General Motors Corp.

In the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, FISHER BODY DIVI- SION-VAN Nuys PLANT, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL BROTHER- HOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL UNION 11, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER In the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION , FISHER BODY DIVI- SION-VAN Nuts PLANT, EMPLOYER and UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN & APPRENTICES OF PLUMBING & PIPEFITTERS INDUSTRY, LOCAL No. 250, A. F. L., PETITIONER In the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, FISHER BODY DIvi- SION-VAN Nuts PLANT, EMPLOYER and UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIR- CRAFT AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW- CIO), PETITIONER In the Matter of GENERAL McSTORS CORPORATION, CHEVROLET DIVISION, EMPLOYER a'nd INTERNATIONAL BROTHLRHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORK- ERS, LOCAL UNION 11, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER III the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, CHEVROLET DIVISION, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIR- CRAFT AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA, PETI- TIONER Cases Nos. 21-RC-51, 21-RC-104, 21-RC-111, 21-RCD7, and 21-RCD5, retpeetivelp.Decided August 31, 19418 DECISION DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS AND ORDER Upon separate petitions duly filed, hearings in the above consoli- dated cases 1 were held before a hearing officer of the National Labor I On March It, 1948, the Regional Director. pursuant to section 203 64 (b) of the Bosun's Rules and Regulations-Series 5, consolidated the proceedings in Cases Nos 21-RC-51, 21-RC-104, and 21-RC-111 On the same date, the Regional Director cuncolidated the proceedings in Cases Nos 21-RC-57 and 21-RC-65 79 N. L. R. B., No. 43. - 341 809095-49-vol 79 23 342 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Relations Board. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearings are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.2 As the petitions in these cases involve identical units of employees of the Employer engaged in substantially the same work in plants located in the same. Region, the Board hereby consolidates the peti- tions in Cases Nos. 21-RC-51, 21-RC-104, 21-RC-111, 21-RC-57, and 21-RC-65 3 Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the, National Labor'Relations`Act. 2. The labor organizations named below claim to represent em- ployees of the Employer.- - 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employer, within the meaning. of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The appropriate units : The Petitioner in Cases Nos. 21-RC-51 and 21-RC-57, herein called the IBEW, seeks units composed only Hof maintenance electricians, their helpers and apprentices in the Employer's newly established Fisher Body and Chevrolet Division assembly plants, respectively, at Van Nuys, California. The Petitioner in Case No. 21-RC-111, herein called the UAW, seeks a unit composed of all production and mainte- nance employees in the body in white, paint, trim, quality standards, materials, and maintenance departments of the Fisher Body plant, excluding office and clerical employees, professional employees, plant guards, and supervisors. In Case No. 21-RC-65, the UAW seeks a unit ,composed of all production and maintenance employees in the production, inspection, materials, traffic, plant engineering, and main- tenance departments of the Chevrolet plant, including leadnien and timekeepers, but excluding all plant guards, watchmen, office and cler- ical employees, professional employees, and supervisors. The Em- ployer and the International Association of Machinists, herein called the TAM, agree that the units sought by the UAW are appropriate, but contend that timekeepers should be excluded from the unit re- quested at the Chevrolet plant. The UAW asserts that the bargaining history of the Employer indi- cates that, in almost every instance, electricians at its various plants 2 At the hearing in Case No. 21-RC-104, United Association of Journeymen & Apprentices' of Plumbing & Pipefitters Industry, Local No 250, A F L , lief ein called the Pipe Fitters, without objection , moved for leave to withdraw its petition , without prejudice The hear- ing officer reserved ruling thereon for the Board As it is clear that no prejudice will result to any of the other parties , the motion for leave to withdraw is granted See Matter of American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corporation, 67 N L R B 1135 3 Matter of Bethlehem Transpo, tation Corporation , 65 N L R B 605 GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 343 have been bargained for as part of production and maintenance units: It further urges that the electricians at the -Chevrolet and Fisher Body assembly plants, respectively, should not be found to constitute separate units. For the reasons fully stated in the recent Ford case.' we believe that the maintenance electricians should be included,.with the other production and maintenance employees, in the plant-wide units established herein. Accordingly, we find that the proposed sep- arate maintenance. electricians units would be inappropriate. We shall: therefore dismiss the petitions filed by the IBEW. The Employer and the IAM oppose the inclusion of timekeepers in the unit requested by the UAW at the Chevrolet plant.5 These time- keepers perform office clerical work exclusively. Their only contact with production and maintenance employees occurs when they are en- gaged in checking the-presence of the latter at their jobs in the plant' They work-under the supervision of the office supervisor and are not transferred or promoted to production and maintenance positions. The activities and characteristics of these timekeepers differ from those of similar employees who sometimes have been included in production and maintenance units.° We shall exclude them from the unit. We find that the following groups of employees constitute separate units appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: (a) All production ail maintenance employees in the body in white, paint, trim, quality'stn,iid'ii ds, material-,, and maintenance departments of the Employer's Fisher Body plant at Van Nuys, California, exclud- ing office and clerical employees, professional employees, plant guards and supervisors as defined in the Act. (b) All production and, maintenance employees in the production, inspection, materials, traffic, plant engineering, and maintenance de- partments of the Employer's Chevrolet plant at-Van Nuys, California, including leadmen, but excluding timekeepers, plant guards, watch- men, office and clerical employees, professional employees, and super- visors as defined in the Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS' As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur- poses of collective bargaining with the Employer, elections by secret "Matter of Ford Motor Company (plarywcood Plant). 78 N L R B 887 (Mr Reynolds dissenting) S The UAW does not desire to include timekeepers in its proposed unit at the Fisher Body plant. 6 See Matter of Northwest Engineering Company , 73 N L R. B. 40, Matter of H 0 Canfield Company, 76 N L R B. 606 7 Any participant in the elections herein may , upon its prompt request to , and approval thereof by , the Regional Director, have its name removed from the ballot. 344 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than 30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Twenty,-first Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations--Series 5, among the employees in the units found appropriate in paragraph 4, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Elections, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or-temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the elections, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine in each unit whether they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by United Auto- mobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO), or by International Association of Machinists, or by neither. ORDER IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Pipe Fitters' motion for leave to with- draw its petition in Case No. 21-RC-104 be, and it hereby is, granted, and the case is closed. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the petitions filed in Case No. 21-RC-51 and Case No. 21-RC-57, respectively, by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 11, A. F. of L., be, and they hereby are, dismissed. MEMBER REYNOLDS took no part in the consideration of the above Decision, Direction of Elections, and Order. '