E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc.

In the Matter of E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & Co., INC. (SrRUANCE PLANT), EMPLOYER and UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN PLUMBERS & STEA\IFrrTERS OF TILE UNITED STATES AND CANADA- LOCAL UNION No. 596, A. F. OF L., RICHMOND, VA., PETITIONER Case No. 5-R-454.Decided January 31, 1947 Mr. Harry 0. Blumenthal, of Richmond, Va., for the Employer. Mr. Thos. X. Duonn, of Washington, D. C., and Mr. John Catterson, of Park Ridge, N. J., for the Petitioner. Mr. R. J. Francis, of Petersburg, Va., for the Intervenors. Mr. Melvin J. Weller, of counsel to the Board. . DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Rich- mond, Virginia, on September 17, 1946, before Harold M. Weston, 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 E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc., a Delaware corporation, is engaged in the manufacture of rayon and cellophane at its Spruance plant in Richmond, Virginia, with which we are concerned in this proceeding. During the year ending June 1, 1946, the Employer purchased for its Spruance plant raw materials valued in excess of $1,000,000, of which 80 percent was shipped to the plant from points outside the Commonwealth of Virginia. During the same period the Employer manufactured at its Spruance plant finished products valued in excess of $1,000,000, of which approximately 80 percent was shipped from the plant to points outside the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Employer admits, and we and, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 72 N L. R B, No. 68. 361 362 II. TILE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. Auiphthill Rayon Workers, Incorporated, herein called the Rayon Workers, and Transparent Film Workers, Incorporated, herein called the Film Workers, both collectively called the Intervenors, are un- affiliated labor organizations, each claiming to represent employees of the Employer. DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD III. TILE 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. TILE APPROPRIATE UNITS r The Petitioner seeks a single unit consisting of all leadburners and apprentices at the Rayon and the Cellophane divisions of the Em- ployer's Spruance plant, excluding helpers and mechanics ; in the alter- native, the Petitioner requests separate units of (a) leadburners and apprentices at the Rayon division, excluding helpers and mechanics, and (b) leadburners and apprentices at the Cellophane division, ex- cluding helpers and mechanics. The Employer and the Intervenors contend that (1) no unit of leadburners is appropriate, because of the history of bargaining at each division on a production and mainte- nance basis; (2) if the leadburners are separated from the production and maintenance employees for the purposes of collective bargaining, the helpers and mechanics should be included with the leadburners; and (3) if the leadburners are separated from the production and maintenance employees, a separate unit at each division should be established, in line with the Petitioner's alternative request. It is clear that the leadburners at both the Rayon and the Cellophane divisions are highly skilled employees, with employment interests peculiar to their craft. The leadburners are under separate super- 1 Employees in the Rayon division, including the leadburners employed therein , have been coveted by a contract between the Employer and the Rayon Workers. and employees in the, Cellophane division, including leadburners therein, have been coveted by a contract be- tween the Employer and the Film Workers. Neither agreement is asserted as a bar, nor could they be, for the filing of the petition preceded the operative date of the automatic renewal clause of the contract between the Employer and the Rayon Workeis , and the anniversary date of the contract has passed , and the filing of the petition preceded the execution of the agreement between the Employer and the Film Workers. E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO., INC. 363 vision from the other production and maintenance employees at each division, and there is no interchange between leadburners and the other production and maintenance employees within each division. The leaclbu rners are an identifiable craft group of employees at each division. The Employer and the Intervenors contend, however, that the bar- gaining history on a production and maintenance basis at each of the divisions of the Spruance plant precludes the establishment of either one or two units of leadburners. But we considered the history of bargaining at the Rayon division of the Spruance plant in two pre- vious decisions and found that it did not preclude the establishment of separate units of electricians and power plant employees.2 As indicated in those decisions, the employees of the Rayon division _ivere first organized by the Rayon Workers in 1937. The first formal written agreement between the Employer and the Rayon Workers, however, was not executed until November 27, 1945. We are not convinced that this bargaining history on a division-wide basis is more compelling now than it was on March 12, 1946, when we issued our