C. F. Braun & Co.

282 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD C F Braun & Cot and National Union, United Welders of America, Independent,, Petitioner. Case No. 21-RC-4947. April 1, 1958 DECISION AND ORDER Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Karl W. Filter, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed .2 On January 2, 1958, the Board granted the request of the Em- ployer, and of each of the Intevenors for oral argument. On Janu- ary 16, 1958, the Board heard oral argument, by the Petitioner, the Employer, and the Intervenors. Upon its consideration of the entire record, the briefs of the parties, and the oral argument 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. No question affecting commerce- exists concerning the represen- tation 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's Operations The Employer is engaged in the design, engineering, and construc- tion of large scale projects such as catalytic cracker ' plants, oil refineries, chemical plants, and other types of process plants. It operates a manufacturing and fabricating shop at Alhambra, Cali- fornia, where it manufactures heavy pressure vessels, including bubble columns and fractionating towers,,as well as tubular heat exchangers, fired heaters, and various structural items. Approximately half of 1 The Employer's name appears as corrected at the hearing. S The bearing officer properly permitted Metal Trades Council of Southern California ; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers , Iron Ship Builders , Blacksmiths , Forgers and -Helpers, Local 92, AFL-CIO ; and International Association of Machinists, District Lodge No 94,'Local Lodge No. 311, AFL-CIO, to intervene on the basis of their contractual interest in the employees designated in the petition as amended . In addition, the Board permitted the following labor, organizations to intervene : Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO; International Brotherhood- of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO ; United Associa- tion of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO ; International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO ; International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers, AFL-CIO ; International Association of Sheet Metal Workers , AFL-CIO ; International Association of Machinists , AFL-CIO ; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, AFL-CIO ; and United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. AFL-CIO Permission to intervene was granted because of the, importance of the issues involved herein, to each of the Intervenors generally, and because the intervening Internationals; through their locals, supply- employees who perform welding operations, to the Employer for employment in other phases of the Employer 's operations. 120 NLRB No. 42. C F BRAUN & CO 283 the production of the Alhambra plant is delivered to field crews of the Employer for construction and erection in the field, and the remainder is delivered directly to customers. As the Employer op- erates a job shop, the manufactured items, though generally falling within the above categories of products, vary from job to job de- pending upon customer specifications. Bargaining History The employees of the Employer's manufacturing and fabricating shop have been continuously represented for approximately 20 years by Boilermaker Local 92 and Machinists Local Lodge 311 and the Metal Trades Council of Southern California. The first of a series of written contracts was executed in 1945 between the Employer and the Metal Trades Council of Southern California, on behalf of Boil- ermaker Local 92 and Machinists Local Lodge 3111 The latest con- tract in the series was executed subsequent to the filing of the petition. Under the terms of this contract each of the signatory local unions is recognized as the sole collective-bargaining agent for all employees in the manufacturing and fabricating shop over which the signatory local has primary trade jurisdiction, such jurisdiction being defined by the list of classifications set forth in the agreement. The agree- ment contains two basic classifications, that of Boilermaker and that of Machinist. Under Boilermaker are listed some 13 classifications, including a welder classification, and under Machinist there are listed some 9 classifications. The Parties' Contentions Petitioner seeks to sever "all employees of C F Braun & Co at its Alhambra, California, plant, who devote 50 percent or more of their time to welding or burning or a combination of both, and who are within the unit covered by the Employer's agreement with the Metal Trades Council of Southern California." Inasmuch as no welding operations are performed by employees within the Machinist unit represented by Local Lodge 311, the Petitioner's request is in effect a request for severance of welders from Local 92's Boilermaker unit. Petitioner contends that the employees it seeks are skilled craftsmen eligible for severance in accordance with the Hughes Aircraft deci- sion 4 wherein the Board held, on the basis of the record developed ' In addition to the contract covering the manufacturing and fabricating shop, the Employer maintains contracts with approximately 10 building and construction crafts unions, including the Internationals who have intervened herein, covering employees work- ing in the "betterments section," employees of the Employer's field crews, and employees engaged In the construction of a new powerhouse at the Alhambra plant. The "better- ments section" Is engaged in plant repairs and new construction , and employees in the section work throughout the Alhambra plant. These contracts cover inter alts employees engaged In welding and burning operations. 4 Hughes Aircraft Company, 117 NLRB 98. 