Atlas Tag Co.

In the Matter of ATLAS TAG COMPANY, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL PRINTING PRESSMEN AND ASSISTANT'S UNION OF, NORTH AMERICA, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER Case No. 1.3-RC-672.-Decided June 08, 1949 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before John P. Von Rohr, hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer's rulings }nade 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 is a labor organization claiming 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 requests a unit composed of all production and main- tenance employees, including handworkers, at the 'Employer's plant in Neenah, Wisconsin? The Employer would exclude the handwork- ers on the ground that they will be replaced by machinery in the near future. The Employer also contends that certain employees the Peti- tioner would include in the unit are supervisors as defined in the Act. The Employer is engaged in the manufacture of paper tags, die cut tags and manifold tags and employs approximately 25 people. All of the employees in the requested unit operate machinery with the exception of the handworkers, who are engaged in the manual work of 1 The unit requested appears as amended at the hearing 84 N. L R. B, No. 83. 853396-50-vol 84--47 685 686 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD stringing, wiring, stapling, and folding tags, as one of the final steps in the preparation of tags for shipment. The handworkers are paid on the same hourly basis, have the same working conditions and bene- fits and are subject to the same direct supervision as are the other employees. Although there is no interchange of workers between this group and other plant employees, they work in an area adjacent to that occupied by the other departments. The Employer testified that at some indeterminate time in the future it expects to replace about half of the handworkers with labor-saving machinery now on order. In these circumstances, we do not regard the indefinite prospect that the handworkers will be replaced by machines a sufficient basis for excluding these employees from the unit. The handworkers perform a function which is an integral part of the production process. They have the same working conditions and possess a community of interest with the other employees in the requested unit. Accordingly, we shall include them in the unit hereinafter found appropriate. The Petitioner also seeks to include in the'unit the following three employees whom the Employer contends are supervisors : Norman Koepke runs a slitting machine which cuts tags into dif- ferent sizes. He is also responsible for the inventory of certain raw materials. He has one employee permanently assigned to work for him and receives assistance from one or two others about 2 days out of each month. He directs the work of this employee, can give him time off and has authority to discipline him should the occasion arise. While he has no authority to hire or discharge an employee, he can effectively recommend such action and has done so in at least one instance. Lyle Barnette is in charge of the tag department, in which about 10 tag machine operators are employed. He assigns work to these oper- ators and can transfer them from one job to another if necessary. He can effectively recommend the hiring or discharge of an employee or the granting of a, wage increase. He also has the authority to grant time off or to discipline an employee. In the absence of the plant superintendent Barnette has been in charge of the plant itself. Tony Raab is a compositor by trade and is responsible for all coin- position work done in the plant. He directs one regular employee in the setting of jobs and the operation of a type setting machine. He also may operate a job press himself. He has the authority to grant time off and other privileges to the employee working for him and may effectively recommend the hire or discharge of an employee. For one week out of each month Raab also has two other employees assigned to him, over whom he has the same authority and responsibility as exercised over his regularly assigned employee. ATLAS TAG COMPANY 687 In these circumstances, we find that Koepke, Barnette, and Raab are supervisors as defined in the amended Act, and shall exclude them from the Unit .2 We find that a unit composed of all production and maintenance employees including handworkers, but excluding office and clerical employees, guards, professional employees, and supervisors, as defined in the Act, is 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 super- vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among the employees 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 exclud- ing employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement to determine whether or not they desire to .be represented, for,purposes of collective bargaining, by International Printing Pressmen and Assistant's Union of North America, A. F. of L. ' Matter of General Electric Company, 80 N L R. B 174, Matter of St Regis Paper Company (Kraft Pulp Division), 80 N. L R. B. 570.