Lord Manufacturing Co.

In the Matter of LORD MANUFACTURING COMPANY and UNITED RUBBER WORKERS OF AMERICA (C. I. 0.) Case No. R-5048. -Decided April 29, 1943 Mr. W. Pitt Gifford, of Erie, Pa., for the Company. Messrs. H. R. Lloyd and R. L. Cruden, of Akron, Ohio, and Mr. Stephen J. O'Connor, of Erie, Pa., for the Rubber Workers. Mr. John A. Spaeder, of Erie, Pa., for the Association. Miss Muriel J. Levor, of counsel to the Board. DECISION' AND , DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon an amended petition duly filed by United Rubber Workers of America,, (C. I. 0.), herein called the Rubber Workers, alleging that. a question affecting commerce had arisen-concerning the representation of employees of Lord Manufacturing Company, Erie, Pennsylvania,, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board pro-, vided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before S. Craig -Carnes, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Erie, Pennsylvania, on March 24, 1943. The Company, the Rubber Workers, and Lord, Employees Association; herein called the Association, appeared, par- ticipated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, 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 Lord Manufacturing Company, a Pennsylvania corporation, is engaged at its Erie, Pennsylvania, plant, in the manufacture of anti- vibration mountings and similar products. The principal raw mate- rials used by the Company are steel, aluminum, and monel. During the year 1942 the Company made purchases of raw materials amount- ing to $3,000,000, of which approximately 70 percent was shipped from points outside the State of Pennsylvania. During the same 49 N. L. R. B., No. 33. 273 I LORD mANi'UTFACTURIINM COMPANY 279 period manufactured products of this plant amounted to over $10,- 1_000000 in value, of which approximately 90 percent was shipped to points outside the State of Pennsylvania. For purposes of this proceeding the Company concedes that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED United Rubber Workers of America is a labor organization af- filiated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. Lord Employees Association is an unaffiliated labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION, On or about February 13, 1943, the Rubber Workers in a letter to the Company claimed to represent a majority of the Company's production and maintenance employees,' and requested a conference for, the purposes of collective bargaining. On or about February 18, 1943, the Company replied that it had an unexpired contract With the Association and that it could not recognize the Rubber Workers as a collective bargaining agent unless and until it was duly certified as such by the Board. ' The contract. referred to by the Company was executed by the Company and 'the Association on March 16, 1942. It provided that it was to remain in effect for 1 year and to be renewed automatically in the absence of thirty (30) days' notice of a desire to terminate or modify. However, neither the Company nor the Association assert the contract is a bar to an election. Since the Rubber Workers gave notice,of its representation claims prior to the automatic renewal of the contract, the contract does not constitute a bar to an investiga- tion of representatives. A statement of the Regional Director, introduced in evidence at the hearing, indicates that the Rubber Workers represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate .1 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 Rubber Workers claims as, an appropriate unit "all production and maintenance employees of the Company, excluding clerical, 1 The Regional Director reported that the Rubber workers submitted 599 cards, of which 427, all bearing apparently genuine original signatures , correspond with names on the Company's pay roll of March 6, 1943, containing 1,600 names. The Association submitted no evidence of representation and relies on its contract as evidence of interest in this proceeding. 280 DECISIONS OF NATLONAL LABOR RELATffONS BOARD supervisory, foremen and -guards, and also, excluding professional technical employees."- The Association contends the appropriate bargaining unit should be all hourly rated employees except 'fore- men, guards, salaried offices employees, - not including, however, office workers employed on an hourly rated basis in departmental offices located throughout the plants of the Company." -Although the terminology of their contentions is diverse, the controversy re- lates only to the inclusion in the unit of a group of 45 time or produc- tion clerks working in the plant, whom the Company desires to exclude as confidential employees, and of a small group of non-professional laboratory workers. Time Clerks: The,time clerks, who are hourly paid, work through- out the, plant. Their headquarters are offices located in the various manufacturing divisions. They divide their time between these of. ,fees and the manufacturing divisions proper where some of, them spend a majority. of their. time.. They, work directly under the supervision of the superintendent of the division in which their par- ticular, office is located. The time clerks' function is a liaison be- tween production work and the general offices. They receive time cards from the production employees. From these cards data is obtained- on the number of hours spent on the various types of work, which data is furnished to the cost department. They also obtain results of the machine inspection on ' the amount of work rejected, from which, together with the time cards, are worked up production records, which in turn are sent to the production control depart. ment., The time clerks do not set pay rates. On these facts we find no merit in the Company's contention that these employees are con- fidential, and since, although largely clerical, their work is closely related to production, we will include them in the unit of production and maintenance employee8.2 ' . Laboratory employees: These laboratory workers are non-profes- sional employees who have had only a high school education. They work under the supervision of a chemist. Although most of their time is spent in the laboratory, they also go out into the manufactur- ing divisions to get pieces of rubber or to obtain information or to pass on instructions from the chemist under whose direction they work. The Board has frequently found that employees with simi- lar status and duties should be included in a production unit.3 Ac- 2 Matter of The Edward Valve & Manufacturing Company, Inc. and Local Union No. 2498, Steel Workers Organizing Committee, C. I. 0., 38 N. L. R . B 428; Matter of Mueller Brass Company and United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers (U. A. W.-C. I. 0.), 39 N. L. R. B 167 ; Matter of General Steel Castings Corporation and Steel Workers Organizing Committee, C. I. 0., 41 N. L. R. B 350. 3 Matter of The Mathieson Alkali Works and District 50, United Mine Workers of Amer- ica, 38 N. L. R. B. 1084; Matter of MacAndrews & Forbes Company and Licorice & Paper Employees Association of Camden , New Jersey, 39 N. L. R B. 699. LORD, MANUFACTURING COMPANY 281 - cordingly, we shall-include these non-professional laboratory workers in the unit. - We find that all production and maintenance 'employees of the Company at its Erie, Pennsylvania, plant, including time clerks who work, throughout, the. plant and non-professional laboratory em; ployees, but excluding all supervisory employees, foremen and' assist- ant foremen, plant-protection,- professional technical, and office and clerical employees, 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 em- ployees 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 represent- atives for the purpose of collective bargaining with Lord Manufac- turing Company, Erie, Pennsylvania, 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, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the ' Sixth Region, act- ing 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 temporarily laid off, and including em- ployees in the armed forces, of the United States who present them- selves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by United Rubber Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or by Lord Employees Association, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.