Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co.

I In the Matter Of WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COM- PANY and UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO & MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL No. 410, AFFILIATED WITH THE CONGRESS OF INDUS- TRIAL ORGANIZATIONS Case No. R-1767. Decided June 18, 1940 . Electrical Appliances Manufacturing Industry-Investigation of Represent- atives: controversy concerning representation of employees : refusal by em- ployer to recognize union as exclusive representative of employees. until proven that it had been designated by majority of employees -Unit Appropriate, for Collective Bargaining: all production and maintenance employees at Bloom- field plant, excluding executives, foremen, supervisory employees , and salaried engineering, technical, and clerical employees ; agreement as to-Election Ordered Mr. D. R. Dimick, for the Board. Mr. C. A. Reinwald and Mr. R., L. Gilpatric, of New York City. for the Company. Mr. Samuel L. Rothbard, of Newark, N. J., for the Union. Mr. Ralph Ricciardi, of Newark, N. J., for the Independent. Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION; STATEMENT OF THE CASE On December 26, 1939, United Electrical, Radio & Machine Work- ers of America, Local No. 410, herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Second Region (New.York City)--a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees at the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant of -Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of repre- sentatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On January 6, 1940, the Union filed an amended petition with the Regional Director. On March 4, 1940, 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 Regula 24 N. L. R. B., No. 85. 807 808 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Lions-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. On March 12, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the Union. Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on March 21, 1940, at New York City, before Joseph L. Maguire, the Trial Ex- aminer duly designated by the Board. At the commencement of the hearing the Employees' Independent Union of the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, Lamp Division, Bloomfield, New Jersey, filed a motion to intervene in the proceedings. The motion was denied on the' ground that the Board had held the Independent to be dominated by the Company.' At the same time the Company .filed a motion to adjourn the hearing in these proceedings until a later date. The motion was denied. The Board, the Company, and the Union, were represented by counsel, and participated in the hear- ing. Full opportunity to be heard, to, examine and- cross-examine witnesses, arid' to introduce evidence bearing on` the issues was af- forded all parties. During the course of the hearing the Company filed requests for certain subpenas duces tecum. The requests were denied. During the course of the hearing the Union filed a motion to amend its amended petition... The motion was granted. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on other motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed all the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were comm'ittted. The rulings are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : F INDINGS OF FACT I..THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Company, a Pennsylvania coi.poration, maintains a place of business on Clearfield Avenue, Bloomfield, New Jersey:, The--Bloom- field plant is - operated by the Company's Westinghouse Lamp Di- vision, which also operates two other plants in New Jersey; one in Belleville, and the other in 'Trenton. This proceeding is concerned solely with the plant at Bloomfield. The Bloomfield plant normally employs about 2,500 employees and manufactures, sells, and distributes lamps, power tubes, X-ray tubes, and related articles. During 1939 the materials purchased by the . 1Matter of Westinghouse Electric & Mltanafacturing Company and United Electrical, Radio &'Machine Workers of America, Local #410, 1S N. L. R. B ., 300; enf'd as mod, in Westinp- hoiise Electric & Manufacturing Company v. National Labor Relations Board, 112 F. (2d) 657 (C. C. A. 2d). WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANY 809 Company for its Bloomfield plant amounted to over $4,000,000, of which approximately 50 per cent was shipped to the Bloomfield plant from points outside of the State of New Jersey. During the same period, the products sold by the Company from its Bloomfield plant amounted to over $8,000,000, of which approximately 90 per cent. were transported to points outside.of the State.2 H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, Local No. 410, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of.Indus- trial Organizations. It. admits to membership all production and maintenance employees at the Company's Bloomfield plant, exclusive of executives, foremen, supervisory employees, and salaried engineer- ing, technical, and clerical employees. III. THE, QUESTION CONCERNING. REPRESENTA.TION On December 28, 1939, the Union sent a letter to the Company requesting that the Company recognize it as the sole bargaining agency for the employees at the Bloomfield plant. On January 3, 1940, the Company 'replied that it would continue to bargain col- lectively with the Union on behalf of its members but would not recognize it as the exclusive collective bargaining representative until after certification by this- Board. We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company. JV. 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 commerce and the free flow of commerce.' V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union urges that all production and maintenance employees at the Bloomfield, New Jersey,' plant of the Company, exclusive of executives, foremen, supervisory employees, and salaried engineering, technical, and clerical employees constitute a unit appropriate-for 2The Company stipulated at the hearing that it was engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act at its Bloomfield plant, and that it would not contest the jurisdiction of the Board on that ground. - 810 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the purposes of collective bargaining. The Company stated that it had no objection to this unit. We see no reason for, departing from such unit. We find that all production and : maintenance, employees at. the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant of the Company, excluding executives, foremen, supervisory employees, and salaried engineering, technical, and clerical employees constitute a unit appropriate. for the purpose of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company 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 Union urges that the pay roll of the Company immediately pre- ceding the date of the filing of. the petition herein be used to determine eligibility to, participate in the election. The Company stated that any pay-roll period was acceptable to it. In view of the time that has elapsed since the filing of -the petition herein, we will direct that the employees eligible to vote shall be those employees who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction herein, including employees who did not work dur- ing such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation and employees, who were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding those who have since quit or been discharged for cause. 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 at the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant.of West- inghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, 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 at the,Company's Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant, excluding executives, foremen, super- visory employees, and salaried engineering, technical, and clerical employees, constitute a -unit appropriate for the purposes of collec- tive 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 and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANY 811 Relations • Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, Bloomfield, New Jersey, 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 Second 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 all production. and maintenance employees of the Company at its Bloomfield, New Jer- sey, plant, who were employed during the pay-roll period imine- diately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation and employees who : were, then or -have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding executives, foremen, supervisory employees, salaried engineering, technical, and clerical employees, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, Local No. 410, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial' Organizations, for the pur- poses of collective bargaining. MR. LEIsERSON, concurring : I agree that an election should. be held at the present time, but since .it is, not, known whether the Company has complied with the' Board's Order: in Case No. C-770, as modified by the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit,' the Board should not entertain any objections to the election, if the results thereof are unfavorable to the Union, based on grounds of non-compliance by the Company with -the Board's Order. 'See footnote 1, supra. /