Ethyl Corp.

ETHYL CORPORATION 435 tive, management, or nonoperating functions on a company-wide basis. Determination of Dispute On the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and upon the entire record in this case, the Board makes the following determination of dispute, pursuant to Section 10 (k) of the amended Act: 1. The jobs classified as general clerk, intermediate clerk, ware- houseman, stockman A, and stockman C whose duties are related to the performance of supply functions in the general stores division of the purchasing department of Equitable Gas Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are included in the unit of employees in departments performing administrative, management, and nonoperating functions presently represented by Local 149, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL, and not in the distribution department unit now represented by Local 12050, District 50, United Mine Workers of America. 2. Within ten (10) days from the date of this Decision and Deter- mination of Dispute, Equitable Gas Company, Local 12050, District 50, United Mine Workers of America, and Local 149, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL, each may notify the Re- gional Director for the Sixth Region, in writing, of the steps it has taken to comply with the terms of this Decision and Determination of Dispute. MEMBERS HOUSTON and STYLES took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Determination of Dispute. ETHYL CORPORATION and UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF THE PLUMBING AND PIPE FITTING INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, LOCAL UNION No. 211, AFL, PETI- TIONER ETHYL CORPORATION and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL IJNION No. 716, AFL, PETITIONER ETHYL CORPORATION and OIL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, CIO, PETITIONER ETHYL CORPORATION and SHEET METAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL As- SOCIATION, LOCAL UNION No. 54, AFL, PETITIONER. Cases Nos. 39- RC-482, 39-RC-483, 39-RC-485, 39-RC-501, 39-RC-,507, and 39-RC-517. November 20,1952 Decision and Direction of Elections Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before 101 NLRB No. 94. 242305-53-29 436 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Clarence L. Stephens, 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 these cases to a three- member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Styles and Peterson]. Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em- ployees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The Employer, Ethyl Workers Independent Union, hereinafter termed the Independent," Houston Metal Trades Council, AFL, here- inafter termed the Council,' and Oil Workers International Union, CIO, hereinafter termed the Oil Workers, agree on the appropriate- ness of a collective bargaining unit of all production and maintenance employees at the Employer's Pasadena, Texas, plant. United As- sociation of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, Local Union No. 211, AFL, hereinafter termed the Pipefitters,3 International Brother- hood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No. 716, AFL, hereinafter termed the Electricians, Sheet Metal Workers International Associa- tion, Local Union No. 54, AFL, hereinafter termed the Metal Workers, all request that various separate bargaining units of alleged craft employees be found appropriate. The Pasadena plant is relatively new, and there is no history of collective bargaining among its employees. The Employer is a Delaware corporation operating several chemi- cal plants in different parts of the United States. The only plant involved in the present proceeding, however, is its Pasadena, Texas, installation, where it is engaged in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of Ethyl brand of antiknock compound. The production of this material is a continuous chemical process which involves several steps. Raw materials used in its production are lead, sodium, ethyl chloride, 1 The Independent was the Petitioner in Case No. 39-RC-502, but at the hearing was permitted to withdraw that petition and intervene in Case No . 39-RC-507. 2 International Chemical Workers of America, AFL, and Lodge 21, District 37, Inter- national Association of Machinists , were permitted to intervene as parties of interest since they are affiliated with, and will benefit from any certification issuing in favor of, the Council. s The Pipefitters was the Petitioner in Case No. 39-RC-484. At the hearing, it was permitted to withdraw its petition in that case, and the Metal Workers filed a new peti- tion covering the same employees. ETHYL CORPORATION 437 ethyl dichloride, and ethyl dibromide. The heart of the final prod- uct, tetraethyl lead, is formed by the reaction of ethyl chloride with a lead-sodium alloy in a vessel known as an autoclave. The tetraethyl lead produced is then sent to a blender, where it is mixed with proper amounts of ethylene dichloride, ethylene dibromide, and dye, to form the final product. The Employer's maintenance operations are conducted under the supervision of personnel designated as area foremen, shift foremen, field foremen, and other classes of supervisors. Supervisors are as- signed to various work areas on the basis of workloads rather than on a craft or other basis. Apparently only electricians and instru- ment mechanics have their respective craft foremen. Work groups in many instances consist of employees of different skills working as a team. Thus, employees classified as carpenter-insulators, machin- ists, metal workers, pipefitters, welders, and riggers-crane operators are assigned and work as a group without craft distinction under dif- ferent area foremen. Shift foremen are in charge of all maintenance work of the entire plant on the second and third shifts and on week ends, and have under their supervision and direction employees classi- fied as shift mechanics, electricians, and instrument mechanics. Although the Employer for some purposes classifies all maintenance employees only as mechanics first class, mechanics second class, handy- men, and helpers, it also, for other