Crane Co.

In the Matter of CRANE CO. AND CRANE Co. OF MINNESOTA and INTER- NATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS , CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSE- MEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL UNION No. 190 Case No. R-3772.-Decided May 23, 19/. Jurisdiction : plumbing fixtures sales industry. Practice and'Procedure : petition dismissed without prejudice to filing of a new ,one when Company resumes normal operations , where due to War Production Board orders Company had curtailed operations and had only one full-time employee within the scope of the unit. Mr. Horace S. Davis and Air. G. H. Downs, of Billings, Mont., for the Company. Mr. Ed Achstetter, of Billings, Mont., for the Union. Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND ORDER STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition and amended petition duly filed by International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Local Union No. 190, herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of Crane Co., and of Crane Co. of Minnesota, both of Billings, Montana, herein collectively called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Paul S. Kuelthau, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Billings, Montana, on April 24, 1942. The Company and Union appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examin- er's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. - 41 N. L. R. B., No. 46. 206 CRANE CO. 207 Upon the entire record in the case, the Board. makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Crane Co. is an Illinois corporation with its principal offices in Chicago, Illinois. Crane Co. of Minnesota is a Minnesota corpora- tion engaged in the operation of warehouses and sales branches for plumbing fixtures and fittings. The latter corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Crane Co. We are here concerned with the Billings, Montana warehouse of Crane Co. of Minnesota. During 1941, the Company sold merchandise from its Billings warehouse valued at about $600,000, approximately 20 percent of which was shipped outside Montana. During the same period the Billings ware- house obtained approximately 98 percent of the merchandise sold by it from outside Montana. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehouse- men and Helpers of America, Local Union No. 190, is a labor organi- zation affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. TIIE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union urges that all order clerks and warehouse employees of the Company, excluding supervisors, salesmen, stenographers, general office clerks, and watchmen, constitute an appropriate unit. At the present time this unit would include three employees; an order clerk, shipping clerk, and receiving clerk. The Company took no position with respect to the unit, but indicated by its examination during the hearing that it questioned the propriety of a unit composed of the employees asked for by the Union. When the Union filed its petition herein, the Company was operat- ing under normal conditions and employed a full complement of warehouse employees. However, at the time of the hearing, due to War Production Board orders, the Company had drastically curtailed its operations, so that the only employee in the warehouse was the .hipping clerk who had formerly been in complete charge of all einployees in the warehouse. The present receiving clerk was an oui'side salesman for the Company, but due to lack of work was brocight into the office of the Company. The order clerk makes out all oir•der forms that are sent to the warehouse and sits at a desk in the fi out offices of the Company. He also waits on showroom customCrs. 208 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Thus, it appears that at the present time there is only one full- time warehouse employee. Moreover the employees claimed by the Union are only temporarily assigned to their present duties as a result of the decline in the Company's normal operations. We find that the unit sought to be established by the Union is not appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. We shall, therefore, dis- miss the petition without prejudice to the filing of a new petition at such time as the Company resumes normal operations. IV. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REVRESENTATION Since, as pointed out in Section III above, the bargaining unit sought to be established by the petition is inappropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining at this time, we find that no question has arisen concerning the representation of employees in an appro- priate bargaining unit. ORDER Upon the. basis of the above findings of fact, the Board hereby orders that the petition for investigation and certification of repre- sentatives of employees of Crane Co. and Crane Co. of Minnesota, Billings, Montana, filed by International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Local Union No. 190, be, and it hereby is, dismissed without prejudice. MR. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Order.