The Alloy Cast Steel Co.

In the Matter of THE ALLOY CAST STEEL COMPANY and STEEL WORK- ERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF BEHALF OF LODGE 1947, AMALGAM- ATED ASSOCIATION OF IRON, STEEL & TIN WORKERS OF NORTH AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH C. I. O. Case No. R-1116.Decided February 8, 1939 Alloy Steel Casting Industry-Investigation of Representatives: controversy concerning representation of employees : employer refused to recognize union as sole bargaining representative because of doubt regarding appropriate unit and union's representation of a majority of employees in such unit-Unit Ap- propriate for Collective Bargaining: all production and maintenance employees who are paid on an hourly or piece-work basis, with exception of inspectors, timekeepers, foremen, assistant foremen, and clerical workers ; stipulation as to-Representatives: proof of choice : membership in union ; stipulation based on check of membership cards against pay roll-Certification of Representa- tives: upon proof of majority representation. Mr. Max W. Johnstone, for the Board. Mr. Ben T. Wiant, of Marion, Ohio, for the Company. Mr. Benjamin C. Sigal, of Pittsburgh, Pa., for the Union. Miss Edna Loeb, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES STATEMENT OF THE CASE On May 25, 1938, Steel Workers Organizing Committee on behalf of Lodge 1947, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Work- ers of North America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Eighth Region (Cleveland, Ohio) a petition alleging that a question affecting com- merce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of The Alloy Cast Steel Company, Marion, Ohio, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On October 20, 1938, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of National 11 N. L. R. B., No. 15. 61 62 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. On October 29, 1938, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the Union. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on November 7, 1938, at Marion, Ohio, before Charles W. Whittemore, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board, the Company, and the Union were represented by counsel and participated in the hearing. At the beginning of the hearing, counsel for the Company entered a special appearance for the purpose of contesting the jurisdiction of the Board and objected to the introduction of any evidence, on the ground that the Company was not engaged in interstate com- merce. The motion was denied by the Trial Examiner. Thereafter the Company participated in the hearing, without waiving its objec- tion to the jurisdiction of the Board. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. At the close of the hearing, counsel for the Company moved to strike from the record all the evidence not relating to the jurisdiction of the Board, and further moved to dismiss the petition, on the ground that the evi- dence showed that the Company was not engaged in interstate com- merce. The Trial Examiner denied the motion to strike and reserved decision upon the motion to dismiss. The motion to dismiss is hereby denied. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Company is an Ohio corporation with its executive offices and manufacturing plant in Marion, Ohio. It is engaged in the manu- facture, sale, and distribution of rough steel castings. The chief raw materials used by the Company in its manufacturing operations are iron ore, steel scrap, molding sand, fuel oil, sand binders, core oil, ferro-manganese, ferro-chrome, ferro-silicon, ferro-molybdenum, Terro-vanadium, and ferro-titanum. From January 1, 1937, to June 1, 1938, the Company's total purchases of raw materials amounted in value to $339,609.80, of which 12.86 per cent were shipped to the Company's plant from points outside Ohio. During the same period the Company's total sales of manufactured products amounted in THE ALLOY CAST STEEL COMPANY ET AL. 63 value to $726,967.79. Of these sales 4.2 per cent were made to cus- tomers outside Ohio and a total of 45.2 per cent to two customers in Marion, Ohio, namely, 19.08 per cent to The Osgood Company and 26.12 per cent to The General Excavator Company. The Company is closely associated with The Osgood Company and The General Excavator Company. The three companies have a num- ber of common officers and directors. Five stockholders, namely, M. C. McNeil, H. J. Barnhart, Robert C. Owens, Mary Belle Owens, and C. A. O. Inc., own 98.5 per cent of the stock of The Osgood Com- pany, 41 per cent of the stock of The General Excavator Company, and 40 per cent of the stock of the Company. M. C. McNeil is the president of the three companies and Ben T. Wiant, counsel for the Company, is their common treasurer. The Company's plant is located on the same property as that of The General Excavator Com- pany and the two buildings are physically joined by a common wall. The plants also have an interconnecting compressed air hook-up and in times of rush production The General Excavator Company fur- nishes the Company with free compressed air. In other proceedings before the Board, The Osgood Company and The General Excavator Company have admitted that they are en- gaged in interstate commerce, and the Board has so found in its decisions.,' The General Excavator Company ships approximately 95 per cent of its products outside Ohio and The Osgood Company, from 85 to 90 per cent of its products. The castings purchased from the Company are machined by The Osgood Company and The Gen- eral Excavator Company and built into their own products. It is evident, therefore, that in addition to the 4.2 per cent of the Com- pany's products which are shipped directly outside Ohio, at least 41.02 per cent of such products are, after processing, shipped to points outside Ohio. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Lodge 1947, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Work- ers of North America, is a labor organization affiliated with the Com- mittee for Industrial Organization, admitting to membership em- ployees of the Company. The petition was filed on its behalf by Steel Workers Organizing Committee. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Shortly after its formation in June 1937, the Union requested the Company to bargain with it as the exclusive representative of the Company's employees. The Company refused to recognize the Union 'Matter of The Osgood Company and International Association of Machinists, 4 N. L. R. B. 312; Matter of The General Excavator Company and International Association of Machinists, Local 1281 (A. F. of L.), 8 N. L. R. B. 1363. 64 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD as the sole bargaining agent for its employees because of doubt re- garding the appropriate unit and the Union's representation of a majority of the Company's employees in such a unit. We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON COMMERCE We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing com- merce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Company, the Union, and counsel for the Board stipulated that all production and maintenance employees of the Company who are paid on an hourly or piece-work basis, with the exception of inspectors, timekeepers, foremen, assistant foremen, and clerical workers, constitute an appropriate unit for collective bargaining.2 We see no reason to modify the unit agreed upon by the parties. We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Company who are paid an hourly or piece-work basis, with the exception of inspectors, timekeepers, foremen, assistant foremen, and clerical workers, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Company, the Union, and counsel for the Board stipulated that on October 31, 1938, the Company employed 84 persons within the appropriate unit, according to the pay-roll list of that date, which was introduced into evidence. At the hearing all the parties checked the membership cards of the Union against the pay-roll list, and stipulated that the signatures on the cards were authentic and that on October 31, 1938, the Union was authorized to represent 59 of the 84 employees within the unit. 2 During the hearing the Trial Examiner granted motions by the Union and counsel for the Board to amend the petition so that the unit alleged therein conformed to the stipu- lated unit. THE ALLOY CAST STEEL COMPANY ET AL. 65 We find that the Union has been designated and selected by a majority of the employees in the appropriate unit as their repre- sentative for the purposes of collective bargaining. It is, therefore, the exclusive representative of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining, and we will so certify. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire, record in the case, the Board makes the following : CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of the employees of The Alloy Cast Steel Company, Marion, Ohio, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All production and maintenance employees of the Company who are paid an hourly or piece-work basis, with the exception of in- spectors, timekeepers, foremen, assistant foremen, and clerical work- ers, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. 3. Lodge 1947, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers of North America, affiliated with C. I. 0., is the exclusive representative of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that Lodge 1947, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers of North America, affiliated with C. I. 0., has been designated and selected by a majority of all pro- duction and maintenance employees of The Alloy Cast Steel Com- pany, Marion, Ohio, who are paid on an hourly or piece-work basis, with the exception of inspectors, timekeepers, foremen, assistant fore- men, and clerical workers, as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining and that, pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 (a) of the Act, Lodge 1947, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers of North America, affiliated with C. I. 0., is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment.