J. H. Williams & Co.

In the Matter of J. H. WILLIAMS & CO. and UNITED OFFICE: AND PROFESSIONAL WORIKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL 64, (CIO) Case No. 3-B-783.-Decided July 2,, 1944 Kenefek, Cooke, Mitchell, Bass and Letchworth, by Messrs. Lyman A1. Bass and Legrand Kirk, both of Buffalo; N. Y., for the Company. Mr. David Diamond, of Buffalo, N. Y., for the Union. Mr. Joseph C. Wells, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by United Office and Professional Workers of -America, Local 64 (CIO), herein palled the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of J. H. Williams & Co., Buffalo, New York, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Peter J. Crotty, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Buffalo; New York, on May 18 and 23,1944. The Company and the Union appeared and participated., All parties were afforded 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. All parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board. - - Upon the entire record in; he case, the Board Snakes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF TIIE COMPANY J. H. Williams & Co. is a New York corporation engaged in the manufacture and sale of drop forgings and hand tools. The Com- pany operates' its only plant and has its principal offices at Buffalo, New York. The Company annually uses raw materials having a total value in excess of $1,000,000, about one-third of which is shipped to, 57 N. L. R. B., No. 104. 634 J., H. WILLIAMS' & co. 635 the Buffalo plant from points outside the State of New York. The Company's annual sales have a total value in excess of $10,000,000, of which 'about 90 percent represents shipments to points outside' the State.` The Company employs approximately 2,000'employees. • The- Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED United , Office and Professional Workers of America, Local 64,, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has-refused-to grant recognition to the Union as the exclusive bargaining representative of its employees until the Union has- been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. A statement of a Board ageht, introduced into evidence at the hear- ing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of em- ployees in the unit hereinafter found 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 requests in its petition that the Board find appropriate a unit comprised' of all office, clerical, and professional employees of the Company, excluding supervisory employees." The Company con-' tends that the employees for whom the Union petitions in this pro- ceeding should comprise two separate units consisting of main office clerical employees and factory clerical employees. The Company further contends that one chemist,-two metallurgists, and three time- study employees of the Company should be excluded from the unit or the units which the Board finds to be appropriate.' ' The Field Examiner reported that the Union submitted 71 application for membership cards ; that the names of 66 persons appearing on the cards were listed on the Company's pay roll which contained the names of 215 employees in the appropriate unit ; and that 3 of these cards were dated'December 1943 , 18 dated January 1944, 7 dated February 1944, 36 dated March 1944 , and 2 dated April 1944. Pursuant to a request of the Company made at the hearing , the Trial Examiner, after the hearing, made a check of the cards against the Company's pay roll of clerical employees in the main office , the parties having consented to reserve an exhibit number for his report thereon. The -Trial Examiner's report, marked Board Exhibit No. 4, is hereby received in evidence. This report shows that 13 of the cards submitted by the Union bore appar- ently genuine signatures of employees among the, 93 clerical employees in the main office building .departments. 2 The original petition of the Union did not use the word "professional " in its descrip- tion of the unit requested At the hearing the Trial Examiner granted the Union's motion to amend its petition to include the word "professional." 636' DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD - 9 The Company recognizes Local No. 1183, United Steelworkers of America (CIO), as the-,bargaining representative of its production and maintenance workers, including clerical employees in 'the ware- house and shipping office, but excluding, inter alia, die sinkers, who are represented by Local 90, international Die Sinkers Conference, and all the factory and main office clerical employees here involved. The- Company and the Union agree that the unit involved in this proceed- ing should not include any of the employees represented by the organ- izations named. I ' The main office clerical employees are hired and supervised by the head of the department of the main office' in which they are to be employed. Factory clerical employees are hired through the factory personnel office and in general their work is supervised-by production supervisors.- Main office clerical employees are paid on a salary basis, while some factory clerical employees are paid on a salary basis and others on an hourly basis. The main office clerical employees and about half of the factory clerical employees use a time clock located at the' main office, while the remainder of thefitetory clerical,employees: iise',`' factory time clocks. The main office clerical employees work at the main office, while the factory clerical employees work in offices located in the various factory buildings. However, the main office building and the factory building of the Company are all located in the Com- pany's plant area, the' dimensions of which preclude a ,geographical separation of employees by more than approximately 350 yards. It is undisputed that both main office and factory clerical employees perform comparable duties requiring similar skill and ability and are subject to the same over-all labor relations control. In view of these facts, it is evident that all the clerical employees can effectively be repre- sented in a single bargaining unit. The differences between the office and factory groups are, in our opinion, insufficient to require their = segregation in two separate units. Accordingly, we will include both main office and factory clerical employees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate. Subject to their dispute as to whether there should be one unit or two, the parties stipulated that the appropriate unit should comprise all office and clerical employees including, inter alia, draftsmen, the matron,- and the nurses, as well as employees in certain other specific categories.3 The parties further agreed to exclude from the unit executives, supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline or otherwise effect changes in the status of em- ployees,,or effectively recommend such action, and the employees in 8 Namely : the stenographer and the blueprint machine operator in the