Parris-Dunn Associates

In the Matter of C. L. PARRIS, W. G. DuNN, AND H. E. D AVIDSON, Co- PARTNERS, DOING BUSINESS AS PARRIS-DLTNN ASSOCIATES and INTER- NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, LODGE No. 1300 Case No. 18-R 1493.Decided July 9, 1946 Swarr, May , Royce , Smith KPe Storey, by Messrs. A. E. Royce and Edison Smith , of Omaha, Nebr., and Mr. W. G. Dunn, of Clarinda, Iowa, for the Company. Messrs. James Ashe, of St. Paul, Minn., and Joseph L. Dreier, of Omaha, Nebr., for the Union. Mr. Arthur Christopher, Jr., of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by International Association of Ma- chinists, Lodge No. 1300, herein called the Union, alleging that a ques- tion affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of C. L. Parris, W. G. Dunn, and H. E. Davidson, Co. partners, doing business as Parris-Dunn Associates, Clarinda, Iowa, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board on April 16, 1946, conducted a prehearing election pursuant to Article III, Section 3,1 of the Board's Rules and Regulations, among employ- ees of the Company in the alleged appropriate unit, to determine whether or not they desired to be represented by the Union for the purposes of collective bargaining. At the close of the election a Tally of Ballots was furnished the parties. The Tally shows that there were approximately 62 eligible voters and that 57 of these eligible voters cast ballots, of which 48 were for the Union, 2 were against the Union, and 7 were challenged. 1 By amendment of November 27, 1945, this Section of the Rules now permits the con- duct of a secret ballot of employees prior to hearing in cases which present no substantial issues. 69 N L R. B., No. 38. 306 PARRIS-DUNN ASSOCIATES 307 Thereafter, pursuant to Article III, Section 10,2 of the Rules and Regulations, the Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Stephen M. Reynolds, Trial Examiner. The Bearing was held at Clarinda, Iowa, on May 3, 1946. The Company and the Union appeared and participated. All parties were afforded full op- portunity 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 C. L. Parris, W. G. Dunn, and H. E. Davidson, Co-partners, doing business as Parris-Dunn Associates, are engaged in the manufacture of toy guns at their plant in Clarinda, Iowa. The Company annually purchases raw materials valued in excess of $50,000, approximately all of which represents shipments to its plant from sources outside the State of Iowa. Its annual sales of finished products exceed $100,- 000 in value, approximately 95 percent of which represents sales and shipments to customers 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 ORGANIZATION INVOLVED International Association of Machinists, Lodge No. 1300, is an unaffiliated labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to recognize the Union as the collective bargaining representative of its employees in the alleged appropri- ate unit. 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. 2 As amended November 27, 1945, this Section provides that in instances of prehearing elections, all issues , including issues with respect to the conduct of the election or conduct affecting the election results and issues raised by challenged ballots, shall be heard at the subsequent hearing. 308 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union seeks a unit of all production and maintenance em- ployees of the Company, including tool and die makers, and working foremen, but excluding clerical employees and all supervisory em- ployees 3 The sole disagreement between the parties relates to the working foremen, whom the Company would exclude from the unit on the ground that they are supervisory employees within the Board's customary definition of that term. This disagreement was reflected at the election in the seven ballots which were challenged by the Company. However, inasmuch as the Company at the hearing withdrew its challenges to the ballots of Kenneth Gray, John Nichols, and Laysure Lewis, admitting that these were production and maintenance employees and eligible to partici- pate in the election, there remains for disposition only the challenged ballots of Clarence Blake, Sam Kaserman, James Akes, and Glade Hale. These 4 working foremen are assigned to the mill work, produc- tion line, small assembly, and paint departments, respectively. Each one, in addition to spending a substantial portion of his time in manual work, oversees the work of from 7 to 14 employees, allocat- ing work to them and arranging for transfer within the department when necessary. The working foremen also have the power effectively to recommend changes in the status of their subordinates. Accord- ingly, we find that Clarence Blake, Sam Kaserman, James Akes, and Glade Hale are supervisory employees within our customary defini- tion of that term and we shall exclude them from the unit. We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Company, including tool and die makers but excluding clerical em- ployees, working foremen,4 and all supervisory employees with author- ity to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, con- stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The results of the election held previous to the hearing show that the Union has secured a majority of the valid votes cast and that the challenged ballots are insufficient in number to affect the results of the election. Under these circumstances, we shall not direct that any of the challenged ballots be opened and counted but instead, we shall The election was held among employees in this alleged appropriate unit. 4 Employees Kenneth Gray, John Nichols, and Laysure Lewis are not included within this category. PARRIS-DUNN ASSOCIATES 309 certify the Union as the collective bargaining representative of the employees in the appropriate unit. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES 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, Sections 9 and 10, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that International Association of Machin- ists, Lodge No, 1300, has been designated and selected by a majority of all production and maintenance employees of C. L. Parris, W. G. Dunn, and H. E. Davidson, Co-partners doing business as Parris- Dunn Associates, Clarinda, Iowa, including tool and die makers, but excluding clerical employees, working foremen, and all supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, the said organization is the exclusive representative of all such em- ployees for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment. MR. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Certification of Representatives.