Sturgis Foundry Corp.

In the Matter of STLTRGIS FOUNDRY CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL MOLDERS AND FOUNDRY WORKERS UNION OF NORTH A MERICA, A. F. L., LocAL 388, PETITIONER Ca.se No. 7-RC-526.-Decided July 2.1, 1949 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Francis E. Burger, 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 this case to a three-member panel [Members Houston, 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 labor organization named below claims 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 parties agree that all the Employer's employees, including the core makers, molders, maintenance employees, and laborers, but excluding the office and clerical employees, the watchman-janitor, the foremen and all other supervisors, constitute an appropriate unit. There is disagreement with respect to the unit placement of the pat- tern maker, the Employer contending that he should be excluded, and the Petitioner urging his inclusion. The pattern maker is an hourly paid worker assigned to the pattern shop which is separately housed. He is primarily engaged in gating, rigging, and repairing patterns and in connection with these duties he works with maintenance men and molders. He also devotes about 10 ' This employee devotes the majority of his time to watchman's duties and the balance of his time to janitor work. 85 N. L. R. B., No. 60. 309 310 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD to 15 percent of his time to pattern making; In the future, the pattern maker may be called upon to spend more time making patterns if the Employer is able to purchase the equipment necessary for the perform- ance of these functions. The Employer contends that the pattern maker should not be included in a unit with other employees, because he, unlike the other workers, is a craftsman. The Board has on numer- ous occasions included craftsmen, in units composed of production and maintenance workers, where, as here, no union is seeking to represent them on a separate basis.- Furthermore, were the pattern maker in the instant case excluded from the unit, he could not by himself consti- tute an appropriate unit with the result that he would-be left entirely without an opportunity for representation." In view of these circum- stances, we shall include the pattern maker. ' We find that all the Employer's employees, including the core makers, molders, maintenance employees, laborers, and the pattern maker, but excluding the office and clerical employees, the watclvnan- janitor, the foremen, and all other supervisors constitute a unit appro- priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. 5. The Employer contends that an election at the present time would be premature because it is still in the process of setting up its plant. It appears that the Employer began its operation in January 1949, with 23 employees, and thereafter with expanding business it increased its personnel with the result that there were 53 employees on its pay roll at the time of the hearing. The Employer contemplates further expansion of its business and a complement of between 80 to 100 employees. However, this goal will not be attained unless more orders for the Employer's products are forthcoming. As it is uncertain when the Employer will obtain such orders, if at all, we do not believe that the Employer's current employees, who constitute a substantial and representative group, should be deprived of their rights at the present time to bargain collectively with the Employer as provided in the Act .4 Accordingly we shall order an immediate election. 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 2 Matter of Air Metals, Inc., 83 N. L. R. B. 945; Matter of Lynchburg Transit Com- pany, 79 N. L. R. B. 546. 3 Matter of W. & J. Sloane, 82 N. L. R. B. 924; Matter of American Tube Works, Inc., .82 N. L. R. B. 80. 4 Matter of Textron, Incorporated, 72 N. L. R. B. 341. STURGIS FOUNDRY CORPORATION 311 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 the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees described in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, 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 excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether or not they desire to be repre- sented by International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America, A. F. L., Local 388, for the purposes of collective bargaining.