Standard Steel Spring Co.

In the Matter of STANDARD STEEL SPRING COMPANY and LODGE No. 2143, STEEL WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Case No. R-1648.-Decided December 26, 1939 Leaf Springs, Floor Gratings, and Stair Treads Manufacturing Industry- Investigation of Representatives: controversy concerning representation of em- ployees : rival organizations ; employer refuses to grant sole recognition to peti- tioning union on ground of existence of collective bargaining contract with rival union; no contention that contract constitutes bar to existence of question concerning representation ; contract, having no expiration date, and entered into more than 16 months ago, no bar to determination of representatives-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining: stipulation, production and maintenance employees at Gary, Indiana, plant, excluding foremen, clerical and office em- ployees, watchmen, and supervisors with power to hire or discharge or with authority to recommend hiring or discharge-Election Ordered : stipulation, eligibility to vote limited to employees who worked during pay-roll period ending November 18, 1939, or who worked within 60 days prior to November 18, 1939, and have seniority status, including those who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation, or who have since been temporarily laid off, and excluding employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause. Mr. Stephen M. Reynolds, for the Board. Mr. John J. Brownlee, of Chicago, Ill., and Mr. Charles Whitlow, of Gary, Ind., for the S. W. 0. C. Lodge. Mr. A. J. Eberhardy, of Chicago, Ill., and Mr. Lowell H. Adams, of Gary, Ind., for the Blacksmiths Local. Mr. J. H. Krug, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On November 10, 1939, Lodge No. 2143, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers of North America, of Steel Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with the C. I. 0.,1 herein called the 1 In the amended petition the petitioner was designated "Lodge No. 2i43, Steel Workers Organizing Committee." At the hearing the petitioner moved to amend the amended peti- tion by changing its name appearing therein to "Lodge No. 2143, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers of North. America, of Steel Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with the C.'I. O." The motion was granted without objection. 18 N. L. R. B., No. 84. 713 714 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD S. W. O. C. Lodge, filed with the Regional Director for the Thir- teenth Region (Chicago, Illinois) an amended petition, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representa- tion of employees of Standard Steel Spring Company, Gary, Indi- ana, 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 November 17, 1939, 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 2, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice.2 On November 25, 1939, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, and on November 28, 1939, an order changing the place of the hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, upon the S. W. O. C. Lodge, and upon International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers & Helpers, Gary Local No. 185, affili- ated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the Black- smiths Local, a labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to the notice of hearing and the order changing the place of hearing, w hearing was held on December 1, 1939, at Gary, Indiana, before Herbert Wenzel, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board, the S. W. O. C. Lodge, and the Blacksmiths Local were represented and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to exam- ine. and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded 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 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 Standard Steel Spring Company owns and operates three plants located at Coraopolis, Pennsylvania; Allegan, Michigan; and Gary Indiana. The Gary plant, which is the only one involved in this 2 A copy of this Order was inadvertently omitted from the formal documents which were introduced in evidence at the hearing . It is hereby ordered that a copy of the Order be filed with the other formal documents admitted in evidence, and that it be made a part of the record. STANDARD STEEL SPRING COMPANY 715 proceeding, manufactures leaf springs, principally for use in the auto- motive industry, and open floor gratings and stair treads used in con- struction, industrial plants, utilities, and ships. The Company pur- chases annually raw materials for the Gary plant amounting to from $750,000 to $1,000,000, and obtains approximately 85 per cent of such materials, of which finished steel is the largest Item, from States other than Indiana. The Company's annual sales of finished products of the Gary plant amount to $1,500,000 to $1,750,000, approximately 80 per cent of which are shipped to points outside the State of Indiana. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Lodge No. 2143, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers of North America, of Steel Workers Organizing Committee, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Or- ganizations, and admits to membership employees at the Company's Gary, Indiana, plant. International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers & Help- ers, Gary Local No. 185, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and also admits to membership em- ployees at the Company's Gary, Indiana, plant. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On July 28, 1938, the Company entered into a collective bargaining agreement with the Blacksmiths Local, covering employees at the Gary plant. The agreement contained no expiration date. On August 21, 1939, a representative of the S. W. O. C. Lodge wrote to the Company stating that the S. W. O. C. Lodge represented a ma- jority of the production and maintenance employees, excluding super- visors, at the Gary plant, and requesting a conference and recognition by the Company of the S. W. O. C. Lodge as exclusive representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining. On August 22, 1939, the Company replied, stating that it was willing to meet with representatives of the S. W. O. C. Lodge, but that the Company had an agreement with the Blacksmiths Local, "with which organization we will have to deal until we are advised by the Na- tional Labor Relations Board that they are not the proper bargaining unit." 8 No contention was made aL the hearing by the Blacksmiths Local that its contract constituted a bar to the existence of a question con- cerning representation; 4 and, since it was entered into more than 3 Obviously , by the words "the proper bargaining unit," the Company meant the repre- sentative of its employees in a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. 