Monongahela Power Co.

MONONGAHELA POWER COMPANY Monongahela Power Company and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case 6-RC-4897 June 20, 1969 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION BY CHAIRMAN MCCULL,OCH AND MEMBERS JENKINS AND ZAGORIA Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a hearing was held before Merrill C. Embick, Hearing Officer of the National Labor Relations Board. 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 6, this case was transferred to the National Labor Relations Board for decision. The Employer and Petitioner have filed briefs, which have been duly considered. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the 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. The rulings 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 labor organization involved claims to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The Petitioner seeks to represent all of the employees in the Employer's Panhandle Division, excluding estimators, powerplant employees, local representatives, casual employees, office clerical employees, professional employees, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act. The Employer maintains that the unit requested by the Petitioner is inappropriate, and argues that only a systemwide unit is appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. The Employer also contends, contrary to the Petitioner, that its lead lineman, lead electricians, lead dispatching operators and crew leaders are supervisors within the meaning of the Act and should be excluded from any unit found appropriate. There is no history of collective bargaining for any of the employees sought by the Petitioner, and no labor organization seeks to represent the employees in a more comprehensive 176 NLRB No. 123 The Appropriate Unit unit. 915 The Employer is an Ohio corporation and is engaged in business as a public utility in the- production, sale, and distribution of electrical energy. The Employer's operations extend over a territory consisting of Northern West Virginia, one county and parts of five others in Ohio, and parts of one county in each of the States of Maryland and Virginia. The Employer maintains its principal office and place of business at Fairmont, West Virginia, where its business activities are coordinated and that office is made up of the following departments: marketing, personnel, and general services, legal public relations, transmissions and distribution and engineering (T & D), comptroller, treasury and power generation. The Employer's operations are further subdivided into seven administrative divisions within the service area throughout Northern West Virginia and the parts of three other States serviced by the Employer. Testimony proffered by the Employer reflects that the seven divisions, including the panhandle division, which is the only portion of the Employer's operations involved in this proceeding, were created and exist in order to better administer the day;to-day activities and operating practices of the Company. The panhandle division maintains its headquarters at Weirton, West Virginia, and is geographically separated from other divisions of the Employer by an intervening territory serviced by another utility. There is a distance of approximately 30 miles between the panhandle division and the next nearest administrative division of the Employer. The panhandle, and each other division, is under the immediate direction of a division manager, who is responsible for supervising and coordinating the day-to-day activities of the division. Each division manager is responsible to and reports to D. S. Hollen, the Employer's vice president in charge of division operations. Each of the seven divisions is subdivided into departments consisting of T & D, marketing, personnel, area development, and accounting. Each department within the division has its own manager, who coordinates with analogous departments at the Employer's general office on operating principles and day-to-day problems, but who reports and is directly responsible to his respective division manager. The record reveals that its employee relations policies are developed and centrally administered in the personnel department of the general office. Some personnel records are maintained at the general office, but others consisting of approved payroll changes, promotion notices, tests and job applications are maintained at the division level. The Employer maintains a supervision manual, issued by the general office, which is applied uniformly 916 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD throughout the Company. Employee progress reports are prepared in conformity with the manual at the division level, and after review , approval, and recommendations by division personnel the progress reports are forwarded to the general office for further review . The Employer maintains a uniform system of job classifications, and salary and wage levels are established and administered by an administrative committee at Fairmont. Other employment benefits are also maintained and administered on a uniform basis throughout the Company. The Monongahela Employees Beneficial Association (MEBA) is a companywide employees association which provides funds in the event of sickness, disability, and death . MEBA is administered by seven directors, four of whom are elected by the employees and the remaining three are appointed by the Company's president. The directorships are rotated among personnel assigned to all divisions. The Comptroller's office at Fairmont maintains all general accounting records, prepares and maintains reports for Federal and State regulatory bodies, prepares tax returns and dividend rates, and audits division and general office records. Upon information furnished in part by the divisions, the Comptroller's office calculates pay, prepares the payroll, and issues pay checks which are distributed by the divisions . However, each division also has an accounting manager who supervises local accounting under instructions from the general office and in conformity with the Employer's uniform accounting procedures . In addition to personnel and accounting procedures, the record also reveals that the Employer's general office maintains and administers uniform policies with respect to safety , engineering, and job descriptions . Training procedures are standardized , and training courses are conducted at both Fairmont and the division level. Persons seeking employment at the division level with the Employer may apply at either the general office or the division level. If the person applies at the division level the division personnel manager may, at his discretion, notify the general office or other divisions that an applicant is available. The division personnel manager interviews each applicant before a job application is filled out, and if the division personnel manager finds the applicant to be unsuitable he has final authority to reject the applicant. If, however, the division personnel manager considers the applicant suitable, he requires the applicant to fill out a written application and administers a standardized employment test. The results of the test are forwarded to the general