National Silver Co.

In the Matter of NATIONAL SILVER COMPANY, EMPLOYER and METAL POLISHERS, BUFFERS, PLATERS AND HELPERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, A. F. L., PETITIONER Case No. 2-R-6755.-Decided October 9, 1946 Mr. L. L. Balleisen, of New York City, and Mr. Stanley Lipman, of Brooklyn, N. Y., for the Employer. Mr. Jerome Y. Sturm, of New York City, for the Petitioner. Mr. Angelo Perruccio, of Brooklyn, N. Y., for the Intervenor. M11r. Benj. Cook, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition dilly filed, hearing in this case was held at New York City, on July %G, 1946, before Vincent Al. Rotolo, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from preju- dicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. TILE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER The Employer is a New York corporation and maintains its prin- cipal office in New York City. Its factories are located in Brooklyn, New York, and Taunton, Massachusetts, where it manufactures cut- lery, giftware, and silver plate. During the period from June 1, 1945, to June 1, 1946, the Employer's purchases for its Brooklyn factory, the only one involved in this proceeding, were valued in excess of $250,000, 75 percent of which was shipped to its factory from points outside the State of New York. During the same period, its gross volulne of sales was valued in excess of $500,000, 75 percent of which was shipped to points outside the State of New York.' 'The Emhiovei maintains branch offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Califonua, and \liami, Florida 71 N. L. R B., No 38 303 717734-47-vol. 71-21 304 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with American Federation of Labor claiming to represent employees of the Employer. National Labor Bargaining Agency, herein called Intervenor, is an un- affiliated labor organization, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. 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 confined to the Employer's timekeepers who appear on the factory pay roll, but excluding timekeepers carried on the office pay roll. The Employer contends that the unit is gen- erally inappropriate because (1) all of the timekeepers are confidential employees, (2) the Petitioner is precluded from representing the time- keepers because it also represents production and maintenance em- ployees,2 and (3) that in any event all of the timekeepers, whether on the office or factory pay rolls, should be included in a single unit. The Intervenor is in accord with the Employer's position insofar as it alleges that all timekeepers should be included in the unit and that the same organization which represents the production and maintenance employees should not represent the timekeepers. All of the Employer's timekeepers perform the usual functions generally associated with their classification. They check the volume of work produced by each production employee, report any discrep- ancies between the production worker's claim and the timekeepers' findings, and compute the amount payable for each operation. There are eight timekeepers on the Employer's" pay roll, three of whom ap- pear on the factory pay roll and are paid on an hourly basis; the re- maining five timekeepers are carried on the office pay roll and are salaried employees. However, the record discloses that the duties and 2 There is presently pending before the Board a proceeding (2-R-6652, 2-11-Ms, and 2-RE-82) in which a unit of the Employer's production and maintenance employees, ex- cluding timekeepers, is being sought by the Petitioner herein NATIONAL SILVER COMPANY 305 functions of the hourly paid and salaried timekeepers are identical. The hourly paid timekeepers were formerly production workers and for that reason their names were retained on the factory pay roll. Inasmuch as there is no material distinction between the duties and functions of the hourly paid and salaried timekeepers, we perceive no reason why all of the timekeepers should not be included in the same unit. Nor do we find that the duties and functions of any of the timekeepers are confidential within the Board's definition of that term.3 We have frequently held that timekeepers may constitute a separate appropriate unit for collective bargaining purposes under the Act, and in such a imit they are, of course, entitled to be represented by whatever bargaining agent they choose.4 We find that all timekeepers of the Employer's Brooklyn factory, including hourly paid and salaried timekeepers , but excluding office 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 , constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with National Silver Company, Brooklyn, New York, 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 Second Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Sections 203.55 and 203.56, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations- Series 4, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Sec- tion IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period im- mediately 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 they desire to be repre- sented by Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers and Helpers International Union, A. F. L.. or by National Labor Bargaining Agency, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. 3 See Matter of Ordnance Steel Foundry Company, 60 N. L. it. B . 207, Matter of Bethle- hem Steel Company, 67 N. L. it. B 159 4 See Matter of Bethlehem Steel Company, footnote 3, supra.