Pacific Car and Foundry Co.

In the Matter Of PACIFIC CAR AND FOUNDRY COMPANY, EMPLOYER and NURSES & PROFESSIONAL WORKERS UNION, LOCAL No . 126, AFL, PETITIONER Case No. 19-R-0037.-Decided April 8, 1947 Messrs. Grosseup , Ambler c6 Stephan, by Mr. Pendleton Miller, of Seattle, Wash., for the Employer. Messrs. Ward Coley and William K. Dobbins , of Seattle, Wash., for the Petitioner. Miss Muriel J. Levor, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND ORDER Upon an amended petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Seattle, Washington, on December 27 and 28, 1946, before Daniel R. Dimick, 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 I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER Pacific Car and Foundry Company, a Washington corporation, with its principal office and place of business at Renton, Washington, is engaged in the construction and repair of railway freight cars and in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of iron and steel products. During the past year, the Employer purchased raw materials, con- sisting chiefly of steel, iron, and lumber, valued in excess of $5,000,000, of which 50 percent came to the plant from points outside the State of Washington. During the same period, the Employer's sales of tractor accessories and equipment, bus bodies, railway freight cars, and vari- ous steel fabricated products amounted to approximately $16,000,000, I The petition and other formal papers were amended at the hearing to disclose the cor- rect name of the Employer 73 N L It B, No. 35 211 212 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD of which 75 percent was shipped to points outside the State of Washington. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 11. THE ORGANIZATION INVOL\n:D The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Em- ployer. III. THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE. UNIT; Tlli? ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Petitioner contends that nurses working at the Employer's Renton, Washington, plant constitute a unit appropriate for the pur- poses of collective bargaining. The Employer contends that nurses are not employees within the meaning of the Act, and at the hearing, moved to dismiss the petition on that ground. The employees herein concerned are registered nurses whose duties for the most part consist of the treatment of minor ailments and of injuries received by employees at the plant in the course of their em- ployment. Such, functions are neither managerial nor confidential in character, nor need they cause any conflict between self-organiza- tion and the faithful performance of duty. Accordingly, we find no merit to the Employer's contention that they are not employees within the meaning of the Act.2 At the time of the hearing, there were two nurses at the Renton plant, a staff nurse, and a head nurse. The head nurse, in addition to the duties of staff nurse, is required to formulate policy and pro- cedure for the nursing department, is responsible for all records, and supervises the work of staff nurses. She hires such nurses as are required, after consultation with the personnel director, and has the power to make effective recommendations concerning the status of staff nurses. In view of these facts, the head nurse is a supervisory employee -within our definition of the term. Accordingly, we shall exclude the head nurse from the unit. As we have frequently held, the principle of collective bargaining presupposes that there is more than one eligible person who desires to bargain, and the Act, therefore, does not empower the Board to certify collective bargaining representatives where only one employee is involved.3 One staff nurse cannot be considered as constituting an 2 Matter o f Electric Auto-Lite Company, 50 N L R B 68 , Matter of Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard, Inc, 59 N L R 13 1525 3 Matter of Central Foundry Company , 20 N L R. B. 131, and cases cited therein. PACIFIC CAR AND FOUNDRY COMPANY 213 appropriate bargaining unit. Since, in the absence of a sufficient n miber of eligible employees, the bargaining unit sought by the peti- tion is inappropriate,' we find no question has arisen concerning the representation of employees at the Employer's plant. ORDER Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, and the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the petition for investigation and certification of representatives of employees of Pacific Car and Foundry Company, Renton, Wash- ington, filed by United Nurses & Professional Workers Union, Local No. 126, AFL, be, and it hereby is, dismissed. CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Order. "Mattel of Zanes,,lle Stonewa,e Company . 53 N L R B 1408