Stanolind Oil & Gas Co.

In the Matter Of STANOLIND OIL & GAS COMPANY and OIL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, C. I. O. Case No . 16-R-1500.-Decided April 16, 1946 Mueller & Mueller, by Mr. Karl H. Mueller , of Fort Worth, Tex., and Messrs. Donald Campbell and George B. Sandel, of Tulsa, Okla., for the Company. Mr. Harry Cochran, of Fort Worth, Tex., and Mr. Allen H. Brown, of Houston , Tex., for the C. I. O. Mr. Gilbert R. Wallace , of Bishop, Tex., for the Federation. Mr. James Zett, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by Oil Workers International Union, C. I. 0., herein called the C. I. 0., alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Stanolind Oil & Gas Company, Tulsa, Oklahoma, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Louis R. Mercado, Trial Examiner. The hearing was held at Houston, Texas, on January 18, 1946. The Company, the C. I. 0., and the Stanolind Employees Federation, unaffiliated, herein called the Federation, 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 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 Stanolind Oil & Gas Company, a Delaware corporation and sub- sidiary of the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, has a principal 67 N. L. R. B., No. 53. 375 376 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD office and place of business at Tulsa, Oklahoma, and 4 division offices in Wyoming, Texas, and Louisiana. It is licensed to do business in 20 States, owns and operates a small refinery near Superior, Louisi- ana, and is engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas in several States of the United States. In its operation throughout the United States it produces in excess of 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day. In the operation of its Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast division, the only operation with which we are concerned, it produces over 50,000 barrels of oil per day, having an approximate value of $1 per barrel, over 75 percent of which is shipped in inter- state commerce by the purchasers either as crude petroleum or petroleum products. We find that the Company in the operation of its Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast division is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 11. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Oil Workers International Union is a labor organization, affiliated with the C. I. 0., admitting to membership- employees of the Company. Stanolind Employees Federation is a labor organization, unaffili- ated, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to the C. I. O. as the exclusive bargaining representative of its Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast division employees because the Federation also claims to repre- sent such employees. A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicates that the C. I. O. 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 C. I. O. seeks a unit confined to the production department of the Company's Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast division, whereas the Com- , The Field Examiner reported that the C I 0 submitted 188 authorization cards bear- ing apparently genuine, original signatures The C. I. O. contends that there are approximately 495 employees in the alleged appro- priate unit. The Company objected to the admission into evidence of the Field Examiner's report on the ground , among others , of incompetency. The Trial Examiner overruled this objection , and his ruling is hereby upheld See Matter of Buffalo Arms Corporation, 57 N. L R B 1560 ; Matter of Champion Sheet Metal Company, Inc , 61 N. L. R. 13. 511, and cases cited therein. The Federation's interest is based on contractual relations with the Company and on an exhibit of authorization petitions apparently signed by employees of the Company. STANOLIND OIL & GAS COMPANY 377 pany and the Federation seek a unit embracing the division's two departments, namely production and exploration, and all functional operations within such departments. The Company and the Federa- tion would accordingly include office and field clericals, and technical and professional employees, all of whom the C. I. 0. would exclude. The C. I. 0. and the Company would exclude, and the Federation would include, "unlimited hour" employees, that is, those who are not covered by the wage and hour provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. All parties agree that supervisory employees should be excluded. The Company's total operations cover an extensive area, divided into four divisions, and we are here concerned only with the Texas- Louisiana Gulf Coast division with headquarters at Houston, Texas. This division embraces an area extending from the Rio Grande to the Mississippi River and inland approximately 50 to 100 miles. The Company in this division explores fields for new gas and petroleum deposits, and drills wells for the production of oil which is carried by pipe line to storage tanks on the same leases and sold under contract to companies for resale to consumers. There are no refinery facilities in this division, and the Company's pipe lines are merely a gathering system for the crude oil and gas. A division superintendent, division manager, office manager, and industrial labor relations supervisor head the division's administration in the Houston office. The division superintendent exercises over-all control of the division