The Jaeger Machine Co.

In the Matter of THE JAEGER MACHINE COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL MOLDERS AND FOUNDRY WORKERS UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, AND LOCAL No. 98, AFL Case No. 9-R-0045--Decided April 23, 1946 Messrs. George Landis and H. W. Earnsh,aw, of Columbus, Ohio, for the Company. Mr. Louis Kali, of Columbus, Ohio, and Mr. Adam J. Myers, of Mansfield, Ohio, for the Molders. Mr. John J. Brownlee, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Mr. E. Mitchell, of Columbus, Ohio, for the Steelworkers. Mr. Frederick D. Vincent, Jr., of counsel to the Board. DECISION ANb DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America, and Local No. 98, AFL, herein called the Molders, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen.concerning the representation of employees of The Jaeger Ma- chine Company, Columbus, Ohio, herein called the Company, the Na- tional Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Harold M. Weston, Trial Examiner. The hearing was held at Columbus, Ohio, on February 27, 1946. The Company, the Molders, and United Steelworkers of America, CIO, herein called the Steelworkers, appeared and participated.' At the bearing the Steelworkers moved to dismiss the petition. For the rea- sons set forth in Section III, below, this motion is denied. 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. 1 The Steelworkers filed a Motion to Intervene on February 12, 1946, which was granted by the Trial Examiner early in the hearing. 67 N. L. R. B., No. 86. 683 684 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 The Jaeger Machine Company is an Ohio corporation with its only plant located in Columbus, Ohio. The Company is engaged in the manufacture of various types of heavy construction machinery. Dur- ing 1945, the Company purchased raw material which consisted pri- marily of steel plate sheets, structural steel, steel castings, steel bars, gasoline engines and transmissions, valued in excess of $4,000,000, of which more than 75 percent was shipped to the Company from points outside the State of Ohio. During the same period, the Company manufactured finished products amounting in value to more than $7,000,000, of which more than 75 percent was shipped by the Com- pany to points outside the State of Ohio. The Company admits, and we find, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North Amer- ica, and its Local No. 98, are labor organizations affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company. United Steelworkers of America is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to mem- bership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Molders as the exclusive bargaining representative of its foundry employees until the Molders has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. None of the Company's employees were organized until 1942. On February 7 of that year, the Molders, pursuant to a petition filed with the Board and a subsequent Agreement for Cross Check, was des- ignated by the Regional Director for the Ninth Region as the bargain- ing representative of the Company's foundry employees. On April 1, 1942, the Company and the Molders executed a contract covering a unit of foundry employees-the same unit that is urged to be appro- priate by the Molders in this proceeding. This contract contained the provision that, "That agreement shall be in effect for one (1) year from the date hereof, between the Company and the Union, and shall thereafter continue automatically for similar periods unless either party desires a change." On November 15, 1942, in connection with the increase in the Company's production of war materials, the Com- THE JAEGER MACHINE COMPANY 685 pany's foundry operations were terminated . After this cessation of foundry operations there were no dealings between the Company and the Molders, but during the period April 1 , 1942, to November 15, 1942, the Company and the Molders carried on negotiations in accordance with their contract. On August 25, 1944, following a Board Decision and Direction of Election, the Steelworkers was certified as bargaining representative for all employees of the Company .2 Although served with notice of this proceeding, the Molders did not enter an appearance , or partici- pate in the hearing. On October 3, 1945, the Steelworkers and the Company executed a contract embracing this unit, effective until November 30, 1946. On December 15, 1945, a new foundry building was opened by the Company and foundry operations were resumed . The Molders requested recognition from the Company as bargaining representative for the foundry employees on January 3, 1946, and on January 11, 1946, filed its petition herein. On the basis that its certification and contract bar this proceeding the Steelworkers requests the dismissal of the petition herein, and the Company is in accord with this position. At the time of the occurrence of the proceedings leading to the certification of the Steelworkers there were no foundry operations, nor was the resumption of these operations imminent . Furthermore, the Molders had at one time been designated as the bargaining repre- sentative of a separate grouping of foundry workers. In such cir- cumstances it cannot be said that the foundry employees , a separate division of the Company , were encompassed by our certification, or became a natural accretion to the unit underlying the certification. We find, consequently, that neither the certification, nor the con- tract predicated thereon, precludes a present determination of representatives .3 A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear- ing, indicates that the Molders represents a substantial number of employees in the unit it alleges to be appropriate.4 "See 57 N L R B 695. In accordance with the stipulation of the parties and the record, the Board found that, "all employees of the Company, excluding guards, engineers, time-study men, expediters, all clerical, salaried, and confidential employees, and further .excluding foremen, assistant foremen, and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of em- ployees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining " i The certification, by itself, can in no event bar the instant proceedings, for it is now more than 1 year old. 4 The Field Examiner reported that the Molders submitted 42 cards, bearing the names of 37 employees listed on the Company's pay roll of January 13, 1946. The Steelworkers submitted no cards, but relies upon its contract for its interest in these proceedings. There are approximately 58 employees in the unit, alleged to be appropriate by the Molders, and 582 employees in the plant-wide unit alleged to be appropriate by the .Steelworkers 686 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES It is the Molders' position that all production workers employed in the foundry, except foremen and other supervisory employees, constitute an appropriate unit. The Company and the Steelworkers contend, however, that the appropriate unit should be plant-wide and include the employees sought by the Molders. At present, the Company has three divisions, known as the supplies, production, and foundry divisions. These divisions are housed in a number of buildings, enclosed by a fence on the same plot of land. The foundry is an integrated part of the plant as a whole and its en- tire output is used by the Company in making its finished products. Each division is in the charge of a superintendent who is responsible ,for only those employees within his division. Foundry employees work in a separate building, check in at a separate time-clock, and carry on separately work which has long been recognized as involving special skills. There is no appreciable interchange of employees between the foundry and the other divisions of the Company's plant. In these circumstances, particularly considering the previous sepa- rate bargaining for foundry employees,5 and the fact that they con- stitute a homogeneous group with interests differing substantially from those of other employees, it appears that they could comprise a separate appropriate unit. However, since the Company conducts its operations on an integrated basis and the foundry had been closed from November 1942 to December 1945, it appears that the foundry workers could also appropriately be bargained for as part of the plant-wide unit now represented by the Steelworkers. Accordingly, we shall not make a present finding as to the appro- priate unit but shall determine the desires of the employees them- selves by directing an election among employees in the foundry. Upon the results of the election will depend, in part, our determina- tion of the appropriate unit. If the employees in the foundry select the Molders as their bargaining representative, they will be taken to have indicated a desire to constitute a separate appropriate unit; if they select the Steelworkers, they will be taken to have indicated a desire to be bargained for as a part of the plant-wide unit presently represented by the Steelworkers. We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the fol- 5 See Section III, supra. THE JAEGER MACHINE COMPANY 687 lowing employees who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction : All production employees in the foundry of the Company's Colum- bus, Ohio, plant, excluding the foremen, 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.6 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 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 The Jaeger Ma- chine Company, Columbus, 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 Ninth 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 voting group set forth 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 Inter- national Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America, Local No. 98, AFL, or by United Steelworkers of America, CIO, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. ' We shall place Local No 98 on the ballot together with the Steelworkers , inasmuch as it appears to be more directly concerned in this proceeding than its International.