American Marsh Pumps, Inc.

In the Matter of AMERICAN MARSH PUMPS, INC. and INTERNATIONAL MOLDERS & FOUNDRY WORKERS UNION OF N. A. LOCAL 251 In the Matter of AMERICAN MARSH PUMPS, INC. and INTERNATIONAL ASSN OF MACHINISTS LODGE No. 46 Cases Nos. R-5470 and R-5471 respectively.Decided July 12, 1913 Mr. G. Franklin Killeen, of Lansing, Mich., for the Company. Mr. Henry J. Murphy, of Detroit, Mich., and Mr. William E. Wiedenheck, of Battle Creek, Mich., for the I. A. M. Mr. Frank Voit, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mr. E. M. Jarvis, of Battle Creek, Mich., for the Molders. Miss Muriel L. Levor, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by International Ass'n of Machinists Lodge No. 46, herein called the I . A. M., and upon amended petition duly filed by International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of N. A. Local 251, herein called the Molders, alleging that questions affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of American Marsh Pumps, Inc., Battle Creek , Michigan, herein called the Company,' the National Labor Relations Board provided for an ap- propriate consolidated hearing upon due notice before Robert J. Wiener, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Battle Creek, Michigan , on June 1, 1943. The Company, the I . A. M., and the Molders 2 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 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. 1 By stipulation at the hearing the pleadings and other documents were corrected to set forth the name of the Company, as above P Pattern Makers' Association of Detroit and Vicinity (A F. L although served with notice of hearing, did not appear 51 N. L R. B., No. 57. 263 264 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATION'S BOARD Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY American Marsh Pumps , Inc., is a Michigan corporation engaged in the manufacture of various types of pumps for use by the United States Army, the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and Lend-Lease Administration . During the year 1942 the Company's principal purchases of raw material consisted of steel and other metals. During that period the Company 's purchases exceeded $500,- 000, of which approximately 90 percent was shipped from points outside the State of Michigan . During the same period the Company's sales exceeded $1,000,000, of which approximately 95 percent was shipped to points outside the State of Michigan. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Ass'n of Machinists Lodge No. 46, is a labor organiza- tion, admitting to membership employees of the Company. International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of N. A. Local 251, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On or about March 15, 1943, the I. A. M. requested the Company to recognize it as the exclusive bargaining representative of certain cate- gories of the Company's employees and on or about March 20, 1943, the Molders requested recognition as exclusive bargaining representa- tive of the foundry workers. The Company has not granted either request. _ A statement of the Acting Regional Director, introduced into evi- dence at the hearing, indicates that the I. A. M. and the Molders each represents a substantial number of employees in the unit each claims to be appropriate .3 We find that questions affecting commerce have, arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 , (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. $ The Acting Regional Director reported , that the I. A. M. submitted 164 designations, of which 157 bearing apparently genuine original signatures correspond with names on Company's pay roll of April 16, 1943, containing 269 names in the unit claimed by the I A. M. The Acting Regional Director also reported that the Molders submitted 31 designations, of which 30 bearing apparently genuine original signatures correspond with names on the aforesaid pay roll containing 47 names in the unit claimed by the Molders. IAMERIOAN MARSH PUMPS, INC. 265 IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNITS The I. A. M. claims as appropriate a unit composed of the Com- pany's production and maintenance employees excluding those who work in the foundry. The Molders requests a unit composed of the Company's foundry employees. The Company contends that a plant- wide unit is appropriate. To support this contention the Company adverts to the physical and managerial integration of the plant and its policy of utilizing the services of employees in each of the proposed units for work in the other unit. The merits of these contentions and of the exclusion or inclusion of various employees alleged, to be super- visory, will be discussed below. The plant consists of a number of buildings, all of which are lo- cated on adjoining city blocks. Some of them are connected and some are not. The foundry, which is situated in a separate building, is connected with one of the buildings in the unit claimed by the I. A. M. The lowest plant official whe exercises common supervision over both the foundry and machine-shop departments is the plant superin- tendent. There is a separate foundry superintendent whose super- visory authority extends over the whole foundry and is limited to it. Each of the machine-shop departments is supervised by a foreman who has no authority over any work performed in the foundry. It further appears that heat is poured in the foundry for about 2 hours on 3 days a week. On these occasions extra help is needed and from two to four men from the machine-shop departments have been assigned to the foundry for these brief peak periods. The record indicates that laborers or other persons without special skill do this periodic work in foundries which comprise an entire plant. The only employees in the I. A. M.'s proposed unit who work in the foundry are maintenance employees doing repair work. Recently some of the foundry "employees have been employed in the machine shop for work of an unspecified but temporary nature. This ap- pears to be the extent of interchange between the two proposed units. Foundry employees perform work of a distinctive nature which, we have frequently held, renders appropriate a seperate unit, par- ticularly where only one labor organization desires it. The fore- going facts do not reveal any substantial reasons for departing from our usual policy. Accordingly, we find that foundry employees con- stitute a separate unit. There remains for consideration the composition of the two units. A. The I. A. M.'s unit The unit claimed by the I. A. M. is composed of employees in vari- ous departments including machine rooms, toolrooms, assembly, 266 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD painting and testing, shipping, and the stockroom. The I. A. M. de- sires the exclusion of clerical employees who work in the Company's office; employees in the engineering and drafting department, in the foundry, and in the core room; and supervisory employees who per- form no manual work. The sole controversy relates to which em- ployees shall be excluded as supervisory. It appears that all the Company's supervisory employees below the position of plant super- intendent do some manual work. The Company contends that the foremen and assistant foremen should be excluded from the unit while the I. A. M. desires that they be included since they are work- ing foremen and working assistant foremen. The record does not make clear the extent of the supervisory au- thority of these contested employees. It is conceded that the foremen "supervise" the men under them on the day shift. It appears that in addition to laying out the work they have the power effectively to recommend changes in the, status of the employees under them. As- sistant foremen, found in large departments, work as ordinary em- ployees, during the day, and from 6 p. in. to midnight see that work laid out by the foremen is done properly on the night shift. This appears to be the extent of their supervisory duties. We shall exclude the formen as supervisory employees. Assistant foremen will be in- cluded or excluded depending upon whether their duties fit the defi- nition of supervisory employees set forth below. We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Company, but excluding foremen, and any other supervisory em- ployees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, descipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommiend such action, office employees, and employees in the engi- neering and drafting department, foundry and core room, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. B. The Molders' unit The unit desired by the folders is composed of "all employees of the foundry department except those wholly in charge of supervision." The foundry superintendent is the only such person and the Company concurs in this exclusion. The sole controversy concerns two alleged foremen whom the Company desires excluded and whom the Molders claims'should be included within the unit as having no substantial supervisory authority. McCool is an unusually experienced employee who occasionally aids his coworkers. His status is no different from that of one Setter- berg whom the Company concedes does not have supervisory authority. AMERICAN MARSH PUMPS, INC. 267 Wilson is a working foreman in the core room, where he lays out the work for his fellow employees. However, he spends a very small portion of his time seeing that the other men do their work properly. He does not have the power effectively to recommend changes in status of his fellow employees. We find that he has no substantial supervisory authority and we shall include him and McCool within the unit. We find that employees of the Company's foundry department, in- cluding McCool and Wilson, but excluding the foundry superintend- ent and any other supervisory employees with authority to hire, pro- mote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean- ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATION We shall direct that the questions concerning representation which have arisen be resolved by means of elections by secret ballot among the employees of the Company in the appropriate units who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elections herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations 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 American Marsh Pumps, Inc., Battle Creek, Michigan, 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 supervision of the Regional Director for the Seventh Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Arti- cle III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, among the em- ployees in the units 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 268 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RE'LArrIONS BOARD any who have since quit or been discharged for cause ( 1) to deter- mine whether or not production and maintenance employees of the Company, excluding foremen, and any other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the, status of employees , or effectively recommend such action, office employees, employees in the engineering and draft- ing department , foundry and core room desire to be represented by International Ass'n of Machinists Lodge No. 46, for the purposes of collective bargaining; (2) to determine whether or not employees of the Company's foundry department, including McCool and Wilson, but excluding the foundry superintendent and any other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action desire to be represented by International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of N. A. Local 251, for the pur- poses of collective bargaining. CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Elections.