Federal Screw Works

In the Matter Of FEDERAL SCREW WORKS and MICHIGAN METAL CRAFTS- MEN, INC., LOCAL No. 27, AFFILIATED WITH THE MICHIGAN COUNCIL FOR INDEPENDENT UNIONS Case No. 7-R-1943.-Decided April 6, 1945 Mr. Lawrence L. Levi, of Detroit, Mich., for the Company. Mr. John B. Mellott, of Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Independent. Sugar cQ Smokier by Mr. N. L. Smokier, of Detroit, Mich., for the CIO. Messrs. Benj. E. Cook and Bernard Goldberg, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by Michigan Metal Craftsmen, Inc., Local No. 27, affiliated with the Michigan Council For Independent Unions, herein called the Independent, alleging that a question affecting com- merce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Fed- eral Screw Works, Chelsea Division, Chelsea, Michigan, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Sylvester J. Pheney, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Ann Arbor, Michigan, on February 9, 1945. At the hearing the Trial Examiner granted a mo- tion to intervene made by International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Local #437, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, herein called the CIO. The Company, the Independent, and the CIO ap- peared and participated. The CIO moved to dismiss the petition. For reasons hereinafter stated, the said motion is hereby denied. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard,- to examine and cross-examine witnesses and to introduce evidence bearing on the is- sues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board. 61 N. L. B. B., No 52. 387 388 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Federal Screw Works is a Michigan corporation with plants in -Detroit and Chelsea, Michigan. This proceeding involves only the Chelsea Division . The principal raw materials consist of steel, brass, and aluminum . For the 6-months period ending December 31, 1944, the Company's purchases aggregated $300,000 in value, 80 percent of which was shipped from points outside the State of Michigan to the plants of the Chelsea Division . During the same period , theosales of the Chelsea Division were in excess of $2,000,000 , 85 percent of which was shipped to points outside the State of Michigan. - The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Michigan Metal Craftsmen , Inc., Local No. 27, affiliated with the Michigan Council For Independent Unions, is, a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricul- tural Implement Workers of America, Local $k437, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations , is a labor arganization ad- mitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Following a consent election in January 1944, which the CIO won, the Company entered into a collective bargaining contract with the CIO for the term of 1 year from February 1, 1944. The contract pro- vided for automatic renewal from year to year "unless at any time after January 1945 and upon thirty days notice either party shall serve written notice upon the other that it desires cancellation, re- vision, or modification of any provision or provisions of this agree- ment." Except for wage provisions, the contract covered the usual subject matter of collective bargaining contracts ; check-off, grievance procedure, seniority, hours, vacations and general working rules. The wage issue which remained unsettled involved the Company 's merit in- crease procedure which the CIO sought to replace with an automatic progression plan. Unable to foresee an immediate agreement on this issue, the contracting parties entered into a supplemental con- tract on March 24, 1944, providing for the continuance of the merit increase plan which had been instituted previously by the Company. FEDERAL SCREW WORKS 389 On May 1, 1944, this supplemental agreement was terminated, pur- suant to its terms, by notice from the CIO and the entire issue, together with demands for a 10 cent an hour wage increase and a Christmas bonus, were thereafter submitted to the Regional War Labor Board? On December 9,1944-, the Regional War Labor Board denied the latter two demands but granted, in part, the CIO's request for automatic wage progressions. The CIO filed a petition for reconsideration of the directive order but withdrew it after reaching an understanding with the Company, relative to the terms of a new merit increase agree- ment to be submitted to the Regional War Labor Board for approval. On December 29, 1944, the Company served written notice on the CIO that it did not wish to extend the 1944 contract as written and re- quested certain revisions, which, however, were note specified in the notice. At a meeting on January 3, 1945, the parties orally agreed to revisions which clarified some of the language of the previous agree- ment, altered the seniority provision, and changed the coverage by ex- cluding nurses. On January 4, 1945, the Independent notified the Company in writing of its claim to represent a majority of the latter's employees and requested a meeting. The Company refused to meet with the In- dependent, stating that it would continue to recognize the CIO until another union was certified by the Board. On January 30, 1945, fol- lowing the disposal of injunction proceedings initiated by the Inde- pendent on January 8, 1945, the CIO and the Company signed two separate agreements, the first replacing the 1944 contract, and the second containing the provisions of the new merit increase plan. This latter agreement provides for the payment of merit increases retro- actively to May 1, 1944; on the day of the hearing the Company com- menced paying such retroactive increases, following approval of the agreement by the Regional War Labor Board. It is clear that none of the contracts between the Company and the CIO is a bar to this proceeding; the contracts of January 30, 1945, were signed after the Independent's claim of representation had been served upon the Company; and the contract effective as of February 1, 1944, had been terminated by act of the parties thereto. The CIO, I ow- ever, urges that because of the proceedings before the War Labor Board, which it prosecuted diligently, it has not had the opportunity of functioning under a complete contract for a reasonable length of -time, and that, therefore, under the principle enunciated in the Allis- Chalmers case,' as particularly applied in the recent Taylor Forge,3 and American-Marsh Pumps cases,' the Independent's petition should 'The Company continued to a\%ard merit increases but withheld payment pending determination of the wage issue. 2 Matter of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, 50 N. L. R. B 306. ' Matter of Taylor Forge & Pipe Works, 58 N L R B. 1375 4 Matter of American-Marsh Pumps, Inc., 59 N. L. R. B. 1084. 390 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD be dismissed. In both of the latter two cases, there were still vital unresolved issues pending before the War Labor Board at the time of the hearing. In the instant case, however, the outstanding issue had been settled by the War Labor Board prior to the hearing, and the retroactive provisions of that settlement have resulted in the em- ployees of the Company receiving substantially all of the benefits secured for them by the CIO as collective bargaining agent for the initial contract term.5 Under these circumstances, we find that the 1945 contracts constitute no bar to the instant proceeding. A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear- ing, indicates that the Independent represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.6 We find that 'a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT We find, substantially in accord with a stipulation of the parties, that all employees of the Company's Chelsea Division, excluding office, experimental engineering, plant engineering, and plant-pro- tection employees, timekeepers, factory office clerks, drafstmen, nurses, and all supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, dis- charge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of em- ployees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit ap- propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean- ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em- ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay- roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elec- tion herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. 6 There apparently was no disagreement as to other aspects of the wage issue. Although no direct evidence was offered at the hearing , the January 30, 1945, merit increase agree- ment contains the following recital : " whereas , there is presently in existence for said Chelsea Division a schedule of job classifications, wage rates and rate ranges which have heretofore been approved by the Detroit Regional Office of the National War Labor Board, . .11 The Field Examiner reported that the Independent submitted 233 cards ; that the names of all the persons appearing on the cards were listed on the Company 's pay roll of January 9, 1945, which contained the names of 638 employees in the appropriate unit ; and that the cards were dated in December 1944, and January 1945 The CIO relies on its contract to establish its interest. FEDERAL SCREW WORKS DIRECTION OF ELECTION 391 By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela- tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Federal Screw Works, Chelsea Division, Chelsea, Michigan, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than sixty (60) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Seventh Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regula- tions, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, 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, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether they desire to be represented by Michigan Metal Craftsmen, Inc., Local No. 27, affiliated with the Michigan Council for Independent Unions, or by International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Local #437, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.