United States Rubber Co.

In the Matter of UNITED STATES RUBBER COMPANY, EMPLOYER and IJNI'rED RUBBER, CORK, LINOLEUM AND PLASTIC WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER Case No. 7-R-2698.-Decided February 20, 1948 Mr. Peter J. dlonaghan, of Detroit, Mich., for the Employer. Hr. Robert E. Shuff, of Akron, Ohio, for the Petitioner. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Detroit, Michigan, on August 8 and 18, 1947, before Harry N. Cassehnan, 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 National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations 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 Or FACT 1. TIIE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER United States Rubber Company, a New Jersey corporation, au- thorized to do business in Michigan, is engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of tires and automotive equipment at Detroit, Michigan, where it operates two plants known as the Detroit Plant and the Milwaukee or Hupp Plant. These plants, the only ones involved in this proceeding, are operated by the Employer as a single plant for the purpose of its operations. During 1946 the Employer purchased raw materials valued in excess of $36,000,000, of which 90 percent was shipped to the plants at Detroit from outside the State of Michigan. *Chairman Hei zog and Membei s Re%Holds and Murdock 76NLIt B,No 43 309 310 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Its sales for the same period were in excess of $69,000,000, of which 75 percent was shipped to points outside the State of Michigan. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. 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. 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. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT We find, in accordance with the agreement of the parties, that all office employees of the Employer in its Detroit plants, known as the Detroit and Hupp Plants, excluding' factory supervisors; product control technical supervisors; technical personnel; tire engineering and service branch representatives; outside salesmen; confidential secretaries, telegraph and teletype operators, and clerks; 2 time-study engineers; industrial relations personnel; 3 senior accountants and auditors; buyers; salary pay-roll personnel; customer order men; office methods engineers; confidential credit and accounts receivable personnel ; confidential cashiers ; Montgomery Ward charge em- 1 Board 's Exhibit 7, a document prepared by the Employer which was received in evidence and refeired to by the parties in their stipulation as to the appropriate unit, contains job descriptions of the excluded categories ( with the exception of bus mileage motor coach clerks and first-aid attendants) It appears from this exhibit that some of the classificaotaons aaluch the parties agreed to exclude fiom the unit are not confident in! employees as custom- arily defined by the Board Nevertheless, we see no reason to depart fiom the agreement of the parties as to the unit placement of such employees 2In accordance with the parties' intention as expressed in their testimony and state- ments at the hearing, this excluded group comprises only the emplovees designated on Board's Exhibit 7, supra, as "confidential secretaries," "confidential telegraph and teletype operators," and "confidential clerks," respectively, who "handle labor relations or person- nel matters" and who "have access to confidential records " J In accordance with the parties ' intention as expressed in their testimony and statements at the hearing, this excluded group comprises only those employees in the industrial rela- laons department who "are investigating or typing on labor relations matters" or have ".access to labor relations reeoi ds and including employment reeoids " UNITED STATES RUBBER COMPANY 311 ployees; production and load sheet checkers ; bus mileage motor coach clerks ; first-aid attendants ; and all supervisors and professional employees as defined in the Act 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 States Rubber Com- pany, Detroit, Michigan, 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 Seventh 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 appro- priate 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 reinstated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstate- inent, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by United Rubber, Cork , Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America, CIO, for the purposes of collective bargaining.