Idaho Power Co.

IDAHO POWER COMPANY 547 It is also recommended that Respondent be ordered to make available to the Board upon request, payroll and other records to facilitate .the checking of the amount of earnings due and Respondent's compliance with the recommended order for reinstatement The unfair labor practices found to have been engaged in by Respondent are of such a character in scope that, in, order to insure the employees their full rights guaranteed them by the Act, it is recommended that Respondent cease and desist from in any manner interfering with, restraining, and coercing its employees in their rights guaranteed by the Act On the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, and upon the entire record in the case, I make the following ,CoNcLusIoNs of LAW 1 Sheet Metal Workers Local No 159, Sheet Metal Workers International As- sociation, AFL-CIO, is a 'labor organization within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act, admitting to membership employees of Respondent 2 By discriminating in regard to the hire and tenure of employment of Robert E York, Buddy F Robbins, and Tommy Meyers, Respondent has engaged in and is engaging in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 (a) (3) of the Act 3 By interfering with, restraining, and coercing its employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act, Respondent has engaged in and is en- gaging in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8(a)(1) of the Act. 4 All production and maintenance employees at Respondent's Randleman plant, excluding office clerical employees, guards, watchmen, and all supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute an appropriate unit for purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act 5 On and since August 1, 1958, the above-named Union was, and presently is, the exclusive representative of the employees in the above unit for the purpose of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act 6 By failing and refusing to bargain with the above-named Union pertaining to wage increases granted to employees in the above unit, and by failing to famish the Union with requested wage information, Respondent has engaged in and is engaging in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8(a) (1) and (5) of the Act 7 The aforesaid unfair labor practices are unfair labor practices within the mean- ing of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act 8 Respondent has not engaged in any unfair labor practices in refusing to rein- state Keneth Farabee or in discharging Harry Baldwin [Recommendations omitted from publication l Idaho Power Company and International Brotherhood of Elec- trical Workers, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Cage No. 19-RC-2363 February 9, 1960 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 Dan E Boyd, 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 [Chairman Leedom and Members Bean and Jenkins] Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act 126 NLRB No 73 548 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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. 4. The Employer is a public utility engaged in the generation, dis- tribution, and sale of electrical energy in Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada. Its general office, mobile construction facilities, and maintenance shops and garages are located in Boise, Idaho. Management of the system is centralized in the Boise general office . The distribution functions of the Employer's operating system is divided into four geographical divisions, which are subdivided into districts, and operational activ- ities are divided into the following five major divisions : commercial, powerplant design and construction, electrical operations and construction, power production , and industrial development. The electrical operations and construction division is composed of six departments, as follows : operations, construction, communications, inspection, planning, and analysis. Personnel policies are centrally determined and are uniform throughout the system . Major employee benefits apply uniformly throughout the system. There is no bar- gaining history affecting any of the employees. The Petitioner, desirous of representing all production and main- tenance employees of the Employer who are directly engaged in the production, transmission, and distribution of electrical energy, seeks a unit of production and maintenance employees in the power pro- duction division, operations and construction departments of the electrical operations and construction division , and in the electrical departments of the four geographical divisions of the Employer, ex- cluding the employees in the inspection and communications depart- ments of the electrical operations and construction division. More specifically, Petitioner would include transmission dispatchers , power- plant operating and maintenance employees , all employees engaged in construction and maintenance of transmission lines, and all employees in the electrical department of the four geographical divisions. And it would exclude employees who maintain the Employer's communica- tions system, the garage, machine shop , motor vehicles and equipment, and the warehouse and stores personel who store and issue materials issued in construction. Alternatively, Petitioner seeks a unit of production and mainte- nance employees in the electrical operations and construction and powerplant production and construction divisions of the Company, including transmission dispatchers and excluding or including the Boise shops and garages . However, Petitioner is willing to partici- pate in an election in any unit found appropriate by the Board. IDAHO POWER COMPANY 549 The Employer maintains in substance that a companywide