Carpenters District Council of Houston

CARPENTERS DISTRICT COUNCIL OF HOUSTON 359 Carpenters District Council of Houston and Vicinity and Carpenters Local Union No. 1334 and Service Technology Corporation and International Associa- tion of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, AFL- CIO, District #37. Case 23-CD-258 Local No. 1334, and International Association of Ma- chinists, District #37, are labor organizations within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act. III THE DISPUTE February 3, 1971 DECISION AND DETERMINATION OF DISPUTE BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS FANNING AND BROWN This is a proceeding under Section 10(k) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, pursuant to charges filed by Service Technology Corporation, alleging that Carpenters District Council of Houston and Vicinity and Carpenters Local Union No. 1334 have violated Section 8(b)(4)(D) of the Act. A hearing was held before Hearing Officer Jerome L. Avedon on September 28 and 29, 1970. All parties appeared at the hearing and were afforded full oppor- tunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine wit- nesses, and to adduce evidence bearing upon the issues . Thereafter, a brief was filed by Service Tech- nology Corporation. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the Act, the National Labor Relations Board has delegat- ed its powers in connection with this case to a three- member panel. The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officer's rul- ings 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 makes the following findings: I THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER The parties stipulated, and we find, that Service Technology Corporation (STC) is a Texas corpora- tion engaged as a contractor in providing construc- tion and maintenance services; that during the past 12 months, it has purchased $50,000 worth of goods and materials from outside the State of Texas to be shipped into Texas; and that it has performed work in excess of $5,000 for NASA at the Manned Space- craft Center, Houston, Texas. We find that STC is an employer engaged in commerce within the meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act, and that it will effectu- ate the policy of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein. II THE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The parties stipulated, and we find, that Carpenters District Council of Houston and Vicinity, Carpenters A. Background STC is a prime contractor for NASA at the Hous- ton Manned Spacecraft Center, performing mainte- nance, renovation, and new construction work on the site. STC has two groups of union-represented em- ployees working for it. One group is represented by the IAM and performs mission-oriented work also known as special purpose maintenance work. The other group is represented by the Carpenters and per- forms general purpose maintenance work and new construction. The latter unit consists only of carpen- ters and their apprentices, whereas the IAM unit in- cludes a large cross-section of craft employees and tradesmen, including carpenters. The rates of pay un- der the Carpenters agreements are higher than the rates for the carpenter classification contained in the applicable IAM agreement. In August 1970, STC received a task order from NASA to build a simulated space station for research and development activities. On August 31, 1970, Ed- ward McKay, STC's labor relations manager, was in- formed by the NASA Labor Relations Office that the proposed project was not covered by the Davis-Bacon Act, which pertains to the construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings or works, and the STC should assign the project accordingly. McKay decid- ed that the project was of a mission-onented nature and assigned the work to employees represented by the IAM. Work commenced on September 8, 1970. On the same day, the project was inspected by Russell Campbell, steward of Local No. 1334, who, prior to the work assignment, had discussed with McKay the possibility of furnishing manpower from the Carpen- ters hiring hall. Campbell learned that the carpenters on the project were being paid $4.59 an hour, as re- quired by the IAM agreement, compared to the $5.50 hourly rate set forth in the Carpenters contract. Later that day, McKay met with James Barton, business agent of Carpenters Local No. 1334. Accord- ing to McKay, they met at Barton's request to discuss the assignment of work in connection with the sim- ulated space station project. Barton allegedly claimed that the work fell within the jurisdiction of his Union and should have been assigned accordingly. McKay tried to explain to Barton the basis on which he had made his assignment but Barton argued that it was a bad assignment and that the work should be assigned to employees represented by the Carpenters. McKay said that he couldn't change the assignment to which 188 NLRB No. 66 360 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Barton allegedly replied, "Well, I am going to have a talk to the people upstairs." On the morning of September 9, 1970, the Carpen- ters set up a picket line. The pickets carried signs which stated: Carpenters District Council of Houston & Vicin- ity protest paying carpenters substandard wages on this job by STC Corp. McKay testified that, upon discovering the picket line, he called Jack Fountain, business manager of the Carpenters District Council, to find out why the pick- et line had been set up, and that Fountain answered "You know why they are up there. This is carpenters' work that you have assigned to machinists, and this is our work." Fountain testified that he told McKay that this wasn't a jurisdictional dispute between the Carpenters and the IAM, but rather the picketing was to protest the substandard wages being paid the car- penters on the project. Fountain also claimed that he told McKay that the picket line would be removed if STC would agree to pay the proper rate. The picketing was discontinued on September 16, 1970, following the issuance of a temporary re- straining order by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. B. The Work in Dispute The dispute which gave rise to this proceeding in- volves carpentry work in connection with the con- struction of a simulated space station at the Houston Manned Spacecraft Center. C. The Contention of the Parties STC and the JAM contend that the Carpenters Dis- trict Council and the Local had violated Section 8(b)(4)(i) and (ii)(D) by attempting to force STC to reassign the work of building a simulated space sta- tion to members of the Carpenters. The Carpenters contends that it picketed to inform the public that STC is paying substandard wages to carpenters and, accordingly, to protect wage stand- ards. D. The Applicability of the Statute Before the Board may proceed with a determina- tion of a dispute to Section 10(k) of the Act, it must be satisfied that there is reasonable cause to believe that Section 8(bX4)(D) has been violated. As stated above, after the Carpenters were informed that STC had assigned the work to the IAM, STC's labor rela- tions manager, McKay, met with Local 1334's bus- iness agent, James Barton, who, according to McKay, claimed that carpentry work in connection with the construction of the simulated space station fell within the jurisdiction of his Union and