Monsanto Chemical Co.

In the Matter Of MONSANTO CHEMICAL COMPANY, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL 309, A. F. L., PETITIONER Case No. 14-RC-441.Decided April 25,1949 DECISION AND ORDER Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Harry G. Carlson, 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-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Murdock]. 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 Petitioner, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 309, A. F. L., and Intervenor, International Chemical Workers Union, Local 12, are labor organizations claiming to represent em- ployees of the Employer. 3. No 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, for the following reasons: The Petitioner seeks to sever from the existing plant-wide unit of employees represented by the Intervenor, a unit composed of all electricians, electrician helpers, and electrician apprentices, at the Employer's plant "B", in Monsanto, Illinois. The Employer and the Intervenor contend that only a plant-wide unit is appropriate. At its plant "B" the Employer manufactures heavy chemicals, or- ganic chemicals, and intermediates. The details of its operations and of the bargaining history at this plant are fully set forth in a recent 83 N. L. R. B., No. 12. 106 MONSANTO CHEMICAL COMPANY 107 case 1 in which the Board refused to sever a unit of pipe fitters from the plant-wide unit. In that case we held that : ... the highly integrated and interdependent operations at the Employer's plant, the long history of collective bargaining on a plant-wide basis, the uniform conditions of employment and close relationship and community of interest not only among the vari- ous groups'of employees performing pipe work, but also among all the Employer's production and maintenance employees, pre- sent a compelling reason for an over-all bargaining unit. This finding is equally applicable to the unit of electricians sought herein. Like the pipe fitters, the electricians are one of 13 craft groups in the maintenance department of plant "B", who, together with re- pairmen attached to various departments of the plant, keep the com- plex production process functioning. The Employer contends, and its contention is borne out by the record, that in assigning work to these craft groups and to the maintenance employees, more weight is given to considerations of administrative necessity and efficiency than to traditional craft lines. Thus, the electricians are responsible for the installation, maintenance, and repair of the electric system, in- cluding motors and part of the 3,000 electric instruments in use at plant "B", and for the performance of various other electrical and mechanical tasks. Similar work, however, and at times identical work, is performed by other groups, notably the electric instrument men and cell repair men, who are not included in the unit sought by the Petitioner 2 On the other hand, electricians perform tasks in connection with their work which are traditionally performed by other groups, such as machinists and pipe fitters. The electricians on the night shift also perform various handyman tasks such as acting as chauffeurs. and watering flowers. Electricians work under the same working conditions and receive the same benefits as do other employees of the Employer. Electricians on the day shift receive their work orders and are disciplined by the I Mdtter of Monsanto Chemical Company, 78 N. L. R. B. 174. See also Matter of Monsanto Chemical Company, 79 N. L. R. B. 129. Both Matter of Monsanto Chemical Company, 78 N. L. R. B. 174, and Matter of Monsanto Chemical Company, 67 N L. R. B. 476, state that the Intervenor and its predecessor, Chemical Workers, Local 20032, A F. L., have represented the employees of the Employer since 1933. Actually, however, these employees were represented on a plaint-wide basis by Local 375, International Hod Carriers, Building and Common Laborers Union of America, A. F. L., from 1933 until 1937. Local 20032 became the plant-wide bargaining representative in 1937. 2 The Petitioner included the electric instrument men in its proposed unit when it petitioned for, and was denied severance, in an earlier case. Matter of Monsanto Chemical Company, 67 N. L. R. B. 476. 108 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD electrician foreman.3 While engaged in the performance of their duties in the different departments of the plant, they receive some in- structions from the department, heads and from the foreman of the other craft groups with whom they may be working at the time. The electricians on the middle and night shifts receive their orders from, and work under the supervision of, the night superintendent, who also supervises the other maintenance employees working in the plant on those shifts. As we previously found was true of the pipe fitters at this plant, the Employer's apprentice system for electricians exists on paper rather than in actual practice. While in theory a prospective elec- trician must serve 2 years as a helper and 3 as an apprentice, and then pass an examination, these training periods are often cut short, if an applicant can pass the examination. Of the 24 journeymen elec- tricians at present employed by the Employer, only 1 has completed the full 3-year apprentice training course, and some have qualified in less than 1 year. Under the Respondent's contract with the Intervenor, all vacancies in the plant are open to bidders from any department. Accordingly, an electrician can, and frequently does, bid on jobs in other depart- ments. If accepted, he retains his seniority rights in the electricians' group, which includes the electric instrument men. He may return to the electrician group if a vacancy occurs there, which he wishes to fill, and he may "bump" an electrician or an electric instrument man with less seniority if there is a reduction in force in his new classifica- tion. If an electrician is affected by a reduction in force in the elec- trician group he may "bump" production employees with less plant .seniority and still retain his seniority in the electrician group. There are at present at least 12 employees carrying electrician seniority, but working at other jobs, whom the Petitioner does not seek to represent. In view of the facts outlined above, we find that the unit sought by the Petitioner does not constitute a homogeneous, identifiable, skilled craft group, and that it does not on any other basis constitute a sep- arate appropriate unit' for the purposes of collective bargaining. Accordingly, we shall dismiss the petition herein. ORDER Upon the entire record in this case, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the petition herein be, and it hereby is, dismissed. ° Besides its principal maintenance shop, the Employer operates another maintenance shop in the so-called "North Area." The electricians working out of that shop are under the supervision of the machinist foreman , who also supervises the various other crafts attached to the North Area Shop.