Toledo Scale Co.

In the Matter of TOLEDO SCALE COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT & AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORK- ERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL 12, C. I. O. Case No. R-413,52.-Decided November 9, 1941 Jurisdiction : weighing and measuring equipment manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question:., refusal of recognition to any organization until certified by the Board ; con- tract with craft about to expire and not asserted as a bar, no bar; elections necessary. - Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : determination of single or separate units dependent upon results of elections conducted among (1) polishers and platers and (2) plant employees. - Mr. Richard C. Swander, for the Board. Mr. Henry R. Bloch, of Toledo, Ohio, for the Company. Mr. Lowell Goerlich, Mr. Richard Gosser and Mr. Walter Murphy, of Toledo, Ohio, for the U. A. W-C. I. O. Mr. Earl' S. Streeter and Mr. Tor Cedervall, of Toledo, Ohio, for the M. E. S. A. Mr. R. H. Danner and Mr. William H. Gardiner, of Toledo, Ohio, for the Polishers. Mr. C. R. Webb, of Toledo, Ohio, for the Independent. Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board. DECISIONS AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by International Union, United Auto- mobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Local 12, C. I. 0., herein called the U. A. W.-C. I. 0., alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representa- tion of employees of Toledo Scale Company, Toledo, Ohio, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Henry J. Kent, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Toledo, Ohio, on October 5 and 6, 1942. The Board, the Company, the U. A. W.-C. I. 0., 45 N. L R. B, No. 70. 472 TOLEDO SCALE COMPANY 473 Mechanics Educational Society of America, herein called the M. E. S. A., Metal, Buffers, Polishers, Platers & Helpers, Local 2, herein called the Polishers, and Scale Workers of Ohio, Inc., herein' called the Independent, appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine wit- nesses, 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. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Toledo Scale Company is a New Jersey corporation with its prin- cipal place of business at Toledo, Ohio, where it is engaged . in the manufacture of scales and other precision weighing and measuring instruments., During 1941 the Company purchased raw materials valued in excess of $1,000,000, 50 percent of which was shipped to it from outside of Ohio. During the same period the Company sold finished products valued in excess of $1,000,000, 90 percent of which was shipped out of Ohio. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural ImplementWorkers of America, Local 12, is a labor organization ;affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, idmitting to membership employees of the Company. Mechanics Educational Society of America is a labor organization affiliated with the Confederated Unions of America, admitting to membership employees of the Company. Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers & Helpers, Local 2, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company. Scale Workers of Ohio, Inc., is an unaffiliated labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION During June 1942 the U. A. W.-C. I. O. requested the Company to recognize it as the exclusive representative of certain of the Com- pany's employees. The= Company denied the request, stating that it was operating under contracts with the Independent and the -Polishers., On October 18 and December 3, 1941, respectively, the 'Independent and the Polishers entered into exclusive contracts with 474 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the Carripany-'covering certain of the Company's employees. These contracts expire 'on, October 18 and November, 1, 1942, respectively. None.of,,the.parties'.contends that the contracts constitute a bar' to a determination of representatives at this time. A statement of a' Field Examiner of the Board, introduced into evidence at the.hearing, indicates that the U. A. W.-C. I. O. and the M. E. S. A. each represents 'a'substantial number of the employees in the unit alleged by each 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 Act. . IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The U. A. -W.-C. I. O. contends that all employees at, plants '1 and 2 of the Company, excluding employees in the engineering, methods, stock-recording, and purchasing departments, supervisory and clerical' employees, superintendents, , confidential employees, plant protec- tion :employees,, time-study employees, and personnel department employees, constitute an appropriate unit. The Independent contends that all employees of the Company, excluding employees in the plating and polishing department, supervisory and clerical employees, super- intendents, confidential employees, plant protection employees, time- study employees, and personnel department employees, constitute an appropriate unit. The Polishers urge that all employees in the polishing and plating department, excluding supervisory employees, constitute an, appropriate., The M. E. S. A. contends that all em- ployees in the special machine, tool room, methods, and engineering departments, but excluding time-study men, supervisory and con- fidential employees, and employees in the electrical laboratory, con- stitute an appropriate bargaining unit. The Company agrees with the unit as requested by the Independent and would also set up employees in the polishing arid plating department- as, a separate unit. The Polishers have had two successive exclusive collective bargain- ing agreements with the Company covering employees in the polishing and plating department. Neither the Independent nor the M. E. S. A. claims any of the employees in the polishing and plating department. However, the U. A. W.-C. I. O. would include such employees in the plant-wide unit. Employees in the polishing and plating department 'The Field Examiner reported that the U . A W.-C. I. 0. presented 145 ledger cards bearing apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of June 12, 1942 He* further reported that the M. E S A . presented 48 authorization cards beating apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear on the Company 's pay roll of June 12, 1942 . There are approximately 490 employees in the unit urged by the U. A W -C I 0 and 107 employees in the unit urged by the M. E. S. A. The Independent and the Polishers presented their , contracts with the' Com- pany as evidence of their representation among the employees . The M. E S. A. presented 11 additional authorization 'cards to the Trial Examiner at the hearing. TOLEDO SCALE COMPANY 475 are skilled employees and work in a department of the plant separated from the other employees. In view of the nature of the duties and the history of collective bargaining,. these employees could function either as a separate unit or as a part of a single industrial unit. An ,election will, be held among, the employees in the polishing and- plating department, excluding supervisory employees; to determine whether they wish to be represented by the Polishers, by the U. A. W.