Studebaker Corp.

In the Matter of STUDEBAKER CORPORATION , AVIATION DIvTsIoN and UNITED OFFICE & PROFESSIONAL WORKERS OF AMERICA , C. I. O. Case No. 13-R- 596.-Decided November 24, 1944 Mr. W. S. Gundeck, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company. Mr. Ben Meyers, of Chicago, Ill., for the Union. Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION, i STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by United Office & Professional Workers of America, C. I. 0., herein called the Union, alleging that a ques- tion affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Studebaker Corporation, Aviation Division, Chicago, Illinois, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before .David Karasick, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chicago, Illinois, on October 25, 1944. The Company and the Union appeared at and participated in the hearing. 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 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 Studebaker Corporation is a Delaware corporation. We are here concerned with its Aircraft Division at Chicago, Illinois, where it is ' Athough International Union , United Automobile , Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America , Local 993 , C I 0, herein called the UAW-CIO, was served with Notice of Hearing, it did not appear. 59 N. L. R. B., No. 96., _ 472 STUDEBAKER CORPORATION , -AVIATION DIVISION 473 engaged in the manufacture of war materials. During 1943 the Com- pany purchased raw materials for use at its Aircraft Division valued in excess of $1,000,000, 85 percent of which was shipped to it from points outside the'State of Illinois. During the same period the Com- pany manufactured products at its Aircraft Division valued in excess of $300,000,000, all of which was shipped to points outside the State of Illinois. We find that the Company is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED United Office & Professional Workers of America is a labor organ- ization affiliated with the Cbnghess of I'ndutrial ;Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION During July 1944, the Union requested the Company to recognize it as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of certain employees at the Aircraft Division. The Company refused this request. A statement of a Field Examiner of the Board, introduced into evi- dence 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 urges that all office and clerical employees of the Com- pany listed in Appendix A, but excluding the employees listed in Appendix B, constitute an appropriate unit. The only controversy with respect to the unit concerns stenographers to-department heads, foremen's clerks, and tool record clerks. The Company employs stenographers or stenographer-secretaries to department heads in Departments 303, 309, 311, 317, 319, 327, 329 347, and 359. They agree that such employees in Departments 303, 311, and 329 should be excluded. In addition, the Company would ex- elude those in the other enumerated departments while the Union would include, them. The employees in dispute take dictation from department heads dealing with grievances and labor relations and are in possession of all records with respect thereto. It appears that each 2 The Field Examiner reported that the Union presented 73 authorization cards There are approximately 200 employees in the appropriate unit. 474 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD of them spends about 5Q percent of his time in work dealing with labor relations. In accordance with our usual practice respecting employees handling labor relations matters, we shall exclude these employees from the unit.3 The Company employs 26 foremen's clerks. They perform the same type of work for the foremen as the stenographers to the department heads do for the latter, with the exception that they take no dictation. The foremen's clerks maintain complete files of the personnel in their respective departments, and have knowledge of matters which are scheduled to be heard as grievances. It appears that they spend about 75 percent of their time in work dealing with labor relations. We shall exclude them from the unit .4 ' The Company employs 12 tool record clerks who keep records of tool costs and inventories. The latter, are kept confidential upon request of the United States Army Air Forces. The confidential nature of the work performed by the tool record clerks does not in any way relate to labor relations matters. Accordingly, we shall include them in the unit.5 ' We find that all office and clerical employees at the Aviation Division of the Company, listed in Appendix A, including tool record clerks, but excluding employees listed in Appendix B, stenographers to de- partment heads, foremen's clerks, 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, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar- gaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act .6 V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot among the employees 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 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 3, as amended, it is hereby 8 Matter of General Cable Corporation , 55 N. L. R. B. 1143. 4 Matter of St. John's River Shipbuilding Company, 52 N. L. R. B. 12. 5 Matter of Oliver Farm Equipment Company, 53 N. L. R. B. 202. ° The production and maintenance employees of the Company are presently covered by a contract between the Company and the UAW-CIO. None of the employees in the unit found appropriate in the instant proceeding are covered by that contract. STUDEBAKER CORPORATION , AVIATION DIVISION 475 DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Studebaker Corpo- ration, Aviation Division, 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 super- vision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and sub- ject 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 pre- ceding 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 any who have since quit or been discharged 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 represented by United. Office & Profesional Workers of America, C. I. O. for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining. APPENDIX A Department #303 Typist-clerk Chief clerks Telephone operators Switchboard operators Clerks Mimeograph and ditto machine operators Department #309 Typist-clerks Department #311 Typist-clerks Clerks Stenographers Typist and file clerk Clerks-lay out Blueprint machine operators Blueprint file clerks Blueprint tracing clerk and gen- eral utility Designers-tool Department #319 Calculator operators Clerks Machine operators Cost clerks Accounting clerks Typists-clerk Typist and file clerks Department #327 _ Junior laboratory assistants Chemists Typists-clerk X-ray technicians X-ray darkroom technicians Instrument repair men Metallurgists Routine chemists Experimental chemists Sample room laboratory assist- ants I 476 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL Department #329 Typist-clerks File clerks Typist and file clerk Department #347 Typists and file clerks Machine operators Typist-clerks LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Department #353 Typist-clerk Department #355 Typist-clerks Department #359 Typist-clerk APPENDIX B Department #303 Tool trouble man Assistant to plant manager Stenographers Supervisors of Traffic Department Waste material disposal supervisor Machine trouble man Special assignments clerks Clerk-production records Department #309 Assistant purchasing agents Follow-up men Department #311 Production engineers Tool supervisors Time-study men Grinding wheel men Stenographer-secretary Time-study and lay-out men Tool expeditors Department #317 Engineering representatives Paymaster Supervisor clerical and control Chief plant accountant Supervisor Tabulating Department Supervisor cost and general accounting Department #323 (Industrial Rela- tions Department) All employees STUDEBAKER CORPORATION, AVIATION DIVISION 477 Department #327 Chief metallurgist Chief chemist Assistant chief metallurgists Supervisor X-ray laboratory Supervisor - spectrographer ,Department #329 Stenographer Clerk-tool record Department #363 Nurses Male nurses