Cason and Tierney Co.

In the Matter of SHELBY F. CASON AND THOMAS W. TIERNEY, D/B/A CASON AND TIERNEY CO. and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTO- MOBILE, AIRCRAFT AND AGRICULTURAL WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO), LOCAL 710 Case No. 17-R-1371.-Decided Jaly 15, 1946 Mr. Paul Nachtman, of Independence, Mo., for the Company. Mr. Carl Lee,S'tevens, of Kansas City, Mo., for the Union. Mr. Martin T. Camacho, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by the International Union, United Auto- mobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Workers Union of America (UAW- CIO), Local 710, herein called the Union, alleging that a question af- fecting commence had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Shelby F. Cason and Thomas W. Tierney, d,ib/a Cason and Tierney Co.,' herein called the Company, the National Labor Rela- tions Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Harry L. Brown, Trial Examiner. The hearing was held at Kansas City; Missouri, on May 20, 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. At the opening of the hear- ing the Company challenged the jurisdiction of the Board 2 and at its close the Company moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that the Company was not engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.,' The Trial Examiner reserved ruling thereon. The motion is hereby denied for the reasons stated in Sec- tion I, infra. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are ' At the hearing the petition and all other papers were amended to conform the correct name of the Company. 2 The Company further announced at the outset of the hearing that it was appearing specially to contest the jurisdiction of the Board. However, notwithstanding this declara- tion, the Company participated fully in the hearing. 9 After the hearing the Company also filed a written motion with the Board to the same effect. 69 N. L. R. B., No, 64. 523 524 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board. The Company's request for oral argument is hereby denied. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Shelby F. Cason and Thomas W. Tierney, d/b; a Cason and Tierney Co., is a partnership located and doing business in Independence, Missouri. It is engaged principally in job shop work such as punch pressing, drill pressing, welding, i. e., in the processing and fabricating of metal items or parts for the use or further processing by others. For the year 1945 and the period ending March 31, 1946, the Company purchased materials such as bar and sheet steel, bolts, nuts and rods, in the amount of approximately $18,500, all of which, except for one purchase in 1946 equal to a little over 5 percent of the whole, were purchases made within the State of Missouri. For the same period, with the addition of the month of April, the Company's sales amounted to approximately $46,000, practically all of which was for jobs processed by the Company for two principal customers, the Bearing Distributors Co. and Western Laundry Machinery Co., both located and doing busi- ness within the State of Missouri. Bearing Distributors Co. is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of farm tractor heaters; it makes sales amounting to in excess of $100,000 annually, about 95 percent being interstate sales. During the year 1945 the Company processed and fabricated for the Bearing Distributors Co. metal frames of the value of approximately $8,000, and in 1946, through April, approxi- mately $20,445 worth. These metal frames are an essential part of the farm tractor heaters sold by the Bearing Distributors Co. in inter- state commerce. The Western Laundry Machinery Co. is engaged in the production and distribution of laundry washers, dry cleaning wash- ers, and extractors; its sales amount to approximately $454,000 an- nually, 95 percent being interstate sales. In the year 1945, the Company processed and fabricated for the Western Laundry Machinery Co. from raw materials furnished by the latter, items in the value of ap- proximately $3,511, and in 1946, through April, approximately $8,699 worth. These items are essential elements in the finished products of the Western Laundry Machinery Co. Hence we find, contrary to the contention of the Company, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.4 4 Matter of W. E. Horne Engineering Company, 61 N. L. R. B. 742, and cases therein cited ; Matter of Henry A. Larson, 35 N. L. R. B. 89; Matter of Shore Products Company, 55 N. L. R. B. 431 ; Matter of Trinidad Brick and Tile Company, 67 N. L . R. B. 1351. CASON AND TIERNEY CO. II. TIIE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED 525 International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Workers Union of America is a labor organization, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership em- ployees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Union requested the Company by letter on or about March 8, 1946, for recognition as the exclusive bargaining representative of its employees. The Company made no reply. 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 Union seeks a unit of all the Company's employees, excluding supervisory and office employees. The Company declined to com- ment on the appropriateness of the unit. The Company has 10 shop employees plus 1 office employee who is the wife of Thomas W. Tierney, one of the Company's partners. Tierney is the works manager and sole supervisor in the conduct of the Company's entire activities. All other employees, welders, operators, press operators, set-up men, material handlers, truck drivers, and sundry combinations thereof, work in a single room, all are hourly paid and are subject to the same working conditions. Due to the fact that the Company is a small shop, there is considerable interrelation of activities and interchange of employees. It is clear that the above requested unit constitutes a homogeneous and appropriate group for the purposes of collective bargaining. We, therefore, find that all the employees of the Company,5 ex- cluding the office employee and all or any 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 collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. 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 c In addition to Mfrs. Tierney, mentioned above, it appears that the wife of Shelby F. Cason. the silent partner, works as an operator in the shop. Neither of these individuals is an employee within the meaning of the Act. See flatter of 0. U. Hofmann, et at., 55 X. L. R. E. 6s3, enf'd 1.57 F. (2d) 679 (C. C. A. 3). We, therefore, shall also exclude ]frs. Slu-liir F. Cn.ra from the appropriate unit. 526 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 Shelby F. Cason and Thomas W. Tierney, d/b/a Cason and Tierney Co., 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 direc- tion and supervision of the Regional Director for the Seventeenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela- tions 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 employ- ees 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 rein- stated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by International Union, United Auto- mobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Workers Union of America (UAW-CIO), Local 710, for the purposes of collective bargaining.