The Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.

In the Matter of THE FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY and LOCAL UNION # 380, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORK- ERS, A . F. OF L. In the Matter of THE FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY and UNITED RUBBER, CORK, LINOLEUM & PLASTIC WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO Cases Nos. 4-R-1956 and 4-R 2O.4 , respectively. Decided July 18, 1946 Messrs. Harold Mull, C. E. Heitman, and J. J. Sammons, of Pots- town, Pa., for the Company. Mr. Robert E. Shuff, of Akron, Ohio, Mr. 0. H. Bosley, of Newark, N. J., and Mr. F. L. Howard, of Norristown, Pa., for the CIO. Messrs. W. J. Walsh and Patrick Ryan, of Philadelphia, Pa., Mr. Richard E. Bragger, of Newark, N. J., for the A. F. of L. Margaret H. Patterson, of counsel to the Board. DECISION DIRECTION OF ELECTION AND ORDER STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon separate petitions duly filed by Local Union #380, Interna- tional Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, A. F. of L., and United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum & Plastic Workers of America, CIO, herein respectively called the IBEW 1 and the CIO, each alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Pottstown, Pennsylvania, herein called the Company, the National Labor Rela- tions Board consolidated the cases and provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Helen F. Humphrey, Trial Examiner. The hearing was held at Pottstown, Pennsylvania, on May 9, 1946. The Company, the CIO, the IBEW, and the American Federation of 'At the hearing the IBEW moved to withdraw its petition for a unit of maintenance employees in Case No. 4-R-1956, and requested that the showing of interest which it had submitted to the Board's Regional agent be treated as establishing the prima facie interest herein of its parent organization , the A. F. of L., which was permitted to intervene in Case No. 4-R-2e42. The CIO, both at the hearing and in its brief, requested that the motion to withdraw the petition be granted. The motion and the request are hereby granted. 69 N. L. R. B., No. 78. 634 THE FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY 635 Labor, herein called the A. F. of L.,2 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.3 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 The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, an Ohio corporation, with its principal place of business at Akron, Ohio, is engaged in the manu- facture of tires, tubes, and other rubber products at plants in various parts of the United States. We are concerned herein solely with its plant at Pottstown, Pennsylvania. During the year 1945 the Com- pany at its Pottstown plant used raw material valued in excess of $182,000, of which approximately 90 percent was shipped from points outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. During this same period the Company manufactured finished products at its Pottstown plant valued in excess of $1,200, of which approximately 50 percent was shipped to points outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum & Plastic Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. The American Federation of Labor is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to the CIO as ex- clusive bargaining representative of certain of its employees until the Board has certified statutory representatives. 2 The American Federation of Labor moved to intervene in Case No. 4-R-2042. The Trial Examiner granted the motion over the objection of the CIO that the A. F. of L. had not made a substantial showing of interest. Inasmuch as the A. F. of L.'s motion to inter- vene was timely and it showed sufficient interest to satisfy our administrative require- ments, we hereby affirm the Trial Examiner's ruling. 3 The CIO and the Company objected, inter alia, to the failure of the Trial Examiner to introduce into evidence the Regional agent's report on the prima facie showing of interest made by the CIO and the IBEW. For the reasons set forth in Matter of O. D. Jennings d company, 68 N. L. It. B. 516, we find this objection without merit. 636 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 CIO seeks a unit consisting of all production and maintenance employees, excluding office and supervisory employees, at the Com- pany's Pottstown, Pennsylvania plant.4 The Company, the A. F. of L., and the CIO agree that the unit should include working super- visors and should exclude salaried technicians in the laboratory and development departments, inventory and schedule clerks, draftsmen, office clerical employees, plant-protection employees, and supervisory employees.5 The parties are in dispute about the following categories : Laboratory employees. The Company would exclude and both unions would include hourly paid laboratory employees in the mill- room control and development departments. These employees per- form routine laboratory tests, check stock and test for consistency and durability under the supervision of the chief chemist. They are re- quired to have only a high school education in contrast to the profes- sional training required of the salaried laboratory technicians whom the parties have agreed to exclude. We shall include the hourly paid laboratory employees in the millroom control and development depart- ments in the unit of production and maintenance employees herein- after established. Working supervisors-laboratory. The Company would exclude and both unions would include working supervisors employed in the laboratory. These employees direct the work of the non-professional laboratory employees in the millroom and, like such employees, are paid on an hourly basis. They exercise no more control over the mill- room employees than other working supervisors whom all parties agree to include. We shall accordingly include laboratory working super- visors in the unit hereinafter found appropriate. Safety investigator. The CIO would exclude and the A. F. of L. and the Company would include the safety investigator. This em- ployee works under the supervision of the safety engineer, checking safety devices and equipment throughout the plant. He is an hourly paid employee and is neither a supervisor nor a technical employee. Although he has special knowledge of safety problems and may shut down the entire plant in the interest of safety, there seems to be no 4 The IBEW in its petition in Case No. 4-R-1956 had requested a unit of approximately 100 maintenance employees . Inasmuch as we have granted the IBEW's motion to with- draw its petition and the A . F. of L . has been permitted to intervene in Case No . 