office for review and grading , and are then returned to the division manager for his review . If the division manager is satisfied with the results of the test he may interview the applicant, and if hiring is indicated he directs the division supervisor in whose department the applicant will be employed, to initiate an application for an addition to the payroll, which is forwarded to the general office for the approval of Vice President Hollen. Hollen, who determines the total complement of division employees, gives considerable weight to the recommendations of the division managers, and the record discloses no instance where division managers have been overruled on recommendations for hire, so long as the addition does not exceed the total complement of employees allowed to the division. Casual employees, as distinguished from new hires employed in a probationary status, are usually hired at the division level. Except for casuals, all new employees are employed on a probationary status, and they retain this status until their supervisor is satisfied that they are qualified for permanent status. The Employer's general office has established a maximum time for probationary status, but the division may at its discretion require a lesser period. Initiation of a change of an employee's status from probationary to permanent is accomplished at the division level, and forwarded to Vice President Hollen for approval. Hollen usually adopts the recommendation from the division with respect to a change from probationary to permanent status. On an annual basis each supervisor at the division level fills out, or transfers to his immediate superior by word of mouth, an annual progress report for each employee under his immediate supervision. These progress reports are evaluated by other supervisory and management personnel at both division and the central office levels, and based upon the annual progress reports the division manager may recommend merit increases within the boundaries of the overall wage schedules maintained by the Employer. Although merit increases are subject to the approval of Vice President Hollen, during the past 2 years only 19 percent of the recommendations made by division managers have been revised after general office review. Similarly, promotions within the division are discussed between the division managers and Vice President Hollen, and the latter attaches great weight to the recommendations of the division managers. The day-to-day activities of the employees in each division are directed and supervised by division supervisors, who are responsible to the division manager . Warnings and reprimands are meted out at the division level, and require no approval from the general office. Most grievances and personnel problems are resolved within the division, and few grievances are processed at the general office. Final authority for the discharge or release of any employee rests with the Company president, who passes on the recommendations of his several subordinates, including those at the division level, who have investigated the matter. On several occasions the company president has rejected recommendations for the discharge of employees. As to the interchange of employees between divisions, the record reveals that a minimal amount MONONGAHELA POWER COMPANY 917 does occur as a result of emergencies resulting from storms or other catastrophies, and occasionally in other instances where divisions lack the necessary manpower to meet deadlines for capital improvements. When these temporary transfers are necessary supervisors may or may not accompany the employees, but in any event the transferees are subject to the general supervision of the division to which they are temporarily assigned. In support of its contention that a unit limited to the employees in the panhandle division is inappropriate, the Employer relies on the Board's general rule that because of the inherent integration and interdependence of operations in the public utility industry, a systemwide unit is the optimum unit for purposes of collective bargaining.' The Employer urges that the general rule should govern here because the record shows: (1) high degree of centralization and uniform control of its whole operation, (2) centralized system of personnel and employee relations policies, (3) centralized and uniform programs for communications, employee training and supervisory functions, (4) centralized control and uniform application of work performance standards by the employees in all divisions, (5) significant interchange, and (6) the authority of the division manager and other managerial and supervisory personnel at the division level is severly limited to the application of policies and procedures preestablished by its central office. We do not agree. While the Employer's operations are, like those all public utilities, integrated and interdependent, and that some of the factors relied on by the Employer would, in part, suggest that a systemwide unit is an appropriate unit in this case, the Board has also recognized, notwithstanding the optimum appropriateness of a systemwide unit, that units of lesser scope are also appropriate in certain situations in the public utility industry.' Upon consideration of all of the above factors, we find merit in the Petitioner's contention that a unit limited in scope to the employees in the Panhandle Division is a unit appropriate here for the purposes of collective bargaining. It is clear that the Employer's operations are subdivided along geographical as well as administrative lines, and the employees in the Panhandle Division work within a well defined geographic area located at a considerable distance from the Employer's central office and other administrative divisions. The Employer's operations are subdivided into seven geographic divisions for purposes of better administration of day-to-day activities and operating practices, and the record is clear that the division manager, together with his subordinates, has considerable authority over daily 'Montana Dakota Utilities Co., 115 NLRB 1396. 'See Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Company, 173 NLRB No. 226, and cases cited therein. activities of the employees. The employees in the panhandle division are subject to the immediate direction and control of supervisors and managerial officials at the division level, and they are subject to reprimand and discipline from these officials without recourse to higher management. Management and supervisory personnel at the division level have considerable authority with respect to the hiring of employees, promotion from probationary to permanent status, annual progress reports, merit wage increases, and promotions. Grievances and personnel disputes are customarily handled by the division, and part of the employees' training is accomplished at this level. There is a minimum amount of interchange between the employees assigned to the Panhandle Division and those assigned to other divisions, and what interchange occurs is limited largely to emergency situations. Upon the entire record, including the geographical, operational, and personnel integration of the panhandle division, as a separate administrative entity and in the