Venus Die Engineering Co.

336 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ing the election is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the Petitioner for such unit, which the Board, in such circum- stances, finds to be appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain- ing. On the other hand, if a majority of the elnpployees in this voting group vote for the Intervenor, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to remain a part of the existing production and mainte- nance unit, and the Regional Director is instructed to issue a certifica- tion of results to that effect. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] VENUS DIE ENGINEERING COMPANY 1 and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO),2 PETITIONER VENUS DIE ENGINEERING COMPANY and DETROIT DIE SINKERS LODGE No. 110, INTERNATIONAL DIE SINKERS CONFERENCE (INDEPENDENT), PETITIONER. Cases Nos. 7-RC-0478 and 7-RC-2501. October 13,1954 Decision and Direction of Election Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before Bernard Gott- fried, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hear- ing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.' Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. Venus Die Engineering Company, herein called Venus, is a Michigan corporation engaged in the manufacture of dies and other tool work. During the last fiscal year, its purchases totaled about $37,600, about one-half of which were from out of the State, while its total sales of $239,368 were all made locally within the State. Practically all of the sales were made to the Vulcan Forging Com- pany, herein called Vulcan, also a Michigan corporation, which forges connecting rods from the dies produced by Venus. Vulcan, in turn, annually sells approximately $500,000 worth of its products to the Ford Motor Company, its sole customer. Venus contends that the Board should not assert jurisdiction over it because its operations, which are almost entirely local in character, are separate and independent from those of Vulcan. On the other 1 The name of the Employer appears as amended at the hearing. 2 The name of the Petitioner in Case No 7-RC-2478 appears as amended at the hearing. 3 We find no merit in the Employer 's contention that the record does not show that the Petitioners herein are in compliance . Compliance is a matter for administrative deter- inination by the Board and is not litigable in this proceeding Moreover, we are adminis- tratively satisfied that both Petitioners herein are in compliance. 110 NLRB No 49. VENUS DIE ENGINEERING COMPANY 337 hand, the Petitioners contend that Venus and Vulcan constitute a single employer whose interstate business meets established Board criteria. The record discloses that both Venus and Vulcan are controlled and 95 percent owned by a single family.' The remaining 5 percent in each company is owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Lawton who respectively act as secretary-treasurer of Venus and Vulcan. Although an officer of Venus, Mr. Lawton functions as personnel director and payroll clerk for both companies and has participated in the recent contract negoti- ations involving Vulcan employees.' However, the cost of these serv- ices as well as those of the Companies' common main office is prorated between Venus and Vulcan. The operations of Venus and Vulcan are located in a single enclosure at the same address, although in buildings 100 feet apart. The prem- ises are owned by Vulcan which acts as a landlord in furnishing heat and janitorial and guard service for Venus. Employees of both Com- panies use a common entrance gate and parking lot, help install new machinery at Venus, and help to transfer finished (lies from Venus to Vulcan. In addition, Vulcan employees perform maintenance for Venus, and a die polisher, who is carried on the Venus payroll, works solely for Vulcan. The few employees who have transferred from Vulcan to Venus have retained their vacation seniority, and in some instances their job seniority. Employees in both plants are covered by the same insurance plan and have the same holidays. Although operational supervision and luring and firing are sepa- rate and differences in certain working conditions exist,' we find, upon the entire record and particularly in view of common control and own- ership of both Companies and the interrelationship of personnel and services between the plants, that Venus and Vulcan constitute a single employer for the purposes of determining jurisdiction.' Accordingly, as Vulcan sold $500,000 worth of products to Ford Motor Company, an interstate enterprise which ships millions of dol- lars worth of cars out of the State, we find that the Employer herein, consisting of Venus and Vulcan, is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act, and that it will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction over this Employer. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em- ployees of the Employer. 4 Barbara Thomas owns 95 percent of Venus while she and her mother own 95 percent of Vulcan. Barbara Thomas and her husband axe president and vice-president of Venus, while her father and mother are president and vice-president of Vulcan 5 Vulcan employees are currently represented by the UAW-CIO, which the Board re- cently certified in Case No 7-RC-1977 6E. g, hours, wage rates, and vacations benefits However, piioi to the recent contract covering Vulcan employees vacation benefits were identical Sanitary Mattress Company, 109 NLRB 1010; Rnshv+lle Metal Products, Inc, 107 NLRB 1146 338207-55-vol i10--23 338 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 parties are in agreement as to the composition of the unit. Accordingly, we find that all employees who work on dies or parts of dies used in the manufacture and completion of forgings at the Venus Die Engineering Company, Dearborn, Michigan, excluding office and plant clerical employees, professional employees, guards, and super- visors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] ARTHUR C. HARVEY COMPANY and LOCAL 379, INTERNATIONAL BROTH- ERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREIIOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL, PETITIONER. Case No. 1-J.?C-34497. October 13, 1954 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 Joseph Lepie, hear- ing officer. 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 organization involved claims 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 for the following reasons: The Employer contends that its contract with the Arthur C. Harvey Association, an independent labor organization, is a bar to this pro- ceeding. The Petitioner contends that, because the Association is now completely defunct, the contract is no bar. The Employer and the Association entered into a contract, effective from July 1, 1953, to June 30, 1955, and thereafter subject to auto- matic renewal. The record shows that all 56 employees in the con- tractual unit comprised the membership of the Association. At a regular meeting on December 1, 1953, attended by 50 members, the members voted 39 to 1 to disband the Association. Although rival' CIO and AFL representatives addressed the membership of the As- sociation at this meeting, there is no showing that these representa- 110 NLRB No. 48.