Newark Electronics Co., Inc.

NEWARK ELECTRONICS CO., INC. 553 tices and grounds men, performing electrical work including installa- tion, erection, maintenance, repair or the moving, lifting or placing of electrical materials or equipment excluding all office clericals, guards, and supervisors 10 as defined in the Act. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] 10 The parties , though conceding that general foremen have the power to hire and dis- charge, and are supervisors , urge that they be permitted to vote as their position changes from day to day. Whenever a job requires 10 or more employees , a general foreman is placed in charge. However, it appears from the record that no particular persons are regularly employed as general foremen . Rather there is a rapid and frequent change In the journeymen employees selected to serve in such capacity . Consequently , we find that the exercise of supervisory authority by an employee acting as a general foreman is irregular and sporadic and does not warrant finding that such employees are Ineligible to vote in the election. Newark Electronics Co., Inc. and Retail Clerks Union, Local 770, AFL-CIO, affiliated with Retail Clerks International Asso- ciation and New Furniture and Appliance Drivers, Warehouse- men & Helpers, Local 196, affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America, Independent, Petitioners.' Cases Nos. 21-RC-6753 and 21-RC-6775. May 15, 1961 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 Jerrold H. Shapiro, 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 McCulloch and Members Leedom and Brown]. 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 Employer is engaged in the distribution and sale of elec- tronic parts and components. Its operation is primarily wholesale although it also makes some retail sales. The Petitioner in Case No. 21-RC-6753, herein called the Retail Clerks, seeks a unit of all em- 'The names of both Petitioners appear as amended at the hearing. 131 NLRB No. 82. 554 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ployees excluding the outside salesmen and office clerical employees. The Petitioner in Case No. 21-RC-6775, herein referred.to as the Teamsters, seeks an overall unit of all employees including office clericals, but requests Board determination of the unit placement of the outside salesmen. The Employer agrees with the Teamsters that an overall unit including office clericals is appropriate, but would also include the outside salesmen. There is no history of collective bargaining. The parties agree that the purchase inventory clerks, buying clerks, followup clerks, returned goods clerk, price-checking clerk, telephone order takers, mail-order taker, store counter salesmen, and stockmen should be included in the unit. As most of these employees physically handle merchandise, and work in close proximity to other employees included in the unit by agreement, we find that they are plant clerical employees and shall include them.' The parties also agree, and we find, that the shipping and receiving clerks and the janitor should be included in the unit as they have similar employment conditions and interests as, and work in close proximity to employees included in the unit. The parties were in dispute as to the unit placement of the following categories: The outside salesmen, who are among the most highly salaried of the Employer's employees, solicit orders from the Employer's indus- trial customers and promote the sale of its products. They spend about 90 percent of their time away from the establishment, and come in only periodically to expedite orders or to pick up merchandise for a special delivery. It is clear, therefore, that, although there is some contact with other employees, the outside salesmen work principally under different conditions and have no substantial community of em- ployment interests with the employees at the distribution center. We shall therefore exclude them.' The Retail Clerks contends that the telephone switchboard oper- ators, IBM operator, IBM clerks, IBM typists, file clerks, general office clerk, accounts receivable clerk, and accounts payable clerk are office clerical employees and should therefore be excluded. The telephone switchboard operators perform the usual functions of their classification and do not interchange with other employees. The IBM operator and IBM clerks, who work in a separate office and rarely interchange with other employees, prepare invoices, packing slips, and monthly sales reports, and verify sales slips and cards pre- pared by IBM typists. the IBM typists, who work in the packing slip department and infrequently interchange with other employees, spend most of their time preparing packing slips and IBM cards for s See J. Segari & Co., 114 NLRB 1159. s Allan D. Bevier, Inc, 118 NLRB 1335. NEWARK ELECTRONICS CO., INC. 555 each transaction from handwritten sales orders. The file clerks, who work in the invoice and order processing office and in the expediting department, spend all their time processing and filing papers and, except for the file clerk in the expediting department who relieves a telephone operator for 1 hour each day, do not interchange with other employees. A general office clerk, who assists the comptroller and the file clerks and is responsible for the petty cash and freight bills, and the accounts receivable clerk and accounts payable clerk, who perform the usual duties of their classification, all work in the invoice and order processing office, have limited occasion to go into other areas of the establishment, and rarely interchange with other employees. All these employees work in partitioned offices, under the same working conditions, and possess similar employment interests. While the Retail Clerks took no position as to the status of the NCR operator, the evidence indicates that this individual, who checks sales reports and posts .accounts receivable and payable on the National Cash Register, also works in the invoice and order processing office, possesses employment interests similar to those of other employees in that office, and does not interchange with other employees. From the foregoing and the entire record, we find that the tele- phone switchboard operators, IBM operator, IBM clerks, IBM typists, file clerks, general office clerk, accounts receivable clerk, accounts payable clerk, and NCR operator are office clerical employees. In accord, therefore, with Board policy in the wholesale distribution in- dustry, as there is objection to the inclusion of office clerical employees, we shall exclude them from the unit found appropriate Accordingly, we find that a unit of the following employees is i,p- propriate for purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. All employees at the Employer's Los Angeles, California, oper- ation, including plant clerical employees, shipping clerks, receiving clerks, janitor, and all regular part-time employees,5 but excluding all office clerical employees, confidential employees,6 outside salesmen; watchmen, guards, and all supervisors' as defined in the Act. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from. publication.] ' Interstate Supply Company, 117 NLRB 1062. ° The Employer has a part-time cashier and a part-time counter-sales clerk, who work only on Saturdays . Both work under the same conditions, and have duties and employ- ment interests similar to employees included in the unit. None of the parties disputed their inclusion We find that the part-time cashier and counter -sales clerk are regular part-time employees , and they are therefore included. See S. G. Tilden, Incorporated, 129 NLRB 1096. G The parties agree, and we find, that the secretary to the president and vice president is a confidential employee and should be excluded. 7 Evidence indicated that Balsam , the comptroller, Clark, the IBM tab supervisor, Ben Poacher, the shipping and receiving supervisor , Sterling, the telephone sales super- visor, and Chico and Gebler , the purchasing and stockroom supervisors , have authority to hire and discharge or effectively to recommend such action . Accordingly, we find that they are supervisors within the meaning of the Act and exclude them.