purposes, recognizes and uses traditional craft classifications and observes craft lines. The Em- ployer has no formalized apprenticeship training program for any of its craft employees. A combination on-the-job and academic train- ing course is, however, being initiated for such employees, and they will be trained primarily in the work of the craft classification in which they are hired. Presently, it takes a minimum of 15 months for a helper to advance to the handyman classification. In hiring employees in craft classifications the Employer, in examining their qualifications and experience, requires that such experience be in the field of the craft for which they are hired. It administers a rigid test before hiring welders. Helpers, after being hired, are assigned to work with a particular craft group, and while there is limited inter- change or transfer of helpers between the various craft groups, it is "kept to a minimum," and in the case of electrician and instrument mechanic helpers such transfer is practically nonexistent. The line of progression within a particular craft group is from helper to, handyman, to second-class mechanic, to first-class mechanic. While none of the employees in the various craft groups devotes all of his time to performing work of his particular craft, all craft employees devote the majority of their time to performing duties of their par- ticular craft. The work performed outside the particular craft is 438 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD incidental to, or in connection with, the performance of their major craft duties. Overtime provisions, vacations, holidays, shift pre- miums, and other "fringe" benefits are the same for all employees. As noted, the Employer, the Independent, the Council, and the Oil Workers oppose the creation of separate bargaining units among the employees sought herein by the other Petitioners. In particular, the Employer urges that integration of its operations and the interde- pendence of production and maintenance functions and personnel assignments make such units inappropriate. On the entire record, the Board does not consider that the integration of operations and functions at this plant is sufficient to militate against separate repre- sentation of craft employees.4 The fact that many of the requested craft employees may work alongside of, or in close association with, other employees, and are assigned to work away from their own de- partment under general area supervision or a foreman other than their own, does not derogate from their right under the present statute to constitute a separate bargaining unit.5 Accordingly, we find no merit in the contention of the Employer that only a plant-wide unit is appropriate, but shall consider the merits of the individual groups sought by the craft Petitioners. Instrument mechanics: The Pipefitters requests a separate unit of approximately nine first- and second-class instrument mechanics, and their regularly assigned handymen and helpers in the Employer's maintenance department. Instrument mechanics, working under the direct supervision of the instrument area or field foreman, install and repair pneumatic, electrical, and mechanical instruments, and change electrical motors or control wires in instruments. They receive the same wage rate as electricians, and often work with electricians in repairing cell instruments. Like other craft employees in this plant, they often work under the technical supervision of area or shift fore- men in other sections of the plant, who do not supervise the actual manual work performance. Instrument mechanics work exclusively on instruments and do no production work. Welders: The Pipefitters requests a separate unit of approximately eight first-class welders in the maintenance department. Welders are required to perform all kinds of welding work. As indicated earlier, before an employee is hired as a welder, his background is thoroughly checked and questioned by the Employer, and he is given an examina- tion to determine his ability. Welders perform no production duties, and no other group of employees is required to possess the degree of welding skills and abilities as is required of first-class welders. Al- 4 Mathieson Chemical Corporation ( Doe Run Plant ), 100 NLRB 166 ; B. F. Goodrich Chemical Co., 84 NLRB 429, and cases cited therein. 5International Harvester Co., Canton Works, 91 NLRB 487; Reynolds Metals Co., 85 NLRB 110. ETHYL CORPORATION 439 though some welding work is done by other employees, this welding work is minor and incidental to other work being performed. Weld- ers are not interchanged with any other employees in the plant, and wherever assigned, they remain under the same maintenance supervision. Pipe fitters: The Pipefitters also requests a separate unit of first- and second-class pipefitters and their regularly assigned handymen and helpers in the maintenance department. The Employer has 22 pipefitters and 6 helpers in the maintenance department. It is con- ceded that they are skilled employees. They are primarily concerned with maintaining the piping equipment which runs throughout the plant, and work under maintenance supervision. Although pipe- fitters may perform other duties, such as removing insulation from pipes, the major part of their time is confined to pipefitting. Pipe- fitters are not interchanged with any other employees, and no other employees are assigned to do the work of pipefitters. We find that instrument mechanics,' welders,7 and pipefitters,8 re- spectively, constitute skilled craft groups to which separate repre- sentation may be accorded. Electricians and substation operators: The Electricians seeks 2 sep- arate units, 1 composed of electricians and their regularly assigned handymen and helpers in the maintenance department, and the other composed of all first- and second-class substation operators and their regularly assigned helpers in the rectifier substation and outlying substations. The Employer has 27 electricians and 6 helpers in the maintenance department,. 