Radio Corp. of America

440 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Radio Corporation of America and International Society of Skilled Trades , Petitioner . Cases 4-RC- 7352 and 4-RC-7353 October 29, 1968 DECISION AND ORDER By CHAIRMAN MCCULLOCH AND MEMBERS BROWN AND JENKINS Upon the several petitions duly filed by the International Society of Skilled Trades, Petitioner herein, under Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a consolidated hearing was held before Katherine W. Tereshinski, Hearing Officer. Following the hearing and pursuant to Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations and Statements of Procedure, Series 8, as amended, and by direction of the Regional Director for Region 4, this case was transferred to the National Labor Relations Board for decision Briefs have been timely filed by the Em- ployer, the Petitioner, and the Intervenor.' Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel. The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officer's rulings made at the hearing and finds that they are free from prejudicial error. They are hereby affirmed. 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 purposes of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein. 2. The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. In view of our findings below, no question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of the employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act. The Employer is engaged at its Moorestown, New Jersey, plant in the development and manufacture of electronic products, specializing in radar equipment. There are about 2,275 employees at the Moorestown plant. About 1,750 of these are salaried professional, technical, and staff employees, with the professional and technical employees being represented by labor organizations not involved in these proceedings. The remaining approximately 525 employees are repre- sented in a production and maintenance unit by Local I International Union of Electrical , Radio and Machine Workers, AFL-CIO, and its Locals 103 and 106, herein called the Intervenor. 106 of the Intervenor and have been so represented since 1953. These employees work in the main factory buildings as well as at the Medford Antenna site about 10 miles from the main buildings, and at such build- ings as "The Ball" (Ballistic Missile Early Warning Sys- tem Model Building), the XN3 Building, and Building No. 117, all of which are on the same premises, al- though separated from the main factory buildings. The Petitioner sought, in petition 4-RC-7353, to carve out of the Moorestown production and mainte- nance unit the "modelmakers, model shop finishers, model shop welders, and skilled maintenance employ- ees," or alternatively, two units, one including the skilled maintenance employees and the other mclud- ing the other named employees. During the hearing, however, the Petitioner orally stated its request as being a "Moorestown Model Shop Unit," any part thereof, or that unit together with any other that the Board might find an appropriate combination. It also appears that Petitioner's request for a unit of skilled maintenance employees at Moorestown has not been withdrawn. The Employer has a complex at Camden, New Jersey (consisting of 20 buildings there and 1 at Gibbsboro, New Jersey), which develops and manu- factures advanced communications systems for de- fense and space application, commercial telecasting equipment, and electronic data processing equipment. There are approximately 12,000 employees at the complex, half of whom are salaried and half of whom are hourly paid. Of the hourly paid employees, 69 drivers and helpers are separately represented and all other (nearly 6,000) hourly paid employees are represented in a production and maintenance unit by the Intervenor. The Intervenor was recognized at Camden in 1950 as the representative of the produc- tion and maintenance employees. Prior to that time, Local 103 of the Intervenor was affiliated with the United Electrical Workers of America, Ind., which had been the representative of production and main- tenance employees at Camden since about 1937. Petitioner seeks, in petition 4-RC-7352, to sever from the existing Camden production and mainte- nance unit, alternatively, (1) a single unit composed of all skilled trades employees in Division 1 (an internal designation made by the Intervenor, not the Em- ployer) and all skilled maintenance employees; (2) a unit of 12 enumerated occupations such as model- makers and toolmakers; or (3) a unit of skilled maintenance employees. At the hearing, the Peti- tioner withdrew its request pertaining to maintenance employees and restates its Camden petition as apply- ing to a model shop unit, a toolroom unit, a short order fabrication shop unit, or any part or combina- tion of the foregoing. There are approximately 460 employees in classifications sought by the Petitioner. Upon consideration of the principles laid down in 173 NLRB No. 72 RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA 441 Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, Uranium Division, 162 NLRB No. 48, we do not believe that severance elections are warranted in these cases. a. Moorestown model shop The primary unit requested at Moorestown consists of the model shop function with modelmakers as a nucleus. The model shop at Moorestown classifies 66 employees as modelmakers and 18 other employees in eight other job classifications. There are also 55-60 wiremen-assemblers who, while they work in the "wire shop," are apparently considered part of the model