Fedders Manufacturing Co.

In the Matter of FEDDERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY and LODGE No. 1753, AMALGAMATED ASSOCIATION OF IRON, STEEL AND TIN WORKERS OF NORTH AMERICA, THROUGH THE STEEL WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Case No. R458.Decided October 15, 1937 Automobile and Refrigeration Parts Manufacturing Industry-Investigation of Representatives : controversy concerning representation of employees: rival organizations ; substantial doubt as to majority status ; refusal by employer to recognize petitioning union as exclusive representative-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production employees ; salaried and supervisory em- ployees excluded-Election Ordered Mr. Norman F. Edmonds for the Board. Mr. John W. Van Allen, of Buffalo, N. Y., for the Company. Mr. Daniel B. Shortal, of Buffalo, N. Y., for the Amalgamated. Mr. Stephen L. Verdi, of Buffalo, N. Y., for the Employees' Labor Organization. Mr. Martin Kurasch, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On July 12, 1937, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, herein called the S. W. O. C., filed with the Regional Director for the Third Region (Buffalo, New York) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of the production employees of the Fedders Manufacturing Company, Buffalo, New York,' herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Sec- tion 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On August 18, 1937, the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, authorized the Regional Director to conduct an investigation and to provide for an appropriate hearing. 'It appears from the record that the correct name of the Company Is Fedders Manufac- turing Company, Inc. 818 DECISIONS AND ORDERS 819 On August 23, 1937, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing to be held at Buffalo, New York, on August 30, 1937. Copies were served upon the Company, the S. W. O. C., and the Employees' Labor Organization of the Fedders Manufacturing Company, herein called the E. L. 0., which had been named in the petition as also claiming to represent the employees. Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on August 30, 1937, before Tilford E. Dudley, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. At the hearing, the attorney for the Board and the attorney for the S. W. O. C. moved to amend the petition, the notice of hearing, and the subpoena served upon the Company, by substituting for the words "Steel Workers Organizing Committee" the words "Lodge No. 1753, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers of North America through the Steel Workers Organizing Committee." The motion was granted. This union will herein be called the Amalgamated. The Company, the Amalgamated, and the E. L. O. were repre- sented by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard,' to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to intro- duce evidence bearing upon the issues was afforded to the parties. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner upon the various motions and objections made by counsel for the parties and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. His rulings are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE COMPANY AND ITS BUSINESS The Company, located at Buffalo, New York, manufactures auto- mobile radiators, electric refrigeration parts, air-conditioning parts and appliances, heat transfer appliances and electric water-coolers. In the manufacture of these various products the Company uses copper, brass, steel, tin, lead, and small amounts of numerous other items. It purchases fabricated copper from fabricating mills lo- cated at Buffalo and Rome, New York, Cleveland, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan, and Bridgeport, Connecticut. In the year 1936, the Com- pany purchased $2,428,567.52 worth of copper and brass, of which $300,000 worth was purchased outside the State of New York, and for the period of January 1, 1937 to July 31, 1937, the value of brass, and copper purchased was $1,738,574.63, of which $265,000 worth was purchased outside of New York. All of the steel comes from states other than New York. In 1936, the Company bought $186;370.27 worth of steel, and from the period of January 1, 1937 to July 31, 1937, it bought $140,522.01 worth of steel. All of the tin is purchased from states other than New York. The Company 820 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS,BOARD buys the tin, lead, and other materials that are !used to make up solder, and gives them to the fabricator or, smelter in 'the quanti- ties required ' by the • various formulae for solder. All of these fabricators are outside of New York. In 1936, the Company pur- chased $575,648.06 worth of solder and from January 1, 1937 • to July 31, 1937, the value of solder purchased•was.$405,864.90. The Company has branch warehouses in Massachusetts, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Texas, and California. ' Sales offices are maintained at each of these warehouses. The bulk of the automo- bile radiators manufactured Eby the Company 4s sent to Michigan, Indiana, and California. • Some are exported. The air-condition- ing parts are shipped, through ,the manufacturing and jobbing trade, to Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas,' California, Mis- souri, and - Illinois. Some are sold to purchasers in New York. Unit heaters are sold, through the jobbing and contracting trade, all over the country. Electric water-coolers are shipped to various parts of. the United States. From January 1, 1936 to July 31, 1937, the total sales of the, Company were $10,139,616.82. About 90 per cent of this total represents shipments to points outside, New York. Outgoing shipments are made by rail. 'The incoming shipments are generally made by truck. The Company has registered stock issues with the Securities and Exchange Commission for sale in interstate commerce ^ and has reg- istered a trade mark with the United States Patent 'Office for sale of articles in interstate commerce. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED A. The Amalgamated Lodge No. 1753, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers of North America, is a labor organization affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization, which admits to mem- bership the production 'employees of the Fedders Manufacturing Company. Lodge 1753 was chartered on May 5, 1937. B. The E. L. 0. The Employees' Labor- Organization of the Fedders Manufactur- ing Company was organized in the latter part of May 1937. Its constitution, adopted June 22, 1937, states as one of its objectives : "To provide a collective bargaining agency to negotiate with and enter into contracts with the Company for the members of the organization regarding` wages, hours of work, conditions of employ- ment, and other matters of mutual interest to employees and an employer." It is a labor organization admitting to membership the production employees of the Company. DECISIONS AND ORDERS ITT. