National Tank Co.

In the Matter of NATIONAL TANK COMPANY and I NTERNATIONAL BROTH- ERHOOD OF BOILERMAKERS , IRON SHIP BUILDERS AND HELPERS OF AMERICA. LOCAL No. 79, A. F. L. Case No 15-R-1332 -Decided June 25, 1945 Mr. Karl H. Mueller, of Fort Worth, Tex., for the Company. Mr. S. 0. Davison, of Shreveport, La., for the Union. Mr Harold M. Humphreys, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, Local No. 79, A. F. L., herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of National Tank Company, Shreveport, Louisiana, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Walter Wilbur, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Shreveport, Louisiana, on May 11, 1945. The Company and the Union appeared and participated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to ex- amine 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 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY National Tank Company is a Nevada corporation, originally incorpo- rated in 1926 and reorganized in 1938, having its principal office in Tulsa, Oklahoma We are concerned herein with its plant located at Shreveport, Louisiana, which began operations on September 16, 1944. The Company 62N L.R.B,No.111. 899 900 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD is there engaged in the manufacture and sale of bolted and welded tanks and emulsion treaters. During the period of the Shreveport plant's opera- tion, the Company purchased raw materials amounting in value to approxi- mately $60,000, of which approximately 85 percent was received from points outside the State of Louisiana. For the same period, the Company's sales of finished products at the Shreveport plant amounted in value to approximately $70,000, of which approximately 50 percent was shipped to points outside the State of Louisiana. We find that the Company is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, Local No. 79, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, 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 ex- clusive bargaining representative of certain of its employees until the Union 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 Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.' We find that a cfuestion 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 parties are agreed that the appropriate unit should consist of all production and maintenance employees of the Shreveport plant engaged in unloading, lay-out, shearing, rolling, fitting, assembling, chipping, bolting, drilling, punching, riveting, welding, repairing, and plant truck driving, excluding watchmen, office clerical employees, the shop foreman, and all other supervisory employees. However, they are in disagreement as to the field installation crewmen.2 The Company desires to include these em- ployees, while the Union would exclude them i The Regional Attorney reported that the Union submitted 24 application for membership cards; that there were 41 employees in the alleged appropriate unit, and that the cards were dated in February and March 1945 2 There is also a dispute as to the supervisory status of the working foreman , the Company claim- ing he is non-supervisory and should therefore be included , and the Union taking the opposite view. We do not believe the state of the record to be such as to enable us to determine whether or not this employee possesses suprvlsory authority Accordingly , if he falls within our customary definition of supervisory employees , he shall be excluded, otherwise he shall be included. NATIONAL TANK COMPANY 901 Field installation creze'inen. The Shreveport plant's business consists of the manufacture and sale of oil storage tanks and other oil well equipment, as well as the installation of such equipment at sites designated by pur- chasers The field installation crew is composed of tank erectors, helpers, setters, and field truck drivers, whose duties as field installation crewmen carry them into all territory serviced by the Company : this territory appar- ently embraces, in addition to Louisiana, certain other States. Although the Company's present volume of business at the Shreveport plant does not require a full-tune field installation crew, the fact remains that, during the plant's approximate 6-month period of operations, the field installation crewmen spent 4 months in the field, and only 2 months in the plant as production employee,, fabricating and assembling certain types of tanks and equipment. Moreover, if the Company's business were to increase, these .crewmen would then be engaged full time in installation work. Inasmuch as the primary occupation of the crewmen is the installation of equipment, which requires work in the field away from the plant and the application of skills not demanded of production and maintenance employees, we shall exclude them. We find that all production and maintenance employees engaged in un- loading, lay-out, shearing, rolling, fitting, assembling, chipping, bolting, drilling, punching, riveting, welding, repairing, and plant truck driving at the Company's Shreveport, Louisiana, plant, but excluding watchmen, office clerical employees, the field installation crewmen, the shop foreman, and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, dis- charge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purpose,, of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act V THIS DETERM I NATION 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 vv ho were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to the limita- tions 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 Rule,, 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 National Tank Company, 902 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Shreveport, Louisiana, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) clays from the (late of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fifteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article 111. Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed (luring the pay-roll period im- n;ediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during the 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 exclud- ing any who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the (late of the election, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by International Brotherhood. of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, Local No 79. A F L , for the purposes of collective bargaining