General Motors Corp.

In the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION (CHEVROLET SHELL DIVISION) and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORK- ER,,;, LOCAL No. 1, AFL In the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION (CHEVROLET SHELL DIVISION) and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, DISTRICT No 9, AFL In the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION (CHEVROLET SHELL DIVISION) and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIR- CRAFT & AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO In the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION (CHEVROLET SHELL DIVISION) and UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO Cases Nos. 14-R-1149,14-R-1150, 14-R-1163, and 14-R-1184,, respec- tively -Decided June 15, 1945 Messrs. Henry M. Hogan and Harry S Benjamin, Jr., of Detroit. Mich., for the Company. Messrs H P. Koenig and James E. Whalen, of St Louis, Mo., for the IBEW Mr. W. C. Riley, of St. Louis, Mo, for the I. A. M. Mr- William R Driscoll, of St Louis, Mo, and Messrs :1 L Zwer- dli-ng and James T. Dunne, of Detroit, Mich, for the UAW Messrs William Sentner and Ruddy Bergman, of St Louis, Mo., for the UE. Mr Sidney Grossman, of counsel to the Board DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS AND ORDER STATEMENT OF THE CASE, Upon separate amended petitions filed by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local No. 1, AFL, herein called the IBEW, and by 62 N. L R. B., No. 61. 427 428 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Imple- ment Workers of America, CIO, herein called the UAW, and separate petitions filed by International Association of Machinists, District No. 9, AFL, herein called the JAM, and United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, CIO, herein called the UE, each alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of General Motors Corporation (Chevrolet Division), St. Louis, Missouri, herein called the Company; the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate consolidated hearing upon clue notice before Helen F. Humphrey. Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at St. Louis, Missouri, on April 12, 194. The Company, the IBEW, the JAM, the UAW, and the UE appeared and participated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine wit- nesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. At the hearing the Trial Examiner reserved ruling upon the motions of the Company and the UAW to dismiss the petitions of the IBEW, the IAM, and the UE on the ground that the units petitioned for are inappropriate. For the rea- sons appearing hereinafter, these motions are denied. The Trial Examiner also reserved ruling upon the UE's motion to deny the IBEW and the IAM a place on the ballot on the ground that they refuse to accept Negroes to membership Subsequent to the hearing, the UE filed a request with the Board for withdrawal of its petition in Case No. 14-R-1184 without prejudice to its rights as intervenor in the remaining cases herein. We hereby grant the UE's request and shall, accordingly, direct that its peti- tion be dismissed. Subsequent to the hearing, the UE also made a motion to dismiss the petitions of the IANI and the IBEW on the ground that the proposed units are inappropriate, and moved to open the record for the purpose of adducing evidence that the IBEW and the IAM cannot func- tion as the bargaining representatives of the Negro employees within the units sought by them and therefore should not be permitted to appear on the ballot in any election that may be ordered by the Board For the rea- sons hereinafter set forth in Section IV, infra, the UE's motions are here- by denied. 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 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY General Motors Corporation, a Delaware corporation, maintains its principal business offices at New York City and Detroit, Michigan. It 1 At the hearing, the name of the Company was amended in Cases Nos 14-R-1 163 and 14-R-1184 as designated above. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 429 functions through several unincorporated divisions, one of which is the Chevrolet Motors Division. We are here concerned with the Chevrolet Motor Division's St. Louis, Missouri, Shell Division. Plant. Tn excess of 50 percent of the goods and materials employed in the processing and manufacturing operations at this plant is secured from sources outside the State of Missouri. In excess of 50 percent of the value of its finished prod- ucts eventually reach points outside the State of Missouri. Almost all of the finished products processed at the Shell Division's Plant are sold or delivered to the United States Government for use by the armed forces and the United Nations. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within,the meaning of the Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Im- plement Workers of America, and United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, both affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, are labor organizations admitting to membership employ- ees of the Company. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local No. 1, and In- ternational Association of Machinists, District No. 9, both affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, are labor organizations admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The unions here involved have requested recognition as the bargaining representative of the Company's employees in a unit each alleges to be appropriate The Company refused to grant recognition to any of the unions herein until it has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicates that the IBEW, the TAM, and the UAW each represents a sub- stantial number of employees in the unit each claims to be appropriate.' We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning of Sec- tion 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 2 The Field Examiner reported that the IBEW submitted 50 authorization cards, of which 37 represented the names of persons appearing on the company pay roll of March 12, 1945, and that 10 cards bore dates in January 1945, 20 in February 1945, and 7 were undated, in an alleged appropriate unit consisting of 42 employees He further reported that IAM submitted 162 authorization cards, of which 53 represented the names of persons appearing upon the company pay roll above referred to, and that 2 bore dates in 1944, 40 in 1945, 9 were undated, and 2 were improperly dated, in an alleged appropriate unit consisting of 103 employees. The UAW submitted 1,015 membership cards and the U E submitted 201 membership cards There are approximately 2,900 employees in the unit each alleges to be appropriate The representation evidence submitted by the UE is adequate to support its status as an intervenor and accord it a place on the ballot. 430 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The UAW seeks a unit consisting of all production and maintenance employees at the Company's St. Louis, Missouri, plant, with certain in- clusions and exclusions hereinafter set forth. The JAM desires a unit com- prising all the employees in departments 5, 6, 7, and 9, including leadmen, but excluding office and clerical employees and supervisory employees.' The IBEW requests a unit confined to the Company's electricians, includ- ing lead electricians and the refrigeration man. The Company and the UE. agree that the unit petitioned for by the UAW is appropriate. The departmental groups sought by the IAM occupy separate portions of the machine building under the immediate supervision of foremen who are responsible to the Master Mechanic. With the exception of the ma- chine repairmen in department 9, who work throughout the plant, the remaining employees in the machinist group perform their work in the machine building. The Company and the UE assert in their briefs that the IAM's unit is inappropriate because excluded therefrom are tool and fob setters in department 2 and those engaged in shell machining and heat treating in department 3 who also work in the machine building. However. the record discloses that the employees sought by the IAM, unlike those in departments 2 and 3, whose work is more closely associated with the pro- duction process, repair machines and work on tools and dies and generally earn a higher rate of pay than the employees in departments 2 and 3 Similarly, the Company and the UE assert that the unit sought by the IBEW is inappropriate since the employees therein comprise only part of the Company's maintenance department However, we are of the opinion that such employees constitute a cohesive and identifiable group.' The employees in both the TAM and the IBEW groups employ craft skills com- monly associated with the interests of their respective organizations and possess substantial homogeneity. The record does not disclose any frequent interchange between these employees and other employees in the plant We therefore find, in the absence of any history of collective bargaining. that the employees sought by the IAM and the IBEW may properly bar- gain as separate craft units On the other hand, in view of the close integra- tion of the Company's operations, it is evident that they may also function as part of a plant-wide unit. Accordingly, our determination of the unit issues will depend, in part, upon the employees' own desires to be expressed in the elections hereinafter directed. The Company has in its employ approximately 200 individuals in mili- tary service who have been detailed by the United States Government to 3 The departments comprising the employees sought by the TAM ate designated as follows depart- ment 5, tool and die, deoartment 6, carbide tool; department 7, tool sharpening, department 9 machine repairs The request of the IAIt to amend its petition as designated above is lieieby granted i See Matter of Illinois Division, Bender Aviation Co,po,atios, 54 N L R B 1051, jllattc, of Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc, 54 N L R B. 67 GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 431 work in the plant for 90 days. The parties request that they be allowed to participate in the election. These employees are employed under the same working conditions as the other employees in the plant. Upon the expira- tion of 90 days, at their request, they may be granted a release from the Government for the purpose of remaining with the Company for the war's duration. We are of the opinion that those employees who have not se- cured a release from the Government are temporary employees since the probability of their remaining with the Company beyond the 90-day period is speculative. Accordingly, we hold them ineligible to vote.' On the other hand, those who have been granted a release from the Government for the purpose of enabling them to remain with the Company as regular em- ployees, have a sufficient interest in