shop. The job description of the modelmakers calls for them to construct first samples, mold parts or equipment to complete models and samples, study blueprints to plan the work to be done, construct necessary tools, fabricate parts, assemble components, and the like. In actual practice, the modelmakers do not per- form all of the tasks called for in the job description. Their work is broken down so that about one-third engage only in machining work, one-third only in sheetmetal work, and one-third do both types of work. Further specialization is indicated by the fact that, within each group, some of the modelmakers cannot perform certain types of complicated ma- chining or sheetmetal work, and such work must be assigned to others in the group. There is no inter- change between the two primary groups, and they are separately supervised. While the work of the model- makers was originally exclusively engineering (the making of models for engineers), it has become necessary in the last several years for this shop to perform basic production work in order to provide the employees with a full work load. The general foreman of the model shop testified that the model shop work is now 85-90 percent manufacturing assembly work, not requiring the skills of model- makers to perform. This manufacturing assembly work consists of the making and assembly of parts, such as brackets, chassis, panels, spacers, and bushers. Approximately 8-9 percent of the remaining time of the modelmakers is spent working for design engi- neers in developing products, and about 1 percent is spent in the making of tools and holding fixtures. All of the work of the modelmakers, except the making of tools and holding fixtures, is done on goods which are shipped to customers. Although some 57 model- makers work as described above, 5 others are largely engaged in overhauling operating equipment, and the other 4 act full time as material inspectors. While there is an apprenticeship program for modelmakers, equivalent experience is accepted for hiring, and modelmakers need not have been apprenticed before hiring. The production work of these employees leads them to produce quantities of parts in varying amounts, such as thousands of angle brackets. Ap- proximately 60-65 percent of their time is spent on making parts such as chassis, panels and brackets in large quantities and repetitively. Another 25 percent of the time is spent making more complicated parts. All of these parts are integrated into the Employer's products. As for the making of first models, while the modelmakers may still make the first model from drawings or sketches, they then also produce the whole series of parts which are thereafter fabricated. The 55-60 wiremen-assemblers work with the modelmakers, but are separately supervised. They use various machines such as lathes. The work performed by modelmakers-the fabrication and alteration of parts-is also done by wiremen on the same machines and in the same building. The welders, finishers, tool crib attendants, and two other classifications have a different supervisor from the modelmakers or the wiremen. The two welders in this shop work in all areas of the plant along with other employees in the production and maintenance unit. They weld parts, chassis and the like which are made by modelmakers and production employees. Most of their time is spent working on products that will be shipped to customers, and a majority of their effort involves repetitive tasks. There is no apprentice program for welders. The five finishers in the shop paint and finish parts and other items made by modelmakers and production em- ployees. When using plating solution, the finishers follow instructions which indicate the length of time the parts must be submerged and other specifications of the work. Their functions appear to be routine and to require little skill or training. There is no appren- tice program for finishers. Other miscellaneous clas- sifications in the unit are tool crib attendants, material handlers, production clerks, and others. The model shop unit requested herein is made up of employees who are not in any substantial measure engaged in a craft type of work, but rather are, for the most part, specialists engaging in what is es- sentially production work. The performance by these employees of basic production work precludes their being considered a functionally distinct department. b. Moorestown maintenance shop The maintenance department at Moorestown con- sists of 8 operating engineers, 15 maintenance me- chanics, 12 electricians, 5 pipefitters, 14 carpenters, 4 painters, 1 machinist repairman, 2 welders, and 10 laborers. The Petitioner has not specifically with- drawn its request for an election in this group (with the laborers excepted therefrom), although it has withdrawn its request as to a similar Camden group. These employees report to five different foremen, in groups containing mixtures of classifications. The evidence indicates that few of the employees are 442 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD engaged in jobs which require a broad exercise of craft skills. The operating engineers operate the boilers, but play no part in generating, using or measuring electricity, and an outside firm is hired to direct the operating engineers in the job of providing pure water. The maintenance mechanics perform preventive maintenance and repair work on air con- ditioning equipment and production machinery. Five of them spend their time simply rearranging parts of the plant area by moving partitions, benches, bins,etc. Two other mechanics spend