and is specifically responsible for the operations of the production department, while the division manager directs and controls the operation of the exploration department. The office manager works under both the division superintendent and division manager, controlling office procedure and matters of a clerical nature throughout the division. The Company's labor policy in this division is actively administered by the division superintendent, apparently assisted by the industrial relations supervisor. Much reliance is placed, however, upon the judgment of the innumerable, immediate supervisors throughout the division, who have the power to hire, discharge, and discipline without consulting the division office. The division is divided into 3 districts, each maintaining a district office and each supervised by a district superintendent. The 3 dis- tricts are in turn subdivided into areas, 11 in all, each likewise main- taining an office and each supervised by a field superintendent. Each area office is immediately controlled by a field clerk, who is described by the Company as the field superintendent's assistant, and who su- pervises all clerical employees in the area office. Each area office maintains its own pay roll, production and personnel records, and production and personnel records are likewise maintained in the divi- sion office. The pay rolls are sent to the main office of the Company 378 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the checks are made out, and sent to the area offices for distribution. All employees of the Company are car- ried on 1 pay roll with the exception of certain employees who are carried on a separate pay roll because their salaries are considered confidential. In support of their contention for inclusion of the exploration department and of clerical and technical employees, the Company and Federation contend that the history of collective bargaining sup- ports a unit of all employees. In 1937, the Company and the Federa- tion entered into a contract whereby the Federation was recognized as the collective bargaining agent of all the Company's employees in this division excluding supervisors. The contract contained an auto- matic renewal clause, and elaborate and detailed procedure for the handling of grievances, culminating in the appointment of a U. S. Labor Department mediator in unsettled grievances. It is silent as to matters dealing with hours, wages, and working conditions, but at the hearing, the Company contended that supplemental agreements, both oral and written, had been entered into between the parties, covering hours, wages, and working conditions. With the exception of an employee car mileage allowance agreement, the Company de- clined to produce any of these supplemental agreements. In view of all the circumstances, we are constrained to disregard this history of alleged collective bargaining in determination of the appropriate unit herein.2 Exploration Department. The C. I. O. would exclude, and the Company and Federation would include, the exploration depart- ment. It appears from an organizational chart of the Company, in- troduced into evidence at the hearing, that the exploration depart- ment is considered a separate department of the division and, as noted above, has distinct supervision by the division manager. This department consists of seismic parties, or exploratory crews, of which there are four at present. The exploratory crews build roads, cut brush, and set up small drilling rigs in the marshes and fields to drill shallow holes in which explosive charges are detonated. The crews assist geologists, paleontologists, seismologists and other technical personnel in gathering data from which oil and gas deposits can be located. When the "shooting" is completed in one location, the crew moves elsewhere. A party generally remains in one location approxi- mately 4 to 6 months, although the parties at Crowley and Houma have been there for 2 years. These, however, are admitted exceptions, and with a full complement of employees, technicians, and scientists these crews will be more itinerant than at present. 2 See Matter of Corn Products Refining Company, 52 N. L R. B. 1324; Matter of Standard Oil Company of Indiana, 56 N. L. R. B. 1101 ; Matter of Stanolind Oil and Gas Company, 58 N. L. R. B. 412. STANOLIND OIL & GAS COMPANY 379 The seismic party in the field is under the immediate supervision of a party chief who receives his orders from the Houston office and reports to the division seismograph superintendent. It consists of 40 employees of whom 35 are unskilled and non-supervisory, and are hired and discharged by the party chief. Technicians and scientists are hired by the division office, and are also subject to the supervision of the party chief. The superintendent of the area in which the party is located directs, in consultation with the scientists, the places to be drilled, and the pay roll of the crew is computed in the area office, along with all the other employees of the area. In common with the production workers, the unskilled and non-supervisory members of these crews are hourly paid employees. The Company contends that the interests of the employees in the exploration department are identical with those in the production department and it points to certain similarity between small rig drill- ing and deep well production drilling. The drilling done by explora- tory crews, however, is relatively shallow, never exceeding 