Central Ohio Steel Products Co.

In the Matter of CENTRAL OHIO STEEL PRODUCTS COMPANY, THE NATIONAL GRAVE VAULT COMPANY, THE GALION ALL STEEL BODY COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, LODGE No. 1151 (A. F. OF L.) Case No. B-1146.-Decided March 10, 1939 Steel Products Manufacturing Industry-Investigation of Representatives: controversy concerning representation of employees : employer's refusal to grant recognition of union; majority status disputed by employer-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance employees excluding salesmen, draftsmen, supervisory, and clerical employees ; no controversy as to- Representatives : proof of choice : renunciation of union designation ; 15 em- ployees' purported revocation of prior designation of union inconclusive under the circumstances but casts doubt on such employees' desires; not counting such employees, union card proof slightly less than majority-Election Ordered Mr. Max W. Johnstone, for the Board. Mr. C. H. Henkel, of Mansfield, Ohio, for the Company. Mr. A. G. Skundor, of Newcastle, Pa., and Mr. Paul Hutchings, of Washington, D. C., for the Union. Mr. William P. Wysong, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On August 17 and October 15, 1938, respectively, International Association of Machinists, Lodge No. 1151 (A. F. of L.), herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Eighth Region (Cleveland, Ohio) a petition and amended petition respec- tively, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen con- cerning the representation of employees of Central Ohio Steel Products Company,' 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 1 The petition incorrectly listed The National Grave Vault Company and The Galion All Steel Body Company as parties although the latter are not corporate entities but merely trade names under which the Company operates. This defect was corrected by motion at the hearing. 11 N. L. R. B., No. 91. 1064 CENTRAL OHIO STEEL PRODUCTS COMPANY ET AL. 1065 called the Act. On November 18, 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 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 November 29, 1938, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, a copy of which was duly served upon the Company and upon the Union. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on Decem- ber 8, 1938, at Galion, Ohio, before Earl S. Bellman, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board and the Com- pany were represented by counsel, the Union by its representative. All parties participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded to all parties. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no preju- dicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. On December 16, 1938, the Union requested oral argument before the Board. Pursuant to notice duly served upon the Company and the Union, a hearing for the purposes of oral argument was held before the Board in Washington, D. C., on February 7, 1939. The Union and the Company appeared and participated in the oral argument. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Central Ohio Steel Products Company is an Ohio corporation with its principal office and place of business at Galion, Ohio. It mar- kets its products, consisting of grave vaults, all steel truck bodies, and filters under the trade names of The National Grave Vault Company and The Galion All Steel Body Company. During the first'6 months of 1938 the Company spent $124,438.92 for raw materials. Twenty- five to forty per cent of these raw materials were received from points outside the State of Ohio. During the same period the value of the finished products was $486,154 of which 50 to 75 per cent were shipped outside the State of Ohio. At the hearing the Company stipulated that it was engaged in commerce within the meaning of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 1066 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED International Association of Machinists, Lodge No. 1151, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor admit- ting to membership employees of the Company, excluding super- visory and clerical employees. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On September 13, 1938, a representative of the Union met with the Company, claimed to represent a majority of the Company's employees, and presented a copy of a proposed agreement. A second meeting was held on September 19, 1938, at which the proposed agreement was discussed, but the president of the Company ques- tioned the Union's claim to represent a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit. At the hearing the Company contended that the Union did not represent a majority of the employees within an appropriate unit. We find that a question has arisen concerning 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 At the hearing the Union claimed that the appropriate unit should consist of all production and maintenance employees excluding sales- men, draftsmen, supervisory, and clerical employees. The Company raised no objection to the unit proposed by the Union. We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Company, excluding salesmen, draftsmen, supervisory, and clerical employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining and that said unit will insure to the 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. CENTRAL OHIO STEEL PRODUCTS COMPANY ET AL . 