The Laclede Gas Light Co.

In the Matter of THE LACLEDE GAS LIGHT COMPANY , EMPLOYER and UNITED GAS, COKE AND CHEMICAL WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, LOCAL 6 and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, AFL, LOCAL No. 148 Case No. 14-RE-18.-Decided February 13, 1948 Cobbs, Logan, Roos d Armstrong, by Messrs. George B. Logan and William L. Hunker, of St. Louis, Mo., for the Employer. Messrs. Morris J. Levin, Joseph Applebaum, and Thomas Morley, of St. Louis, Mo., for Local 6. Mr. William H. Thomas, of Washington, D. C. and Mr. Arnold M. Edelman of Cleveland, Ohio, for Local 148. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at St. Louis, Missouri, on August 13 and 14, 1947, before Harry G. Carlson, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board Members.* 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 Laclede Gas Light Company, a Missouri corporation with its principal office in St. Louis, Missouri, is engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of artificial gas and coke. The Employer furnishes gas to domestic and industrial consumers in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County. During the year 1946, the Em- *Chairman Herzog and Members Reynolds and Murdock. 76 N. L. R. B., No. 29. 199 200 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ployer purchased more than $1,000,000 worth of raw materials, of which 90 percent was obtained from points outside the State of Missouri. During the same period, the Employer sold more than $1,000,000 worth of coke to out-of-State customers. The Employer admits and we find that-it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. H. THE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED United Gas, Coke, and Chemical Workers of America, Local No. 6, herein called Local 6, is a labor organization affiliated with the Con- gress of Industrial Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 148, herein called Local 148, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent certain employees of the Employer. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Employer refuses to recognize Local 6 or Local 148 as the ex- clusive bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. Until March 1, 1947, the operating territory of the Employer was limited to the City of St. Louis. On that date, it acquired the property and facilities of the St. Louis County Gas Company,' herein called the County, a gas utility whose operating territory was contiguous to that of the Employer and embraced the area of St. Louis County.' At the same time, substantially all of the employees of the County were trans- ferred to the Employer's pay roll. We are concerned here directly only with the former employees of the County, herein called the County employees. In 1941, pursuant to a Board-directed election, Local 148 was cer- tified as the exclusive bargaining representative of the County em- ployees.3 Since that time, Local 148 has continuously represented these employees, executing several bargaining agreements on their be- half with the County. Their last agreement entered into on July 26, 1946, was to continue in effect until July 1, 1947, and from year to year thereafter unless terminated by notice at least 30 days before July 1 of any year. Thereafter the parties agreed to wage increases and in- corporated a new schedule of wages into a supplemental agreement 1 This company, a corporation , was dissolved on February 28, 1947. 2 None of the territory of St. Louis County overlaps that of the City of St Louis. 8 See Matter of Union Electric Company of Mtissourt, et al., 33 N. L. R. B. 1 ; 35 N. L. R. B. 19. THE LACLEDE GAS LIGHT COMPANY 201 which was to be effective from January 1, 1947, to July 1,1948,4 and to continue in effect "without regard to any amendment, termination or renewal" of the July 1, 1946, agreement. The Employer assumed these agreements after acquiring the County employees. For almost 10 years before the transfer of the County gas system to the Employer, Local 6 had acted as bargaining representative of the Employer's employees in the City of St. Louis. On January 1, 1947, 2 months before the transfer, Local 6 and the Employer entered into a collective bargaining agreement which was to terminate on December 31,1947, or until the parties agreed on a new contract, but in no event was it to extend beyond February 1, 1948. This agreement recognized Local 6 as "the exclusive bargaining agency" of the Em- ployer's employees except for certain categories, and, in addition, re- quired as a condition of employment, that new employees apply for membership in Local 6 before reporting for work. On May 9, 1947, Local 6 requested the Employer to recognize it as the bargaining agent of the County employees, asserting that their current contract included all the Employer's employees within its coverage. On May 14, the Employer notified Local 148 that it was terminating their agreement because of the conflicting claims of Local 148 and Local 6. On May 21, the Employer filed the petition herein. Local 148 contends that its 1946 agreement and the supplemental agreement date January 16, 1947, preclude a current determination of representatives. Local 6, on the other hand, contends that its 1947 agreement is applicable to the County employees and is, therefore, a bar to this proceeding. As to the contentions of Local 148, the Employer not only gave Local 148 notice of termination, but filed its petition with the Board before the operative date of the automatic renewal clause of the agree- ment. Therefore, under well-established principles, the 1946 agree- ment of Local 148 cannot serve to bar this proceeding .5 As to the supplemental agreement of January 1, 1947, it is not a full collective bargaining agreement containing the usual substantive provisions con- cerning conditions of employment. We are of the opinion that such a partial agreement does not achieve such stability in labor relations that it should operate as a bar to this proceeding.6 As to the contention of Local 6, we find it unnecessary to consider whether its contract embraces the employees involved inasmuch as the contract has expired. Accordingly, we find that the contract of Local * This agreement permitted its reopening for wage adjustments if the cost of living increased beyond an agreed-upon level. 5 See Matter of Sioux City Brewing Company, 73 N. L. R. B. 325. Cf. Matter of La Follette Shirt Company, 65 N. L. R. B. 952; Matter of Standard Oil Company of Indiana, 56 N. L. It. B. 1101; Matter of C. V. Hill & Company, Inc, 64 N. L. R. B. 1109. 202 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR -RELATIONS BOARD 6 cannot constitute a bar to a present determination of representatives among the County employees. 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 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES Local 148 contends that a unit composed of all the Employer's employees in the water gas manufacturing plant and the gas distribu- tion department in St. Louis County, excluding certain employees,7 is appropriate. Local 6 and the Employer maintain that the County employees sought by Local 148 should be included in an over-all unit of employees who work in comparable facilities in the City of St. Louis and who are currently represented by Local 6. The acquisition by the Employer, in March 1947, of the gas system which services the County of St. Louis has not occasioned changes in the operation of that system or its personnel. This utility system, like the Employer's City gas system, both manufactures and distributes artificial gas. There are approximately 300 employees who are directly engaged in the manufacture and distribution of gas in the County system, all of whom work in the water gas plant and distribu- tion department in St. Louis County. These are the employees on behalf of whom Local 148 has bargained since 1941, and who, it now contends, constitute a separate bargaining unit. The employees in the Employer's City system who perform comparable functions to the employees here involved have been represented by Local 6 since 1935. There are approximately 800 such employees. The similarity between the service rendered by the Employer's two gas systems is reflected in their operations. Identical facilities and equipment are used and similar job classifications and skills s are employed. While each system is separately supervised, all major policies, including those dealing with labor relations, are centrally formulated. The record, moreover, shows that it is the intention of the Employer to integrate the operations of both systems to a consider- able extent in the future by interconnecting various facilities and by interchanging employees. These factors indicate the desirability of including the County employees in the same unit with the employees of the City gas system. However, the County employees have a long 4 This is the unit which the Board found to be appropriate in the former proceedings. 8 Local 148 contends that the employees in the County system constitute a more highly skilled group than those in the City system because they handle high pressure gas. The record, however, discloses that both systems distribute high pressure as well as low pressure gas, and, moreover , the skills required for handling each type of pressure are not substantially different. THE LACLEDE GAS LIGHT COMPANY 203 separate history of collective bargaining. This history indicates that the County employees might also constitute a separate appropriate bargaining units Under these circumstances, we are of the opinion that the County employees may appropriately be merged with the em- ployees currently represented by Local 6 to form a single appropriate unit or may, if they so desire, constitute a separate unit. We turn now to a discussion of certain categories of employees, con- cerning whose inclusion in the voting group the parties are in disagree- went. These employees were acquired by the Employer at about the time it came into possession of the County gas system, but, unlike the County employees, they had been transferred from the pay roll of the Union Electric Light Company, an electric utility, which also serviced St. Louis County. The latter company is a subsidiary of the same parent body as was the County and some of its employees, including the employees in dispute, performed services for the County. The garage employees.These individuals work in the Employer's garage which is located in St. Louis County. They maintain, keep in repair, and wash cars. Prior to their transfer to the Employer, they performed the same service for the cars of the County. We are of the opinion that these employees have sufficient interests in common with those of the voting group and we shall include them. The stores division men.-These employees work in the stores depart- ment where the supplies used by the distribution department of the County system are stored. They handle and issue supplies. We are of the opinion that these employees may appropriately be included in the voting group. At this time we shall make no final determination as to the ap- propriate unit. Such determination will depend, in part, upon the results of the election. If the employees participating therein select Local 148, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate unit. If they select Local 6, they will be taken to have in- dicated their desire to be included in the unit of employees currently represented by Local 6. In accordance with the foregoing, we shall direct that an election be held among the Employer's employees at the water gas manufactur- ing plant and gas distribution department in St. Louis County, includ- ing the garage employees and the stores division men, but excluding engineers, clerks, estimators, meter readers, dispatchers, office employ- ees, and all supervisors, as defined in the amended Act. 9 Matter of Ohio Public Service Company, 71 N. L. R. B. 184. 204 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD DIRECTION OF ELECTION 10 As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purpose of collective bargaining with the Laclede Gas Light Com- pany, St. Louis, Missouri, 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 Fourteenth 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 voting group described 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, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein- stated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether they desire to be represented by United Gas, Coke and Chemical Workers of America, CIO, Local 6, or by International Union of Operating Engi- neers, AFL, Local No. 148, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. 10 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.