produc- tion and maintenance unit is appropriate herein. Its basic disagree- ment with the unit preferred by the Petitioner is as to the unit placement of those referred to above whose functions are alleged by the Petitioner to be indirectly, rather than directly, related to the production, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The parties are also in dispute over whether certain persons, discussed below, should be excluded from the unit as office clericals, technicals, super- visors, or managerial employees. We are in essential agreement with the Employer's unit position. The primary unit sought by the Petitioner excluding the employees indicated does not correspond to any administrative subdivision of the Employer's operations, nor may it be found appropriate on the basis of any bargaining history. Upon the entire record, including the nature and integration of Employer's operations, the centralized control of management over the operation, and the uniformity of employee benefits, we find that a systemwide unit of production and maintenance employees, except for those excluded for reasons given below, is appropriate.1 'Contrary to the Employer, the Petitioner would exclude the follow- ing as technical employees : estimators and layoutmen, the surveying classifications, including chief of the party, transitmen, instrument- men, rodmen, chainmen, stakemen, communications technicians, and powerplant technicians. Estimators and layoutmen are located at the headquarters of the various divisions of the Employer. The layoutmen make surveys for line extensions to customers, prepare work orders for the reconstruc- tion or maintenance of lines, and prepare maps to guide line crews to their work. The estimators make surveys laying out boundaries, locating poles, and ascertaining rights-of-way, and design and lay out proposed lines and line modifications. These employees use a transit and the customary surveying tools. The surveying classifications work as a team. They perform sub- stantially the same duties as the layoutmen and estimators but in the construction phase of work. They run the alignment of transmission lines, determine land boundaries, run centerline station staking, take notes necessary for making line profiles, and stage out structures or tower locations. They are required to possess skill in the use of surveying tools and drafting instruments. 1 See The Houston Corporation, 124 NLRB 810 ; Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., 115 NLRB 1396; The Gas Service Company, 115 NLRB 944; Pioneer Natural Gas Company, 111 NLRB 502. 550 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD We have heretofore found, as we do in this case, that employees of the type discussed above are technical employees.2 We therefore shall exclude estimators, layoutmen, and the surveying crews from the unit. The communications technicians install and maintain microwave, carrier current, telephone lines, and high frequency radio equipment. They are qualified to work on every type of communications equip- ment used by the Employer. Their work-in maintaining communi- cations equipment requires an extensive training in electronics. The powerplant technicians maintain control equipment at power- plant stations. They install or remove equipment from switchboards and control panels, test and maintain telemetering equipment, and carrier-current relay equipment. Knowledge of trigonometry and a basic knowledge of electrical circuits is necessary for their work. We believe that the communications technicians and powerplant technicians are highly skilled maintenance employees rather than technical employees as contended by Petitioner.' As maintenance employees, they are included in the unit. Also contrary to the Employer, the Petitioner would exclude the employees in the following clerical classifications : district service clerks, meter readers accountant, mobile stores, and meter reader col- lectors; residential salesmen, stores inventory clerks, records clerks, machine shop clerks, and materials coordinators 4 District service clerks, sometimes called cashier-clerks, work in the district offices of the Employer. They maintain the customer order file, accept payments of bills, make bank deposits, receive customer complaints, and service outage reports. In certain of the offices, dis- trict service clerks spend some time using radiophones to receive calls from, and relay messages to, servicemen. Meter readers are under the jurisdiction of an accounts manager. They are engaged primarily in reading meters and tabulating their readings which are transmitted to the billing department for customer billing purposes. Meter reader collectors, in addition to reading meters, attempt to collect delinquent accounts. Residential salesmen, like other sales people employed by the Employer, work under the direction of a sales manager. They are mainly engaged in outside work selling electric power and ap- pliances handled by the Employer. They may also be called upon to investigate customer service complaints and they prepare work tickets for meter changes or increases in line or transformer capacity. 2 Brown Engineering Company, Inc., 123 NLRB 1619; Western Association of Engineers, Architects, and Surveyors, 101 NLRB 64 ; Buckeye Rural Electric Co-operative, Inc., 88 NLRB 196. Also see Puget Sound Power & Light Company, 117 NLRB 1825. 8 See Indiana & Michigan Electric Company, 115 NLRB 512; Central Operating Com- pany, 115 NLRB 1754. 