Hinzmann & Waldmann Marine Corp.

In the Matter of HINZMANN & WALDIIANN MARINE CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and METAL TRADES DEPARTMENT, AFL,1 PETITIONER Case No. 0-R-7802.-Decided March 2, 1948 Mr. Jerome F. Healy, Jr., of Bronx, N. Y., and Mr. Albert O. Hinzmann, of Brooklyn , N. Y., for the Employer. Mr. Joseph Cohn, of New York City, for the Petitioner. Mr. Peter J. O'Neill, of Brooklyn , N. Y., and Mr. Henry H. Gordon, of New York City, for the Intervenor. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon an amended petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at New York City on December 1, 1947, before Robert Silagi, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. The Employer's motion to dismiss, on various grounds,2 is denied for reasons herein- after stated. Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board 3 makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER Hinzmann & Waldmann Marine Corporation is a New York cor- poration maintaining its principal office and place of business in ' During the hearing the Petitioner , the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Shipbuilders and Helpers of America , AFL, moved to substitute for its own name on its petition , the name appearing in the caption herein. The motion is hereby granted. 2 Aside from the grounds hereinafter considered , the employer moved to dismiss the peti- tion upon the ground that there was no proof that the Metal Trades Department was in compliance with Section p (f), (g), and (h) of the Act. Inasmuch as it appears that both the original petitioner and the Metal Trades Department whose name has been substituted therefor are now in full compliance with the section aforesaid , we find no merit in the motion of the Employer. 3 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 [ Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Reynolds]. 76 N. L. R. B , No. 79. 502 HINZMANN & WALDMANN MARINE CORPORATION 503 Brooklyn, New York, where it is engaged in the business of repairing ocean-going vessels. During the year 1947, the Employer used more than $100,000 worth of raw materials, of which at least 50 percent was shipped to its place of business from points outside the State of New York. During the same period, the services rendered by the Employer to ocean-going vessels were valued in excess of $500,000. The Employer admits, and we find, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED 4 The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the Ameri- can Federation of Labor claiming to represent employees of the Employer. Local 13, Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, herein called the Intervenor, is a labor organization affili- ated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, claiming to rep- resent employees of the Employer. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive 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 The Petitioner seeks a unit composed of all production and main- tenance employees,5 including snappers and carpenters, but excluding office and clerical employees, electrical department employees, guards, foremen, and supervisors. The Employer takes no position in re- spect to the composition of the unit. The Petitioner and the Inter- venor disagree only with respect to employees in the electrical depart- ment. As previously stated, the Petitioner would exclude such employees. The Intervenor, however, would include them within the unit. The Employer has but one or two electricians whose work is chiefly that of maintenance men. They string temporary lights in various 4 .llthough duly served with notice of hearing, neither the International Longshoremen S Association , AFL, nor the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, AFL, made an appearance 6 The following categories of employees comprise the production and maintenapce em- ployees • machinists, riggers, burners, boilermakers, pipe fitters, welders, painters, ship, fitters, carpenters , chip and caulkers , maintenance men, material men, and helpers. 504 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD parts of the ships to provide illumination for other workers; they also handle small repair work on electrical equipment. They are under the supervision of the same general supervisors who are in charge of the other maintenance employees. Moreover, the Employer main- tains no special pay-roll classification for electricians, nor does the rec- ord show that they are treated in any manner different from other production and maintenance employees. As it is clear that the func- tions and interests of the electrical employees are similar to those of the other production and maintenance employees, and as no craft labor organization is seeking separate representation for them, we shall include the electrical employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate. We find that all production and maintenance employees, including snappers, carpenters, and electrical department employees, but exclud- ing office and clerical employees, guards, foremen, and supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Net. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPI:ESENTATIVES The Employer further moved to dismiss the petition upon the grounds (1) that no election should be held at this time because it is in the process of liquidating its business, and (2) that a resulting re- duction in personnel has been effected. A representative of the Em- ployer testified that no contract for the sale of the business had been signed and that the Employer is merely in the process of negotiation for its disposal. The record further shows that, although the Em- ployer's staff had dropped from over 200 to a low of 14, as of the date of the hearing it had again increased to between 50 and 60 em- ployees. As the Employer's plans for the future are indeterminate,' we shall direct an immediate election. We shall direct that the question concerning representation be re- solved by an election by secret ballot, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. DIRECTION OF ELECTION As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Hinzmann and Waldmann Marine Corporation, Brooklyn, New York, an election by secret bal- lot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty 6 See Mattel of Domestic Engine d Pump Company, 70 N L R B 1263 See also Matter of Scripto Manufacturing Company/ , 65 N L R. B 222 , 224, Matter of California Almond Growers Exchange, 73 N L R B . 1367, 1369, 1370. 7 See Matter of Blue Star Airltines, Inc., 73 N L R B 663 HINZMANN & WALDMANN MARINE CORPORATION 505 (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Second 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 en- titled to reinstatement, to determine whether they desire to be repre- sented by Metal Trades Department, AFL, or by Local 13, Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. 0