Wichita Falls Foundry & Machine Co.

WICHITA FALLS FOUNDRY & MACHINE CO. 199 this matter to include all employees working in the Employer's labora- tory at Latrobe who are engaged in the production of tantalum anodes, including pill-press operators, furnace operator group leaders, fur- nace operators, employees preforming physical and electrical inspec- tion, and plant clericals. [The Board clarified the certification by specifically including in the description of the appropriate unit of production and maintenance em- ployees all employees in the laboratory at the Employer's Latrobe, Pennsylvania, plant who are engaged in the production of tantalum anodes, including pill-press operators, furnace operator group leaders, furnace operators, employees performing physical and electrical in- spection, and plant clericals.] Wichita Falls Foundry & Machine Co. and Lodge 1476, Inter- national Association of Machinists, Petitioner. Case No. 16-B- 1685. July 17, 1961 DECISION AND ORDER ON MOTION TO AMEND CERTIFICATION On August 23, 1946, following a Board-directed election,' Lodge 1476, International Association of Machinists, was certified as the collective-bargaining representative of all production and maintenance employees, including the shipping clerk and pattern clerk, at the plant of the Wichita Falls Foundry & Machine Co., Wichita Falls, Texas. On October 11, 1960, the Petitioner filed a motion to amend the certification to include employees in the appropriate unit employed not only by the Employer named in the certification, but also by Wich- ita Clutch Company, Inc. The Petitioner contended, generally, that the two companies-Wichita Falls Foundry & Machine Co. and Wichita Clutch Company, Inc.-should be considered a single em- ployer for purposes of collective bargaining, and that certain em- ployees of Wichita Clutch Company, Inc., should be included in the certified unit. In response thereto, the companies contended that they should not be treated as a single employer, and controverted the al- leged facts of interrelationship either of corporate organization or operation asserted by the Petitioner. On March 13, 1961, the Board issued an order referring the matter to the Regional Director for the Sixteenth Region, and directing that a hearing be held for the purpose of taking evidence on the issues raised by the motion to amend. Pursuant to said order, a hearing was held before Paul F. Cleveland, hearing officer, on April 3, 1961. The 1 69 NLRB 458. 132 NLRB No. 25. 200 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD hearing officer's rulings made at the hearings are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. The Board 2 has considered the motion to amend, the response thereto, and the entire record in this case, and hereby makes the fol- lowing supplemental findings : Wichita Falls Foundry & Machine Co., hereinafter referred to as Foundry, was incorporated in Texas prior to 1945, and is engaged primarily in the manufacture and assembly of industrial clutches and clutch parts. Its plant is composed of a foundry department, machine shop, and assembly shop. Wichita Clutch Company, Inc., also a Texas corporation, hereinafter referred to as Clutch, was incorporated in January 1955, for the apparent purpose of engaging solely in the sale and distribution of industrial clutches and parts, primarily for Foundry. The record shows that during the past 2 years, purchases by Clutch from Foundry amounted to approximately $970,000, while its pur- chases from companies competitive to Foundry amounted to only about $242,000. Both companies have a common address, namely 307 Barwise Street, Wichita Falls, Texas, and share a common telephone number. Their offices adjoin each other, separated only by doorways. Clutch rents this office space, in addition to a small warehouse a few feet away from Foundry's assembly shop, and an area in the assembly shop, for all of which Clutch pays Foundry an annual rental of $6,000. The officers and directors of Foundry and Clutch, including the presi- dent, John H. Wilson, are identical, with the exception of Charles P. Warman, Jr., who is vice president and general manager of Clutch. The stockholders in each company are generally the same, except for Warman, who owns about 20 percent of the stock of Clutch, but none in Foundry. As chief executive officer of Clutch, Charles P. Warman, Jr., is in complete charge of the operation, including the development of its labor relations policy. John Wilson, president of Foundry, is respon- sible for overall supervision of Foundry employees. While separate books and payroll records are kept for each company, H. C. Huper, secretary-treasurer for both companies, maintains these books and records, and draws checks for the employees of both companies. Clutch and Foundry employees work about the same hours, and re- ceive the same vacation benefits. Both companies pay an additional 5 cents per hour to hourly employees who have more than 5 years of service. The record reflects that, prior to August 4, 1960, the packing and shipping of Clutch parts was performed by a Foundry employee, C. A. Pamplin, who also took care of the stock in a warehousing area, 'Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the Act, the Board has delegated its powers herein to a three -member panel [Chairman McCulloch and Members Leedom and Brown]. McCULLOCH CORPORATION 201 where parts, jigs, and fixtures of Clutch were stored. However, on that date, Clutch assigned one of its office employees, Chris McClur- kan, to the shipping department of Foundry, thereby displacing the Foundry employee. McClurkan is classified as a shipping clerk. He works in close proximity to the employees of the assembly shop of Foundry, and, when absent or behind in his work, a Foundry assem- bly shop employee is assigned to assist or perform his duties. Sub- sequently; Clutch assigned another of its employees, Roy Nix, to work in the storeroom or warehouse area adjacent to the assembly shop of Clutch. Nix stocks parts for Clutch. He also spends a considerable portion of his time in assembling the various parts that go to make up the product, and conducts tests on them. He records pertinent information, and passes his findings on to the engineering depart- ment of Clutch. His job requires no special schooling or training. We find that Nix may properly be classified as an assembler and inspector, and as such is includible in a production and maintenance unit such as the one established herein. As the record shows that Foundry and Clutch have substantially the same officers, directors, and stockholders, and operate on a closely interrelated basis, including the sharing of common facilities, we find that these corporations constitute a single employer for jurisdictional and unit purposes. As the record further shows that since August 1960 Clutch has assumed some of the packing and shipping functions formerly part of the established unit involving Foundry alone, we find that such changes indicate the appropriateness of a production and maintenance unit which is coextensive with the operations of both corporations, and we shall amend our certification of representa- tives accordingly. [The Board amended the certification of representatives to include as an employer Wichita Clutch Company, Inc., and further to in- clude within the unit the two employees discussed herein.] 3 8 This is not to be construed as a new certification McCulloch Corporation and International Union, United Auto- mobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, (UAW) AFL-CIO. Case No. 21-CA-3828. July 18, 1961 DECISION AND ORDER On December 19, 1960, Trial Examiner John F. Funke issued his Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that the Respondent had not engaged in the unfair labor practices alleged in the complaint and recommending that the complaint be dismissed in its entirety, as set forth in the Intermediate Report attached 132 NLRB No. 24.