4 The Employer would also include service dispatchers in the unit, a classification as to which the Petitioner's position is not clear The record does not adequately deal with all employees in this classification and we shall permit such employees to vote subject to challenge. IDAHO POWER COMPANY 551 The accountant, mobile stores, is attached to the mobile stores depart- ment. He records the issuance and receipt of materials. Stores in- ventory clerks maintain inventory records of materials and supplies. Records clerks are attached to the mobile office and handle all the timekeeping and construction reports of the outside construction forces. Machine shop clerks work in the machine shop office of the Boise shops and garage. They maintain records of shop orders, material purchased, and inventories, and also keep track of the ma- chine shop employees' worktime, sick leave, and vacations. Materials coordinators ascertain material needs of substation crews, prepare material estimates, and coordinate with stores personnel to make sure that adequate inventories are on hand. On these facts, we find that the district service clerks, meter readers, and meter reader collectors should be excluded from the unit as office clerical employees 5 We view the accountant, mobile stores, the stores inventory clerks, records clerks, machine shop clerks, and materials coordinators as essentially plant clerical employees and we shall in- clude them as such.' The residential salesmen do not have sufficient community of interest with employees in the unit to warrant their in- clusion, and they are therefore excluded. The parties are in disagreement as to the supervisory status of certain persons mentioned hereinafter? We find that the subcrew foremen, working electrical foreman, and chief powerplant operator are not supervisors. Such direction as they give is of a routine nature and they are not shown to possess or exercise supervisory authority. However, we find that the authority to hire, discharge, or discipline employees is vested in the line working foreman, transformer depart- ment foreman, engineering shop foreman, substation crew foreman, senior communications technician, and stores supervisors. Accord- ingly, we shall exclude those individuals from the unit. With respect to the working garage foreman, the record does not enable us to deter- mine his status. We shall therefore permit him to vote subject to challenge. Finally, the Petitioner, contrary to the Employer, would exclude local representatives as either managerial or supervisory personnel whereas the Employer, contrary to the Petitioner, would exclude transmission dispatchers as managerial employees. Local representatives maintain offices in small communities and rural areas serviced by Employer. They handle customer complaints, collect bills, makes sales contacts with customers, read meters, act as 5 The Houston Corporation, supra ; The Gas Service Company, supra. 6 See The Gas Service Company, supra ° Inasmuch as we are excluding the surveying classifications on the ground that they are technical jobs, we find it unnecessary to decide whether the chief of party is a supervisor. 552 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD troublemen or servicemen, and serve generally as the Employer's representative in the area. The local representative directs the clerk who may work in his office; he has the authority to grant overtime to such employee, and appears to have the authority to make recom- mendations with respect to the hiring of any such employee which would carry "great weight." Local representatives are responsible directly to the district manager. In these circumstances, we find that local representatives have interests which are diverse from those of employees in the unit and, as requested by Petitioner, shall exclude them from the unit." Transmission dispatchers are mainly concerned with the regulation of generating facilities to meet changing demands for power. They also arrange for the exchange of power with other utility companies. We recently considered the status of employees performing similar duties and rejected a claim of managerial status for the employees involved.' In this case, too, we find that the transmission dispatchers are not managerial employees and that they belong in the production and maintenance unit. We shall include them. Accordingly, on the basis of the entire record, we find that the following employees of the Employer constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act: All production and maintenance employees of the Employer, including communications technicians, powerplant tech- nicians, the accountant, mobile stores, stores inventory clerks, records clerks, machine shop clerks, materials coordinators, subcrew foremen, the working electrical foreman and chief powerplant operator, and transmission dispatchers, but excluding chief of party, estimators and layoutmen, transitmen, instrumentmen, rodmen, chainmen, stake- men, district service clerks, meter readers, and meter reader collectors, all office clerical employees, the residential salesmen, professional em- ployees, guards, part-time janitors and switch pullers, local represen- tatives, line crew foremen, the line working foreman, transformer department foreman, engineering shop foreman, substation crew fore- man, senior communications technicians, stores supervisors, and all managerial employees and supervisors as defined in the Act. [Text of Direction of Election 10 omitted from publication.] 8 See Gulf States Telephone Company, 118 NLRB 1039; General Telephone Company of Ohio, 112 NLRB 1225. 8 The Connecticut Light and Power Company, 121 NLRB 768. 10 The unit found appropriate is larger than that originally sought by Petitioner, and neither the exact size of the unit nor the precise interest of the Petitioner in the unit is clear from the record Accordingly, the Regional Director is instructed not to proceed with the election herein until he shall have first determined that the Petitioner has an adequate showing of interest among the employees in the appropriate unit. Foremost Dairies, Ina., 118 NLRB 1424, 1428.