United Tool & Die Co.

In the Matter Of UNITED TOOL & DIE, COMPANY, EMPLOYER and UNITED ELECTRICAL , RADIO & MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA , C. I. 0., PETITIONER Case No. 1-R-34.07.Decided April 2,0, 1947 Messrs. James J. Carney, L. J. Delaney, and E. J. Carney, of West Hartford, Conn., for the Employer. Mr. Robert Mintz, of Hartford, Conn., for the Petitioner. Mr. John J. Gallione, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition and an amended petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Hartford, Connecticut, on December 10, 1946, before Sam G. Zach, 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 United Tool & Die Company is a Connecticut corporation engaged in the manufacture of tools and dies. The value of its annual pur- chases of raw materials is about $200,000, of which over 70 percent comes from points outside the State of Connecticut. The value of its annual sales is about $1,000,000, of which about 10 percent is shipped to points outside the State of Connecticut. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce, within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, 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. 73 N. L. R. B., No. 91. 465 466 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 of tool and die makers and* their appren- tices at the Employer's plant. The Employer contends that only a plant-wide unit is appropriate. Tool and die makers are the most highly skilled craftsmen at the Employer's plant. Their scale of wages is higher than that of other craftsmen. They comprise a traditional craft group and, as such, may constitute an appropriate unit. There is no history of collective bargaining and, at present, there is no other labor organization attempting to organize the employees at this plant. In view of these facts, we find that tool and die makers and their apprentices at the Employer's plant, excluding all supervisory em- ployees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or other- wise 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 United Tool & Die Company, West Hartford, Connecticut, an election by secret ballot shall be con- ducted 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 First 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 Regula- tions-Series 4, 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 or not they desire to be represented by United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective bargaining. CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election.