4 While Louis P. Monk, manager of the Gary plant, testified at the hearing, the Company did not enter a formal appearance. 716 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 16 months ago, and made no provision for a termination date, mani- festly the contract is no bar to a determination of representatives.' It was stipulated by the S. W. 0. C. Lodge and the Blacksmiths Local that each, of them has members among the employees at the Gary plant. Each claims to represent a majority of the employees in the appropriate bargaining unit. We find that a question has arisen concerning representation of employees of the Company.. IV. THE EFFEOr 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 commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT At the hearing the S. W. 0. C. Lodge and the Blacksmiths Local stipulated that the production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Gary, Indiana, plant, excluding foremen, clerical and office employees, watchmen, and supervisors with power, to hire or discharge or with authority to recommend hiring or discharge, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar- gaining. We find that the production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Gary, Indiana, 'plant, excluding foremen, clerical and office employees, watchmen, and supervisors with power to hire or discharge or with authority to recommend hiring or discharge, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain- ing and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bar- gaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES As stated above, the S. W. 0. C. Lodge and the Blacksmiths Local stipulated at the hearing that each of them has members among the 5 Matter of International Harvester Company, Springfield Works and United Automobile Workers of America, Local 402, 11 N. L. R. B . 471; Matter of Minneapolis -Moline Power Implement Company and International Association of Machinists, Local ##1087, by District Lodge 77 (A. F. of L.), 14 N. L. R. B. 920; Matter of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. and Americana Communications Association (Formerly American Radio Telegraphists' Association), 8 N. L. R. B. 508; Matter of North American Aviation Inc. and United Auto- mobile Workers of America Local No. 228, C. I. 0., 13 N. L. R. B. 1134. STANDARD STEEL iSPR'INiG COMPANY 717 employees at the. Gary plant. Neither of these organizations, how- ever, offered any evidence concerning the extent of its membership. The S. W. O. C. Lodge requested that an election be held in order to resolve the question concerning representation, and the Blacksmiths Local stated that it had no objection thereto. We find that the question which has arisen concerning representa- tion of employees of the Company can best be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot. The S. W. O. C. Lodge and the Blacksmiths Local stipulated that, in the event that the Board should direct an election in accordance with the petition, eligibility to vote in the election should be limited to employees who worked during the bi-weekly pay-roll period end- ing November 18, 1939, or who worked within 60 days prior to November 18, 1939, and have seniority status. We construe the stipulation to include as eligible to vote those employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation, or who have since been temporarily laid off; and to exclude those em- ployees who have since quit or been discharged for cause. As thus construed, we see no reason to depart from the wishes of the parties with respect to the determination of employees who shall be eligible to vote, particularly since the Gary plant is operating at a high rate of production, and we shall direct accordingly. 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 employees of Standard Steel Spring Company, Gary, Indiana, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. The production and maintenance employees at the Company's Gary, Indiana, plant, excluding foremen, clerical and office employees, watchmen, and supervisors with power to hire or discharge or with authority to recommend hiring or discharge, constitute a unit appro- priate for the purposes of collective bargaining 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, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, it is hereby 718 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Standard Steel Spring Company, Gary, Indiana, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regu- lations, among the production and maintenance employees at the Gary, Indiana, plant of Standard Steel Spring Company, who worked during the pay-roll period ending November 18, 1939, or who worked at the plant within 60 days prior to November 18, 1939, and have seniority status, including employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation, or who have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding foremen, clerical and office employees, watchmen, and supervisors with power to hire or discharge or with authority to recommend hiring or discharge, and those employees who since November 18, 1939, have resigned or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by Lodge No. 2143, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers of North America, of Steel Workers Organ- izing Committee, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organiza- tions, or by International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers & Helpers, Gary Local No. 185, affiliated with the American Federa- tion of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.