4 of whom are regularly assigned to the substation and work directly under the power foreman. The Em- ployer has followed a policy of rotating electricians in the substation because of the heavy maintenance workload there. Electricians, however, remain under the supervision of electrical field foremen wherever they may be assigned. The work performed by the elec- tricians requires the exercise of a high degree of skill, and they are admittedly craftsmen. The 5 substation operators with their 4 help- ers work in the rectifier substation, which is the principal power plant or power control station of the plant. Substation operators are pri- marily electricians who operate stationary electrical equipment under the supervision of the power foreman and also perform electrical work at outlying substations. Presently there is no interchange be- tween substation operators and maintenance electricians assigned to 8 Mathieson Chemical Corporation (Doe Run Plant ), supra, and cases cited therein. See also Mathieson Chemical Corporation, 100 NLRB 1028. International Paper Company, Southern Kraft Division, et al, 94 NLRB 483 and 96 NLRB 295 ; Mathieson Chemical Corporation (Doe Run Plant ), supra, and cases cited therein. 8 Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation , 84 NLRB 298; Tin Processing Corporation, 78 NLRB 96 ; Mathieson Chemical Corporation, supra. 440 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the power plant. Substation operators are not called electricians, although they perform principally electrical work. They make read- ings on instruments which control electrical flow and determine oper- ating conditions at any given time and make necessary adjustments. They do not, however, do electrical maintenance work. This work is performed by the 4 maintenance electricians regularly assigned to the power plant referred to above. The Employer contends that the substation operators are not qualified to perform the work of main- tenance electricians, and should not be established as a craft group. We do not agree. The substation operators, admittedly electricians and power plant employees, perform highly skilled work. We find that maintenance electricians 9 constitute a skilled craft group and substation operators 10 a departmental group to which sep- arate representation may be accorded. Metal workers: The Metal Workers seeks a unit composed of all first- and second-class metal workers and their regularly assigned handymen and helpers in the maintenance department. The nine metal workers and three helpers in the maintenance department lay out, fabricate, and install steel plate and structural shapes, take draw- ings and blueprints, and from them cut different pieces of steel to certain sizes and shapes under general maintenance supervision. Metal workers are admittedly craftsmen. The Employer, however, contends that shift mechanics and cell mechanics also perform a substantial amount of metal work. The record discloses that although some metal work is performed by other employees, the metal workers alone possess all the skills required by the Employer of a first-class metal worker. On the entire record, we find that the metal workers constitute a skilled craft group to which separate representation may be accorded."' We shall at this time direct that separate elections be held among the following voting groups, excluding from each group all super- visors as defined in the Act : (1) All instrument mechanics, handymen, and helpers. (2) All welders, handymen, and helpers. (3) All pipefitters, handymen, and helpers. (4) All maintenance electricians, handymen, and helpers. (5) All substation operators, handymen, and helpers. (6) All metal workers, handymen, and helpers. (7) All production and maintenance employees, excluding all employees in voting groups (1) to (6), inclusive, office clerical employ- ees, professional employees, and guards. 9 Mathieson Chemical Corporation, supra, and cases cited therein. 10 Collins Manufacturing Company, 81 NLRB 267. 11 Merck S Co., Inc., 88 NLRB 975, and cases cited therein. WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION 441 The Oil Workers and the Independent desire to appear on the bal- lots for any separate craft groups found appropriate and we shall place their names on the ballots in all voting groups. The Council indicated that it desired to participate only in the election in the pro- duction and maintenance group. If a majority of the employees in voting groups (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6) select a labor organization other than that selected by a majority of the employees in voting group (7), those employees will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate bargain- ing unit and the Regional Director conducting the election is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the labor organization selected by the employees in each group for such unit or units, which the Board, in such circumstances, finds to be appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining. If a majority of employees in voting groups (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6) select the labor organization chosen by a majority of employees in voting group (7), those employees will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute part of the production and maintenance unit and the Regional Director conduct- ing the election is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the labor organization selected by the employees in such groups, which the Board, in such circumstances, finds to be a single unit appro- priate for purposes of collective bargaining. [Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this volume.] WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION and UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA ( UE), PETITIONER. Case No. I -RC-2845. November 20,1952 Decision and Direction of Election Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Sidney A. Coven, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain employees of the Employer.' ' The Intervenor, Local 202, International Union of Electrical , Radio and Machine Workers, CIO, was permitted to intervene at the hearing on the basis of its current con- tract. This contract, which was not alleged to be a bar to this proceeding, expired on October 1, 1952. 101 NLRB No. 108.