Ordnance Steel Foundry Co.

I In the Matter of ORDNANCE • STEEL FOUNDRY COMPANY and PATTERN MAKERS LEAGUE OF NoRTII AMERICA, QUAD CITIES ASSOCIATION,. A. F. OF L. Case No. R-4673.-Decided February 2, 1943 Jurisdiction : steel castings manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question-: re- fusal to recognize because of alleged exiting contract; contract executed pursuant to certification following consent election which parties agreed should be conducted among production and maintenance workers and therefore included the pattern makers held no bar to a present determination of repre- sentation among such craft employees, when pattern makers' union which had membership among such employees was not notified at any stage of the pro- ceedings, was not a party thereto, and appropriateness of pattern makers, as a separate unit was not in issue ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all pattern makers and their ap- prentices held a separate appropriate unit or part of an existing industrial unit; determination dependent upon result of election. Mr. George Branston, of Bettendorf; Iowa, for the Company.' Mr. Roy E. Rogers, of Hammond, Incl., for the P. M. L. Meyers & Meyers, by Mr. Ben Meyers, of Chicago, Ill., for the C. 1. 0. Dlr. Joseph E. Gubbiti8, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by Pattern Makers League of North Amer- ica, 'Quad Cities Association, affiliated; with the A. F. of L., herein ,called the P. M. L., alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation, of employees of Ordnance Steel Foundry Company, Bettendorf, Iowa, herein-called the Company, the National Labor Relatioans Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Harry Brownstein, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Davenport, Iowa; on December 16, 1942. , The Company, the P. M. L., and United Farm Equipment and Metal Work- ers of America, affiliated with the C. I. O:, herein called the C. I. 0., appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, 47N L.R B,No.26, 513024-43-vol 47-18 - 273 274 DECISIO\S OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing upon 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 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Ordnance Steel Foundry Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Campbell, Want & Cannon Foundry, Company, Muskegon, Michi- gan, is an Iowa, corporation. The Company is located at Bettenclorf, Iowa, occupying property under lease to the United States Govern- ment, where it is engaged in the manufacture of steel castings under time and subcontract for the war program. The principal ra%v materials used are steel scrap, pig iron, and sand, the cost of which is in excess of $1,000,000 annually. Approximately 50 percent of these raw materials are shipped from sources originating outside of the State of Iowa. The products manufactured annually by the 'Company are valued at approximately $2,000,000, all of which are shipped directly or indirectly to destinations located outside the State of Iowa. H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Pattern Makers League of North America, Quad Cities Associa- tion, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and United Farm Equipment and Metal Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, are labor organizations, admit- ting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On August 19, 1942, the C. I. 0., the Metal Trades Department, A. F. of L., and the Company entered into an agreement for a consent election. The consent election was held on September 2, 1942, and the C. I. O. was selected by the employees of the Company as their, bargaining representative. On October 4, 1942, the C. I. O. and the ,Company entered into negotiations for a collective bargaining con- tract which was signed on November 30, 1942, subject to the approval of the National War Labor Board, and by its terms was made retro- active to October 4, 1942. The contract covers substantially the same unit as was agreed upon by the parties to the consent, election ; it is to be in effect for 1 year, and to continue from year to year thereafter subject to a 30 days' termination clause. The pattern makers are included in the contract. `ORDNANCE STEEL FOUNDRY COMPANY 275 The P. M. L. contends that the existing contract is not a bar to the present'question of representation, as claimed by the C. I. O. and the Company, since it'had no notice of the consent election and there- fore was unable to participate therein. The record shows that the P. M. L. had no knowledge of the negotiations leading up to the agreement for the consent election but several of its members saw the notices of the election posted in the plant a week previous to the election. Although the, pattern makers had the right to vote in the election,Jthe record shows that they decided not to vole because they were not represented on the ballot. The record further shows that many attempts were made by the members of the P. M. L. to have the Company meet with them but not until they staged a 2-hour work stoppage did the Company grant them their request. At the meet- ing the Company advised them that it was bound by the resul^s of the consent election and the contract entered into 'with the C. I. O. subsequently. The P. M. L. filed its petition on October 7, 1942. As stated above, when the parties entered into an agreement for a consent election, the P. M. L. had membership among the Company's pattern makers but received no notice of the proceeding and was not a-party thereto. Since the parties to the consent election also agreed that the appropriate unit should include all production and main- tenance employees; the pattern makers were included in the unit and the appropriateness of a separate unit of pattern makers was not in, issue.' - Under all the circumstances, we find that the existing contract is not a bar to a present determination of representatives of the Com- pany's pattern makers and apprentices. Evidence introduced by the P. Al. L. at the hearing indicates that the P. M.'L. represents a substantial number of employees in the unit it alleges to be appropriate.2 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 DETERMINATION OF I4RPRESENTATIVES The P. M. L. contends that the pattern makers and their apprentices by reason of their distinctive craft constitute an appropriate unit for 'Matter of Benduv Products Division of Bend'w Aviation Corporation and Pattern Makers League of North America, South Bend Association, A F of L, 39 N L R. B 81 2 The evidence consists of a statement pi epared by an cffi^inl of the P M L which shows that 11 of its members were in the emplov of the Company on or before November 18, 1942 There was testimony to the effect that 10 membership cards were submitted to the Re,ponal Diiccto', all of which hole appaiently _-enuine signatures Sven cards were dated October 12; 2 were dated October 14, and 1 unc'a*ed All bore names of persons listed on the Company's pay roll of December 13, 1942. The proposed unit would consist of 18 employees 276 DEICISI6NS OF NATIONAL. LABOR RELATIONS BOARD bargaining. The C. I. O. and the Company contend that if a question of representation does exist, the unit should consist of all employees in the pattern department, including the pattern clerk and'the pattern storage laborers. The pattern clerk and pattern .storage, laborers- are not skilled employees, as are the pattern makers, the-pattern clerk does work which is clerical in nature while the pattern storage laborers are engaged in semi-skilled work of a different nature. We have held in numerous cases that pattern makers form a clearly definable unit.' We accordingly find that the pattern makers and their apprentices may properly form an appropriate. unit if they so desire. We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the pattern makers and pattern makers' apprentices employed at the Company's Betten- dorf, Iowa, plant, excluding supervisors, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of Election, subject.to the limitations and additions set forth therein. If the pattern makers and their apprentices select the, P. M. L., they will thereby have indicated their desire to constitute a separate unit. If they select the C. I. 0., such employees will have thereby indicated their desire to be included in the unit with the general production and maintenance group and will be a part of such unit.' DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant of 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 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Ordnance Steel Foundry Company, Bettendorf, Iowa, 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 of Election, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Eighteenth 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 all the pattern makers and pattern makers' apprentices who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees wlio did not work during said pay-roll, period because'they were ill or on vacationf'or" temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding 3 Matter of Bethlehem Steel Company (Shipbuilding Dwiston) and Pattern Makers League of North America, Ncw York Association, 40 N L It B 922. I In this event we shall order the petition dismissed ORDNANCE STEEL, FOUNDRY COMPANY 277 any who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by Pattern Makers League of North America, Quad Cities Association, A.. F. of L., or by United Farm Equipment and Metal Workers of America, C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above Decision ,and Direction of Election. i