Swift & Co.

SWIFT & COMPANY 545 are assigned, if we are satisfied that on the basis of training or experi- ence the welders utilize a high degree of skill.1B As the welders involved herein are not assigned to work with any particular craft, we find that they do not constitute an appropriate unit for severance purposes. As no possible grouping of employees may constitute an appro- priate unit, we shall dismiss the petition. [The Board dismissed the petition.] MEMBER RODGERS, concurring : I agree with the holding in this case to the effect that this Board will no longer permit welders as a group to be severed from a produc- tion and maintenance unit. I would reach such result on these histori- cal bases: (1) That welders as such have not been traditionally repre- sented by any labor organization devoted solely or primarily to the representation of welders, and (2) that welders have historically been treated for representation purposes as part of other crafts-plumbers, machinists, etc.-with which they work in conjunction. By agreeing with the result here, I expressly reject any contention or inference that welding is not a recognized craft, and that a qualified welder does not possess craft skills. MEMBER MURDOCK took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Order. ie Cf. Internat2onal Paper Company, supra. SWIFT & COMPANY and TRUCK DRIVERS AND WAREHOUSEMEN, LOCAL 414, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS , CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA , AFL, PETITIONER. Case No. 13-RC-4160 . February 8,1955 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 Hubert J. Sigal , hearing offi- cer. 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 named below claims to represent cer,aln employees of the Employer. 111 NLRB No. 85. 546 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion Of 'certain, employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. !•=' 4. rTl•4e Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of all loaders, unloaders, iid' sorters at the Employer's Fort Wayne truck terminal. The Em- ployer opposes an election on the ground that the proposed unit -is c'dnAposed entirely of temporary, part-time employees whose tenure of employment is too brief to warrant giving them representation in col- lective bargaining. Swift & Company, an Illinois corporation, is engaged in the processing and distribution of meat products throughout the United States. Its Fort Wayne truck terminal, the only operation involved herein, commenced business on September 10, 1954. All employees in- % olved work between the hours of 12 midnight and 6 a. in., trans- ferring merchandise shipped in from Chicago to trucks for local de- livery. At the time of the hearing there were 11 men in the unit, 5 of whom had been employed from the time the operation first began. As to the remaining 6 positions, there had been a very high turnover rate ; the average employee having worked but 5 weeks. The fact that the Employer's operations require a maximum work week of only 30 hours, rather than 40, does not indicate that the work involved is part-time in nature. The work, itself, is permanent and regular. All the employees do similar work under the same condi- tions of employment. The shortness of the workweek and the night hours might well attract only a limited class of employees and prob- ably result in the inordinate amount of turnover. But high turnover due to conditions common to all employees in the unit affords no rea- son for denying them the right to self-organization.' Accordingly, we find the Employer's contention to be without merit.' The following employees constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act : All loaders, unloaders, and sorters at the Employer's Fort Wayne, Indiana, truck terminal, excluding all other employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] 1 Cf Dade) winters Salvage Cony pany of ,\Tew York, 99 NLRB 337 ewe do not regard Albers Saper Maikets, Inc., 110 NLRB 474 , relied upon by the Em- ployer as here controlling The cited case involved the inclusion of a large group of inter- mittent part -time employees , who corked for a short time during peak penods , in a unit of full-time regular employees In the instant case , all employees in the proposed unit have like status and the type of work is regular and permanent.