Hygrade Food Products Co.

In the Matter of HYGRADE FOOD PRODUCTS COMPANY and LOCAL 69, UNITED PACKINGHOUSE WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO Case No. 7-R-2198.-Decided July 1, 1946 Mr. William E. Straulie, of Detroit, Mich., for the Company. Mr. Frank T. Clay, of Detroit, Mich., for the C. I. O. Mrs. Verna Corrigan, of Detroit, Mich., for the A. F. L. Mr. Arthur Christopher, Jr., of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by Local 69, United Packinghouse Work- ers of America, C. I. 0., herein called the C. I. 0., alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Hygrade Food Products Company, Detroit, Michigan, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board pro- vided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Woodrow J. Sandler, Trial Examiner. The hearing was held at Detroit, Michigan, on April 29, 1946. The Company, the C. I. 0., and Office Employees International Union, Local 42, A. F. of L., herein called the A. F. L., appeared and participated.' All parties were afforded full oppor- tunity 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 : ' The A. F. L.'s appearance and participation at the bearing was apparently due to the fact that the petition had placed in Issue the matter of representation of the time office employees in whom It also had an interest . During the course of the bearing, however, the C. I. O. amended its unit request, without objection, to exclude time office employees, leaving the A. F. L. as the sole union seeking to represent these employees . Inasmuch as the Board, subsequent to the hearing, has been advised that the Company is willing to recognize the A. F. L. as bargaining representative for those employees and that the A. F. L. does not desire that an election be held among them, we find It unnecessary to make any determination with respect to the time office employees. 69 N. L. R. B., No. 24. 235 236 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Hygrade Food Products Corporation, a New York corporation, is engaged in the meat packing and slaughtering business. It oper- ates several plants including the one at Detroit, Michigan, with which we are solely concerned. It is engaged at the Detroit plant in manufacturing, processing, selling, and distributing meat and related products. During the period from July 1, to November 1, 1945, about 50 percent, or $7,500,000 worth, of the raw materials shipped to the Detroit plant came from sources outside the State of Michigan. During the same period, about 50 percent, or $9,000,000 worth, of the Company's products was shipped by the Company from the Detroit plant to points located outside the State. The Company admits, and we find, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Local 69, United Packinghouse Workers of America is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organiza- tions, admitting to membership employees of the Company. Office Employees International Union, Local 42, is a labor organi- zation affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. TIER QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to the C. I. O. as the exclusive bargaining representative of certain of its employees until the C. I. O. has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company, within the mean- ing of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The C. I. O. seeks to represent the Company's watchmen and re- quests that, if the Board grants an election and the Union wins, the Board should include the watchmen in the existing unit of produc- tion and maintenance employees whom it presently represents. Should the Board, however, oppose the merger of these two groups, the Union desires, in the alternative, the establishment of a separate unit of watchmen.2 The Company, however, is opposed to any unit 2 The unit request was amended as shown above at the hearing. HYGRADE FOOD PRODUCTS COMPANY 237 that might include watchmen, contending that because they occupy a special position of trust and confidence with the Company, they should not be permitted to choose a bargaining representative. The Company employs 18 watchmen at its Detroit plant. These employees are paid on an hourly basis, and are not uniformed. It does not appear that they are militarized or deputized. Their duties relate primarily to the preservation of company property and the maintenance of plant discipline. Thus, they act to prevent pil- fering of the company property, observe and report fire hazards, report to their superiors infractions of company rules by employees such as loafing on the job, and guard the Company's property against unauthorized ingress or egress by employees or outsiders. Although some of the watchmen may on occasion perform work related to production, it is clear that such work represents an insubstantial part of their daily tasks. It is apparent from the foregoing that watchmen have, in addition to their custodial functions, a substantial amount of monitorial duties. Accordingly, in view of our usual practice of not including watchmen with monitorial functions in the same unit with production and maintenance employees, we shall reject the Union's primary requests, but shall, instead, adopt its alternative position and establish a separate unit of watchmen. As noted above, the Company opposes granting the protection of the Act to its watchmen. It argues that a relationship of trust and confidence exists between the Company and its watchmen, and that consequently the watchmen could not satisfactorily perform their duties and discharge their responsibilities to management if they were represented by a labor organization, particularly one which also represents the production and maintenance employees. We have in other cases 3 considered similar contentions with respect to employees having the same duties and functions as these watchmen and, as in those cases, find them to be without merit. In those instances where the union seeking to represent monitorial watchmen also represents other employees of the Company, we have required only that the watchmen be represented in a separate bargaining unit in their con- tractual relations with the Company, and in their day to day activities. Accordingly, we find that all watchmen employed by the Company at its Detroit, Michigan, plant excluding all 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 collec- tive bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. See Matter of Solar Manufacturing Corporation, 65 N. L. R. B 1366, and cases cited therein. 238 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 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. 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 Hygrade Food Products Company, Detroit, Michigan, 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 super- vision of the Regional Director for the Seventh 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 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 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 or not they desire to be repre- sented by Local 69, United Packinghouse Workers of America, C. I.0.,, for the purposes of collective bargaining.