The American Agriculture Chemical Co.

In the Matter of THE AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL COMPANY, EMPLOYER , and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF MINE, MILL & SMELTER WORKERS, C. I. 0., PETITIONER Case No. 10-R-1996.-Decided March 31, 1947 Anderson, Connerat, Dunn, and Hunter, by Messrs. E. D. Hunter and R. LeCroy, of Savannah , Ga., for the Employer. Messrs. Charles H. Wilson and John F. Sheliman, of Savannah, Ga., for the Petitioner. Mr. G. W . Sessions, of Savannah , Ga., for the Intervenor. Mr. Morton B. Spero , of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Savan- nah, Georgia, on September 26, 1946, before Charles M. Paschal, Jr., hearing officer. The hearing officer'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 The American Agricultural Chemical Company, a Delaware cor- poration operating plants at various points in the United States, is engaged at its plant in Savannah, Georgia, in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of fertilizers and chemicals. During the 12-month period preceding the hearing, the Employer purchased for use at its Savannah plant raw materials valued in excess of $500,000, of which 90 percent represented shipments to its plant from sources outside the State of Georgia. During the same period, the Employer sold from this plant in excess of $500,000 worth of finished products, of which 5 percent represented shipments to points outside the State. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in connnerce, within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 73 N. L R B., No. 15 105 106 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The Petitioner is a h bor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. International Union of Operating Engineers, herein called the In- tervenor, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federa- tion of Labor, 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 and the Employer claim that a unit composed of all employees at the Employer's Savannah, Georgia, plant, excluding plant and office clerical employees, watchmen, executives, and all supervisory employees is appropriate. The Intervenor requests the establishment of a maintenance unit, which it alleges to be essentially craft in nature, composed of all maintenance employees of the Em- ployer, including millwrights, mechanics, carpenters, electricians, tractor operators, shovel operators, the storeroom keeper, the shop helper or store man, and all helpers, but excluding plant and office clerical employees, maintenance foremen, the electrician foreman, and all supervisory employees., The Employer's principal production season extends from Septem- ber to May each year. During the off season, the employees who are employed on a, yearly basis are, for the most part, engaged in cleaning and maintenance work in preparation for the next season, although some production work in the superphosphate and sulphuric acid de- partments is carried on throughout the year. Thus, many of the pro- duction workers who produce fertilizers and acids during the winter become maintenance workers during the sunmmer, and the record re- veals that some of the full-time employees who are classified as main- tenance workers are occasionally called upon to perform production work during rush periods in the winter. The Board has often established units confined to maintenance workers, where they constitute a homogeneous and readily identifi- able group. Here however, the Intervenor has not demonstrated that the employees whom it seeks to represent constitute such a group. I The Intervenor does not take issue with the request of the Petitioner and the Employer to exclude watchmen. THE AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL COMPANY 107 Some of the skilled employees sought by the Intervenor are engaged principally in production work; others are shifted to production work to help fill rush orders; and the helpers constitute a general labor pool, and are shifted back and forth from production to maintenance work as the need arises.' We are of the opinion, therefore, that the unit sought by the Intervenor is inappropriate.-, On the other hand, the Petitioner's unit is comprised of employees of the Employer who, as an entity, have a community°of interest, and whose conditions of employment are so similar as to warrant the find- ing that they constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining. Furthermore, similar units have been found to be appropriate for other plants of the same type in the area. We therefore find that all employees at the Employer's Savannah, Georgia, plant, excluding plant and office clerical employees, watch- men, executives, 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. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Employer maintains a year-round production and maintenance force of approximately 80 employees. During its production season, which extends from September to May each year, this force is aug- mented by seasonal employees and averages about 150, the large ma- jority of whom spend full time on production. As indicated, above, during the non-production season, the Employer is only engaged in acid and superphosphate operations, in which 12 people are employed; the remainder of the year-round production and maintenance em- ployees spend their time during this slack season repairing and main- taining plant equipment. Although seasonal employees are engaged only in unskilled produc- tion work, they have the same supervision, the same hours, and, in general, the same conditions of employment as permanent employees. And although they have no vested right of reemployment each season, approximately 50 percent of the seasonal employees return to work annually. The Petitioner contends that these seasonal employees have a sufficient community of interest with the other employees to be eligible to vote in the election, and the Employer does not dispute this contention. Accordingly, on the basis of the entire record, we shall permit seasonal employees to vote in the election hereinafter directed. 2 At the time of the hearing there were about 23 employees in the unit sought by the Intervenor. Of these, only about 11 were then functioning as maintenance employees. 8 Matter of Southern States Phosphate and Fertilizer Company, 72 N. L R. B. 562 108 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD DIRECTION OF ELECTION 4 As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with The American Agricultural Chemical Company, Savannah, Georgia, 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 Tenth 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, and to our determination in Section V, supra, among the employees in the unit found appropriate 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 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 represented by International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter `York- ers, C. I. 0., or by International Union of Operating Engineers, A. F. L., for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. CERAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election. 4 Any participant in the election herein may , upon its prompt request to , and approval thereof by, the Regional Director , have its name removed from the ballot.