that such work should have been assigned to employees represented by his Union. Barton replied, "Well, I am going to have to talk to the people upstairs." On the morning of September 9, the Carpenters set up a picket line. According to McKay's testimony, Fountain, the business manager of this District Coun- cil of Carpenters, explained: "You know why they are up there. This is carpenters' work that you have as- signed to machinists, and this is our work." On these facts we believe that there is reasonable cause to be- lieve that an object of the picketing was to force STC to assign the disputed work to employees represented by the Carpenters, and that a violation of Section 8(b)(4)(D) has occurred. E. Merits of the Dispute The following facts are relevant in making a deter- mination of the dispute before us: 1. Certification and collective-bargaining agreement STC has collective-bargaining agreements with both the Carpenters and the IAM. The latter was certified on April 26, 1965, in Case 23-RC-2357 as the representative of employees of Davis Field Facilities (DFF). Subsequent to the certification, STC took over the work previously performed by DFF and has maintained contractual relations with the IAM. The unit covered in the IAM certification and the unit recognized by STC in its collective-bargaining agree- ment with the IAM is as follows: All employees engaged in special purpose equip- ment maintenance work as specified in Appendix A, Part II, Section F of NASA contract NAS 9-7500 which is work required to maintain, mod- ify and install laboratory and shop equipment at the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas, excluding all professional, executive, and office clerical employees, guards, watchmen, and supervisors as defined in the Act. The work done by the employees in this unit is characterized as mission oriented. Mission-oriented work encompasses the installation, modification, maintenance, or repair of laboratories, laboratory equipment, machine shop equipment, and test equip- ment and related work directly connected with the research and development of equipment or simulated equipment that is eventually to be used in space or for astronauts while they are in space. STC has two collective-bargaining agreements with the Carpenters. STC is a signatory to the General Presidents' Agreement with 13 International Craft CARPENTERS DISTRICT COUNCIL OF HOUSTON and Trade Unions, including the Carpenters, which covers the "maintenance, repair and renovation work for the NASA Manned Space Facility Apollo." The work is directly related to the physical features of the Manned Spacecraft Center, that is, the buildings, roads, and grounds of the Center. STC is also a signa- tory, through the Associated General Contractors of Houston, to an agreement with the Carpenters cover- ing certain new construction work. The IAM contract clearly indicates that it has juris- diction over projects which are mission-oriented. The construction of a simulated space station comes under mission-oriented work as it is connected with the re- search and development of equipment or simulated equipment that is eventually to be used in space. STC awarded the work to employees represented by the IAM on this basis and there is no claim that STC has either misinterpreted the IAM contract or has acted in an arbitrary or capricious manner in awarding the work in question. Accordingly, we find that the collec- tive-bargaining agreement between STC and IAM fa- vors an award of the disputed work to employees represented by that Union. 2. Company practice The record indicates that when STC receives a task order for construction work, NASA first determines whether or not such work is covered by the provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act. If the project is so covered, STC would have to assign the work to the Carpenters because such work, involving the construction, altera- tion, or repair of public buildings or works would fall within its contractual jurisdiction. Since the work in this case was not covered by the Davis-Bacon Act, STC was left with the responsibility for deciding the category into which the disputed work fell, and ac- cordingly, to which group of employees such work should be assigned. In the present case, the deter- mination was made that the required work was mis- sion-oriented in nature and that it should be performed by employees represented by the IAM. The record supports the contention of STC that in awarding the disputed work to these employees, it followed procedures previously established and con- sistently practiced. Accordingly, we find this factor favors the IAM. 3. Skills and efficiency The construction of the simulated space station re- quires primarily the skills of four crafts: carpentry, sheetmetal, electrical, and painting. About one half of the work is carpentry work. The record reflects that the majority of the employ- 361 ees in the IAM unit are proficient in more than one skill and are capable of moving from one kind of job to another so that there is a steady flow of work on a project that requires the utilization of a wide variety of skills . While it is true that new carpenters recruited by STC may not have more than one skill , there is evidence that some employees combine carpentry skills with those of other trades or crafts and that all their skills are likely , at one time or another, to be employed in the prosecution of the work . Efficiency, therefore, appears to favor an award of the disputed work consistent with that made by the Employer. Conclusion Having considered all pertinent factors, we con- clude that employees represented by the IAM are entitled to perform the work in dispute. In our judg- ment, STC's contract with IAM favors the assignment of the project work to employees represented by that Union. Further, such an assignment is consistent with STC's normal practice in assigning mission-oriented work and will result in greater efficiency of operation. Accordingly, we shall determine the existing jurisdic- tional controversy by awarding the work in dispute to the employees represented by the IAM. DETERMINATION OF DISPUTE Pursuant to Section 10(k) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, and upon the basis of the foregoing findings and the entire record in this case, the National Labor Relations Board makes the fol- lowing Determination of Dispute: 1. Employees employed by the Employer and repre- sented by District #37, International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO , are en- titled to perform the construction of the simulated space station at the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas. 2. Carpenters District Council of Houston and Vi- cinity and Carpenters Local Union No. 1334 are not entitled by means proscribed by Section 8(b)(4)(D) of the Act to force or require Service Technology Corpo- ration to assign such work to employees represented by the aforesaid Unions. 3. Within 10 days from the date of this Decision and Determination of Dispute, Carpenters District Coun- cil of Houston and Vicinity and Carpenters Local Union No. 1334 shall notify the Regional Director for Region 23, in writing, whether or not they will refrain from forcing or requiring Service Technology Corpo- ration by means proscribed by Section 8(b)(4)(D) to assign the work in dispute in a manner inconsistent with the above determination.