Gemco Engineering and Manufacturing Co., Inc.

In the Matter of GEMCO ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING CO., INC.", EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE WORK- ERS OF AMERICA, A. F. of L., PETITIONER Case No. 9-R-4694.-Decided February ,7, 1948 Messrs . Joseph A. Roach and Howard L. Rabe , of Cincinnati, Ohio, for the Employer. Messrs. Peter C. Noll and E. F. Eckert, of Cincinnati , Ohio, for the Petitioner. Messrs Lewis Strickland and A. G. Bush, of Cincinnati , Ohio, for the Intervenor. Mr. Dan J. Connors , of Cincinnati , Ohio, for the Contracting Union. DECISION AND DTRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing in this case was held at Cin- cinnati, Ohio, on December 9, 1947, before Philip Fusco, 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 Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT I. TIIE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER Gemco Engineering and Manufacturing Co., Inc., is an Ohio cor- poration with its principal office and only plant located in St. Bernard, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. The Employer, at the time of the filing of the petition herein, was engaged in the manufacture of two-wheeled utility trailers, roll-away garage doors, and other metal fixtures and The name of the Employer appears in the caption as amended at the hearing. *Members- Houston, Murdock, and Gray. 76 N. L..R. B., 61. 437 438 DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD products. During the year preceding the filing of the petition, the Employer purchased steel, its principal raw material, of a value in excess of $300,000, 95 percent of which was shipped into Ohio from points outside the State. During the same period total sales of finished products exceeded $500,000, of which 95 percent was shipped outside the State. At the time of the hearing the Employer's operations had been substantially curtailed. Production was confined chiefly to two- wheeled trailers, for which raw materials valued at $36,000 a year were purchased. Almost the entire production, valued at $100,000 a year, was shipped to points outside the State. The Employer, at the time of the hearing, was also engaged in job work, valued at $2,500 per week, for J. H. Day Company, Cincinnati, Oliio, a substantial part of which is shipped outside the State. We find that the Em- ployer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. IT. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, C. I. 0., herein called the Intervenor, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Or- ganizations, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. International Union of Operating Engineers, A. F. of L., herein called the Contracting Union, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION By a letter dated May 2, 1947, the Petitioner notified the Employer that it represented a majority of the Employer's employees in an ap- priate unit, and requested a meeting for the purpose of negotiating a contract. There was no reply to this letter. The petition herein was filed May 7, 1947. At the hearing, the Employer and the Con- tracting Union contended that a collective bargaining contract en- tered into between them on August 13, 1946, effective August 14, 1946, and automatically renewed for 1 year on August 14, 1947, was a bar to this proceeding.2 Inasmuch as the petiiton herein was filed before Article XII, Sec. 1 , of the said contract contained an automatic renewal clause providing that the contract should be automatically renewed for yearly periods ; unless either of the parties ` gave written notice , 60 days before the expiration date, of a desire to amend or teiminate. No such notice was given prior to August 14, 1947. GEMCO ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING CO., INC. 439 the operative date of the automatic renewal clause of the contract, we find that the contract is not a bar to the election hereinafter directed.3 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 production and maintenance employees of the Employer, including truck drivers, mule drivers, shippers,' leadmen,5 and janitors, but ex- cluding office clerical employees, timekeepers, plant guards, profes- sional employees, and isupervisors, 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 6 As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Gemco Engineering and Manu- facturing Co., Inc., St. Bernard, Ohio, 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 Ninth Region, and subject to Sec- tions 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 em- ployees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were i]1 or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding those em- ployees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not ' Matter of Southern Adi,ance Bag it Paper Co , Inc, 75 N L R B 614 , Matter of Drewr8s Lzniited U S A , Inc., 74 N L R B 31, Matter of Westinghouse Electric Corpora- tion, 71 N L R B 983, Matter of Michigan Producers' Dairy Company, 68 N L R B 6. ° The shipper works directly under the shipping clerk, and, like the non-supervisory leadmen discussed below, is not authorized to hire or discharge or effectively to recommend such action. 6 The leadmen are supervised directly by the foreman, who issues orders with respect to the work that is to be done . When necessary , other employees are assigned by the fore- man to assist the leadmen. The leadmen work along with the men but receive 10 cents per hour more pay They have no right to hire, discharge, or discipline the men, nor to recommend such action ; nor do they have the right to assign men to other departments. Grievances are not handled by the leadnien It is clear from the record that the leadmen have no supervisory authority within the meaning of the Act, as amended Hatter of S-P Manufacturing Corporation, 75 N. L R B. 701 ; Matter of Gasway Corporation, 74 N. L. R B 994 , Mattes of Motor Rebuilders, Inc, 74 N L It B 945 , of Matter of Todd Gal- veston Dry Docks, Inc, 74 N L. R. B. 1059. U 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 440 DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, and also ex- cluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether they desire to be represented by International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, A. F. of L., by Inter- national Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Im- plement Workers of America, C. I. 0., or by International Union of Operating Engineers, A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by none of said unions.