Lodge & Shipley Machine Tool Co.

In the Matter of LODGE ce, SHIPLEY MACHINE TOOL COMPANY and UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, C. I. O. Case No. R-5583.-Decided July 10, 1943 Mr. James B. O'Donnell, of Cincinnati, Ohio, for the Company. Messrs. Waldo Stager and Ralph D . Marcus, of Cincinnati, Ohio, for the C. 1. 0. Mr. Philip J. Kennedy, of Cincinanti, Ohio , for the Independent. Mrs. Augusta Spaulding, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Or- ganizations, herein called the C. I. 0., alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Lodge & Shipley Machine Tool Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Thomas E. Shroyer, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 23 and 24, 1943. The Company, the C. I. 0., and United Employees of Lodge & Shipley, herein called the Independent, appeared and par- ticipated' All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board. (International Association of Machinists , also served with notice , did not appear at the hearing 51 N. L. R. B., No. 49. 215 216 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Lodge & Shipley Machine Tool Company is engaged in the manu- facture of machine tools at two plants in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Com- pany uses raw materials, consisting principally of iron, steel, bronze, and copper, approximately 10 percent of which come to its plants from points outside Ohio. In 1942, the volume of the Company's business exceeded $5,000,000. Over 90 percent of the products finished at the Company's plants are eventually shipped outside Ohio. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organ- izations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. United Employees of Lodge & Shipley is an unaffiliated labor or- ganization, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Early in May 1943 the C. I. O. requested recognition as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of production and maintenance employees at the Company's Cincinnati plants. The Company refused so to recognize the C. I. O. until it should be desig- nated as the representative of these employees by the Board. On Dcember 6, 1941, the Company and the Independent entered into a bargaining contract, in which the Company recognized the Independent as sole bargaining representative for the Company's employees. The contract, amended on September 1, 1942, expired on November 30, 1942. The Company did not thereafter recognize the Independent as bargaining representative of its employees or enter into any further contract concerning them. A statement of a Field Examiner introduced into evidence at the hearing and a statement of the Trial Examiner read into the record at the hearing indicates that the C. I. O. and the Independent each represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereafter found appropriate.z 2 The C. I. 0 submitted 460 authorization cards, of which 330 appear to bear genuine signa- tures of employees of the Company on the pay roll of June 1, 1943. At the hearing the Trial Examiner made a spot check of authorizations of the Independent and found that, of 100 employees on a current pay roll, 44 appeared to have designated the Independent as bargaining agent. There are approximately 1,000 employees in the appropriate unit. LODGE & SHIPLEY MACHINE TOOL COMPANY 217 We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company, 'within the mean- ing of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Company operates two plants in Cincinnati for the manufac- ture of machine tools. The plants, 4 miles apart, are operated as a single administrative unit under one supervision. Employees at both plants of the Company were covered under. the former contract be- tween the Company and the Independent. The parties agree, and we find, that production and maintenance employees at the Com- pany's two plants should be included in the same bargaining unit. The parties further agree, and we find, that supervisory employees,3 commercial office employees, time-study men, employees in the sales and employment departments, and plant-protection employees should be excluded from the unit. The parties disagree with respect to the inclusion in the unit of certain classes of employees, more particu- larly described below : 4 Works Office: The Works Office handles stock control, costs, and pay-roll records. Most clerical employees in this office were deemed confidential employees and were barred from coverage in the contract between the Company and the Independent. Typists and clerks in the Works Office who devote their time to shop-work orders and shop- work records were covered by the contract. The Independent and the Company would include the latter group of employees. The C. I. O. would exclude all office clerical employees from the bargaining unit. Since all employees in the Works Office are office clerical employees rather than plant clerks, or production and maintenance employees who perform clerical work incidental to their regular manual duties, and the work interests of employees in the Works Office are similar to those of the commercial office employees whom the parties agree to exclude, we shall exclude these office clerical employees and all other office clerical employees from the unit of production and main- tenance workers. a Although the parties did not particularly define the term "supervisory employees." we shall deem excluded from the unit under this category supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the statue of employees, or effectively recommend such action. 4 The contract between the Company and the Independent included all employees at the Company's two plants except managerial and supervisory employees, plant-protection em- ployees, and "office or salaried" employees. The employees concerning whose inclusion in the unit the parties herein disagree are all hourly paid employees who were covered by the former contract between the Company and the Independent. While we necessarily accord considerable weight to this fact, we do not deem it conclusive in determining the issues raised in the instant proceeding respecting the appropriate unit. Cf. Matter of Unton Switch & Signal Company, 30 N. L. R. B. 922; Matter of Philadelphia Dairy Products Co , 36 N. L. R. B. 737. 