Raytee Co.

646 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Raytee Company and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case 21-RC-14354 March 14, 1977 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND DIRECTION TO OPEN AND COUNT CHALLENGED BALLOTS BY CHAIRMAN MURPHY AND MEMBERS FANNING AND PENELLo Pursuant to authority granted it by the National Labor Relations Board under Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a three- member panel has considered determinative chal- lenges in an election held on December 19, 1975,1 and the Hearing Officer's report recommending disposition of same. The Board has reviewed the record in light of the exceptions and brief2 and hereby adopts the Hearing Officer's findings only to the extent they are consistent with our decision herein. The Hearing Officer found that Robert Statham and Richard Dona are managerial employees and that Cohrt is an office clerical employee. He therefore recommended that the challenges to their ballots be sustained. The Employer contends that all three employees are plant clericals and are therefore eligible to vote in the election.3 We fmd merit to this contention. Robert Statham Robert Statham holds the title of production control clerk and is responsible for scheduling jobs through the various production stages of the Employ- er's operation . His duties include writing purchase orders and preparing production control cards for some jobs. Once the planning department assigns a i The election was conducted pursuant to a Stipulation for Certification Upon Consent Election The tally was 43 for, and 39 against, the Petitioner; there were I void and 4 challenged ballots. Thereafter, on December 29, 1975, the Employer filed timely objections to conduct affecting the results of the election. The Regional Director conducted an investigation of the objections and on February 9, 1976, issued his Report on Challenged Ballots and Objections. In his report, the Regional Director recommended to the Board that the objections and the challenge to the ballot cast by Claudio Funez be overruled, that the challenges to the ballots cast by Clara Cohrt, Robert Statham, and Richard Dona be sustained , and that a Certification of Representative issue. Thereafter, on March 1 , 1976, the Employer filed timely exceptions to the Regional Director's Report on Challenged Ballots and Objections with a supporting brief In a Decision and Direction dated May 25, 1976 (not reported in punted volumes of NLRB decisions), the Board overruled the Employer's objections and the challenge to the ballot cast by Funez, but ordered that a hearing be held for the purpose of receiving evidence to determine the eligibility of Cohrt, Statham, and Dona if, after opening and counting Funez' ballot, their challenged ballots would affect the results of the election. Funez' ballot, when counted, did not determine the outcome of the election Pursuant to a notice of hearing on challenged ballots issued on June 16, 228 NLRB No. 77 job to a particular department, Statham schedules it based on customer demand and his understanding of the time it will take to complete production. Statham has authority to rearrange work in the shop to meet delivery requirements of customers. However, he does not have the authority to schedule overtime for production employees if a job is delayed, nor does he have authority to guarantee a completion date to a customer. Statham receives the same fringe benefits as production and maintenance employees, is hourly paid, and punches a timeclock. His rate of pay is within the range of other production employees included in the unit. Statham shares a small office located off the production floor with employees Dona and Cohrt. However, nearly 50 percent of his time is spent on the production floor, keeping track of the progress of various jobs. Like Dona and Cohrt, Statham is supervised by the materials manager, who also supervises shipping employees, the dockmen, and the tool crib attendant. Like Statham, Dona and Cohrt fill in for the shipping clerk when the latter is absent or away from his station. Similarly, Statham, Dona, and Cohrt substitute for each other. Although on occasion management officials will ask Statham rather than his supervisor about production-related matters, the record establishes that information is sought from Statham because of his special skills and experience and not because he is responsible for exercising any independent authority on the Employ- er's behalf. Although the Hearing Officer found it unnecessary to reach the issue of Statham's supervisory status, the evidence establishes that Statham is not a supervisor within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Act. Statham has no authority to hire, fire, discipline, or evaluate other employees, nor does he have any authority to recommend such actions. Although he may have made occasional reports of employee 1976, by the Regional Director and an order rescheduling hearing issued on June 18, 1976, by the Acting Regional Director, a hearing was held on July 14, 15, and 19, 1976, before Hearing Officer Joseph M. Connors. On November 10, 1976, the Hearing Officer issued and duly served on the parties his Report and Recommendations on the challenges in which he recommended the challenges to the ballots of Robert Statham, Richard Dona, and Clara Cohrt be sustained. Thereafter, the Employer filed exceptions to the Hearing Officer's report and a supporting brief. In addition to exceptions to the Hearing Officer's recommendations, the Employer excepts to the refusal to find merit to its objections to the election. The objections have previously been dismissed and the Employer has not alleged any special circumstances which would require the Board to reexamine its prior decision. 