half of their time moving desks, bins, and similar items, and leveling them, and spend the other half installing ceilings and repairing floors. Two of the electricians are engaged fulltime in washing light fixtures, two spend nearly half of their working time oiling and greasing motors, and about five are used at various times in replacing some 20,000 light bulbs per year. Two of the five pipe- fitters spend all of their time doing such jobs in plant washrooms as replacing faucet washers, using chem- icals to prevent clogging of drains, and checking drains for leaks. The carpenters spend much of their time in rearranging walls and partitions and in building boxes. Similarly, the painters and welders are normally engaged in work which, while within the compass of their crafts, is simple, routine and repetitive. In sum, the maintenance shop appears to be a group of diversified workers whose exercise of the skills usually attributed to the respective crafts to which they are asserted to belong is not in kind or degree such as to indicate a special community of craft interest that might argue for their severance from the established unit. While the department might be said to be "functionally distinct" from the rest of the plant, other relevant factors, such as the close daily association of many of the maintenance employees with production employees throughout the plant, the history of collective bargaining, and the Petitioner's stated intention not to represent the laborers, leads us to conclude that severance would be inappropriate here. c. Camden model shop The Petitioner seeks to sever what it considers the three basic craft groups from the Camden plant-the Camden model shop, the Camden tool shop, and the Camden short order fabrication shop. The Petitioner seeks a Camden model shop unit with modelmakers as the nucleus. There are approx- imately 177 modelmakers at Camden. Of these, 170 work in two separate model shops (section 575 and the electronic data processing shop), and the others work in three other locations. The section 575 model shop at Camden is divided into separate departments the sheet metal shop, the machine shop, and the finish shop. The section 575 shop occupies the sixth floor of adjoining buildings 10 and 13, with the sheet metal shop in the former and the metal shop in the latter. About 25 modelmakers work in the sheet metal shop making such items as chassis, panels, and brackets, by using shears, brakes, punch presses, and drill presses. About 130 modelmakers are assigned to the ma- chine shop, but only 40 work there full time. Of the remaining 90, 20 are assigned fulltime to engineering laboratory areas where they work with engineers or engineering groups. They utilize machines similar to those in the machine shop area and work under a different foreman from the other modelmakers. The other 70 employees are also assigned to engineers, but spend the majority of their time in the machine shop making parts and assemblies. All of these parts which are made by the modelmakers in the sheetmetal and machine shops become part of the final product sent to the customers. There is little interchange of personnel between the two areas. There is some testimony that the work of these modelmakers in the machine shop is not repetitive, but there is also testimony to the contrary. On one job, labeled APN-155, the modelmakers spent ap- proximately 17,000 man hours in 2'/z years making 1,600 shields, each of which included about 4 brackets, 2 screens, and 5 bushings made by the modelmakers. For the Apollo program, parts such as covers and plates were made in multiples of 22, 44, and 66, over a 10-month period. The work of the modelmakers is often supple- mented by work from production areas, but, unlike the situation at Moorestown, this does not account for a major part of their work However, it is estimated that about 85 percent of their time is spent in production-type work, i.e., the making and assembling of products, while 10-15 percent of their time is spent in making tools and fixtures. Also working in the machine model shop of section 575 are 2 arc and gas welders, 2 spot welders, 20 model shop finishers, 5 tools and gauge inspectors, 1 template maker, 2 machine operators, and 1 ma- chinist. The finishers plate and finish parts they receive from the modelmakers, other production areas, and from outside suppliers. About 65 percent of their work comes from other production areas. The arc and gas welders weld mostly sheetmetal products such as chassis, cabinets, etc., on a repetitive basis. The spot welders do routine spot welding in the sheet metal shop. The template maker makes sheet metal parts in quantities of 1-20 on a repetitive basis. The machine operators perform tasks akin to those per- formed by the modelmakers. The machinist spends most of his time in the sheetmetal shop sanding panels, chassis, brackets, etc. There are no apprentice programs for these job categories, and they are generally filled by upgrading. There are about 15 modelmakers attached, along with wiremen and testers, to the specialized data RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA 443 processing model shop located on the second floor of building 13. Most, however, are permanently assigned outside the shop to laboratory areas where they work with engineers and wiremen m assembling units and then producing a number of similar units. It does not appear that either the section 575 or the electronic data processing model shop, or both together, or separate occupational groups within these shops, are appropriate units for severance. The