National Distillers Products Corp.

7 2. -In the Matter of NATIONAL DISTILLERS- PRODUCTS CORPORATION, '-EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL-183, A. F.-L• ., PETITIONER Case No. 9-RC-410.-Decided June 29,1949 DECISION AND ORDER Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Martin Sacks, 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 Houston, and Members Reynolds 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 Work- ers, Local 183, A. F. L., and Intervenor, Distillery, Rectifying and Wine Workers International Union of America, Local 24, are labor organizations claiming to represent employees 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 a unit composed of all electricians and their helpers employed by the Employer at its Old Taylor, Old Crow, and Old Grand Dad plants in Frankfort, Kentucky, excluding clerical, office, and professional employees, all other employees under contract, guards, and all supervisors as defined in the Act. The Intervenor and the Employer contend that the unit proposed is inappropriate because the employees sought are not electrician craftsmen and object to the severence of this group from the established production and mainte- 84 N. L. R. B., No. 90. 818 NATIONAL`-DISTILLERS- PRODUCTS `CORPORATION `819 nance unit-for which= the Intervener ha's-bargained 'under2 a' series "tif' contracts` since 1940.1 `The Employer has 1 maintenance and repair, department for-its 3 plaiits. Ili that- department, it employs approximately-50-employees classified 'as "utility men" and"lutility helpers." These utility men 'have general knowledge 'of maintenance work as well as possess -special aptitudes in some particular field of maintenance, such as car- pentry, tinsmithing, ' electrical work, etc. The Old Crow and Old Taylor plants are located about 1 mile from each other, while the Old `Grand Dad plant is about 5 or 6 miles from the other two. Each of the plants operates as a unit and• the utility men-in each plant are under the supervision of a general maintenance foreman, who assigns utility men to do work in the plant. Utility men assigned to work in one plant usually remain at that plant. All utility men receive the same rate of pay which incidentally is the highest hourly rate paid by the -Employer. The electrical workers sought by the Petitioner are em- ployed in each of the 3 plants. The general maintenance foreman makes `the daily work assignments on the basis of the skill required for each specific job. All the utility men perform other maintenance =work in addition to that in the particular field in which they may have experience. Utility men doing electrical work in one plant have .no direct contact with other plants' utility men doing electrical work. When one plant needs a particular tool available only at another 'plant, 'the general maintelance foreman obtains it. All tools and supplies for electrical work are kept-in a' small electrical, shop located in each plant. - -The utility workers doing electrical work perform general mainte= nance and repair work on electrical machinery located throughout the plant to which they are assigned. Such work consists of making electrical connections, overhauling, repairing and replacing bearings in electrical motors, oiling, greasing and cleaning motors, replacing ligh't bulbs and fuses, and. Installing and repairing lights. One witness, a utility man at the Old Grand Dad plant, testified that 95 percent of his time was spent' doing electrical work. A study made during a representative 9-week work period reveals, that actually this The Employer and intervenor have been parties to collective bargaining ' agreements since 1940.. They contend that their -last contract executed on May 1, 1948, is a bar .to this proceeding This contract was effective to May 1, 1949 , subject to automatic renewal ,unless -notice of a desire to terminate or change was given by either ' partyi60 days before the contract's anniversary date Such notice-of desire to change the contract was given -by- the Intervenor on'-February 11, 1949 The-petition was filed by the 'Petitioner on Ma'rch , 81;J949 - Tlie - Int_ervenor's notice of 'February 11 ; 1949,'', effectively 'forestalled the automatic renewal of the contract . Accordingly, we find that the_contract is not a bar to this proceeding Matter of Best Motor Lines, 80 N. L. R. B. 314. - " - 820 D11:C1S1ONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD employee spent-44 percent of his time performing nonelectrical work. The other utility man doing electrical work at this same plant spent more than 46 percent of his time working on nonelectrical jobs while 50 percent- of the utility helper's work was considered nonelectrical. No-work study was made at;the- other two plants, but there was testi- mony that at the Old Taylor plant the two utility men spent "a greater .percentage" of their time in electrical work than is performed at Old Grand Dad; the same witness testified that the percentage figure at the Old Crow plant is "in between" the other two plants. Among those duties classed as nonelectrical and performed by the .disputed employees are the following: overhauling pumps in con- densate and caustic systems, repairing spring pumps, packing oiler room sludge pumps, repairing airlines, changing tubes in evaporators, adjusting warehouse temperature controls, and checking warehouse elevators. Replacement of burnt-out electric light bulbs is regarded as elec- trical work. One electrical worker testified that he spent from 1 to 3 hours a day in such work; another testified that such work averaged about 11/2 hours a day. Still another witness testified that classifying this work- as nonelectrical would reduce the electrical work "considerably." For purposes of seniority, promotion, and reduction, the employees ,of all three plants constitute a single division. When there is a utility man vacancy in a plant that vacancy is posted in all three plants. Anyone may bid on that vacancy. These job postings do contain some indication of what type of experience is desired : a man with general maintenance knowledge but who has particular experience in the field in which the position has become vacant. There is no requirement that an applicant for a utility man position be a qualified journeyman electrician. The Employer does not have an apprenticeship program to -train electricians. The applicant's seniority and his ability to do the job rather than his previous classification or experience in the department is the determinative test for filling the position. None of the present utility men performing the electrical work are journeymen electricians. Although at least two of these utility men have many years of electrical experience, two others of the six utility men now performing electrical work had no previous electrical experience before they came on the job. The Employer has promoted general laborers to the utility helper and utility man classifications. During a recent lay-off a utility man whose work was mainly carpentry, accepted a utility helper's job and is now assisting those utility men doing electrical work. NATIONAL DISTILLERS PRODUCTS CORPORATION 821 All major electrical installation is done by outside contractors. Work of the employees in question is limited to mostly maintenance and repair with occasional installation or replacement of a small instrument. The present occupant of the instrument position was originally hired as a general laborer; he became a utility man- 16 months later. His work.is clearly different from that of other utility men. From 75 to 80 percent of his time is spent performing duties of a non- electrical nature. We have generally required that a small group of employees, such as is here involved, be composed of skilled craftsmen in order to warrant its establishment as a separate unit or its severance from a larger unit.2 In view of the fact that the repair and maintenance department is an integrated operating group with no. clear demarca- tion along craft lines and the fact that the utility men doing electrical work do not appear to be skilled craftsmen of the journeyman elec- trician type, and that their work is not confined to electrical work, 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 separate appropriate unit for the pur- poses of collective bargaining.3 Accordingly, we shall dismiss the petition herein. ORDER Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and the entire record in this case, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the petition herein be, and it hereby is, dismissed. z Matter of Rice-Stun Dry Goods Company, 78 N. L . R. B. 311 ; Matter of National Carbide Corporation, 77 N L. R. B. 454; Matter of Monsanto Chemical Company, 83 N. L. R B. 106; Matter of Schlumberger Well Surveying Corporation, 83 N. L. R. B. 375. 3 See cases in footnote 2, above -