General Motors Corp.

In the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, PACKARD ELECTRIC DIVISION and UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO & MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, C. I. O. Case No. 8-R-1733.-Decided June 7, 1945 Mr. Henry M. Hogan, of Detroit, Mich., for the Company, and i-Ir Harry S. Benjamin Jr., of Detroit, Mich., of counsel. Mr. F. R. Livingston, of New York City, for the Union. Mr. Isadore Engle, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by United Electrical, Radio & Machine Work- ers of America, C. I. 0., herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of General Motors Corporation, Packard Electric Division, Cleveland, Ohio, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Thomas E. Shroyer, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Cleveland, Ohio, on February 1, 1945. The Company and the Union appeared and participated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross- examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the"issues. 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. Upon the entire record in- the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY General Motors Corporation is a Delaware corporation with its prin- cipal offices in New York City and Detroit, Michigan. The Packard Electric Division, one of the Company's several unincorporated divisions, operates 62 N. L R. B , No. 27 174 GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 175 plants at Warren, Ohio, which are herein called the Warren plants, and are the only ones involved in this proceeding. At these plants, the Company is engaged in the production of aircraft parts, tank ignition systems, truck ignition lines, and various other army equipment. In excess of 50 percent of the value of the goods and materials used in the manufacturing process at the Warren plants comes from sources outside the State of Ohio. In excess of 50 percent of the value of the finished products manufactured at the plants is destined for points outside the State of Ohio. Approximately 100 percent of the goods so manufactured is sold or delivered to the United States Government for use by the armed forces ; during the year ending 1944, the Company sold approximately $30,000,000 worth of equipment to the Government. The Company admits, and we find, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED United Electrical , Radio & Machine Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as the exclu- sive bargaining representative of certain of its employees until the Union has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. A statement of a Field Examiner, introduced into evidence at the hear- ing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.' 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 The Union seeks a unit of all militarized plant guards, excluding mili- tarized matrons, watchmen,` the chief, lieutenants, and sergeants, and, in the alternative, would include the matrons in the unit should the Board find them to be part of the appropriate unit. The Company contends that the plant guards are not employees of the Company within the meaning of the Act and that a unit of militarized plant-protectioik employees is inappro- priate at this time in view of the decision of the United States Court of ' The Field Examiner reported that the Union submitted 15 authorization cards; that 13 of these caids bore the names of persons appearing on the Company's January 1, 1945, pay roll, containing the names of 26 persons in the unit hereinafter found appropriate, that, of these cards, 3 were dated November 1944, 10 were dated December 1944, and 2 were undated 2 In its petition the Union requested a unit consisting of all plant guards and watchmen, except supervisors ; this request was amended at the hearing 176 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the Jones & Laughlin and Federal Motor Truck Company cases.' Without waiving the foregoing position, the Com- pany asserts further that all its militarized plant guards, consisting of patrol- men and matrons, should be included in the same unit, and agrees with the other exclusions specified by the Union. The militarized plant-protection force of the Company consists of a chief, who heads the department, 2 lieutenants, 4 sergeants, all of whom are super- visory employees,' and some 20 patrolmen and 4 matrons. The patrolmen are militarized, and have duties which consist of maintaining order and protecting life and property. They police the gates, tour the plants, maintain safety rules, protect against sabotage, guard against theft, examine all pack- ages and vehicles leaving and entering the plants, check passes of both employees and visitors, and function generally in maintaining safety and order. All patrolmen are armed, uniformed, and wear arm bands reading, "Auxiliary Military Police." They have taken an oath of allegiance to the United States prescribed by military authority, are trained or drilled by the military, and have signed an agreement running to the United States in which they undertake to discharge faithfully their duties as auxiliary mili- tary police. Despite the Army's paramount authority over the, guards in the military sphere, the Company establishes their working conditions and exercises control over them as to hire, discharge, and transfer. The matrons are also auxiliary military police and their duties and responsibilities are substantially the same as patrolmen. The only material difference is that they do not bear arms. The Company's contention that militarized plant-protection employees, such as those here involved, are not employees of the Company within the meaning of the Act, has been previously considered by the Board in numer- ous cases and found to be without merit and, similarly, its further argument based, on the reasoning of the Jones & Laughlin and Federal Motor Truck cases has also been considered and answered by the Board in prior decisions.' We perceive no reason to depart from the principles enunciated in those cases. Accordingly, we find that,the militarization of the guards has not materially affected their status as employees under the Act nor has it affected their right, as such, to collective bargaining. As indicated above, the Union's primary position with respect to matrons is that they should be excluded from the unit. However, we perceive no reason for distinguishing between these two types of militarized plant- ' N. L R. B v Jones and Laughlin Steel Corp, 146 F. (2d) 718 (C C. A 6) ; N L R. B. v. Fed- eral Motor Truck Co., 146 F. (2d) 718 (C. C. A. 6). 4 The parties are in agreement as to their supervisory status. ' See Matter of Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard, Inc., 61 N. L. R. B. 901; Matter of International Harvester Company, Milwaukee Works, 61 N L. R. B. 912; Matter of Rohm & Haas Company, 60 N. L. R. B. 554; Matter of Babcock & Wilcox Company, 61 N. L. R. B 529; Matter of Drava Corporation, 52 N. L. R. B. 322. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 177 protection employees. We shall, accordingly, include them for collective bargaining purposes in the same unit with the patrolmen. As already stated, the Company and the Union are in agreement that the watchmen should not be included in the unit. The function of these watchmen is purely that of safeguarding the property of the Company against fire. They have never been militarized, are not uniformed, are unarmed, and have very few, if any, similar duties to those of the patrolmen and matrons. They are also under different supervision from that of the militarized plant-protection employees. In accordance with our usual prac- tice and pursuant to the agreement of the parties, we find that the watch- men are properly excluded from the bargaining unit.' We find that all militarized patrolmen and matrons, excluding watchmen, the chief, lieutenants, sergeants, and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate 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 employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period imme- diately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations 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 representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with General Motors Corporation, Packard Electric Division , Warren, Ohio, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty ( 30) days from the date of this Direction , under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Eighth 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 Regulations, 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 6 See Matter of Drava Corporation , supra. 1 /8 DECIS1ONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOAR]) 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 any 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 or not they desire to be represented by United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, C. I. 0., for the purposes of col- lective bargaining.