1067 VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Company introduced in evidence its pay roll for the period from August 16 to August 31, 1938, both inclusive, which was treated by the parties at the hearing as the basis for determining eligibility to participate in a choice of representatives. This pay roll contained the names of 132 production and maintenance employees. There was a dispute concerning the eligibility of nine persons whose names appeared on this pay roll to participate in the choice of representa- tives. We shall consider the facts relating to those nine individuals. Four of them, namely, Ezra Stroup, Ralph Hitsman, Paul Jewell, and W. L. Poland did not receive any pay during the aforesaid pay-roll period, and at the time of the hearing they were no longer carried as employees of the Company. Since their employment re- lationship with the Company has been severed, these individuals are not eligible. Another person, Clifford Young, was on the pay roll mentioned, received pay for 2 days' work during that pay-roll period, but is no longer an employee of the Company. He will not be eligi- ble for the same reasons. Three other individuals, Frank Auker, B. H. Clark, and Russell C. Sipes received no pay during the afore- said pay-roll period and were not working at the time of the hearing. -However, they are still carried on the Company's pay roll and are subject to recall. Since the Company considers them employees, carries them on its pay roll as such, and will recall them to work when the need arises, they are entitled to participate in the selection of a bargaining representative.2 R. Stall works by himself two-thirds of the time, but for the remaining portion acts as supervisor in the maintenance department. Although only part of his time is spent in a supervisory capacity, his supervisory duties necessitate his exclusion from the appropriate unit as defined in this proceeding. When the names of the six persons whom we have found ineligible are removed from the Company's pay roll for the period August 16 to August 31, 1938, there remain 126 employees. Of this number, one, Cleo Armstrong, has since died, leaving 125 eligible employees within the unit. The Union produced 78 signed application cards designating it as the signers' bargaining agent. The signatures on the union appli- cation cards were compared by the Company with the signatures of the same individuals on canceled company pay checks. It was stip- ulated that the signatures on the union cards were genuine. The persons who signed cards were employees of the Company in the appropriate unit on the pay roll of August 16 to August 31. 2 Matter of The American Brass Company and The Waterbury Brass Workers' Union, 6 N. L. it. B. 723. Matter of Dsamond Iron Workers and United Electrical Radio Machine Workers of America, Local 1140, 6 N. L. it. B. 94. 1068 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD At the hearing a paper captioned as indicated below and signed by 46 employees was introduced into evidence by the Company : We, the undersigned, employees of the Central Ohio Steel Prod- ucts Co., do not wish to be represented by any outside organiza- tion at this time. Signatures of employees appearing below who have previously signed A. F. of L. application cards hereby repudiate the above mentioned signatures. Fifteen of the 46 employees who signed this paper had previously signed union authorization cards. While the circumstances sur- rounding the origin and signing of the paper render it inconclusive as evidence of a renunciation of union membership, nevertheless, it casts doubt upon the wishes of the 15 employees who had previously signed union application cards. In view of this doubt, we will not include these 15 employees in the computation of union membership. Without these 15 and Cleo Armstrong, deceased, the Union has es- tablished designation by 62 of the 125 eligibles within the appropriate unit, or slightly less than a majority. Under these circumstances, we shall direct an election among the eligible employees within the appropriate unit on the August 16 to August 31, 1938, pay roll to determine their choice of a bargaining representative. On 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 employees of Central Ohio Steel Products Company, Galion, 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 excluding salesmen, draftsmen, supervisory, and clerical employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain- ing, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela- tions Act and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, it is hereby CENTRAL OHIO STEEL PRODUCTS COMPANY ET AL. 1069 DIRE IrED that, as part of the investigation ordered by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Central Ohio Steel Products Company, Galion, Ohio, an elec- tion by secret ballot shall be conducted within thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Eighth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among the production and maintenance employees whose names appear on the Company's pay roll for the period August 16 to August 31, 1938, inclusive, excluding salesmen, draftsmen, supervisory, and clerical employees, and specifically excluding Ezra Stroup, Ralph Hitsman, Paul Jewell, W. L. Poland, Clifford Young, R. Stall, and Cleo Armstrong, and those who have since quit or have been discharged for cause, but specifically including Frank Auker, B. H. Clark, and Russel C. Sipes, to determine whether or not they desire to be rep- resented by International Association of Machinists, Lodge No. 1151 (A. F. of L.), for the purposes of collective bargaining.