Lone Star Gas Co.

LONE STAR GAS COMPANY 725 other employees possessing the same skills as the employees who comprise the craft nucleus which prevents a departmental unit from being appropriate. 5 We are satisfied that the machine operators and drill press operators in the machine shop are performing functions and exercising skills sufficiently related to the craftsmen in the machine shoptowarrant their inclusion in the same unit with them. As the two welders spend most of their time in the machine shop we will include them in the unit.4 For the same reason we include the two sweepers in the unit. The toolroom employees perform their services only for employees of the machine shop and therefore have a sufficient community of interest to be included in the unit with them. In view of the foregoing determinations, we shall direct an election among the following employees of the Employer's Phoenix, Arizona, plant, which we hereby find constitute an appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All machine shop employees, including tool and die makers, machinists, drill press operators, machine operators, welders, toolroom employees, and sweepers, excluding supervisors as defined by the Act and all other employees. [Text of Direction of Election 5 omitted from publication.] $ Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 101 NLRB 441, General Electric Co., 101 NLRB 1341. 4Globe Steel Tubes Co., 101 NLRB 772. 5 The Petitioner requests that it be placed on the ballot as International Association of Machinists and with the letters IAM appearing above the box in which the vote is marked. As no adequate reason was presented for this departure from normal procedures the request is denied. LONE STAR GAS COMPANYand OIL WORKERS INTERNA- TIONAL UNION, CIO, Petitioner . Case No. 16 -RC-1277. June 24, 1953 DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS OF ELECTION Pursuant to a stipulation for certification upon consent election, executed on April 6, 1953, and approved by the Regional Director on April 7, 1953, anelectionby secret ballot was conducted on April 20, 1953, under the direction and super- vision of the Regional Director for the Sixteenth Region. Upon the conclusion of the election, a tally of ballots was furnished the parties, in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Board. The tally showed that, of approximately 14 eligible voters, 14 cast valid ballots, of which 3 were for the Petitioner and 11 against. Thereafter, the Petitioner filed objections to conduct affecting the results of the election. In accordance with the Board's Rules and Regulations, the Regional Director investigated the matters raised by the objections and on May 19, 1953, issued and duly served upon the parties his report on objections in which he 105 NLRB No. 109. 726 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD recommended that the objections had merit and that the election be set aside. The Employer filed timely exceptions to the report on objections and a supporting brief. The Board has considered the objections, the report on objections, the Employer's exceptions and brief, and the entire record in this case, and hereby makes the following findings of fact, and finds merit in the Employer's exceptions, for the following reasons: 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the rep- resentation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The following employees of the Employer constitute aunit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All employees in the Employer's pipeline department pres- ently under the direction of L. E. DePew, in the Employer's Shamrock, Texas, pipeline district, excluding administrative, clerical, and professional employees, watchmen, guards, temporary employees, superintendents, and all other super- visors as defined in the Act. 5. The Regional Director recommended that the election be set aside because the Employer's acts of alleged unlawful interrogation on March 17 and 18, 1953, and the wage increases announced on April 6, 1953, "immediately prior to and upon the date of the signing" of the consent-election agreement, interfered with the employees' freedom of choice in the selec- tion of a bargaining representative.' As contended by the Em- ployer, we find that the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company case , 101 NLRB 1118, is dispositive of the issue raised by the Petitioner's objections. In that case the Board held that the policies of the Act will best be effectuated by not considering election objections based upon conduct occurring prior to the execution of consent-election agreements . As the agreement herein was executed after the alleged unlawful conduct, we hereby overrule the Petitioner's objections. [The Board certified that a majority of the valid ballots was not cast for Oil Workers International Union, CIO, and that this labor organization is not the exclusive representative of the employees of the Employer in the bargaining unit set forth in paragraph numbered 4, above.] Chairman Herzog and Member Styles took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Certification of Results of Election. 'The Regional Director's investigation discloses that the Employer decided to grant wage increases to some of its employees on March 19, 1953, and that after a normal amount of administrative time elapsed, a memorandum to that effect, dated April 3. 1953, was sent to the foremen of the employees involved herein and the employees were notified on April 4, 5, and 6. 1953.