Crocker-Wheeler Electrical Manufacturing Co.

i In the Matter of JosIiuA H ENnY IuON WORrs, DivisioN, CROCKER- `PHEET. ELECTRICAL MANUFACTU RING COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL 1159 B, A. F. of L. Case No. R-5198.Decided May 18, 19Ir,3 Mr. Norbury C. Murray, of Newark, N. J., and Mr. C. R. Mason, of Ampere, N. J., for the Company. Messrs. T'honua L. Pdrsonnet and Earl Conrad, of Newark, N. J., for the I. B. E. W. Mr. Edward J. Abramson, of Newark, N. J., for the Independent. Miss Muriel J. Levor, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon amended petition duly filed by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1159 B, A. F. of L., herein called the I. B. E. W., alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Joshua Hendy Iron Works, Division, Crocker-Wheeler Electrical Manufacturing Com- pany,°Ampere, New Jersey, herein called the Company,l.the.National Liibor Relations Board provided for,an.appropriate;hearinguppn-due notice before Martin I. Rose, Trial Examiner.'. Said hearing was held at Newark, New Jersey, on April 13, 1943. ' The Company, the I. B. E. •W., and the Independent Workers Union of New Jersey, herein called the Independent, appeared, participated, and were af- forded 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 hearing are free from prejudicial error .and are-hereby affirmed. - Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : 'A motion was made and granted at the hearing to amend the petition and other documents to set forth the Company 's name as above 49 N. L. R. B., No. 122. 864 - ',JOSHUA HENDY IRON WORKS FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY 865, Joshua Hendy Iron Works, a Nevada corporation, has its principal office at Sunnyvale, California. It operates plants at Sunnyvale and Los Angeles, California, and a plant at Ampere, New Jersey, called the Plant herein, which is alone involved in this proceeding. The Plant formerly belonged to the Crocker-Wheeler Manufacturing Com- pany. Joshua Hendy Iron Works installed the new management in January 1943 and operates the plant as its Division, Crocker-Wheeler Manufacturing Company. The Company is engaged in the manufac- ture, sale, and distribution of electric motors and generators. The principal raw materials used by the Company at the Plant are copper and steel. During the 6-month period preceding April 2, 1943, the Company purchased and used at the Plant $3,000,000 worth of such materials, of which approximately 80 percent was shipped from points outside the State of New Jersey. During the same period the Com- pany manufactured, at the Plant, finished products of the approximate value of $4,500,000, of which 85 percent was shipped to points outside the,State of New Jersey. The Company concedes that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Brotherhood of-Electrical Workers, Local 1159'B, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor admitting to membership employees of the Company. Independent--Workers Union of New Jersey, is an unaffiliated labor ,organization, admitting to membership employees, of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On April 1, 1941 , the Crocker-Wheeler Electrical Manufacturing Company and the Independent entered into a contract recognizing the Independent as exclusive bargaining agent of Plant employees with certain, specified exceptions . This contract contained a,maintenance of membership clause and it provided that it was to remain in force for 1 year and to be renewed automatically in the absence of 30 days ' notice of desire to terminate. ' On or about February 23, 1943, the Independ- ent notified the Company , by letter, of its intention to reopen the con- tract to make changes, and on March 1, 1943, the Company acknowl- edged receipt of the letter and announced that it , too, desired to make changes. Prior to this exchange of letters , on February 10, 1943, the I. B. E, W. filed the petition herein, and on or about March 26, 1943, • 866 DECISIONS - OF NATIONAL ' LABOR RELATIONS BOARD advised the Company by =letter , that a new contract should not be executed until the question of representation had -been determined by the pending proceedings befoi 'e'the Board. - On March 31, 1943, the Company and the Independent entered- into a temporary agreement terminable on 30 clays ' notice to continue the terms of the expired con- tract, and which was expressly 'made subject to, these proceedings. Neither the Company nor the fiidependent asserts 'that the contract 'is a bar ,to an election . Under these circumstances ' the contract does not constitute a bar' to an investigation - of 'representatives. A statement of the Regional Director , uhtr6d aced in evidence at the 'hearing, indicates that the I. B. E. IV. ` submitted 343`,siboed'applica- tion-foi•=membership cards of which 297 , dated December 1; 1942,'to February 20, 1943, bearing apparently genuine origmuil signatures, correspond with names on the Company's. pay roll of February 22, 1943 , containing a total of 1 ,250 names in the unit hereinafter found appropriate. - ' ' We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the iepresentation of employees of the Company within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6)' and (7)" of the Aqt. IV. THE APPROPRL\TE UNIT- . The-parties stipulated that all production and maintenance em- ployees, including group leaders, stock clerks, checking clerks, ,pack= ing clerks, shipping clerks, receiving clerks, warehouse clerks, and drafting room employees, exclusive of executives, confidential secre- taries to executives, supervisory employees above'the rank' of foremen, foremen, assistant foremen, plant or chief en gineer,'chief electrician, guards, professional electrical and mechanical engineers,'chief drafts- man, office salaried subdivision heads and their assistants;'expediters, safety'engineers, nurses, sales engineers, salesmen, and training chief, constitute part of an appropriate bargaining unit. There is a con- troversy concerning the inclusion of certain categories of employees hereinafter discussed. , -01fice Clerical, Shop Clerical, and Production Control Employees The 'I. B. E. W., which does not admit them to membership, desires the exclusion of clerical employees whether employed in the general office or doing work which the Company designates as shop clerical or production control. The Independent and the Company contend that clerical employees of all types should be,included in the unit. Such employees were included in the coverage of the,ekpired contract referred to above. The problems of the employees in dispute differ considerably from .those of production` and maintenance employees, and in consequence JOSHUA HENDY IRON WORKS 867 it has been the Board's general policy to exclude-them from production and maintenance units because of the obvious functional differences.' The production control group herein contains timekeepers who_tinle production employees-with stopwatches, and rate setters who set pay rates. - We shall exclude all three groups of these clerical employees from the production and maintenance unit.' Powerhouse E'mpio.yees Both the I. B. EA. W. and the Independent desire the inclusion of,the powerhouse employees. The Company contends that they should be excluded from the production) unit. Powerhouse employees are clearly'maintenailce employees whom it has been our custom to include unless special circumstances are present. None appears here. We shall include powerhouse employees.4 the find that all production and maintenance enlployees,of •the Com- pany at its Ampere, New Jersey, plant,, including powerhouse em- ployees, group leaders, stock clerks, checking clerks, packing clerks, 'shipping clerks, receiving clerks, warehouse clerks, and drafting room employees, but excluding executives, confidential secretaries to execu- -tives, supervisory employees above the rank of foremen, fohemen, assistant foremen, plant or chief engineer, chief electrician, guards, professional electl;ical.and mechanical engineers, office and shop cleri- cal and-production control employees, the chief draftsman, office sala- ried subdivision ]leads and their assistants, expediters, safety engineers, nurses, sales engineers, salesmen,' and the training chief, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. - V. THE DETEIRMINATION, 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 prover vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 3'rhese employees do not peeaform manual labor and are clerical employees in it true sense Their duties are theiefoie distinguishable from those of the employees whom the parties concede constitute part of the appropriate unit 3Cannon Manufacta,and Cotpei-at+on and Cannon Electrical Developnaeat Coinpanit and United Electaical, Radio me Machine lrorkeis of Ameuuca, Local 1421, C. 1. 0., 46 N. L It B, 392 4 Mills Noaa;lty Coaalurny and Independent Enapln ice s 4 aocaation, 46 N L R B , 1207 531647-43-vol. 49-56 868 DECI SIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIOc S BOARD 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 purpose of collective bargaining with Joshua Hendy Iron Works, Division , Crocker-Wheeler Electrical Manufacturing Com- pany, Ampere, New Jersey, an election by secret ballot shall be con- ducted 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 Second 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 im mediately preceding the date of this Direction , including employees who did not work during said pay- roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the arined forces of the United States who present themselves 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 International Brotherhood of Elec- trical Workers, Local 1159 B, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, or by Independent Workers - Union of -New Jersey, for the purposes of collective 'bargaining, or by neither. MR.,GERARD D. REILLY too no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election. I'