absence of a history of collective bargaining and the absence of a request by any labor organization to represent the employees in a more comprehensive unit, we find in agreement with the Petitioner, a unit restricted to the employees in the panhandle division as described below, to be appropriate, for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act. Unit Placement and Eligibility As set forth above, the Employer, unlike the Petitioner, contends that its lead linemen, lead electricians, lead dispatching operators, and crew leaders are supervisors within the meaning of the Act, and should be excluded from the unit found appropriate. Lead Linemen There are five lead linemen assigned to the panhandle division, each of whom is in charge of a crew of two or three employees. The lead linemen are salaried and are paid approximately $45 more per month than the highest rated lineman, but they are, unlike the foremen, additionally compensated for overtime work. The lead linemen spend 75 to 80 percent of their work time performing the same work as members of their crew, and they have no authority to hire, discharge, suspend, layoff, reprimand, or promote, or to make effective recommendations concerning these or any other personnel actions. The lead linemen are not furnished with a copy of the Employer's supervisors manual, and although they do report infractions of working rules to higher authority, their reports are subject to independent investigation before discipline is meted out. 918 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD With respect to the direction of the work of their crews, the lead linemen have no authority to order employees out on a job, nor on their own authority dot they choose or remove employees from their crews. The lead linemen are given their assignments by the foreman in the form of sketches prepared by the engineering department, and they are required to adhere to predetermined Company policy in the performance of each job. Although the lead linemen and their crews often work without the presence of a foreman, they are in radio contact with supervision at all times, and when emergencies occur a foreman is sent to the scene to evaluate the work. Leadmen do attend information and planning meetings, which are also attended by supervisors. Lead Electrician One lead electrician is assigned to the panhandle division, and he is responsible for directing the activities of a crew varying in size from two to eight employees who are engaged in maintenance and construction work at substations. Like the lead linemen , the lead electrician is compensated at a rate of about $45 more than the senior grade electricians, but like the employees on his crew he is additionally compensated for overtime. He has no authority to hire, discharge, or to initiate or recommend any action affecting the status of other employees and is required to strictly adhere to company policies and procedures in performing any assignment . Although the lead electrician assigns tasks to the members of his crew, such assignment is in accordance with sketches and blueprints assigned by recognized supervisors. Lead Dispatching Operator One lead dispatcher in the panhandle division who is assigned to the dispatching operation on the day shift at the Weirton, West Virginia, substation together with two other dispatchers. A single dispatcher is assigned to each of the other two shifts, but work without benefit of a leadman. The lead dispatcher instructs the other dispatchers, but is required to adhere to written instructions concerning any particular job. The lead dispatcher has no authority to hire or discharge, but the record does reveal that he has some responsibilities with respect to determining the eligibility of other dispatchers, granting time off, and scheduling overtime and employee vacations. However, in these latter respects the record does not reveal clearly whether the lead dispatcher's actions on these matters are authoritative, or whether he carries out such responsibilities within the framework of predetermined policy, which is subject to the control and approval of higher authority. The lead dispatcher is furnished with a copy of the supervisors manual, but enjoys compensation commensurate with that accorded employees in the lead classifications discussed above. Crew Leaders Three crew leaders are assigned to the panhandle division, and each is in charge of a crew varying in size from 2 to 10 employees, most of whom have status only as casual workers. While the top rated crew leaders are compensated at a rate of $200 more per month than the highest paid members of their crew, this is explained by the casual status of the other employees, and the compensation paid to crew leaders is proximate to that paid other leadmen discussed above. The crew leaders perform the same work as the other employees on the crew, and they also operate trucks, bulldozers, and other equipment. The crew leaders are not furnished with the Employer's supervisors manual, and it is clear they have no authority to hire, discharge, suspend, transfer, layoff, recall, promote, reward, discipline, or effectively recommend these actions. On the basis of the foregoing, and the entire record, we find that the lead linemen, the lead electrician, and the crew leaders do not possess or exercise supervisory authority as defined in the Act, but that they are merely highly skilled employees whose status as leadmen results from superior abilities and length of service.3 We shall, accordingly, include them in the unit. As to the lead dispatching operator, we find the record herein to be insufficient to determine the extent of his alleged supervisory status, and we shall direct that he vote subject to challenge. We find that the following employees of the Employer constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act: All employees employed by the Employer in its panhandle division, including lead linemen, the lead electrician and crew leaders; but excluding estimators, power plant employees, local representatives, casual employees, office clerical employees, and guards, professional employees and supervisors as defined in the Act. [Direction of Election4 omitted from publication.) 'Iroquois Telephone Corporation, 169 NLRB No. 53, fn 6 1n order to assure that all eligible voters may have the opportunity to be informed of the issues in the exercise of their statutory right to vote, all parties to the election should have access to a list of voters and their addresses which may be used to communicate with them . Excelsior Underwear Inc. 156 NLRB 1236, N L R B v Wyman-Gordon Company, 394 U S. 759. Accordingly, it is hereby directed that an election eligibility list, containing the names and addresses of all the eligible voters, must be filed by the Employer with the Regional Director for Region 6 within 7 days of the date of this Decision and Direction of Election The Regional Director shall make the list available to all parties to the election No extension of tune to file this list shall be granted by the Regional Director except in extraordinary circumstances Failure to comply with this requirement shall be grounds for setting aside the election whenever proper objections are filed