Long Electric Sign Co.

770 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 5. The Union is, and has been at all times material to this proceeding , the ex- clusive representative of all the employees in the aforesaid appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (a) of the Act. 6. By refusing to bargain collectively with the Company, as found in section III, above, the Respondents have engaged in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 (b) (3) of the Act. 7. The aforesaid unfair labor practices are unfair labor practices within the mean. ing of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 8. The strike and picketing activities described in section III, above, have not contravened, and do not contravene, the Act. [Recommendations omitted from publication.] ROBERT C. LONG, D/B/A LONG ELECTRIC SIGN CO., EUGENE 0. HIGHFILL AND G. P. MORELL, D/B/A VALLEY NEON SERVICE; ALVIN E. THoMP- SON, D/B/A THOMPSON NEON & ELECTRIC CO.; REINHOLD REICH, D/B/A LODI NEON SIGN Co.; W. G. NIEDER, D/B/A STOCKTON NEON SIGN Co.; ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS CORPORATION and LOCAL UNION No. 591, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, AFL, PETITIONER. Case No. d0-RC-3550. August 10, 1954 Decision and Direction of Elections Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Shirley N. Bingham, 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 1 is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em- ployees of the Employer.2 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 Petitioner requests a unit of all production and maintenance employees at the Stockton, California, plants of the Employer, ex- cluding office and plant clerical employees, professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. The Employer concurs with the unit requested by the Petitioner. The Intervenor, Sign, 1 The Employer's name in the caption is amended in accordance with the stipulation of the parties at the hearing. 2 The motion of Sheet Metal Workers, Local 238, AFL, to intervene, which was referred to the Board , is denied as that labor organization was not in compliance with the filing re- quirements of Section 9 of the Act at the time of the hearing, produced no evidence of repre- sentation among the employees in either the sheet metal workers unit, which it contended was appropriate , nor the units requested by the other parties , and has no contractual rela- tionship with the Employer . Keller Fishing and Packing Company, 95 NLRB 163; Jordan Marsh Company, 85 NLRB 1503. 109 NLRB No. 112. C LONG ELECTRIC SIGN CO. 771 Scene and Pictorial Painters Union, Local 1390, AFL, requests a separate unit of painters. Each of the companies involved in this proceeding operates a small neon sign manufacturing plant in Stockton, California. Except for Electrical Products Corporation, each company's operations involve complete production of neon signs, including design, patternmaking, formation of luminous tubes with heat, pumping into the tubes an elec- trical charge of neon gas, making metal cabinets, painting, electrical assembly, delivery, installation, service, and repair.' Each company employs from 1 to 5 employees. The employees involved are classified as tube benders, sheet metal workers, painters, electricians, general all- around men, and helpers. While each employee performs the duties of his classification, each also performs most of the Employer's other operations. Every year since 1947 each of the companies has signed a master ageement with the Petitioner covering tube benders, electricians, and neon servicemen,4 and a master agreement with the Intervenor cover- ing painters. Since 1953 the companies have been represented in col- lective bargaining by a single individual who has been given full authority by each of them for this purpose. In 1953 he negotiated a contract with each of these two Unions providing uniform conditions for classifications of employees covered. Each of the two contracts was signed by all the companies. The Petitioner's contract expired April 1, 1954, and the Intervenor's contract expired July 1, 1954.5 In view of these facts, we find, in agreement with the parties, that the unit or units found appropriate herein should be multiemployer in scope.' The all-inclusive unit requested by the Petitioner and the Employer is a type which the Board generally finds to be appropriate. However, the Intervenor contends that a separate unit of painters is appropriate because they are craftsmen and because their separate bargaining his- tory requires continuation of separate representation for them. Established Board policy precludes inclusion of a group of employees, who have previously enjoyed separate representation, into a broader unit without first ascertaining their desires, whenever the past bar- gaining agent desires to continue to represent them in a separate unit.' Accordingly, we shall make no final unit determination at this time, 3 Electrical Products Corporation receives its signs from its other branches already made up except for electrical assembly and erection. No painting or cabinetmaking is done in its Stockton plant. 4 There is no explanation in the record as to which of the remaining classifications men- tioned above this category embraces 5 The Painters' contract is not urged as a bar to this proceeding. 9 See Western Association of Engineers, Inc., 101 NLRB 64. ''Frank Buick Company, Inc., 99 NLRB 847; Illinois Cities Water Company, 87 NLRB 109. 334811-55-vol. 109-50 772 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD but shall first ascertain the desires of the employees as expressed in the elections hereinafter directed.8 We shall direct separate elections among employees in the following voting groups : (1) All production and maintenance employees employed at the Employer's Stockton, California, plants, including tube benders, sheet metal workers, electricians, general all-round men and helpers, but excluding painters, office and plant clerical employees, professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act." (2) All painters at the Employer's Stockton, California, plants, excluding supervisors as defined in the Act. If a majority of the employees in voting group (2) vote for the In- tervenor, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to consti- tute a separate bargaining unit, and if a majority in voting group (1) vote for the Petitioner, the Regional Director is instructed to issue certifications of representatives to such labor organizations for such units, which the Board under such circumstances finds to be appro- priate for purposes of collective bargaining. On the other hand, if a majority of the employees in voting group (2) vote for the Petitioner, that group will appropriately be included in the production and maintenance unit and their votes shall be pooled with those in voting group (1).10 If a majority of employees in the pooled group select the Petitioner, the Regional Director is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to such labor organization for such unit, which under such circumstances the Board finds to be appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining. [Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.] MEMBERS MURDOCK and RODGERS took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Elections. 8In view of our disposition of this case, we find it unnecessary to pass upon the Inter- venor's contention that the painters are craftsmen. 8 In agreement with the parties , we exclude the employee of Thompson Neon & Electric Co., who spends all his time in the field doing commercial wiring which is unrelated to that Company's neon sign business. 18 If the votes are pooled , they are to be tallied in the following manner : The votes for the Intervenor shall be counted as valid votes , but neither for nor against the Petitioner; all other votes are to be accorded their face value, whether for representation by the Peti- tioner or for no union. BLACKSTONE MILLS, INC. and UNITED TEXTILE WORKERS OF AMERICA, A. F. OF L., LOCAL 1817. Case No. 1-CA-1570. August 11, 1954 Decision and Order On April 6, 1954, Trial Examiner A. Bruce Hunt issued his Inter- mediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that the Re- 109 NLRB No. 114.