2 The Employer's request for oral argument is hereby denied inasmuch as the record, exceptions, and briefs adequately present the issues and positions of the parties. 3 The stipulated unit consists of "all production and maintenance employees, including all shipping and receiving employees, warehousemen, stock clerks and truckdnvers; excluding all officer clerical employees, guards, watchmen, professional employees, all supervisors as defined in the Act, as amended." RAYTEE CO. 647 misconduct, such reports have been independently investigated by recognized supervisors. Similarly, although Statham is responsible for scheduling work throughout the plant, he does so within a prescribed formula in which priorities are dictated by custom- ers' needs and not by any independent determination on his part. Furthermore, to the extent that Statham directs other employees, such directions are routine in nature. On the basis of the foregoing, we find that Statham is neither a managerial employee nor a supervisor but is a plant clerical employee who has common interests with the production and maintenance employees. Container Research Corporation, 188 NLRB 586 (1971). We therefore overrule the chal- lenge to his ballot. Richard Dona Richard Dona's job title is "expediter." He is responsible for coordinating work being performed for the Employer by outside manufacturers. Dona has no authority to decide which jobs will be sent out or which company will utilized. He prepares the expediting orders which are signed by his supervisor. On occasion, Dona' physically transports materials from the production floor to the shipping and receiving department and his working hours are arranged so that he can transport to shipping all materials completed by production employees but left on the floor at the end of their regular work shift. Dona has frequent contact with production em- ployees because of his responsibility in coordinating the work performed by outside companies with the jobs completed at the Employer's facility. Dona is also assigned the task of keeping a running inventory on parts for spindle assembly, one of the production departments. In the event additional purchases for the department are necessary, Dona must receive authority from his supervisor before placing an order. Dona punches a timeclock, is hourly paid, and has similar benefits to production and maintenance employees. Like Statham, his hourly rate is well within the range of other production and mainte- nance employees. It is clear that Dona's responsibilities are directly concerned with unit work, and all authority he exercises on behalf of the Employer is a result of prior approval from his own supervisor or conforms to the Employer's existing policies. We therefore conclude that Dona is not a managerial employee but a plant clerical employee,4 and hereby overrule the challenge to his ballot. Container Research Corporation, supra. Clara Cohrt Clara Cohrt, whose title is buyer, handles all requisitions for the purchases of tools and supplies needed by the Employer. Cohrt receives requisitions from employees and, after locating a vendor, types a purchase order and has it signed by her supervisor before it is mailed. Cohrt also prepares the docu- ments relating to all export and import items, and participates in the monthly inventory of parts in the shop. Although Cohrt types an occasional letter for her supervisor, her major responsibilities are concerned with preparing forms for purchasing. As noted above, she shares an office with Statham and Dona which is located next to the production area and across the street from the building in which the office clerical employees work. Cohrt has little contact with employees who do not work in the production area. She is hourly paid and her work hours are identical to those of the production and maintenance employ- ees and different from those of office clerical employees. Cohrt enjoys the same benefits as production and maintenance employees as well as a salary within the range of production and maintenance employees. On the basis of the above and the entire record as a whole, we find that Cohrt is a plant clerical employee whose duties are directly related to unit work and we therefore overrule the challenge to her ballot. Risdon Manufacturing Company, Inc., 195 NLRB 579, 581 (1972). DIRECTION It is hereby directed that the Regional Director for Region 21 shall, pursuant to the Board's Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as amended, within 10 days from the date of this Supplemental Decision and Direction To Open and Count Challenged Ballots, open and count the ballots of Robert Statham, Richard Dona, and Clara Cohrt, and thereafter prepare and cause to be served on the parties a revised tally of ballots and take such further action as is appropriate. 4 Although at the hearing Petitioner contended that Dona was a supervisor if not a managerial employee, there is no evidence to support that contention