McCord Corp.

MC CORD CORPORATION 23 McCord Corporation and International Society of Skilled Trades, Petitioner. Case 7-RC-8121 January 5, 1968 DECISION AND ORDER By CHAIRMAN MCCULLOCH AND MEMBERS BROWN AND JENKINS Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a hearing was held before Marvin J. Schmitt, Hearing Officer. Following the hearing, this case was trans- ferred to the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C., pursuant to Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations and Statements of Procedure, Series 8, as amended. Thereafter, only the Intervenor, Inter- national Union, Allied Industrial Workers of Amer- ica, AFL-CIO, and its Local Union No. 616, filed a brief, which has been duly considered. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na- tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three- member panel. The Hearing Officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby af- firmed. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds: 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act, and it will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. No question affecting commerce exists con- cerning the representation of certain employees of the Employer within the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) and 2(6) and (7) of the Act, for the following reasons: The Petitioner seeks severance of a toolroom unit allegedly composed of skilled employees and would include several maintenance employees who share common supervision with toolroom employees. The toolroom employees comprise department 31, which is a renumbering of department 52, as set forth in the most recent contract between the Em- ployer and the Intervenor. The Intervenor opposes severance of the tool- room employees and takes the position that the unit sought is clearly inappropriate for severance under any standard or theory established by the Board. The Intervenor points out the integration of plant operations, and the fact that the well-established overall plantwide production and maintenance unit it represents has preserved the stability of bargain- ing and labor relations at the plant for approximate- ly 30 years. The Employer takes no position. The Employer is engaged in the manufacture of gaskets for the automotive industry at its Wyan- dotte, Michigan, plant. The toolroom employees operate different types of machinery, including kel- lers, shapers, milling machines, drill presses, grin- ders, jig borers, jig grinders, and turret lathes, although a principal function is also to build and maintain the dies. The toolroom employees have participated in union representation and have served on the bargaining committee. They have been included under the contracts negotiated since 1937, which have produced stable labor relations. The proposed unit does not consist of a distinct and homogenious group of skilled craftsmen and jour- neymen, and is not composed of employees con- stituting a functionally distinct department. There is no apprenticeship or formal training for the tool- room employees, their working area is not located in a separate room, and all other employees in the plant have access to the area. The employees in the proposed unit not only do work outside their classification, but work frequently in areas outside of the' toolroom in the production area. In addition to working with, and in close proximity to, the production employees, the toolroom employees receive the same fringe benefits as the production employees and use the same employee facilities. There is no substantial evidence that the bargain- ing interests of the toolroom employees have been neglected or prejudiced by virtue of their represen- tation in the overall unit. Their negotiated wage rates are considerably higher than those of the production employees, reflecting recognition of their skills. Upon reviewing the facts of this case, we con- clude that it will not effectuate the policies of the Act to allow severance of the toolroom employees covered by the petition from the established production and maintenance unit. The work of the toolroom employees is an integral part of the con- tinuous flow of the Employer's various production processes. In the light of the toolroom employees' close functional integration in the plant's operations, their community of interest with the production and maintenance employees, their long inclusion in the production and maintenance unit, and the absence of any compelling countervailing considerations, we conclude that the toolroom employees may not be severed' from the overall production and main- tenance unit. Accordingly, we shall dismiss the peti- tion. ORDER ' Holmberg, Inc, 162 NLRB 407, and cited cases therein Cf. Buddy L Corporation 167 NLRB 808 It is hereby ordered that the petition filed herein be, and it hereby is, dismissed. 169 NLRB No. 7