218 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Engineering Department: The Company has an engineering de- partment, housed in a separate room, which includes designers, drafts- men, tracers, and some clerical employees. The C. I. 0. and the In- dependent would exclude all employees in this department from the bargaining unit. The Company would exclude the designers only. Since all employees in the engineering department have little contact with ordinary production and maintenance workers and are pri- marily technical or office clerical employees, we shall exclude them from the bargaining unit. "Shop Employees": Four employees, designated on the pay roll as "shop employees," are more experienced and skilled than the ordinary employees who work in the several production departments. They work directly under the Works Manager or Superintendent, and not under departmental plant foremen like other production and main- tenance employees. Two of the so-called shop employees are me- chanics, designated as "trouble shooters"; another inspects and tests lathe beds for hardness, preliminary to production work; and the fourth employee is in charge of expensive tools with discretion as to their use. The Company and the Independent would include the "shop employees" in the bargaining unit; the C. I. 0. would exclude them. Since these employees have no supervisory authority and their general working conditions are those of other production and main- tenance employees with whom they work, we see no reason to exclude them from the bargaining unit. We shall therefore include them in the unit. Shop timekeepers: The Company employs 15 shop timekeepers who work at designated stations in the shop and an additional employee, also designated as a shop timekeeper, who works in an, office and checks the shop time records for errors and discrepancies. The C. I. 0. would,,-exclude all shop timekeepers from the unit. The Company and Independent would include them. Timekeepers are a fringe group. Since the labor organizations disagree with respect to the inclusion of these employees, we shall exclude them from the production and maintenance unit. University Co-ops: For short work periods, and as part of their college educational training, the Company employs a number of boys who are studying engineering at the University of Cincinnati. These students are paid for their services, but not according to the plant scale for regular employees. The Company would exclude these employees. The position of the C. I. 0. and the Independent as to their exclusion is not entirely clear. Since these students con- stitute a separate group of employees whose work interests at the plant are clearly special in character, we shall exclude them from the bargaining unit. , LODGE & SHIPLEY MACHINE TOOL COMPANY 219 Matron: The Company employs a matron who delivers mail in the plant and generally looks after the welfare of the girls with particular reference to their complaints. She is a confidential em- ployee. The C. I. 0. and the Independent would exclude her from the bargaining unit. The Company would include her. Since her work interests are clearly distinguishable from those of the produc- tion and maintenance employees and she is not concerned directly with the production process, we shall exclude the matron from the bargaining unit. Credit Association Employee: The Company employs a Credit Association employee who collects money for the employees' Credit Association and sells War Bonds and War Stamps. The Company contributes his services to the war effort and would include him in the bargaining unit. The C. I. 0. and the Independent would ex- clude him. Since the Credit Association employee is not concerned with the manufacture of the product or the maintenance of the plant, but devotes his time exclusively to this "extra-curricular" work, we shall not include him in the unit with the production and maintenance employees. We find that all production and maintenance employees at the Company's two Cincinnati plants, including "shop employees," but excluding time-study men, employees in the sales, employment, and engineering departments, plant-protection employees, shop time- keepers, university co-ops, the matron, the Credit Association em- ployee, all office clerical employees, and all supervisory employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain- ing, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen may best be resolved by an election by secret -ballot. The Company request that all employees on military leave be given an opportunity to vote in the election. For reasons which we have stated in other decisions, we find it inexpedient to permit em- ployees on military leave who do not present themselves in person at the polls to vote in an election .5 For this reason we shall permit employees of the Company in the armed forces of the United States to vote, provided they present themselves in person at the polls. Those eligible to vote in the election shall be all employees of the Company in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. ° See Matter of Wilson & Co , 37 N. L R B. 944. 220 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relation Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela- tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Lodge & Shipley Machine Tool Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super- vision of the Regional Director for the Ninth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, among all employees of the Company in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, C. I. 0., or by United Employees of Lodge & Shipley, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.