-C. I. 0., or by neither. On the results of this election will depend in part the appropriate unit. If these employees select a bargaining repre- sentative other • than the representative selected by the employees in the plant-wide industrial. unit they will constitute a separate and dis- tinct appropriate unit; if they choose the same representative as the employees in the plant-wide industrial unit they will be merged into a single unit with such employees. The unit urged by the M. E. S. A. Would conflict with the desires of the U. A. W.-C. I. O. and the Independent. All employees in the unit urged by the M. E. S. A. have been covered by two successive collective bargaining contracts between the Company and the Inde- pendent along with other employees of the Company on a plant-wide basis. The record indicates that the Independent and.the U. A. W.- C. I. O. each represents a number of the employees in the unit urged by the M. E. S. A. In view of the history of collective bargaining between the Company and the Independent covering the employee's urged by the M.' E. S. A. along with the other employees of the Com- pany, we believe that the unit urged by the M. E. S. A. is inappropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, and we so find. The U. A. W.-C. I. O. and the Independent are in dispute as to the disposition to be made of "factory office" employees. The factory office employees work in the engineering, methods, stock-recording and planning,, purchasing, traffic, and inspection departments. The U. A. W.-C. I. O. would exclude all such employees from the unit and the Independent would include them. All such employees have been covered by the collective bargaining agreements between the Company and the Independent alluded to above. In view of this 'fact, we shall include such employees in the unit. The only other controversy with respect to the unit concerns time- keepers. All parties are agreed that confidential employees should be excluded from the unit and such employees were excluded in the con- tracts between the Company and the Independent. The Company and the Independent contend that the timekeepers are confidential employ- ees. The U. A. W.-C. I. O. disputes this contention and urges the inclusion of the timekeepers in the unit. The timekeepers were ex= ,eluded as confidential employees in the contracts between the Com- pany and' the Independent. We shall exclude the timekeepers from ,the unit. 476 DECISIONS OF 'N'ATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD In accordance with the unit established by the' contracts between the Independent and the Company, we find that all hourly and piece- work employees of the Company, including employees in the engineer- ing,• methods, stock-recording and planning, purchasing, traffic, and inspection departments at plants 1 and 2 of the Company, excluding superintendents, foremen, assistant foremen, department heads, as- sistant department heads, plant protection employees, time-study em- ployees, personnel department employees, confidential employees, and timekeepers, may properly constitute a unit appropriate for the pur- poses of collective bargaining which would insure to employees of the -Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. As indicated above, employees in the polishing and plating department may or may not be included within such unit depending on the results of an election which we shall order. We therefore make no final determination of the appropriate unit or units pending the election to be conducted among the employees in the polishing and plating department. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Polishers requests that it be certified on the basis of the record. However, we have heretofore decided that a separate election is necessary to determine the collective bargaining representative for the employees in the polishing and plating department. We further find that the question concerning representation of the employees in the industrial unit can best be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot. The request of the M.E. S. A. to appear on the ballot in the industrial unit in the event its proposed unit was found in- appropriate, is granted. The M. E. S. A. urges that a pay roll of September 30 or October 3, 1942, be used to determine eligibility to vote. The U. A. W.- C. I. O. and the Polishers request that a current pay roll be used for that purpose. Neither the Company nor the Independent took any position with respect to the eligibility date. Since no reason appears why we should depart from our usual practice, we shall direct that employees eligible to vote in the elections shall be those employees who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preced- ing the date of the Direction of Elections herein, subject to the additions and limitations set forth in the Direction. DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Re- _ lations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor TOLEDO SCALE COMPANY 477 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 Toledo Scale Company, Toledo, Ohio, elections by secret ballot shall be conducted as soon 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 Eighth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sec- tion 10, of said Rules and Regulations : 1. Among all employees in the polishing and plating department at plants 1 and 2 of the Company who were employed during the pay- roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, includ- ing employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they, were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or training of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding supervisory employees and employees who- have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be repre- sented by Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers & Helpers, Local 2, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, or by International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Work- ers of America, Local 12, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. 2. Among all hourly and piece-work employees at plants 1 and 2 of the Company who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the. date of this Direction, including em- ployees in the engineering, methods, stock-recording and planning, purchasing, traffic, and inspection departments, and employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or training of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding superintendents, fore- men, assistant foremen, department heads, assistant department heads, plant protection employees, time-study employees, personnel department employees, confidential employees, timekeepers, employees in the polishing and plating department, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Local 12, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or by Mechanics Educational Society of America,, affiliated with the Con- federated Unions of America, or by Scale Workers of Ohio, Inc., for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by none of said organizations.