the working conditions of the plant to warrant their participation in the election. Accordingly, we shall permit them to vote. The UE alleges that the IAM and the IBEW refuse to admit to mem- bership Negroes employed by the Company and therefore should not be permitted to participate in any election which the Board might order. The TAM and the IBEW has each stated on the record that "it has, does, and will represent all employees of the unit declared appropriate for collective bargaining" by the Board. \'Ve construe such i epresentations as having been made in accordance with the constitutions of the TAM and the IBEW which, as observed from provisions of these documents in numerous Board cases involving these organizations, do not sanction discrimination by reason of race, color, creed, or national origin However, if the TAM and the IBEW are certified, and it is later shown, upon appropriate mo- tion, that either organization has denied adequate representation to any employee because of his race, color, creed, or national origin, we shall consider such discriminatory practice as grounds for rescinding the cer- tification As hereinbefore indicated, we shall make no final determination with respect to the appropriate unit or units pending the outcoihe of the elec- tions hereinafter directed. We shall direct that separate elections by secret ballot be held among the employees in each of the voting groups set forth below, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preced- ing the date of the Direction of Elections herein, excluding office and clerical employees, superintendents, general foremen, foremen, and all other supervisory employees, with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effec- tively recommend such action, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the direction G See Matter of National Lock Company, 61 N L. R B 1366 , Matter of Atn,nuouna Coripaiy of America and Carolina Aluminum Company , 61 N L R. B. 770 9 See Matter of Carter Manufactuoing Company , 59 N L R . B 804 , Matter of Bethlehem- Alameda Shipyard, Ire, 53 N L. R B 999. 432 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 1. All employees of the Company located in departments 5, 6, 7, and 9, including leadmen. 2. All employees of the Company classified as electricians, Including • lead electricians and the refrigeration man.' 3. All remaining production and maintenance employees and mechanical employees in engineering department shops of the Company, including leaders, but excluding employees of sales, accounting, personnel, and in- dustrial relations departments, time-study men, plant-protection em- ployees' (but not to include maintenance patrolmen or fire patrolmen), chief engineers and shift operating engineers in power plants, designing (drawing board), production estimating and planning engineers, drafts- men and detailers, physi6ists, chemists, metallurgists, artists, designer- artists and clay plaster modelers, timekeepers, technical school students, indentured apprentices, those technical or professional employees who are receiving training, kitchen and cafeteria help, and confidential employees.' Upon the results of the elections in the fore-mentioned groups will de- pend, in part, our determination of the appropriate unit or units. DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS 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 Corpora- tion, Chevrolet Division, S. Louis, Missouri, elections by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction of Elections, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fourteenth 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 em- ployees who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately pre- ceding the date of this Direction of Elections, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vaca- tion 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 elections." 7 The refrigeration man who is classified as an electrician 8 The partias agreed, and we find, that maintenance men in the plant-protection department assigned to fire detail are deemed included within this category ° The unit composition conforms with the unit embodied in the master agreement between the General Motors Corporation and the UAW International. 10 The requests of the UAW and the UE to have their respective names appear on the ballot as designated in the Direction of Elections are hereby granted GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 433 1. The employees in the first voting group described in Section IV, above, to determine whether they desire to be represented by International Association of Machinists, District No. 9, AFL, by UAW-CIO, or by UE-CIO, for the purposes of collective bargaining , or by none of these unions. 2. All employees in the second voting group described in Section IV, above, to determine whether they desire to be represented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local No. 1, AFL, by UAW-CIO, or by UE-CIO, for the purposes of collective bargaining , or by none of these unions. 3. All employees in the third voting group described in Section IV, above, to determine whether they desire to be represented by UAW-CIO or by UE-CIO, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. ORDER Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the petition for investigation and cer- tification of representatives filed by United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, CIO, be, and it hereby is, dismissed.