600 feet, while the production drilling crews operate large rotary drills, are oil location a much longer time, and drill wells an average depth of 6,000 feet. Ability to operate a drilling rig in exploration does not qualify the operators to run a large production drilling rig. The seismic parties work in isolation, and although some work categories such as cooks, laborers, and truck drivers are duplicated in the pro- duction department," the vast majority of such classifications find no counterpart in production.' The relatively transitory nature of the seismic parties, the rather technical nature of their operations, the existence of the exploration department as a distinct functional department of the division and the isolation of exploratory crews from production workers negates a community of interest between the 2 groups of employees, and demonstrates, on the other hand, the homogeneity of the exploratory crews as a group in themselves. In view of all these considerations, the exploration department will be excluded from the appropriate unit. As to composition of the unit of production department employees, the parties reached accord at the hearing on various inclusions and exclusions. They agreed that at least all employees listed in Appendix A should be included and that at least all employees listed in Appendix B, who work in the production department, should be included. The parties agreed that all categories listed in Appendix C are supervisors with power to hire and discharge or to effectively recommend such action and should therefore be excluded from the appropriate unit. 8 A complete list of categories common to both departments will be found in Appendix B. , These categories include first and second class drillers , first, second, and third class helpers, assistant observers , first and second class shooters , junior and apprentice computer, log plotter, sample washer, and scout. 380 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Office and Field Clericals. The C. I. 0. would exclude, and the Com- pany and the Federation would include, office and field clericals. The 20 office clericals in the division and district offices perform the usual functions of typing, filing, comparing invoices, dictation, and checking of production records. The photostat operators, receptionist, and messenger are stationed in the division office, and come within this group of office clericals. In accordance with our usual policy,5 we shall exclude all these employees as office clericals. The 60 field clericals work in the area offices contiguous to the area production fields. These clericals compute the area pay roll, distribute the checks, and are engaged in routine filing, comparing of invoices, and compiling of production reports, received apparently from the production clerk, and made in the first instance by the pumpers. On occasion, and in case of an emergency, their work will carry them out- side the office and into the production field proper to check inventories or to recheck production reports. There have been some transfers between roustabouts and pumpers and field clericals. On the other hand, there is evidence of transfer between the division, district, and area clericals. All clericals come within the over-all jurisdiction of the office manager in the Houston office. All clericals are monthly salaried employees, whereas operating employees in the production department are hourly paid. There is some contact between field clericals and production employees, but we are satisfied that there is no close inter- relation between the two, and it appears that the interests of these field clericals are more closely identified with the office clericals than with production workers.6 We shall accordingly exclude them from the unit. Technical and Professional Employees. The C. I. 0. would exclude and the Company and Federation would include, technical and pro- fessional employees. The Company employs chemists and various classifications of engineers 7 in its operations, but with the exception 6Matter of Sharp & Dohme, Inc., 56 N L. R. B. 1471, Matter of Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Incorporated, 60 N. L. R. B. 559; Matter of Rockford Screw Products Co., 62 N. L. R. B. 1430. 6 See Matter of Standa+•d Oil Company of California, 58 N L R B. 560 ; Matter of Richfield Oil Corporation, 59 N. L. R. B 1554; Matter of Sunray Oil Corporation, 61 N. L. R. B. 1648. Cf. Matter of Magnolia Pipeline Company, 61 N. L R. B. 723, wherein 10 clericals were included in an operation and maintenance unit because of a functional interrelation with an included category of employees. Cf. Union Oil Com- pany of California, 62 N. L. R. B. 1144, wherein field clericals were included in each of the 4 established departmental units. In that case, however, each department was a highly integrated unit, whereas, in the instant proceeding, the field clericals comprise what is almost a third department in the division with over-all supervision by the office manager in the division office, and with immediate supervision by the field clerk in the area office, and that neither of these 2 arms of supervision reaches production and maintenance employees. 