Monsanto Chemical Co.

In the Matter Of MONSANTO CHEMICAL COMPANY, EMPLOYER and UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF AMERICA,' LOCAL 169, A. F. L.,1 PETITIONER Case No. 14-RC-.451.Decided April 25, 1949 DECISION AND ORDER Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Harry G. Carlson, 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-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 and the Intervenor, International Chemical' Workers, Local 12, A. F. L., are labor organizations claiming to represent employees of the Employer. 3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the repre- sentation 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, at present represented by the Intervenor, a unit composed of all the carpenters and carpenters' apprentices at the'Employer's plant "B", in Monsanto, Illinois. The Employer and the Intervenor contend that only a plant-wide unit is appropriate. 'The name of the Petitioner appears as amended at the hearing by the addition of "Local 169. The Intervenor moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that, by adding "Local 169 to the Petitioner's name, a new Petitioner was substituted for the original, and that the current contract was a bar to a proceeding by the substitute petitioner. As the omission of "Local 169" from the original designation of the Petitioner was a clerical error, which prejudiced none of the parties, the Intervenor's motion to dismiss on that ground is denied. 83 N. L. R. B., No. 13. 109 110 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 case 2 in which the Board refused to sever a unit of pipe fitters. 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 various groups of employees performing pipe fitting work, but also all the Employer's production and maintenance employees, present a compelling reason for an- over-all bargaining unit." This finding is equally applicable to the unit of carpenters sought herein. Like the pipe fitters, the carpenters 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 consideration of administrative necessity and efficiency than to traditional craft claims. Thus one of the carpenter's most impor- tant duties, the installation and maintenance of the glass, transite, and earthware pipe systems, is a specialized type of work involving the exercise of carpenter skills as well as several other types of skilled operations. The carpenters also repair and maintain building roofs, using steel and aluminum roofing as required, assist in the installa- tion of supports for electric conduits, and erect scaffolding and plat- forms needed by other employees. Although carpenters' skills are also exercised by the carboy repairmen, the department repairmen, and the warehouse department inspectors, the Petitioner does not seek to include these categories in its proposed unit. Carpenters work under the same working conditions and receive the same benefits as do other employees of the Employer. They receive their work orders from, and are disciplined by, a foreman and his assistant who also supervise the bricklayers and hodcarriers. $ Matter of Monsanto Chemical Company, 78 N. L. R. B. 174. See also Matter of Mon- santo Chemical Company, 79 N. L. R. B. 129 . Both Matter of Monsanto Chemical Com- pany, 78 N. L. R. B. 174, and Matter of Monsanto Chemical Company, 67 N. L. R. B. 476, erroneously 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 plant-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 representative in 1937. MONSANTO CHEMICAL COMPANY 111 While engaged in the performance of their duties in the various de- partments of the plant, they receive some instruction from the de- partment heads or from the foremen of other craft groups with whom they may be working. When working overtime, carpenters are super- vised by the night superintendent, who also supervises the other main- tenance employees in the plant at that time. As in the pipe fitters' case, the Employer's apprentice system exists on paper rather than in practice. While in theory a prospective car- penter should serve 3 years as an apprentice and then pass an exam- ination, these training periods are often cut short if the applicant can pass the examination. Of the 17 journeymen carpenters presently employed by the Employer, only 3 have completed the full training course and 2 have had no apprentice training whatsoever. Under the Respondent's contract with the Intervenor, all vacan- cies in the plant are open to bidders from any department. Accord- ingly, a carpenter can, and frequently does, bid in on jobs in other departments. If accepted, he retains his seniority rights in the car- penters' group, which, for seniority purposes, also includes the brick- layers and hodcarriers. He may return to the carpenters' group if a vacancy occurs there which he wishes to fill, and he also may "bump" * carpenter with less seniority, if there is a reduction in force in his new classification. A carpenter reduced in force in the carpenters' group may "bump" production employees with less seniority and still retain his craft seniority. There are at present at least seven em- ployees carrying carpenter 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 cannot on any other basis be considered a separate 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.