District 50, United Mine Workers of America, for the pur-' poses of collective bargaining. MR. GERARD D. REH.LY took no part in- the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election. . See footnote 2, supra. 493508-43-vol. 45-10