Houston Lighting & Power Co.

76 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER COMPANY and LOCAL 968, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS , CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN & HELP- ERS OF AMERICA , AFL, PETITIONER. Case No. 39-RC-44.5. July 8,1950 Decision and Direction of Election Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Clifford W. Potter, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three- member panel [Members Houston, Murdock, and Styles]. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds: 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em- ployees of the Employer? 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, as amended at the hearing, of all laborers in the transmission and distribution department of the Em- ployer's Houston, Texas, electric light and power plant. The Employer and the Intervenor contend that the only appropriate unit is a plant-wide unit including laborers with the production, mainte- nance, and operating employees. The Intervenor has been the col- lective bargaining representative of the major portion of the employees in the plant for the past 30 years. Throughout the entire bargaining history, however, employees classified as laborers have been excluded from the unit 2 The Intervenor would now add the laborers and certain other excluded classifications to the unit. There are about 110 to 125 laborers employed at the plant of whom approximately 62 to 75 are assigned to the sections making up the transmission and distribution department. Other laborers are as- signed to the Employer's power department, transportation depart- ment, and stores department. The laborers, no matter what I Local 66 , International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL, herein termed the Intervenor , was granted intervention in this proceeding upon showing of an interest in the representation of these employees. 2 The present unit has been enlarged throughout this period and now includes all pro- duction, maintenance , and operating employees excluding plant protection employees , super- visors as defined in the Act, professional employees (including nurses ), office and clerical employees, janitors , metes readers, laborers , time and material men, and warehouse clerks and helpers 100 NLRB No. 16 HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER COMPANY 77 department they are assigned to, perform common labor not requir- ing the use of any particular skill and including such duties as digging trenches and manholes and unskilled repair work. They are hourly paid, while the remainder of the employees are paid by the month, and do not attain permanent employee status required for some fringe benefits such as pensions, vacations, and bonuses, until they have been employed for a year. Other employees attain perma- nent status after employment for 6 months. The record also shows that the laborers are not eligible for transfer or promotion to higher classifications. All the Employer's laborers have the same working conditions, pay scale, and general type of work. Moreover, there appears to be extensive interchange between laborers in the trans- mission and distribution department and laborers in the other de- partments of the Employer. Upon the entire record the Board rejects the Petitioner's primary request for a unit limited to those laborers assigned to the Employer's transmission and distribution department in view of the community of,interests, conditions of employment, and duties existing among all employees of this classification at the plant.' The Intervenor has requested that the Board direct an election among all the Employer's laborers, warehouse clerks and helpers, time and material men, and truck drivers in the stores department to deter- mine whether or not these employees desire to be included in the plant-wide unit from which they are now excluded 4 The Employer concurred in this request and the Petitioner stated as an alternative position that it wished to appear on the ballot if such an election were directed. The record shows that the Employer's laborers, warehouse clerks and helpers, time and material men, and the truck drivers in the stores department have duties, interests, and conditions of employment in common with the employees in the unit now represented by the Inter- venor. As such, they might appropriately be included in that larger unit. On the other hand, these employees constitute a residual group unrepresented in the past by the Intervenor and with some distin- guishing employment conditions, particularly in the case of the laborers as noted above. Accordingly, we shall direct an election among all laborers, warehouse clerks and helpers, time and material men, and truck drivers in the stores department of the Employer's Houston, Texas, electric light and power plant excluding supervisors as defined in the amended Act, and all other employees. If a majority 3 The Petitioner made an alternative request that the Board find a unit of all the Employer's laborers appropriate The Petitioner's showing of interest is insufficient to sustain a petition for this larger unit, however, and no other union requests such a unit. * The existing unit was set forth in a consent election held in August 1951, at which time the employees now sought by the Intervenor were excluded from the unit upon the urging of the Employer. 78 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD vote for Local 66, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to be included in the unit now represented by Local 66, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL, and the Regional Director conducting the election directed herein is instructed to issue a certification of results of election to such effect. In the event a majority vote for Local 968, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Ware- housemen & Helpers of America, AFL, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate appropriate unit and the Regional Director is instructed to issue a certification of representa- tives to Local 968, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauf- feurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America, AFL, for such unit r, [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this volume.] 6 The Intervenor and the Employer contend the Petitioner should not be allowed to appear on the ballot in the election directed among the residual group. We find no merit to this contention . The Board has in certain circumstances allowed such residual groups to constitute separate appropriate units. We do not believe the purposes of the Act would be effectuated in this situation by denying the employees the right to choose between the two representatives . Cf. Jordan Marsh Company, 85 NLRB 1503. TRANSFILM, INCORPORATED and NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCAST ENGINEERS & TECHNICIANS, CIO," PETITIONER. Case No. 2i-RC- 3517. July 8, 1952 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 Lloyd S. Greenidge, hearing officer 2 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 is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em- ployees of the Employer. i Herein called NABET. 2 International Photographers, Local No. 644 , herein called Local 644, Motion Picture Studio Mechanics Local No. 52, herein called Local 52, and Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Union, Local No. 798, herein called Local 798-all affiliated with International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of United States and Canada , AFL, herein called IATSE-were permitted to Intervene on the basis of their showing of interest. The hearing officer referred to the Board the Intervenors ' motion to strike the testi- mony of John J. Wingerter, a witness called on behalf of NABET, who became Ill during the course of the hearing and could not return for cross -examination . We find merit in this contention and hereby grant the Intervenors' motion. 100 NLRB No. 11.