4-R-2042 instituted by the CIO's petition, it is unnecessary to consider the appropriateness of the maintenance unit requested by the IBEW. 5 The parties agreed to the exclusion of the general manager , department managers, gen- eral foremen , foremen , and shift supervisors. THE FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY 637 valid reason for excluding him from the unit of production and main-, tenance workers. We shall accordingly, include him in the unit. Instructors. The Company would exclude and both unions would include instructors. The Company contends that these employees are supervisors. The instructors are experienced production and main- tenance employees presently engaged in_ training new workers .6 These employees do not appear to have any supervisory authority and we shall accordingly include them in the unit. Cafeteria employees. The Company would exclude and both unions would include cafeteria employees. There are 28 cafeteria workers, They are employed directly by the Company and their functions are to prepare and serve food to employees of the plant. Inasmuch as the cafeteria workers have substantial interests in common with the production and maintenance workers and are frequently included in plant-wide units of this type,' we shall include them in the unit hereinafter found appropriate. The parties all agree to exclude the- cafeteria manager, assistant manager and chef. Checkers. The Company would exclude and both unions would include checkers. Checkers are hourly paid employees spending most of their time on the floor of the plant. They work under the direc- tion of the various department managers. Inasmuch as these em- ployees closely resemble plant clericals, we shall include them in the production and maintenance unit hereinafter found appropriate. We find that all production and maintenance employees at the Company's Pottstown, Pennsylvania plant, including working super- visors, laboratory working supervisors, hourly paid laboratory work- ers in the millroom control and development departments, safety in- vestigators, instructors, cafeteria employees, checkers, and all other classifications of employees listed in Appendix "A" attached hereto," but excluding salaried technicians in the laboratory and development departments, inventory and schedule clerks, draftsmen, office clerical employees, plant-protection employees, shift supervisors, 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, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. s The Company's plant at Pottstown is new and is constantly hiring new employees. ° Matter of B. F. Goodrich Company, 64 N. L. R. B. 794; Matter of Norwalk Tire & Rubber Company, 57 N. L. R. B. 1520; Matter of Celanese Corporation of America, 60 N. L. R. B. 1144. 8 Appendix "A" attached hereto contains a list of job categories which the parties agree to include in the production and maintenance unit. The Company submitted a list of anticipated job classifications not yet in use, which the A. F. of L. seeks to include in the unit. In accordance with our usual policy, we shall not pass upon the exclusion or in- clusion of these categories since there is no evidence In the record as to their functions if they are actually employed in the future. See Matter of Chrysler Motor Corporation of California, 65 N. L. It. B. BOB. 638 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Company contends that an election would be inappropriate at the present time because it does not have a full working comple- ment. An engineering firm is presently constructing additional facilities which will not be completed for a year. The Company hopes to obtain an additional one-third of the plant's floor area which is now occupied by the War Assets Corporation. At the time of the hearing, the Company employed approximately 1,100 production and maintenance workers and anticipates increasing this number to 3,000 within a year. About 700 of the additional employees, however, will work on plastic rather than on the production of rubber tires and tubes which constitutes the plant's principal operation. At the time of the hearing the Company's complement of employees was admit- tedly a representative group constituting 40 percent to its anticipated Tull complement. It was admitted by the Company that 50 percent of its full complement would probably be attained in 2 months since it has been adding new employees at the rate of 250 a month since the first of this year. Since the present complement is clearly a representative group, and constitutes at least 40 percent of the anticipated full complement, we are of the opinion that an election at the present time is appropri- ate." We shall, however, entertain a new petition for an investigation and certification of representatives affecting the employees involved herein within less than a year, but not before the expiration of 6 months from the date of any certification we may issue in the instant proceeding upon proof (1) that the number of employees in the appropriate unit is more than double the number eligible to vote in the election hereinafter directed; and (2) that the petitioner represents a substantial number of employees in the expanded appropriate unit.,, 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 B In the Matter of Tuttle Silver Company , Inc., 66 N. L. R. B. 238; Matter of The Gen- eral Tire & Rubber Company, 63 N. L. R. B. 182; Matter of Adler Metal Products Corp., 67 N. L. It. B. 328. 10 Matter of Aluminum Company of America, 52 N. L. It. B. 1040. THE FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY 639 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 Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Pottstown, Pennsylvania, 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 Fourth 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 em- ployees in the armed forces of the United States who present them- selves 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 United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum & Plastic Workers of America, CIO, or by The American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. ORDER WHEREAS, the motion of Local Union #380, International Brother- hood of Electrical Workers, A. F. of L., to withdraw its petition for investigation and certification of representatives of employees of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Pottstown, Pennsylvania, in Case No. 4-R-1956, has been granted, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Case No. 4-R-1956 be, and the same hereby is, closed.