Bull Dog Electric Products Co.

In the Matter of BULL DOG ELECTRIC PRODUCTS COMPANY and LOCAL B-1063 , INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, AFFILIATED WITH THE A. F. L. Case No. R-1758.-Decided April 17, 1940 Electrical Equipment Manufacturing Industry-Invest'gatton of Representa- tives: controversy concerning representation of employees : refusal by Company to enter into contract with petitioning union-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : draftsmen , engineers, and estimators in the research and devel- opment engineering department , production engineering department, and sales engineering department , excluding office, clerical , production, and maintenance employees, executives, and supervisory employees having authority to recom- mend hiring and discharging-Election Ordered Mr. Arthur C. O'Connor, for the Board. Butzel, Levin & Winston, by Mr. Isadore Levin and Mr. Jacob Ii: eidan, of Detroit, Mich., for the Company. Mr. F. M. Harris, of Detroit, Mich., and Mr. Lawson Wimberley, of Washington, D. C., for the I. B. E. W. Mr. Herbert B. Galton, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On November 14, 1939, Local B-1063, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, herein called the I. B. E. W., filed with the Regional Director for the Seventh Region (Detroit, Michigan) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen con- cerning the representation of employees of Bull Dog Electric Products Company, Hamtramck, Michigan, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pur- suant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On February 15, 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 Rela- tions Board Rules and Regulations-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. 22 N. L. R B, No. 86. 1043 1044 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On February 21, 1940, the I. B. E. W. filed an amended petition. On the same day, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the I. B. E. W. Pursuant to notice of postponement, a hearing was held on March 12 and 13, 1940, at Detroit, Michigan, before P. H. McNally, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board and the Company were represented by counsel, and the I. B. E. W. by a representative. All participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to intro- duce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties.' At the conclusion of the hearing, counsel for the Company moved to dismiss the petition. The Trial Examiner reserved ruling on this motion. The motion to dismiss the petition is hereby denied. 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 the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. On April 2, 1940,, pursuant to request therefor by the Company and notice to all parties, a hearing was held before the Board in Washington, D. C., for the purpose of oral argument. Both the Company and the I. B. E. W. were represented and participated in the oral argument. Pursuant to leave granted by the Board, at .oral argument, the respondent filed a brief with the Board. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Bull Dog Electric Products Company is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of West Virginia. Its principal office and place of business are located in Hamtramck, Michigan.' It is engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of electrical equipment. The principal raw materials used by the Company consist chiefly of steel, copper bars, wire, and plastics. During 1939 the value of the raw materials which the Company obtained from outside the State of Michigan was in excess of $300,000.00, constituting more than 50 per cent of the value of all the raw materials used by the Com- pany. During the same period the value of the finished products which the Company shipped to points outside the State of Michigan was in excess of $700,000.00, constituting more than 50 per cent of the 3 The plant is located partly in Hamtramck and partly in Detroit, Michigan BULL DOG ELECTRIC PRODUCTS COMPANY 1045 value of all the Company's shipments. The Company employs sales- men whose territories embrace practically all of the States of the United States. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Local B-1063, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to its membership employees of the respondent. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On or about November 13, 1939, the I. B. E. W., claiming to rep- resent a majority of employees in an appropriate unit, requested the Company to enter into a contract with it for these employees. The Company, although it did not deny that the I. B. E. W. represented a substantial number of these employees, refused to enter into a con- tract with the I. B. E. W. 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 commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The I. B. E. W. at the hearing claimed that the appropriate unit consists of draftsmen and engineers employed by the Company in the research and development engineering department, production engi- neering department, and sales engineering department, excluding office, clerical, production, and maintenance employees, executives, estimators, and supervisory employees who have the, right to hire and discharge. Although at the hearing the I. B. E. W. desired the exclu- sion of estimators,2 at oral argument it agreed with the Company's position that the duties of the estimators are closely allied to the duties of other employees in the proposed unit and should be included. The Company contends that the unit claimed by the I. B. E. W. is not an appropriate unit. s David Perlman , George Sevick, Russell Smith , and Heiman Stahl 253033-41-vol 22-67 1046 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD In support of its contention, the Company claims that it must have complete confidence in the employees of the engineering departments, as they are entrusted with confidential matters ; and as they act in the interest of the management and exercise considerable discretion and judgment in their work, they are not "employees" within the meaning of the Act. We see no merit in the Company's contention and no warrant under the Act to deprive these employees of the bene- fits accruing from their right to self-organization and collective bar- gaining through representatives of their own choosing.3 In 1937, 1938, and 1939, the Company entered into exclusive bar- gaining contracts With the I. B. E. W. The 1939 contract covered all employees of the Company except "Executives, salesmen, office em- ployees, Factory manager, superintendent, foremen and assistant fore- men, members of the engineering staff, time study men, members of the production control staff, members of the time, cost and employment staff, watchmen." Draftsmen, engineers, and estimators were not in- cluded in the terms of any of these contracts. Thus the employees now claimed to constitute a separate unit by the I. B. E. W. are all excluded from the general industrial unit already established by collective bargaining in the plant. The I. B. E. W. desires that supervisory employees who have the right to hire and discharge should be excluded. However, the Com- pany's supervisors in the engineering departments' have only the au- thority to recommend hiring and discharging.5 It is not clear from the record whether the I. B. E. W. desires to exclude these supervisors. As the interests of these supervisors are more closely connected with the management than with the employees and the I. B. E. W. does not affirmatively ask for their inclusion, we shall exclude from the unit supervisors having authority to recommend hiring and discharging. During the hearing the I. B. E. W. apparently desired to exclude William Ford from the unit. Ford is an underwriters laboratory's contact engineer and an outside material vendor's engineer. The president of the Company considers Ford an engineer. We find that Ford is an engineer, and we shall accordingly include him in the unit. 3 See Matter of Willys Overland Motois, Inc and Intei national Union, United Automo- bile Workers of America, Local No. 12, 9 N L R B 924 ; Matter of ,Allis-Chalmers Manu- facturing Company and International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, Local No 248, 4 N. L R B. 159; Matter of Chrysler Corporation and Society of Designing Engi- neers, 1 N L R B 164 4 Lawrence B Fisher, Joseph H Fribley , William Harper , William Robertson , and Frank Stach Raymond DeMorney is the chief tool engineer , has charge of the "engineering phase of all production methods, tools and machines in connection with the production" of the Company 's products , and supervises an employee who is a tool designer We find that DeMoiney is a supervisory employee William H Frank, president of the Conip :inl, testified as follows , "They [the super- visors ] have it limited authority to hire and fire . . . They may recommend but it must be approved by an executive officer." BULL DOG ELECTRIC PRODUCTS COMPANY 1047 We find that the draftsmen, engineers, and estimators employed by the Company in the research and development engineering de- partment, production engineering department, and sales engineering department, excluding office, clerical, production, and maintenance employees, executives, and supervisory employees having authority to recommend hiring and discharging, 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 I. B. E. W., on the basis of cards and receipts submitted to the Regional Director but not introduced into evidence, claims to rep- resent 12 of the 23 employees within the appropriate unit, but does not seek certification without an election. We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot. The I. B. E. W. contends that a pay-roll date closest to the date of the original petition should be used for eligibility purposes. While objecting to an election, the Company, in the event an elec- tion is held, desires "a date as close to the date of election as possible." In accordance with our usual practice we shall direct that all em- ployees within the appropriate unit who were employed by the Coin- pany during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, 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 those who have since quit or been discharged for cause, shall be eligible to participate in the election. 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 Bull Dog Electric Products Company. Hamtramck, Michigan, within the meaning of Section 9 _(c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 2. The draftsmen, engineers, and estimators employed by the Company in the research and development engineering department. production engineering department, and sales engineering depart- ment, excluding office, clerical, production, and maintenance em- ployees, executives, and supervisory employees having authority to 1048 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD recommend hiring and discharging, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining , within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the 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 Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor 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 bargain- ing with Bull Dog Electrice Products Company, Hamtramck, Mich- igan, 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 of Election, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Seventh 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 draftsmen, engineers, and estimators of Bull Dog Electric Products Company, Hamtramck, Michigan, employed in the research and de- velopment engineering department, production engineering depart- ment, and sales engineering department during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, includ- ing those 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 office, clerical, production, and maintenance employees, executives, and supervisory employees having authority to recommend hiring and discharging, and any employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be-represented by Local B-1063, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purpose of collec- tive bargaining.