United States Gypsum Co.

In the Matter Of UNITED STATES GYPSUM COMPANY, EMPLOYER and UNITED CEMENT, LIME AND GYPSUM WORKERS; LOCAL UNION No. 70, AFL, PETITIONER Case No. 16-RC-142.-Decided September 8, 1948 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before a hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board Members.* Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. The labor organization named below claims 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 unit : The Petitioner seeks a unit composed of all production and main- tenance employees, including laboratory employees, but excluding clerical and professional employees and supervisors, as defined in the Act. The parties are in general agreement as to the composition of the unit. The Petitioner, however, would include, and the Em- ployer exclude, the head mechanic in the mine and quarry department, the packing and keenes department, the hydrocal department, and the board department, the head mechanic electrical in the maintenance *Houston, Murdock, and Gray. 79 N. L. R. B., No. 69. 536 UNITED STATES GYPSUM COMPANY 537 department, mill operators in the packing and keenes department, board inspectors, unloading foreman, testers, and guards. Head Mechanics: The head mechanics are charged with mechanical and repair work in the plant. The head mechanic electrical in the maintenance department is responsible for the maintenance of all of the electrical equipment in the plant. These men report directly to the head of their respective departments. The head mechanic in the mine and quarry department, and in the board department, and the head mechanic electrical in the maintenance department, each have up to four full-time helpers to whom they assign jobs, and whom they direct in their work. The head mechanics plan their week's work with a minimum of supervision by their department heads. Although these head mechanics spend up to 75 percent of their time in manual labor, the record shows that they responsibly direct their helpers and that they may effectively discipline or recommend the discharge of the employees under them. We shall, therefore, exclude the head mechanic in the mine and quarry department, and in the board department, and the head mechanic electrical in the maintenance department from the proposed unit.- The head mechanic in the packing and keenes department and the hydrocal department work alone. Occasionally, it is necessary that they requisition other employees to work with them temporarily on a particular job. The record shows that this is an unusual occurrence. They have no power to hire or discharge these temporarily assigned employees or to recommend changes in their status. We shall, there- fore, include the head mechanic in the packing and keenes department and the hydrocal department in the proposed Unit .2 Mill Operators: The keenes mill crushes the cooked rock from the quarry, grinds, separates, and screens it, and then moves the rock on into storage. There are three mill operators in charge of the keenes mill on their respective shifts. A foreman is present on only one shift; on the remaining shifts, the mill operators are in sole charge of the shift and exercise supervisory power over the two employees. Fifty percent of their time is devoted to operation of the mill and 50 percent to supervision. Each operator rotates from shift to shift every 2 weeks. The record shows that these mill operators may dis- cipline or effectively recommend the discharge of the employees under them. We shall, therefore, exclude the mill operators in the packing and keenes department from the proposed unit. Board Inspectors: There are three inspectors in the Employer's plant. Their primary function is to inspect wallboard as it comes 1 Matter of United States Gypsum Company, 78 N. L. It. B. 849. 2 Matter of Fitzgerald Mills Corporation, 77 N. L. It. B. 1156. 538 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD from the machines in which it is manufactured,. and to reject any wall- board that is defective. The inspectors are under the same supervision as the production employees and work in close' proximity to them. They'are paid on an hourly basis and receive 5 cents aii hour more than the operators of the board- machine. The inspectors do' not have authority to discharge any employee' or effectively to recommend such action, nor do they have authority to reprimand the board machine operators. We find that the inspectors have interests, duties, and working conditions which closely ally them with hourly rated produc-' tion and maintenance workers and, accordingly, shall include them in the unit.3 ' Unloading Foreman: The Employer 'has one unloading foreman in the board department. He is responsible for the unloading of all supplies coming into the plant and is also in charge of shear (salvage) 'operations. He has six men under his supervision ; 50 percent of his time is spent in manual'labor along with these men. He receives about 20 cents more per hour than the men in his crew. The record shows that he may discipline or effectively recommend the discharge of the employees under him. The record also shows that his duties are about the same as those of the loading foreman, whom the parties have agreed to exclude from the unit. We shall, therefore, exclude the unloading foreman from the proposed unit. Testers: There are four testers who perform tests on raw materials and finished products. They work in their own laboratories under the direction of the quality control supervisor. The record indicates that the line of advancement for testers is from the laboratories into supervisory positions in other departments in the plant. The Em- ployer requires that these employees have at least a high school educa- tion. The testers perform no production work. In view of the techni- cal nature of their work, and the fact that they are under separate supervision, we shall exclude them from the proposed unit .4 Guards: There are two full-time guards in the plant. Their duties include the protection of the Employer's property from theft either by employees or by other persons. These full-time guards fall within the prohibition of Section 9 (b) (3) of the amended Act, and we shall, therefore, exclude them from the proposed unit's The full-time guards work a 6-day week. A laborer from the plant is employed as guard for 2 nights a week in order to provide continuous protection for the Employer. We shall include this laborer in the production and maintenance unit." 3 Matter of United States Gypsum Company, 78 N L. R. B. 849; 66 N L R. B. 619. 4 Matter of United States Gypsum Company, 78 N. L. R. B. 849; 72 N. ,L. R. B. 863. "Matter of C. V. Htitt & Company, Inc, 76 N. L. R. B. 158. 6 Matter of Radio Corporation of America, 76 N. L. R B. 826. UNITED STATES GYPSUM COMPANY 539 We find that all production maintenance employees at the Em- pl'oyer's Southard, Oklahoma, plant and quarry, including the head mechanic in the packing and keenes department and the hydrocal department, and board inspectors, but excluding clerical and profes- sional employees, the head mechanic in the mine and quarry depart- ment, and the board department, the head mechanic electrical in the maintenance department, mill operators in the packing and keenes department,, unloading foreman, testers, full-time . guards, and all supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by 'secret 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 Sixteenth Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 •and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5,'as amended, among the em- ployees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, 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 election, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to deter- mine whether or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by United Cement, Lime and Gypsum Workers, Local Union No. 70, AFL.