The American Brass Co.

In the Matter of THE AMERIOAN BRASS COMPANY AND THE KENOSHA BRASS COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF MINE, MILL & SMELTER WORKERS, C. I. O. Case No. 13-R-2410 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES November 6, 1944 Pursuant to the Direction of Election issued by the National Labor Relations Board on June 23, 1944, in the above-entitled case,' an election by secret ballot was conducted on July 14, 1944, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region (Chicago, Illinois). Upon the conclusion of the election, a Tally of Ballots was furnished the parties in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Board. The Tally showed that, of the approximately 2,118 eligible voters, 6 cast void ballots and 1,803 cast valid ballots, of which 1,161 were for Brass and Copper Workers Federal Labor Union #19322, A. F. L., 597 were for International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers, C. I. 0., 4 were for neither, and 41 were challenged; that a majority of the 1,803 valid votes and challenged ballots had been cast for Brass and Copper Workers Federal Labor Union #19322, A. F. L.; and that the challenged ballots were not sufficient in number to affect the results of the elections. On August 17, 1944, the Board having duly considered a Motion to Clarify Bargaining Unit filed by the Companies and a letter from the Brass and Copper Workers Federal Labor Union #19322, A. F. L., herein called the AFL, requesting that the Companies' motion be denied, issued its order granting the motion, and provided for an ap- propriate hearing upon due notice before Robert T. Drake, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Septem- ber 29,1944. The Companies and the AFL appeared and participated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and 156N.L R B 1611. 59 N. L R. B, No. 24. 618683-45-vol 59-8 95 96 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 the case, the Board makes the follo\ving : SUPPLEMENTAL FINDINGS OF FACT It appears that the Companies would exclude and the AFL include the hourly paid employees, classified by the Companies at the hearing as "section foremen," whose names were listed in Appendices A, B, and C, infra .2 A Company witness testified to the effect that these employees as a class possess and exercise the authority to recommend the hiring and discharging of -men whose work they supervise. The AFL concedes the veracity of this testimony with respect to the em- ployees listed in Appendix A, infra. Since it is therefore clear that the position held by these employees entails the performance of duties which are supervisory within the Board's usual definition, we shall exclude from the unit the employees listed in Appendix A, infra.3 The 5 employees whose names are listed in Appendix B, infra, direct the activities of from approximately 11 to 20 men. Lemke, Neises, and Shear testified to the effect that they have exercised supervisory ,authority as part of their duties. Sevey holds a position entailing duties similar to the job held by Lemke. Salmon directs the work of 16 men on the third shift. It appears that his work differs from that of the foremen on the first and second shifts only in that he spends part of his time performing the same work performed by the men he directs. The foremen on the first and second shifts, C. DeCesaro and B. DeLuca, whose names are listed in Appendix A, infra, are excluded on the ground that they possess and exercise supervisory authority. We find, therefore, that the employees listed in Appendix B, supra, are supervisory employees, and, as such, we shall exclude them from the unit. A. Schuppenhaur, J. Murray, and G. Ripley, whose names appear in Appendix C, infra, all testified that they spend part of their time directing the work-of other employees and part of their time assisting in the performance of the duties of those employees; that they have 2 Apparently, the AFL contends that these employees should be included on the ground that they are hourly paid, have been members of the AFL , and have been bargained for in the past by the AFL On the other hand, it appears that the Companies would exclude them on the basis of its classification of their positions we are unable to agree with either of these contentions and shall make our determination of the issue on the basis of evidence demonstrating whether or not these 'employees possess and exercise supervisory authority within the meaning of our usual definition. - ' 3 It also appears that these employees spend all of their time directing the work of the men under their jurisdiction , and that they perform no work such as that performed by the fnen they direct. THE AMERICAN BRASS COMPANY 97 never been in ?ormed by the Companies that they possess authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action; and that the performance of their duties had never necessitated the exercise of such authority. This specific and credible testimony counteracts the effect of the testimony of the Company's witness who averred as a generality that "section foremen" possess supervisory authority. Ac- cordingly, we find that these employees are not supervisory within the Board's usual definition, and shall include them in the unit. We find that the employees whose names are listed on Appendices A and B, infra, are excluded from the bargaining unit; and that the employees whose names are listed on Appendix C, infra, are included in the bargaining unit. On July 5, 1944, the Companies, the AFL, and International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers, C. I. 0., filed a Joint Motion to Clarify Unit wherein the parties requested the Board to clarify its unit finding contained in its Decision and Direction of Election herein by substituting for "members of the machinists craft," the following: "employees in the unit now bargained for by the International As- sociation of Machinists, Local No. 34, including hot press die makers, tool and die makers, journeymen machinists and welders, specialists, machinists and welders, machinists' helpers (trainees), and appren- -tices (trainees)." The motion is hereby granted, and the certification of the AFL as exclusive bargaining representative will be made in :accordance with said motion. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES 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, Sections 9 and 10, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, IT IS =FRY CERTIFIED that Brass and Copper Workers Federal Union Local #19322, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, has been designated and selected by a majority of all hourly paid em- 1ployees of The American Brass Company and The Kenosha Brass Com- pany at their plants in Kenosha, Wisconsin, including all iveighers, all clerks employed in the department offices, and the employees listed in Appendix C, infra, but excluding watchmen, guards, salaried em- ployees, employees in the unit now bargained for by the International Association of Machinists, Local No. 34, affiliated with the American Federation of-Labor (including hot press die makers, tool and die makers, journeymen machinists and welders, specialists, machinists ,and welders,machinists' helpers (trainees), and apprentices (trainees), 98 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD main office employees , foremen, assistant foremen, employees listed in Appendices A and B, infra, and all supervisory employees with authority - to hire, promote , discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect .changes in the status of employees or effectively recommend such ac- tion, and that , pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the A t, the said organiza- tion designated and selected as stated above is the exclusive representa- tive of all such employees for- the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment. APPENDIX A G. Coolidge H. Englund R. St roebe R. Flinn R. Dainko W. Murphy G. Peterson H. Tocklin H. Douglas N. Ebert G. Kelly A. Peterson A. Trempt M. Rhey P. Heller C. DeCasaro M. Culick A. Dixon B. DeLuca P. Fairfield J. Kauzlavich V. Polacheck A. Monroe E. Lehman J. Beine W. Nelson C. Mitchell R. Hughes 0. Jasperson P. Kavaliauskis APPENDIX B F. Salmon D. Shear R. Sevey F. Lemke R. Neises APPENDIX C A. Schuppenhaur G. Ripley J. Murray