Charles E. Reed & Co.

In the Matter of CHARLES E. REED & Co. and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIA- TION OF MACHINISTS , DISTRICT 8, AFFILIATED WITH THE A. F. OF L. Case No. 13-R-2135.Decided Jamraary 5, 1944 Fyffe & Clarke, by Mr. John Harrington,,of Chicago, Ill., for the Company. Messrs. P. L. Siemiller and Russell R. Oddo, of Chicago, Ill., for the Union. Mr. Robert E. Tiliman, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by International Association of Machin- ists, District 8, affiliated with the A. F. of L., alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em- ployees of Charles E. Reed & Co., herein called the Company, the Na- tional Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before George S. Freudenthal, Jr., Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chicago, Illinois, on November 23, 1943. The Company and the Union 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 rulings of the Trial Examiner 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 I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Charles E. Reed & Co., an Illinois corporation, operates a machine shop in Chicago, Illinois. During the first 10 months of the year 1943 the value of the Company's products was in excess of $100,000, of which approximately 35 percent was shipped to firms outside the 54 N. L. R. B., No. 40. 322 CHARLES E. REED & CO. 323 State of Illinois. During the same period the Company purchased raw materials having a value in excess of $40,000 from warehouses within the State of Illinois. More than 50 percent of such raw ma- terials was originally purchased outside the State of Illinois by the Company's suppliers. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED International Association of Machinists, District 8, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, ad- mitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION OONCERNING REPRESENTATION By letter dated October 25, 1943, the Union notified the Company of its claim to represent a majority of the Company's employees and requested recognition as their exclusive bargaining representative. By letter dated October 28, 1943, the Company informed the Union that it would refuse to grant- such recognition unless and until the Union should be certified by the Board. A statement of the Regional Director, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found 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 Union petitions for a unit of all 'production and maintenance workers, excluding guards, office clerical employees, and supervisory employees with the power to hire, discharge, or otherwise affect the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action. The Com- pany has no objections to this proposed unit. The Union contends that Thomas J. Murphy should be excluded from the unit as a super- visory employee and that Thomas McKiernan should be included as a production employee. The Company takes no position as to Murphy and agrees that McKiernan should be in the production and maintenance unit. Thomas J. Murphy appears on the pay roll as the only employee under the classification "maintenance." His duties include the main- tenance and repair of machines and heating equipment. He is not ' The Regional Director stated that the Union had submitted to him 28 application-for- mPmhership cards, all bearing apparently genuine original signatures ; and that 27 of the cards bore names of persons whose names appeared on the Company 's November 12, 1943, pay roll, which listed 31 employees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate. 324 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD engaged in production except when, on occasion, he instructs new employees as to the operation of machines. Although not regularly in charge of a group of employees, Murphy has the power to hire and discharge, and when needed, acts in the capacity of foreman over the day or night shift. Other than Murphy, there are only two persons in the plant possessing supervisory powers, namely, the president and the plant superintendent. - We find that Murphy is clearly a supervisory employee, and we shall exclude him from the unit as such. Thomas McKiernan is one of three employees of the Company who are sworn into the auxiliary army police, the other two being Murphy, above, and a third employee who is a full-time guard. McKiernan is employed from 90 to 95 percent of his working time as a turret lathe operator, a production job. He is not uniformed but carries arms when acting in a guard capacity during the remainder of his working time. We find that McKiernan's major employment is in the capacity of a production employee and that, 'in such capacity, he has a suf- ficiently substantial interest in the selection of a collective bargaining representative for the production and maintenance employees, to war- rant his inclusion in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate. We do not regard the fact that he is employed as a militarized guard a very minor portion of the time as,an adequate reason to deny him the right to representation-in his capacity as a production and main- tenance employee. We shall include him in the unit. We find that all production and maintenance workers employed by the Company, including Thomas McKiernan, but excluding guards, office clerical employees, foremen, and other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote; discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of col- lective 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 our Direction of Elec- tion herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth therein. 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 Re- lations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, it is hereby CHARLES E. REED & CO. 325 DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain represen- tatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Charles E. Reed & Co., Chicago, Illinois, 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 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 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 employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on va- cation 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 those employees who have since quit or been dis- charged for cause, and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether or not they desire to be represeiited^by, Internat'ioiial 'Association of Machinists, Dis- trict 8, A. F. of L.,2 for the purposes of collective bargaining. CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election. 2 The Union expressed a preference at the hearing that its name appear on the ballot as set forth in the Direction of Election.