shops comprise groupings of employees working in different areas, doing dissimilar specialized work, under dif- ferent supervision with little interchange. There seems to be very little exercise of a broad range of modelmaking skills by most of the modelmakers. Some modelmakers work closely with production employees and appear to do pure production work. For the most part, they are involved in work that is largely repetitive and involves the making, assembling, welding, finishing, and inspecting of parts in quan- tities. Under Mallinckrodt standards, neither the criteria applicable to craft units nor to functionally distinct departments appear to be met. d. Camden tool shop Another unit requested by the Petitioner is the Camden plant tool shop unit, with the tool-and-die makers as the nucleus. Most of the tool shop is centered on the sixth floor of building 17, but the tool design function is in building 8, and there are tool repair functions in building 18 and building 4. There are approximately 55 toolmakers who report to the general foreman of the tool shop through 3 lower-level foremen. Of the 55, 35 actually work in the tool shop Five to ten of these work full time making production parts by machining castings, panels, racks, etc., in quantities of 100-200. The remaining 25 to 30 make the tools, molds, and dies which are used at Camden, although 14 of them spend much of their time building machines. Ninety-five percent of Camden's tools are made at this shop. The other 20 toolmakers who are assigned to this unit work outside the tool shop and are assigned on a permanent basis to repair and service work. Five to ten of these employees work in production assembly in buildings 3 and 17, where they service and repair assembly machines and work with the machine operators. Four other toolmakers are located in building 18, where they sharpen and repair dies and try out tools on the production floor. They work with brake, punch press, and kick press operators. Four more service a production machine shop, working on the production floor, repairing and punching dies and tryout tools. Two more, in building 4, service and demonstrate tools in a production- assembly area. Thus, 20 of the 55 toolmakers work permanently in production areas outside of the tool shop. And, of the 35 toolmakers who work in the tool shop, 5 to 10 work full time on straight production work. There are several other job categories in the tool shop unit. There are 10 template makers who report to the general foremen of the tool shop. They spend approximately 20 percent of their time making fixtures and templates (which are made for produc- tion use), 30 percent on engraving and cutting stencils, and 50 percent working on parts and assemblies. Generally, parts are made in quantities of 200, and in one case the template makers straightened and polished 15-20,000 aperture plates. Additionally, there are four tool grinders who also report to the general foreman. Twenty-five percent of their time is spent on production parts and 75 percent on tools. There are two heat treaters who work in the tool shop. About 90 percent of their time is spent in heat treating production metals and parts, which come to them directly from production. Ten percent of their time is spent in the heat treating of tools. There are four tool and gauge inspectors who also report to the general foreman. They inspect tools and, as well, parts and gauges made in the tool shop. The tool shop unit does not present a meritorious case for severance. Rather than being a clearly defined group of skilled craftsmen, performing their work on a nonrepetitive basis, the employees are a diverse group of workers performing dissimilar jobs, many of which comprise essentially production or direct ser- vicing of the production process. e. Camden short order fabrication shop The largest number of employees in this unit are template makers, approximately 43 out of 100. The function of this shop and of the template makers is to supplement the work of the production employees when the production employees have gotten behind schedule and also when the production employees have not yet received the tools they need. When supplementing production, the short order shop uses the processes and the tools of the production people. They either fabricate a part of the product or build the complete assemblies of the final product. In their performance of work when the production employees do not have the model tools, the short order employees make temporary or soft templates, which are used for production purposes solely in the short order fabrication shop and not on the production floors. About 15 percent of the time of template makers is spent in making templates and tools, and about 85 percent of their time is spent in the making and assembling of parts. They make parts in quan- tities of 300-500 and assemble parts into thousands of assemblies. Work is assigned to the template makers according to their abilities and not all of them are capable of performing all of the tasks called for in 444 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the job descriptions. There is no apprentice program and vacancies are filled by upgrading. The 34 machinists in the shop spend all of their time making and assembling parts or doing some work on parts made by production employees. The 13 toolmakers spend about 15 or 20 percent of their time in making tools, which are used only in this shop as is the case with the template makers Their remaining work time is spent making various parts and assemblies The 2 modelmakers spend all of their