Egyptian Powder Co.

In the Matter of EGYPTIAN POWDER COMPANY, EMPLOYER and DISTRICT 50, UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, .AFL, PETITIONER Case No. 14-R-1463.Decided September 10, 1946 Mr. Berkeley tiVillmering, of East Alton, Ill., and Mr. S. V. Aikman, of.Marion, Ill., for the Employer. Mr. Hubert Rushing, of Herrin, Ill., for the Petitioner. Mr. Angelo J. Fiumara, of counsel to the Board. - DECISION ' AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES Upon a petition duly filed, a prehearing election was held in this proceeding on June 14, 1946, at Herrin, Illinois, among the employees of the Employer in the alleged appropriate unit to determine whether or not they desired to be represented by the Petitioner for the purposes of collective bargaining. ° The Tally of Ballots, prepared at the close of tl^e election, shows that of an approximate number of 66 eligible voters, 50 voted for and 4 voted against the Petitioner, 5 voted under challenge, and 1 cast a void ballot. Thereafter, a hearing was held on July 9, 1946, at Herrin, Illinois, before Elmer L. Hunt, Trial Examiner. The Trial Exam- iner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER Egyptian Powder Company, .aii Illinois corporation, operates a plant at Marion, Illinois, where it is engaged in the manufacture and sale of black'blasting powder. During the year 1945, the Employer purchased in excess of $120,000 worth of raw materials, more than 84 percent of which came from places outside the State of Illinois. During the same period, the Employer sold finished products, valued in excess of $550,000, approximately 30 percent of which was sold and shipped outside the State. _ 70 N. L R. B., No. 118. 1276. EGYPTIAN POWDER COMPANY 1277 The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Em- ployer. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the Petitioner 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 Employer, within the meaning of Section•9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Petitioner seeks a unit composed of all employees of the Em- ployer, 'including theinight foremen-watchmen, keg foreman, shift engineers and the technical employee, but excluding the chief power engineer, chief electrician, powder line foreman, yard foremen, resident manager, office and clerical employees, and all supervisory employees. The Employer agrees with the foregoing unit description except that it would exclude the night foremen-watchmen, keg fore- man, shift engineers, and the technical employee. Night foremen-watchmen: These employees work 5 days a week as production employees. As such, their duties consist of operating machinery in the glaze shop, inspecting powder for moisture and heat, checking temperatures in the dry houses, and checking and oil- ing bearings in the mill. In addition, they perform the duties of watchmen 1 day a week. The record reveals that although designated as night foremen, they do not possess any supervisory authority. In- asmuch as their interests are closely allied to the' other production and maintenance employees, we shall include them in the unit. Keg foreman: The-keg foreman spends the major portion of his time' as a lathe and drill press machinist. However, the record shows that he has three employees under his supervision and that it is his duty to report on their efficiency to the-Employer. Inasmuch as he may thus effect changes in the status of his subordinate employees, we shall exclude the keg foreman. Shift engineers: These employees operate the boiler and engines necessary for the production of electrical power for the operation of the plant; they have no supervisory authority. Since they are clearly ,maintenance employees, we shall include them. 1278' DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The technical employee: This employee devotes 85 percent of his time to production work, and the remainder to, testing powder as a "-laboratory assistant." For the performance of his duties- in the latter capacity, the record shows that no technical skill is required. We are of the opinion that his duties and interests are similar to those of the other production and maintenance employees. Accordingly, we shall include him. We find that all employees of the Employer, including the night foremen-watchmen, shift engineers, and the technical employee, but excluding the keg foreman, chief power,engineer, chief electrician, - power line foreman, yard foremen, resident manager, office and clerical employees, and all supervisory employees with authority to hire, pro- mote, 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 mean- ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act. As indicated above, the results of the election held prior to the hearing show that the Petitioner received a large majority of the valid votes cast. Since the number of challenged ballots and our present determinations with respecf to the disputed categories of employees in no way affect the results of the election, we shall certify the Peti- tioner as the collective bargaining representative of the employees in the unit found appropriate. - 0 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 Relations 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 District 50, United Mime Workers of America, AFL, has been designated and selected by a majority of all employees of Egyptian Powder Company, Marion, Illinois, including the night foremen-watchmen, shift engineers, and the technical employee, but excluding the kea foreman, chief power engineer, chief • electrician, powder line foreman, yard foreman, resident manager, office and clerical employees, 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 bargain- ing, and that pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, the said organiza- tion is the exclusive representative of all such employees, for the pur- poses of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, -hours of employment, and other conditions of employment. ' MR. JAMES J. REYNOLDS,-JR., took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Certification of Representatives. A