7 These classifications include mud engineers, junior engineers, petroleum engineers, gas engineers, contract engineers, construction engineers, and gas test engineers, all of whom the C. I. O. and the Company would exclude as unlimited hour employees. STANOLIND OIL & GAS COMPANY 381 of apprentice engineer and apprentice and junior chemist," a descrip- tion of their duties and qualifying technical training and background is lacking in the record. The record does indicate, however, that the apprentice engineer and apprentice and junior chemist are engaged in duties of a technical nature. A substantial number of each category is technically trained, while others qualified as apprentices through self- study and experience. Promotions are made through higher engineer and chemist grades, requiring more technical knowledge and, in sonie instances, additional technical training. The job titles of all these classifications indicate the technical and professional nature of their calling. In accordance with our usual policy,9 we shall exclude all chemists and engineers as technical and professional employees. District Gauger. The C. I. O. and the Company seek to exclude the district gauger, among others, as an "unlimited hour employee," that is, one who is not covered by the wage and hour provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. We do not agree that the coverage of that statute, standing alone, is decisive of the proper classification of employees for collective bargaining purposes. The record indicates that the district gauger is a non-supervisory employee. His duties apparently are not substantially different from those of other gauger classifications included by stipulation in Appendix A. We shall, accordingly, include the district gauger in the appropriate unit. We find that all production, operating, and maintenance employees in the production department of the Company's Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast division including all employees listed in Appendix A, and those listed in Appendix B who work in the production department, but excluding all office and field clerical employees, the exploration department employees, engineers, and chemists, and all other technical and professional employees, all supervisors listed in Appendix C, and all other 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 appro- priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meanAig of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. TIIE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. 8 Apparently the apprentice and junior chemist were inadvertently placed on the list of stipulated inclusions. The C. I. O , however, specifically objected to their inclusion, subsequent to such stipulation. 9 Matter of Boston Edison Co , 51 N. L. R B. 118. 382 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 Rela- tions 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 Stanolind Oil & Gas Company, Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast division, Houston, Texas, 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 Six- teenth 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 employees in the unit found appro- priate 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 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, to determine whether they desire to be represented by Oil Workers International Union, C. I. 0., or by Stanolind Employees Federation, unaffiliated, for the purposes of col- lective bargaining, or by neither. APPENDIX A AGREED INCLUSIONS OF PRODUCTION AND MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEES Blacksmith , First Class Blacksmith's Helper Boiler Maker Boiler Maker Helper Booster Operator Camp Tender Caretaker, Special Caretaker Carpenter Clean out Driller Clean out Helper Derrickman, Well Servicing Desulphurization Plant Operator Drag Line Operator Plant Electrician Electrician Electrician's Helper Engineers, First and Second Class Engineer, Oiler Engineer, Plant Engineer, Pump Station Engineer, Shift Fireman, First Class Fire Truckman Gang Pusher, Relief Gauger, District Relief Gauger, Station Grader, Operator Lineman, First and Second Class Loading Rack Man STANOLIND OIL Machinists, First, Second, and Third Class Machinist, Helper Mechanic, First and Second Class Painter Pipe Machine Operator Pumper-Isolated, Special Resident Pumper Pumper Pumpman Repairman Repairman, Rig Rotary Driller Rotary Derrickman AGREED INCLUSIONS Boatman, Relief Cook Cook's Assistant Cook's Helper Laborer, Experienced Laborer & GAS COMPANY 383 Rotary Fireman Rotary Floorman Roustabout Service Unit Operator Tractor Driver, Heavy and Light Treator Water Tender Welder, First and Second Class Welder, Helper District Electrical Inspector Gas Inspector Laboratory Assistant Maintenance Man APPENDIX B IF IN THE PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Supplyman Truck Driver, Heavy and Light Boatman Chainman Transitman APPENDIX C AGREED SUPERVISORS Division Superintendent Division Manager Division Clerks Division Office Manager Pipe Line Superintendent Division Industrial Relations Supervisor Assistant Division Superintendent Division Geologist Division Landman Division Title Survey Supervisor Assistant Division Title Survey Supervisor Division Seismograph Supervisor Division Engineer District Superintendents District Geologists District Landmen Field Superintendents Production Foremen Farm Bosses Head Roustabouts Gangpushers Field Clerks Field Engineers Party Chiefs Title Survey Party Chiefs in Seismograph Computers Observers Plant Superintendent Plant Foremen Maintenance Gang Pushers and Tool Pushers Division Safety Supervisor Assistant Field Clerks Plant Clerk at Gasoline Station