time making and assembling production parts. Other classifications in the shop are brake specialists, arc and gas welders, testers, wiremen, and others. The short order fabrication shop is clearly not a homogeneous group of skilled craftsmen performing the functions of their craft on a nonrepetitive basis, but is rather a heterogeneous group of employees performing essentially production work .on a repeti- tive basis. Similarly, because so much of the time of the employees is spent in performing ordinary pro- duction tasks akin to that performed by the other members of the overall unit, it cannot convincingly be argued that the employees constitute a department functionally distinct from the rest of the complex. Accordingly, the shop does not appear to be an appropriate unit for severance. Bargaining History The Moorestown plant began operations in 1953, at which time the Intervenor organized a unit of production and maintenance workers which it still represents. All employees who are not represented by the Intervenor are salaried employees. Since 1953, the technical engineers have been represented by the American Federation of Technical Engineers (AFTE), Local 241, AFL-CIO, and the graduate engineers have been represented by the Association of Scientists and Professional Engineering Personnel (ASPEP), Ind. There has never been any separate representation for individual groups of craft or craft-type production and maintenance employees. At the Camden plant, the Intervenor has repre- sented all production and maintenance employees since 1950. Prior to that time, IUE Local 103 was affiliated with United Electrical Workers of America, Ind., which had represented the employees since 1937. The engineers are represented by AFTE and ASPEP as at Moorestown. There are also 100 drivers, hourly paid, who have been represented by the Teamsters since 1946. There never has been separate representation for any component of the production and maintenance force. The situation at both Moorestown and Camden is one in which there has been notable stability in the labor relations between the company and union. At neither of these plants has there been any unrest or disagreement sufficient to culminate in a strike by the Intervenor. This history of stability is a factor which further militates against granting severance in the units discussed above. Petitioner argues that the bargaining unit repre- sented by the Camden local is inappropriate because the collective-bargaining agreement pertaining there- to refers to "watchmen and guards" as part of the agreed-upon unit, in contravention of Section 9(b)(3) of the Act,' and therefore Camden must be treated as an unorganized plant at which there is no relevant bargaining history. We find it unnecessary to pass upon the appropriateness of the existing unit in asserting the relevancy of the bargaining history. One of the factors that Mallinckrodt requires us to consider is the history of collective bargaining, with emphasis on whether the existing patterns of bar- gaining are productive of stability in labor relations. In considering the bargaining history, we are not determining the appropriateness of the existing unit, as that question is not in issue . We are not denying the petition, for example, on the ground that a multiplant unit exists and that the request for severance must be coextensive with that unit. In such a case, the appropriateness of the present unit might be in question Rather, we are merely passing upon a petition to grant a craft unit and, in doing so, we are considering the history of amicable bargaining in the larger unit as a factor showing stability in the present situation, as opposed to what the labor relations outlook might be if severance were granted. The parties are not forbidden by the statute to agree voluntarily to a mixed unit of employees and guards, and the Board is not here acting contrary to the statute's direction that it "shall not decide" that a mixed unit is appropriate. Adequacy and Extent of Representation The Intervenor divides the employees it represents at Moorestown and Camden into "divisions" on broad occupational lines. The lowest level of representation consists of the stewards, who have about 50 em- ployees assigned to them. Above the stewards are the division officials who are elected by all the employees in a particular division. The chairman of division 1 at Camden (which includes toolmakers, modelmakers, 2 Section 9 (b)(3) of the Act reads The Board shall decide in each case whe ther, in order to assure to employees the fullest freedom in exercising the rights guaranteed by this Act , the unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining shall be the employer unit , craft unit, plant unit, or subdivision thereof Provided, That the Board shall not . . (3) decide that any unit is appropriate for such purposes if it includes, together with other employees , any individual employed as a guard to enforce against employees and other persons rules to protect property of the employer or to protect the safety of persons on the employer's premises . RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA 445 machinists all-around, template makers, and other skilled occupations) is a toolmaker. The vice chairman is a modelmaker. The chairman of division B at Moorestown (which includes both modelmakers and the maintenance occupations) is a modelmaker. Divi- sion officials are on the locals' executive boards and the negotiating committee of the RCA-IUE Con- ference Board. Both locals have "skilled trades" committees. At Moorestown, the chairman for some