American Steel Foundries

In the Matter of AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRIES and UNITED STEEL- WORKERS OF AMERICA, C. I. 0., LOCAL UNION 2775 Case No. R-5771.-Decided September 6, 1943 Pope d Ballard, by Mr. Charles R. Kaufman, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company. Mr. L. H. Thornton, of East Chicago, Ind., for the Union. Mrs. Augusta Spaulding, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by United Steelworkers' of, America, C. I. 0., Local Union 2775, herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of American Steel Foundries, Chicago, Illinois,, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before George S. Freu- denthal, Jr., Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chicago, Illinois, on July 30, 1943. The Company and the Union appeared, participated,, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to ex- amine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bear- ing on the issues., The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY American Steel Foundries operates nine plants located in Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Of these nine plants, The Cast Armor Plant and The Indiana Harbor Works, both of which are located at East Chicago, Indiana, are the only plants directly con- cerned in this proceeding. 52 N. L. R. B., No. 66. 432 AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRIES 433 The Cast Armor Plant, including the real estate, buildings, and facilities, is owned by the United States Government. The Company operates the plant, where it manufactures, distributes, and sells tank castings, gun mounts, railroad -castings, and other products on the order of the United States Government. During the year 1942 the Company purchased for use at this plant raw materials valued in excess of $1,000,000, of which approximately 75 percent was shipped to the plant from points outside Indiana. During 1942 sales of products manufactured at this plant exceeded $2,000,000, of which more than 90 percent represented products shipped outside Indiana. The Indiana Harbor Works is owned and operated by the Company for the production of steel castings. During 1942 the Company used at this plant raw materials valued in excess of $100,000, which were shipped to the plant from points outside Indiana. During the same period, sales of the products manufactured at this plant exceeded $100,000, of which more than 75 percent was for war use. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce, within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED United Steelworkers of America, Local Union 2775, is a labor or- ganization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On June 15, 1943, the Union asked the Company for recognition as exclusive bargaining representative of plant-protection employees at The Indiana Harbor Works and at The Cast Armor Plant. The Company refused to extend such recognition and suggested that the question of the appropriate unit or units should be submitted to the Board. On June 28, 1943, the Union filed the petition in this proceeding. A statement prepared by the Regional Director and introduced into evidence at the hearing indicates that the Union represents a sub- stantial number of employees in each of the units herein found appro- priate for bargaining. We find that questions affecting commerce have 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. 1 The Union submitted 73 cards, of which 56 appear to bear genuine signatures of plant- protection employees on the Company's pay rolls of July 2, 1943 Of the cards submitted by the Union 4, are undated and the others are dated in 1943. Thirty-five cards bear the names of employees at,The Cast Armor Plant and 21, the names of employees at The Indiana Harbor Works . There are approximately 60 non-supervisory employees at the former, and 23 at the latter, named plant. 434 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNITS The Company and the Union agree that plant-protection employees at The Cast Armor Plant and at The ' Indiana Harbor Works, re- spectively, constitute separate appropriate bargaining units. They further agree that the plant-protection chiefs should be excluded from the bargaining units. United Steelworkers of America is the recognized bargaining repre- sentative of production and maintenance employees, excluding certain craft groups, at The Indiana Harbor Works and at The Cast Armor Plant, respectively, in separate bargaining units. Such employees at the two plants are organized into separate local unions, affiliated with the parent body. United Steelworkers of America also represents production and maintenance employees at the Company's other plants throughout the country, such employees at each plant constituting a separate bargaining unit. On June 30, 1943,'United Steelworkers of America and the Company entered into a master collective bargaining agreement for the separate units of production and maintenance em- ployees at the nine plants, including the two plants herein concerned. This master contract and the several individual contracts for the sepa- rate production units specifically exclude watchmen. Plant-protection employees involved in the instant proceeding are outside the scope of the existing contracts between the Company and the United Steel- workers of America or its locals. The Indiana Harbor Works and The Cast Armor Plant are adjacent to one another. Each plant has its own superintendent and personnel manager. Although the senior executive personnel is the same, the plants are operated as separate units. Each plant maintains its own plant-protection force. There is no exchange of personnel between the two plants. Separate units for plant-protection employees at the two plants are clearly in accord with the present organizational pattern of collective bargaining for employees at the Company's several plants? The plant-protection employees at the two plants, including 10 women guards at The Cast Armor Plant, are armed employees of the Company and members of the auxiliary military police.3 They all wear distinctive insignia and most of them are uniformed. The plant- protection force at each plant is in charge of a chief guard and regular assistant chiefs. At The Indiana Harbor Works the chief guard is in special charge of the first shift and has general supervision over the entire force. Two regular assistant chiefs are in charge of the second and third shifts, respectively, while a third regular assistant chief re- lieves the chief and the two assistants on days off. At The Cast Armor i Cf. Matter of Chrysler Corporation, 46 N. L. R. B. 411. 3 Cf. Matter of Dravo Corporation, 52 N. L. R. B. 322. AMERICAN STEEL. FOUNDRIES 435 Plant there is a regular assistant chief directly in charge of each shift, subject to the general supervision of the chief guard. In the absence of the regular assistant chiefs, certain regular patrolmen are tem- porarily assigned as "acting assistant chiefs." They serve in this ca- pacity not more than 1 day per week. They perform their regular patrol duties. Chiefs, regular assistant chiefs, and their substitutes have the power to recommend discharges. Final decisions with re- spect to discharge must have the approval of the plant superintendent or the personnel manager. Chiefs and regular assistant chiefs are paid at a higher wage rate than ordinary patrolmen. Acting as- sistant chiefs are paid at the-same rate as ordinary patrolmen and have no title distinguishing them from ordinary patrolmen. The parties agree, and we find, that chiefs and regular assistant chiefs should be excluded from the unit. They further agree that "act- ing assistant chiefs" are ordinary patrolmen and should be included in the unit. Since acting assistant chiefs are essentially ordinary patrol- men, although they regularly substitute for assistant chiefs one day per week, we shall include them in the bargaining unit.4 We find that all plant-protection employees of the Company at The Cast Armor Plant and at The Indiana Harbor Works, respectively, including acting assistant chiefs, but excluding chiefs and regular as- sistail chiefs, constitute separate units 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 questions concerning representation which have arisen be resolved by separate elections by secret ballot among all employees of the Company in the respective units found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elections herein, subject to the limitations and additions 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 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 American Steel Foundries, Chicago, Illinois, separate elections by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from 4 Cf. Matter of Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company (Indiana Harbor Plant), 47 N. L. R. B. 391. 549875-44-vol 52-29 436 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among all em- ployees of the Company in the respective units 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 armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding employees who have since quit or been dis- charged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be repre- sented by United Steelworkers of America, C.I.O., Local Union 2775, for the purposes of collective bargaining. CHAIRMAN Mims took no part in the consideration of the above De- cision and Direction of Elections.