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT 821 The plant consists of two buildings connected by a bridge. The pro- duction work is carried on in all of one building and part of another; the office is in the latter building. For accounting and pay roll pur- poses, the Company has divided the plant into numerous depart- ments, numbered from 10 to 77., There is no great differentiation of wages among these departments. Workers have been shifted from one department to another. Neither labor organization makes any dis- tinction between departments, and both purport to represent the workers as a whole. The E. L. O. draws the line sharply between salaried and non- salaried employees and seeks to represent only the latter. The Amal- gamated also excludes salaried employees , and it excludes in addi- tion various other types of employees. At the hearing both unions agreed that salaried employees should not be considered as part of the appropriate unit. It was understood that draftsmen, nurses, and watchmen are salaried employees. There was no objection to statements by the Trial Examiner of his under- standing of the agreement as excluding also engineers , shipping clerks, department clerks, clerical workers under foremen in the shop, office employees , foremen and assistant foremen, and anyone in a supervisory capacity. There was some uncertainty as to janitors and porters. Since they are akin to other excluded classes in that they are not engaged directly in the processes of production , they will also be excluded. Edmund Kopan, the stockroom helper, who is president of the E. L. 0., is to be included in the appropriate unit. On the pay roll in the record, there appears the name of Joseph W. Jagosz, followed by the notation, "-repair man-Detroit, Michigan." Although he may work at Buffalo from time to time, his main duties are as a repairman, in the Detroit, Michigan, office. He will not be included in the appropriate unit. In view of all these facts and in order to insure to the production employees of the Fedders Manufacturing Company the full benefit of their right. to self-organization and to collective bargaining, and otherwise to effectuate the policies of the Act, we find that all of the production employees of the Company, excluding foremen, assistant foremen and others in supervisory capacities , office workers, janitors, porters, shipping clerks, department clerks, clerks under foremen in the shop, - engineers , draftsmen, nurses, watchmen, and all other salaried employees , and excluding the, repairman at the Detroit, Michigan, warehouse, but including the stockroom helper, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. 49446-38-vol 111--53 822 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD IV. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Both unions assert that they represent a majority of the employees. Approximately 875 workers are included in the appropriate categories. The Amalgamated presented a box containing 432 cards. The E. L. O. presented a ledger which contained 475 names, asserted to be names of members of the E. L. O. The E. L. O. also presented a set of peti- tions on which employees had signified their desire to be represented by the E. L. O. Both the Amalgamated and the E. L. O. offered this evidence for inspection by the Board only. Many names appear both on the list of the E. L. O. and on the cards of the Amalgamated. An examination of the petitions pre- sented by the E. L. O. reveals that they vary widely in their heading and indicates that the presence of the signatures on the petition is not conclusive as to the desires of the signers with respect to having the E. L. O. represent them for purposes of collective bargaining. On June 23, 1937, the Amalgamated presented to T. C. Fedders, vice president of the Company, a proposed contract in writing. At that time Fedders said he was perfectly willing to bargain and to discuss the signing of an agreement. At a second meeting on June 27 or June 28, 1937, the clause as to exclusive bargaining rights was sent to the Company's attorney for examination, and the discussion of the demands as to wages was deferred. Other matters, such as hours, seniority, and procedure for adjustment of grievances, were agreed upon. At a third meeting on July 11, 1937, the Company refused to grant sole bargaining rights to the Amalgamated or to examine any evidence of a majority which the Amalgamated might present. The Amalgamated immediately thereafter filed with the Board its petition for investigation and certification of representa- tives. At a fourth meeting the Company refused to sign an agree- ment which would embody the other matters agreed upon, but would leave the question of sole bargaining rights to be settled by a Board election. On the basis of these facts, and upon,the whole record, we find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of the production employees of the Fedders Manufacturing Company. V. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION OF REPRESENTATION ON COMMERCE We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company described in Section I above, has a close, intimate and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing com- merce and the free flow of commerce. DECISIONS AND ORDERS VI. CONDUCT OF THE ELECTION. 823 We further find that an election by secret ballot is necessary to determine the proper representatives for collective bargaining and thus resolve the question concerning representation. The Company is engaged in a seasonal business. No new em- ployees were hired during July or August. Employees laid off in June, will, in accordance with the general policy of the Company, be put back to work when needed. The names of these employees are included in the list of employees which is designated by the Company as the pay-roll list for July 11, 1937. The election will be held among the designated classes of employees listed on the pay-roll list of July 11, 1937. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW On the basis of the above findings of fact, the Board makes the following conclusions of law : 1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of the Fedders Manufacturing Company, within the meaning of Section 9 (c), and Section 2, subdivisions (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All of the production employees of the Company, excluding foremen, assistant foremen and others in supervisory capacities, office workers, janitors, porters, shipping clerks, department clerks, clerks under foremen in the shop, engineers, draftsmen, nurses, watchmen and all other salaried employees, and excluding the repairman at the Detroit, Michigan office, but including the stockroom helper, consti- tute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with the Fedders Manufacturing Company, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted within 20 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Third Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela- tions Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9 of said Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, among the production em- ployees of the Fedders Manufacturing Company, who appear on 824 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the pay-roll list of July 11, 1937, excluding foremen, assistant fore- men and others,in supervisory capacities, office workers, janitors, porters, shipping clerks, department clerks, clerks under foremen in the shop, engineers, draftsmen, nurses, watchmen, and all other salaried employees, and excluding the repairman at the Detroit, Michigan office, but including the stockroom helper, to determine whether they desire to be represented by Lodge 1753, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers, affiliated with the Com- mittee for Industrial Organization, or the Employees' Labor Organ- ization of the Fedders Manufacturing Company, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.