second decision involving this division. With respect to the history of bargaining at the Cellophane divi- sion, it appears that the Film Workers, pursuant to a series of written agreements, has represented this division's employees on a produc- tion and maintenance basis since 1941. However, the Cellophane division leadburners, as indicated above, are an identifiable craft group of employees. Furthermore, leadburners are separately repre- sented in other plants of the Employer,3 and the Cellophane division leadburners never voted in a Board election to be merged with other employees. We are persuaded that all the Spruance plant leadburners should be separated from the production and maintenance workers. The Employer and the Intervenors contend, as previously noted, that only separate units of leadburners, if any, at each of the divisions are appropriate. The Petitioner's alternative request is also for separate units at the two divisions. The evidence adduced at the hearing indicates that the Rayon and the Cellophane divisions are housed in different buildings, are separately supervised, have separate time clocks and pay rolls, maintain separate seniority, and have en- tirely different operations. There is little or no interchange of em- ployees, including leadburners, between the two divisions. Under all 21llatter of E I. do Pont de Nemours Company, Spn lance Works, Rayon Division, 64 N L R B 639 ; flatter of E I du Pont de Nemours Company, Spruance Works, Rayon Dauisnon, 66 N L R B 631 'Matter of E I du Pont (Crassellti Division ), 65 N L R. B 390; Matter of E I du Pont de Nemours and Company, 66 N L R B 545. 364 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the circumstances, we are of the opinion that a separate unit of lead- burners and apprentices should be established at each of the -divisions- There remains for consideration the question of whether or not the helpers and the mechanics should be included in the units of lead- burners and apprentices. The skills of a journeyman leadburner are acquired only after a long apprenticeship, which is usually required. The helpers and mechanics are iiot directly engaged in leadburning, nor are they in training to become leadburners; although some helpers may become apprentices and, subsequently, journeymen leadburners, this is not the usual practice in the Spruance plant. We shall, there- fore, exclude the leadburner helpers and leadburner mechanics from the units hereinafter found appropriate. We find that the following groups of employees constitute separate units appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: (1) All ]eadbiiiners and leaclburner apprentices at the Rayon di- vision of the, Employer's Spruance plant, excluding leadburner helpers, leadburner mechanics, 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. - (2) All leaclburners and leadburner apprentices at the Cellophane division of the Employer's Spruance plant, excluding leaclburner helpers, leaclburner mechanics, 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' DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with E. I. du Pont de Neniours & Co., Inc. (Spruance Plant), Richmond, Virginia, elections 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 Fifth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and 'In Matter of E. I du Pont de Nemours & Company, Inc., Spnuance Woibs, Royon Diiision. Cases No 5-R-2724. 5-R-2773 and 5-It-2791, it "Stipulation for Certification Upon Consent Election" was entered into on November 19, 1946, among the Employer, the Rayon workers, Textile Woikers Union of America, C I 0 , International Brotherhood of Firemen C Oileis, A F of L . and District 50, United Mineworkers of America; A F. of l, , providing for two self-deteimmation elections, one to be held among all production and maintenance employees of the Rayon division, and the other to be held among all power section employees of the Rayon division. The Stipulation provided further that the ballots of leadburners , leadburner helpers, and leadburner mechanics (in the production and maintenance voting group) be impounded, pending our Decision in the instant proceeding. Our Decision in this case6 is depositive of the question of where leadburners, leadburner helpers, and leadburner mechanics should be included. E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO., INC. 365 subject to Sections 203.55 and 203.56, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 4, among the employees in the units 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 Al 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 elections, to determine whether the employees in Unit 1 desire to be represented by United Association of Journeymen Plumbers & Steamfitters of the United States and Canada-Local Union No. 596, A. F. of L., Rich- mond, Va., or by Amphthill Rayon Workers, Incorporated, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither; and to determine whether the employees in Unit 2 desire to be represented by United Association of Journeymen Plumbers & Steamfitters of the United States and Canada-Local Union No. 596, A. F. of L., Richmond, Va., or by Transparent Film Workers, Incorporated, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.