Herman Nelson Corp.

In the Matter Of HERMAN NELSON CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and DISTRICT No. 102, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, PETITIONER Case No. 13-RC-621.-Decided July 14, 1949 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Morris Slavney, hearing officer. 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 thise 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 labor organizations involved claim to represent certain 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 appropriate unit : The Petitioner seeks a unit consisting of all tool and die makers, machinists, leadmen, helpers, and apprentices in the Employer's tool- room. United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, CIO, and its Local 822, herein called the Intervenors, and the Em- ployer contend that the over-all production and maintenance unit, heretofore represented by the Intervenors,, is appropriate. The toolroom is in a separate enclosure within the plant building. The general maintenance foreman is in charge of the toolroom and ' Local 814, of the United Electrical , Radio and Machine Workers of America, CIO, had represented the production and maintenance employees of the Employer since its certifi- cation in 1943. On January 31, 1949, Local 814 with the consent of the Employer, assigned its rights under its most recent contract to Local 822, one of the Intervenors herein. The Intervenors contend that this contract is a bar to the present proceeding . We find no merit in this contention as the contract in question expired on June 1, 1949. 85 N. L. R. B., No. 35. 206 HERMAN NELSON CORPORATION 207 the maintenance department. The tool and die makers fabricate and repair tools, dies, and fixtures for the production departments. Ap- proximately 95 percent of their time is spent in the toolroom, the re- mainder in the various production departments assembling and adjusting dies. The tool and die makers are highly skilled,2 and are the highest paid of the Employer's hourly rated employees.3 They own their own tools. There are nine toolroom employees, eight of whom are classified by the Employer as Tool Makers A and one as Tool Maker B. Tool Makers A, by the Employer's job description, must have 4 years' training and experience; and Tool Makers B, from 2 to 3 years. All the tool and die makers at present employed by the Employer meet these standards. Under the terms of the contracts between the Employer and the Intervenors, other employees could exercise seniority privileges in the toolroom only if they met the minimum job requirements. Trans- fers to the toolroom have been infrequent. There have been no more than two such transfers in the past year and a half. In view of the foregoing, we find that the Employer's tool and die makers are an identifiable, homogeneous, highly skilled craft group, which may constitute an appropriate unit notwithstanding the pre- vious history of collective bargaining on a broader basis 4 However, we shall make no unit determination pending the outcome of the elec- tion directed below. If, in this election, the employees in the voting group described below select the Petitioner, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate bargaining unit; other- wise, we shall dismiss the petition. We shall direct an election among the following employees in the Employer's Moline, Illinois, plant : All tool and die makers, machinists, leadman,5 helpers, and appren- tices 6 in the toolroom, excluding office and clerical employees, guards, professional employees, supervisors, and all other employees. 2 Only two employees in other departments of the plant possess qualifications equivalent to those of the tool and die makers . One of these employees is in the special products department, and works exclusively with sheet metal. The other works in the machine shop, and spends 90 percent of his time on production work. The gross earnings of certain production employees may, on occasion , exceed the earn- ings of the tool and die makers, by reason of the Employer 's incentive bonus plan. 4 Matter of Jefferson Electric Company, 80 N. L. R. B. 6. See Matter of C. V. Hill and Company, Inc., 76 N. L. R. B. 158. 6 The record shows that the leadman spends 90 percent of his time as a tool and die maker . He consults with the other toolroom employees concerning their work, but he possesses none of the indicia of supervisory authority . He has been included in the unit represented by the Intervenors . We shall, therefore , include him in the unit. 9 Although it appears that there are no machinists, helpers, or apprentices at present employed in the toolroom , no objection was made at the hearing to their inclusion in the unit sought by the Petitioner . i. ., 208 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 supervision 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, among the employees in the r. voting group 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 bargain- ing, by District No. 102, International Association of Machinists. 7 Having failed to achieve compliance , or to initiate steps for compliance with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f), (g), and (11), of the ameadod Jct. th.; Inte -venors will not lie accorded places on the ballot.