Manistee Salt Works

In the Matter Of MANISTEE SALT WORKS , EMPLOYER and INTER- NATIONAL CHEMICAL WORKERS UNION, AFL, PETITIONER Case No. 7-RC-456.-Decided July 11, 1949 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Harold L. Hudson, 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 claims to represent employees 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 Petitioner petitioned for a unit of all the salaried employees of the Employer, excluding all hourly rated production and mainte- nance employees,' and all superintendents and assistant superintend- ents. The Employer does not object to the general composition of the unit but contends that some of the individuals whom the Petitioner seeks to represent should be excluded from the unit as supervisors. Three of these individuals who are classified as night supervisors, ro- tate between the second and third shifts. During the time a night su- ' The Petitioner is in compliance with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f), (g), and (h) of the Act , although its Local 181 , which is the contractual bargaining representative of the Employer's hourly rated production and maintenance employees , is not in com- pliance. The record does not indicate that Local 181 has any interest in the representa- tion of the employees sought by the Petitioner . If it should subsequently appear that Local 181 is participating in the representation of these employees, we will entertain a motion to vacate any certification which may result from the election herein directed. 85 N. L. R. B., No. 25. 147 857 829-50-vol . 85--11 148 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD pervisor is on the job, he is in sole charge of the plant. He exercises his own judgment as to the manner in which established policies of the Employer must be carried out, and his disciplinary powers include the authority to eject summarily any employee whose presence he feels is_a. detrimental influence. We find that the, night supervisors are su- pervisors.within the meaning of the Act, and we shall therefore exclude them. The refinery carloading foreman checks freight cars to deter- mine whether they'are suitable for the Employer's use, and directs 16 men in the loading of the cars. He also inspects the work of 8 em- ployees who work on the salt brick machine. He is supervised only by the refinery superintendent. He can increase the working force in the carloading department, and in one instance at least, he has made an effective recommendation for promotion. We find that the carload- ing foreman is also a supervisor, and we shall exclude him from the unit. The refinery packaging foreman directs and inspects the pack- aging of the Employer's products. He spends as much as 5 hours a day directing and inspecting the work of 32 employees, and he in turn is supervised only by the refinery superintendent. He makes tempo- rary transfers of employees, and can recommend permanent transfers. ' We find the packaging foreman to be a supervisor and shall therefore exclude him from the unit,. The refinery stock and inventory foreman was thus classified by the Employer, but testified that he had always understood his classification to be "refinery stock and inventory clerk." He testified that his job was to "supervise" the storage of the material received in stock, and to "supervise" the operation of the printing press. It appears that he supervises employees only on occasions when there is a freight car to be unloaded. We find, on the present record, that the stock and inventory foreman is not a supervisor witl'in the meaning of the Act and we shall accordingly include him in the unit. The o ice manager is chiefly engaged as an accountant for the Em- ployer, but he has hired office employees without prior approval of his own supervisor, and has also given other office employees disciplinary lay-offs. We find that he is a supervisor, and shall exclude him from the unit. In accordance with the agreement of the parties, we find that all sal- aried employees at the Employer's Manistee, Michigan, plant, includ- ing the receiving clerk, secretary to the manager, switchboard operator and receptionist, refinery shipping clerk, assistant to refinery shipping clerk, the refinery stock and inventory foreman, assistant to refinery stock and inventory foreman, and the technician, but excluding all night supervisors, the refinery carloading foreman, the refinery pack- aging foreman, the office manager, and all other supervisors, consti- MANISTEE SALT WORKS , 149 tute 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 pur- poses 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 described 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 rein- stated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding 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 Chemical Workers Union, AFL.