production engineering department , the stenographer to the chief engineer, the senior order entry clerk, the assistants to the eastern and western sales managers, and the aircraft forging sales manager. J. H. WILLIAMS & CO. 1 637 numerous occupational categories listed in Appendix A herein. Among these are lubricating, plant, and product engineers, and many others whose titles indicate that they, are either supervisory or con- fidential employees. We approve the stipulation of the parties with respect 'to the afore-mentioned inclusions and exclusions. The chemist and the two metallurgists whom the Company seeks to exclude from the unit are professional employees and the perform- ance of their duties 'requires a specialized knowledge of scientific or professional subjects: The chemist does analytical work, weighs out materials, makes filtrations and calculations, and compiles neces- sary data for reports. The two metallurgists are advisers on matters, of material control, heat treating, and machine operations, and in- vestigate customers' complaints involving functional failures of the Company's products. The chemist and the two metallurgists 'are not clerical workers, but are professional employees like the lubricat- ing, plant, and factory engineers whom the parties, apparently on the ground of their professional status, have agreed to exclude. Accordingly, we will exclude the chemist and the two metallurgists from the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate. The three time-study employees work in the production office where they study factory operations, approve factory methods, and estab- lish production standards and piece rates for factory work performed 'by production employees. The record does not disclose their rates of pay, degree of skill, or job entrance qualifications. At the hearing counsel for the Company referred to them as "clerks:". Although the Company's personnel director testified that the time-study men per- form "an important management function," the Company does not contend that they are supervisory employees; 4 nor does it,appear that they attend collective bargaining conferences on behalf of the Com- pany,5 or otherwise act in a confidential capacity in respect to matters relating directly to the problem of labor relations.e It is clear that their time studies do not affect in any manner the rates of pay of any of the employees in the unit herein found appropriate.? . Under these cir- -cumstances we see no reason why they may not be represented in,collec- tive bargaining, and, since-their work is clerical in nature, we shall include them in the unit herein involved.,, We find that all office and clerical employees of the Company, in- cluding the three tiriie-study employees, draftsmen, the stenographer, and the blueprint machine operator in the production engineering de- 4 Cf Matter of Gar Wood Industries, Inc, 41 N. L R B 1156; Matter of Oliver Farm Equipment Company, 53 N. L. R.,B. 1078. ' Cf. Matter of Oliver Farm Equipment Company, supra. "Of." JA'latter of Creamery Package'Manufactirriny Co , 34 N L R. B 108 7 Cf. Matter of Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co , 45 N. L. R. B. 826 ; Matter of Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co , 54 N. L R B 272. s Matter of Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co , 47 N. L R. B. 21, See Matter of John Morrell and Co., 52 N. L. R. B. 1300. 638 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL,LABOR IIELATTONS BOARD partment, the stenographer to the chief engineer, the senior -order entry clerk, the matron, the six nurses, and the assistants to the eastern forging, -western forging, and aircraft forging sales managers, but excluding, the chemist; the two metallurgists, the employees in the_cate- gories listed in Appendix A herein, all executives, and all 'other super- visory 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 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 Direc- tion. I 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 Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Saries 3, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with J. H. Williams &, Co., Buffalo, New York, 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 Third 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 dur- ing the pay-roll, period immediately preceding the date of this Direc- tion,including employees who did not work during,the 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 pre- sent themselves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein- stated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by United Office and Professional Work- ers of America, Local 64, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collective bargaining.' MR. GERARD D. REu.LY took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and-Direction of Election. - J. H. WILLIA VMS , & Co. APPENDIX A 639' Advertising Department The,secretary to the publicity manager The assistant to the publicity manager Accounting and' Statistics Department, The sales statistics clerk The assistant to the tabulating supervisor The -accounts receivable bookkeeper The cashier The general ledger accountant The assistant to the billing supervisor The secretary to the secretary-treasurer The 'secretary to the president The billing supervisor The confidential clerk to the assistant secretary -treasurer \The stenographer for the credit and collection manager Cost 'and Pay-roll Departments The chief cost accountant The forging cost analyst The forging die cost analyst The pay-roll distribution clerk The paymaster The assistant to the paymaster The head timekeeper The two cost clerks ' Forging Sales Department The secretary to the forging sales manager, The assistant to the general sales manager , forging division -Mail Department The mail supervisor The telephone operator Personnel,=U face The secretary and assistant to the employment manager The utility man The selective service supervisor The assistant to the personnel director The ' clerk Purchasin g Department - The assistant to the purchasing agent 640 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD' Production O fce The scheduler and assistant production control supervisor The chief clerk Two two schedulers The chief dispatcher The outside inspector co-ordinator ( main office) The secretary to the vice-president in charge of operation Warehouse and Shipping Office The Chief clerk in the warehouse office All other employees in the warehouse and shipping office, all of whom are now represented for the purposes of collective bar- gaining by. Local No. 1183, United Steelworkers of America (CIO) Tool Sales Division The secretary to the vice-president in charge of tool sales The senior correspondent The two correspondents The correspondent in the export section The supervisor of the file room The head traffic clerk Products Engineering Department Lubricating engineers Plant engineers Product engineers The chief draftsman