284 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR -RELATIONS BOARD therein, that welding as such is a separate and distinct craft within the meaning of the definition set forth in American Potash.' The Intervenors and the Employer contend, inter alia, that (1) welding is not a separate and distinct craft, but is rather a process or method of joining metals together which is indigenous to and is used by all of the standard metal trades crafts, and that employees in the metal trades who perform such welding operations, have traditionally been represented by the particular metal trades craft union having jurisdiction over the basic craft with which the welding is associated; and. (2) that in any event the Employer's welders are not the type of skilled welders the Board found to be craftsmen in the Hughes Aircraft decision. The record demonstrates that welding is utilized by employees in many different metal trades as a method or process of joining metals together. Historically, jurisdiction over welders who utilize the weld- ing process in the performance of a basic craft function, has been given by the AFL, to the craft union having jurisdiction over the basic craft, which policy has been continued by the AFL-CIO, as is indicated by a letter in evidence, from AFL-CIO President George Meany to James Brownlow, president of Intervenor Metal Trades Department, in which Mr. Meany stated that American Federation of Labor had always regarded welding as a tool or method rather than a separate trade or craft, and that there has been no change in this policy since the merger of the AFL and CIO.6 Though such policy has served to reduce jurisdictional disputes, the basis for the policy lies in the fact that welding cuts across metal trades craft lines, with the welding skill constituting an important skill of a metal trades craftsman. Therefore the grant to each craft union of jurisdiction over welding operations related to the performance of the basic craft functions, serves to preserve the status and protect the interests, not only of the craft employees but also of craft unions. In order to qualify as a jour- neyman in any of the metal trades crafts, an employee must have ex- perience and competency in welding techniques. All of the metal trades craft unions include training and instructions in the welding techniques related to the basic craft functions, in their apprenticeship training programs, which are approved by the Bureau of Apprentice- ship, United States Department of Labor, which does not. however, regard welding, as such, as an apprenticeable trade or occupation. The welding techniques and skills, and consequently the amount of s American Potash & Chemical Corporation , 107 NLRB 1418 9 We note that this policy has been incorporated in the 10-point Craft Union Code recently adopted by the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO and the National Constructors Association Point 2 of the Code states "The welding torch is a tool of the trade having jurisdiction over the work being welded . Craftsmen using the welding torch shall perform any of the work of their trade, and shall work under the supervision of the craft foremen." The New York Times , February 8, 1958. C F BRAUN & CO 285 training and instruction in such techniques which is required, vary from craft to craft, depending on the type of metal work involved. In no case, however, does such training constitute more than a minor portion of the total apprenticeship training program. Competency to meet the welding requirements of one metal trades craft does not necessarily qualify an employee to perform the welding operations required in another craft. In no case does such training qualify an employee as an all-around welder, skilled in the advanced techniques in all three basic types of welding, gas are, electric are, and heliarc, required to produce acceptable welds on all kinds of metals, including extremely light metals and metal alloys. As already noted, the employees whom the Petitioner seeks to sever work within the Boilermaker unit represented by Boilermaker Local 92. Of the 308 employees within the unit, 119 are classified as weld- ers. They work in five different departments along with other boiler- maker classifications. They are supervised by the foreman and the assistant foreman of the departments in which they work, who also supervise all other classifications in the department. When not en- gaged in welding operations, welders perform other functions of the boilermaker craft. The Employer maintains no training program for welders as such, but it does maintain a boilermaker apprentice training program, which requires 1,840 hours of apprenticeship training in welding. Though the Employer tries to hire experienced welders, it requires no particular amount of experience of the welders it hires. To be hired, a welder must pass an appearance test, which can be passed with as little as 30 to 40 hours of welding training. The test consists of a fil- let weld at a 45-degree angle in the horizontal position, and is ob- served by a welding specialist, who determines from his observation of the welder during the test and a visual inspection of the finished weld whether the welder is competent to be employed. If so judged, the welder is sent to a foreman of one of the departments, who then determines if he is to be employed. Within 90 days of employment, the welder must qualify as a "code welder" of metallic are groove welds on carbon and low alloy steel plate, utilizing either hand welding equipment or automatic welding machines, in order to qualify for welding operations on the pressure vessels which comprise a large proportion of the Employer's production. The code test is a test de- vised by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in which a sample plate is welded and then subjected to bending and X-ray tests in a laboratory. All welding on pressure vessels must be done by quali- fied code welders. There are separate tests for hand welders and auto- matic machine welders, as well as different tests for welding of different metals, different thicknesses of metals and the different posi- tions, such as horizontal, vertical, flat, or overhead, in which the weld- 286 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ing is done. A welder is qualified as a code welder only for the types of welding in which he has taken and passed a code test. These tests must be repeated, if the welder has been out of the employ of the Employer for 90 days or has not engaged in a particular type of welding for a period of 90 days. About three-fourths of the Employer's welders have passed only the code tests for metallic are groove welds on carbon and low alloy steel plate, which comprises the bulk of the welding done in the Employer's shop. About a fourth of the welders have passed other code tests as well, but only 6 or 7 have qualified for the gas are or heliarc welding operations on thinner metals and metal alloys, which comprise but 2 percent of all the Employer's welding operations. The Employer has employed individuals with only the simplest of welding skills, who were able to perform all the normally required hand-welding operations on code work as well as noncode work, with- in 2 months. Similarly, the Employer has taken employees from the chipper classification, who had no welding experience, and converted them into automatic machine welders within 6 weeks. Inspection of code welding work in pressure vessels is done by random X-rays, by visual inspection by employees of the Employer and inspectors of the State of California, and by hydrostatic tests of the pressure vessels which are viewed by State inspectors. The hydrostatic tests are not solely for purposes of testing the welds, but are also for the purpose of discovering defects in the structure and design of the vessel. No 100 percent X-ray inspections are made un- less requested by a customer. In addition to welders, all of whom perform welding or burning from 50 percent to 95 percent of the time, layerouts and fitters regu- larly perform welding operations as part of their normal job duties, though, with the exception of 2 fitters, the percentage of time spent in such operations is less than 50 percent. Much of the welding done by the fitters is tack welding to hold a metal plate in a cylindrical shape until the seam can be finally welded. Tack welds are usually removed by chippers, who back chip from the reverse side of the seam while the permanent weld is being applied. Though tack weld- ing is a comparatively simple type of welding it is more difficult than some of the welding done by the Employer's welders. However, fitters are capable of welding the entire seam and frequently do so. Moreover, both layerouts and fitters in addition to cutting, laying out, forming, and fitting the plate into position for welding, make the de- termination as to the type of coated electrode to be used by the weld- ers and the welding heat to be utilized. Similar determinations are made for automatic machine welders by welding specialists and by the Employer's engineering department. Layerouts and fitters have been qualified as code welders. The welding specialist who gives the C F BRAUN & CO 287 code tests testified he has given such tests to employees classified as planer man, pressbrake operator, rollman and chippers, and helpers. Pipefitter welders in the "betterments section" and those engaged in the construction of the new boilerhouse are qualified code welders. Welders transfer from code work to noncode work, from one de- partment to another, from the shop to field work and back, and also to work in the "betterments section" as the workload requires. When transferred to the field they work under the provisions of the Em- ployer's agreement with the International Boilermakers Union, but they retain their seniority rights in the shop. Welders also transfer into and out of fitter and layerout classifications, and employees in the latter two classifications transfer into welder classifications. It is apparent from the foregoing that the welding operations at the Employer's plant are representative of welding operations in the metal trades industries generally, wherein welding operations are performed by welders working in close association with a particular metal trades craft and/or by journeymen in the craft; the representa- tion of the Employer's welders follows the traditional pattern of representation by the particular craft union having jurisdiction over the basic metal trades craft in conjunction with which the welding operations are performed; and the normal welding operations at the Employer's plant, and within the metal trades industry generally, do not require the extensive training experience or skill in the use of the three kinds of welding as was required of welders whom the Board found to be craftsmen in the Hughes Aircraft decision. It is reasonably clear that where a metal trades craftsman performs the welding operations normally associated with his craft, as well as the other operations falling within the craft, he is not a craftsman as a welder, but rather as a boilermaker, pipefitter, machinist, iron- worker, etc., as the case may be. Where an individual performs only the welding operations normally associated with a particular craft, such specialization in the welding aspects of the craft, cannot make him a craftsman as a welder, when the total apprenticeship training period or experience equivalent required for mastery of such welding operations is normally less than a year. Accordingly, as the welders whom the Petitioner seeks to sever, perform the welding operations normally associated with a metal trades craft, and as they perform other duties within the craft when not welding, we find that they are not craftsman as welders within the contemplation of the Hughes Aircraft decision' and are therefore ineligible for severance from the existing boilermaker unit, in which they have been included for the last 20 years. 7 Members Jenkins and Fanning did not participate in the Hughes Aircraft decision, and their participation herein is not necessarily to be construed as an endorsement of that decision. 288 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Any other result would be disruptive of the traditional patterns of representation in the metal trades industries and destructive of craft organizations for whom Congress indicated considerable concern less their special capabilities as the representatives of craft employees be impaired. Furthermore, the Board has, since the issuance of the Hughes' Aircraft decision, recognized, in accord with the basic pre-, mise` underlying its decision herein, that in the metal trades, welding is normally a function of a particular craft,8 and that welders are appropriately represented by the craft union having jurisdiction over the 'basic craft.' Accdrdingly, as the welders sought by the Petitioner do not consti- tute' a 'separate and distinct craft group eligible for craft severance, we shall dismiss the petition.10 [The Board dismissed the petition.] 8 Standard , Oil Company, 118 NLRB 1099 , Koppers Company, Inc., 117 NLRB 422; cf Olin Mathteson Chemical Corporation, 117 NLRB 1441, 1445. ,Koppers Company, Inc, supra. "In view of our decision herein , we find it unnecessary to pass upon other contentions of the parties. Alameda Tank Co.: American Pipe & Steel Corp .; Downey Mfg. Co.; Graver Tank & Pump Co.; Lacy Mfg. Co.; L. W. Lefort; 1 National Tank Co.; Orange County Machine Wks.; Pelton " Water Wheel Co.; Southwest Welding & Mfg. Co.; United Concrete Pipe Corp .; Vulcan Pipe Corp.; Willard Concrete `Machine Co. and National Union, United Welders of America,' Independent, Petitioner. Case No. 21-RC-4945: April 1, 1958 DECISION AND ORDER Upon a,petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Ben Grodsky, 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& are engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent employees of the Employers? ' This Employer's name appears as set forth in the record z International Brotherhood of Boilermakers , Iron Ship Builders , Blacksmiths , Forgers and Helpers , AFL-CIO, Local 92, AFL-CIO, was permitted to intervene on the basis of its contractual interest in the employees covered by the petition 120 NLRB No. 43.