years has been a modelmaker, three members represent other skilled employees, and one represents maintenance em- ployees. At Camden, the chairman of division 1 is also the chairman of the skilled trades committee and is, as noted, a toolmaker. The chairman of the skilled trades committee is also, ex officio, a member of the negotiating committee. During the year, the skilled trades committee works up a set of proposals relating to the employees with whom it is concerned. These proposals are then submitted to the officers of the locals and the conference board chairman. They are then pursued as part of the union's proposals in subsequent negotia- tions with the Employer. At the Moorestown and Camden plants there are 28 labor grades, with grade 28 being the highest. The modelmakers and toolmakers, who are the largest groups sought to be severed, are both in labor grade 28. As a result of the 1967 negotiations, these employees were increased from $3.695 to $4 per hour, with increases to $4.16 in June 1968 and $4.33 in June 1969. Aside from being the highest salaried employees, these employees have also had their job security protected by the Union. At the Moorestown plant, for example, no modelmakers have ever been laid off. There has been serious concern for a number of years over the lack of work in the model shop. To prevent the layoff of employees, the work of the model shop has been augmented for several years with production work, as previously described, which has accounted for as much as 85-90 percent of work time. Similarly, at Camden, while the problem has not been as acute as at Moorestown, production work has been introduced at the suggestion of the IUE in order to protect the model shop employees. The IUE-RCA National Agreement provides- Paragraph 19.08 PRODUCTION WORK: Employees who are excluded from the jurisdiction of the Bar- gaining Unit shall not perform work normally per- formed by employees in the Bargaining Unit. Thus it would appear that if the employees requested by the Petitioner were severed, a question would arise as to whether they would be permitted to continue performing the work which now keeps them em- ployed on a full-time basis. There is no question that there are some members of the present unit who feel that their interests have not been adequately protected and are seeking to have the Petitioner represent them. These employees took part in a work stoppage between May 31 and June 9, 1967. After RCA sought to terminate the employees who engaged in this activity, the Inter- venor continued to protect the interest of those employees and had 34 of the 36 involved reinstated with backpay and the other two cases taken to arbitration. The Petitioner presented witnesses who testified to the alleged inadequacy of IUE representation. This testimony involved a grievance over the fact that the model shop was too hot, a layoff of modelmakers (both of which grievances were in fact settled), the IUE's refusal to prosecute a personal grievance, ejection from a union meeting, refusal of permission to use a union hall, and the like. The grievances would seem relatively minor compared to the picture of representation previously presented. The employees whom Petitioner seeks to sever have not maintained a separate identity for bargaining purposes, but over the years have acquiesced in the established bargaining pattern, have actively participated therein, and have received the benefits of that participation. Conclusion It is clear that most of the employees in the units sought by the Petitioner are highly integrated into the production functions of the Company. For example, toolmakers are essential to the production output of the Camden plant, as many of them work at making machine repairs, aside from doing all of the repair and servicing of tools. It is worth reiterating that supple- menting of the production work load is done in all of the shops discussed above and argues strongly against severance. Some of these units are doing pure production work as part of their everyday work function, such as the short order fabrication shop and the template makers in the tool shop. The latter are engaged in production work 70 percent of their time by making parts in large quantities for production and assembling those parts. Others are acting in support of the production employees, working both in separate areas and in production areas. These employees are making, assembling, welding, finishing, and inspecting parts in volumes of thousands. Many of these em- ployees are specialists rather than craftsmen, per- forming only parts of their recognized craft functions on a repetitive basis. Aerojet-General Corp , 163 NLRB No. 123, Potlatch Forests, Inc., 165 NLRB No. 89. None of the units previously described may be said to be functionally distinct departments of em- ployees working in trades or occupations for which a 446 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD tradition of separate representation exists, nor can it petitions. Trico Products Corp, 169 NLRB No. 58; properly be found that there exists within any of the Aerojet-General Corp, 163 NLRB No. 123, Potlatch basic shops or departments a smaller group of Forests, Inc, 165 NLRB No. 89. craftsmen who warrant special consideration in the matter of severance. ORDER Based on the foregoing, we find that the requested units, either singly, in part, or in any combination, do It is hereby ordered that the petitions filed herein not constitute units appropriate for purposes of be, and they hereby are, dismissed. collective bargaining. Accordingly we shall dismiss the