General Electric Co.

In the Matter Of SERVICE SHOP, APPARATUS DEPARTMENT, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA,' EMPLOYER, and INTER- NATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL UNION B-569, A. F. of L., PETITIONER Case No. 21-R-3968.-Decided February 11, 1948 Meserve, Mum:aper an Hughes, by Mr. Lewis T. Gardiner, of Los Angeles, Calif., for the Employer. Mr. M. L . Ratcliffe, of San Diego, Calif., for the Petitioner. Mr. R. J. Morkotbski; of San Diego, Calif., for the U. E. DECISION, AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at San Diego, California, on August 7, 1947, before Charles M. Ryan, hearing officer. United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, herein called the U. E., was permitted by the hearing officer to inter- vene in this proceeding, no question as to the U. E.'s attempted inter- vention having been raised at the hearing. The U. E. has not complied with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f), (g), and (h) of the Act, as amended, nor did it allege, or show, a contractual interest in this matter. Accordingly, the hearing officer's ruling permitting the inter- vention of the U. E. is reversed.2 Other rulings made by the hearing officer are free from prejudicial error, and are affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board 3 makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER General Electric Company, a New York corporation, is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of electrical equipment. It oper- ' Title as amended at the hearing. ' Hatter of Schneider Transportation Company, 75 N L R B. 870 3 Puisuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board Members [Houston, Murdock, and Gray]. 76 N. L. R. B., No. 21. 146 SERVICE SHOP 147 ates plants in various States of the United States. The only plant of the Employer involved in this proceeding is its Service Shop, Apparatus Department, at San Diego, California, which services and repairs electrical equipment. During the 12 months preceding the hearing the San Diego Service Shop purchased raw materials valued at approximately $15,000, of which approximately 80 percent was received from sources outside the State of California. During the same period, sales exceeded $50,000 in value, of which approximately 5 percent was sold to customers located outside the State. We find that the Employer is engaged in commerce within the mean- ing of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation 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 exists concerning the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 1V. TIIE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Petitioner seeks a unit comprising all production and mainte- nance employees of the Employer, including craft or assistant foremen but excluding office clerical and temporary employees.' The Employer agrees generally to the composition of the unit sought by the Peti- tioner but would also exclude supervisors. The Employer took no position regarding the inclusion or exclusion of temporary employees. Although the Petitioner desires that craft or assistant foremen be included in the unit, the record does not reveal the existence of any employees in this category. We shall, therefore, make no finding re- garding their inclusion or exclusion.5 The production foreman, who spends approximately 25 percent of his working time in production work, possesses the power effectively to recommend the discharge or promotion of the other production and There are approximately 12 employees in the alleged appropriate unit Matter of Allis-Chahneis Manufacturing Company. 73 N S. R R 784 Althnu¢h the ]Ole skilled craftsmen may furnish guidance to those of lesser skill, they possess no supervisory authority over the latter. 781902-48-vol 76-] 1 148 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD maintenance employees and is clearly a supervisor within the meaning of Section 2 (11) of the National Labor Relations Act. Accordingly, we shall exclude him from the unit. At the time of the hearing the Employer had in its employ two temporary helpers. These helpers were college students engaged for the duration of their summer vacation period. They had no expecta- tion of either permanent tenure or regular seasonal employment. We shall, therefore, exclude them from the unit.' We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Em- ployer, excluding office clerical and temporary employees, the produc- tiotl foremen and all supervisors, 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 pur- poses of collective bargaining with Service Shop, Apparatus Depart- ment, General Electric Company, San Diego, California, 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 Twenty-first Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed dur- ing the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direc- tion, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, 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, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether or not they desire to be rep- resented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union B-569, A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective bargaining. I Matter of Millvron's, 72 N. L R B 69.