General Motors Corp.

In the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, DELCO-REMY DIVISION and UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO & MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA', AFFILIATED WITH THE CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS. Case No. R-20165.-Decided December 5, 1940' Jurisdiction : electric storage battery manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : refusal to accord recognition to union and request that certification be obtained ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all hourly rated production and maintenance employees excluding the chief engineer, office, clerical, and supervisory employees. Mr. John T. Smith and Mr. Kevin McInerney, of, New York City, for the Company. ' Mr. Samuel L. Rothbard, of Newark, N. J., for the Union: - Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On September 18, 1940, United Electrical, Radio & Machine ,Work- ers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organiza- tions, 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 em- ployees of General Motors. Corporation, Delco-Remy Division, Bloom- field, New Jersey, 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 5, 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 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. On. November 14, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice- of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and 28 N. L. R. B.. No. 53 316 GENERAL :MOTORS .CORPORATION;" 317 the Union. Pursuant to notice, a'hearing was- held- on November 25, 1940, at New York City, before Shad Polier, the- Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Company 'and the Union were represented by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full oppor -tunity to 'be heard, to examine 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 notions. 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 The Company is a Delaware `corporation with its principal offices located in New York City and with other offices at Detroit, Michigan.- The Company has several unincorporated divisions. The division with which we are concerned, Delco-Remy Division, operates a plant at Bloomfield; New Jersey, where it is engaged in the manufacture of electric storage batteries. More than 50 per cent of the raw mate- rials used in the manufacturing operations at the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division are shipped to it from points outside the State of New Jersey, and approximately 85 per cent of its manufactured products are shipped by it to points outside the State of New Jersey. The Company concedes that the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division is engaged in- commerce, within the meaning of the Act. H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, is a labor organization, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organiza- tions. It admits to membership all hourly rated production and maintenance employees at the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant, of Delco-Remy Division of the Company, excluding. the chief engineer, office, clerical, and supervisory employees, timekeepers, time-study men, watchmen, guards, and the direct representatives of the management. - III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Union has requested the Company to bargain with it as ex- clusive representative of the employees in the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division. The Company- refused to bargain with the Union until it had been certified by the Board. 318 DECISIONS OF ' NATIONAL LABOR. RELATIONS BOARD 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 Company and the Union agreed by stipulation that all hourly rated production and maintenance employees at the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division of the Company, excluding the chief engineer, office, clerical, and supervisory employees,' time- keepers, time-study men, watchmen, guards, and direct representatives of the management, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. We see no reason for departing from such unit. We find that all hourly rated production and maintenance employees at the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division of the Company, excluding the chief engineer, office, clerical, and supervisory employees, timekeepers, time-study men, watchmen, guards, and direct representatives of the management, 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 We find that the question which has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employes of the Company can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. The parties agreed that in the event the Board directed an election, eligibility of employees to vote should be determined by the Company's pay roll immediately preceding the date of, the Direction of Election. We find that the employees of the 'The Company and the Union agreed that , as of the present time , Sidney C. Drury, William Gustin , Joseph R. Slavinski, Otto Kazemayer, and Steven ICremshe ace not super- visory employees ; and that the following persons are supervisory employees : James I. Milheim, Warren Seazholtz , Herbert - H. Gartin, Joseph 'J. Parker , James M Clewell, William B. - Milford , Angelo Christiano , Leonard Freund , George W. Shaw , James J. ,Allen, John A. Post, Edward V. Sullivan , Frank E Buckley , and Thomas W. Cook. GENERAL MOTORS 'CORPORATION 319 Company eligible to vote in the election shall be those in the appro- priate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period imme- diately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, includ- ing 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 employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and 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 Delco- Remy Division of General Motors Corporation, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All hourly rated production and maintenance employees at the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division of the Com- pany, excluding the chief engineer, office, clerical, and supervisory employees, timekeepers, time-study men, watchmen, guards, and direct representatives of the management, constitute a unit appropriate 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 Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of the 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 bargaining with General Motors Corporation, Delco=Remy Division, 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 the hourly rated production and maintenance employees at the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division of the Company who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, -including employees who did not work during such pay- 320 DECISIONS- OF NATIONAL "LABOR RELATIONS BOARD roll period because they were ill or on vacation and employees -who were "then' or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding the chief engineer, office, clerical, and supervisory employees, time- keepers, time-study men, watchmen, guards, direct representatives of the management, and employees who have since quit or been -dis- charged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be repre- sented by United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, affiliated with the'Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the pur- poses of collective bargaining. CHAIRMAN HARRY A.• MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election. [SAME TITLE ] CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES January 7, 1941 On December 5,,1940, the National Labor Relations Board , herein called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the above-entitled proceeding. Pursuant to the Direction of Election, an election by secret ballot was conducted on December 19, 1940, under the direction, and supervision of the Regional Director for the Second Region (New York City ). ' On December 20, 1940, the Regional Di- rector, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, issued and duly served - upon the parties an Election Report on -the ballot. No objections to the conduct 'of the ballot or the Election Report have been filed by any of the parties. As to the balloting- and its results, the Regional Director reported as follows : - - Total number eligible to vote________________ ________________' 281 Total number of ballots cast_________________________________ 277 Total number of valid ballots________________________________ 277 Total number of votes in favor of United' Electrical,' Radio &- Machine Workers of America , affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations ---------------------------------- 191 Total number of votes against aforementioned union----------- 86 Total number of blank votes_________ ________________________ 0 Total number of void ballots_________________________________ 0 Total number of challenged votes __ __________________________ 0 " 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, Sections- 8 and 9, ,of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 321 IT is HEREBY CERTIFIED that United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, affiliated with,the Congress of Industrial Or- ganizations, has been designated and-selected by a majority of all hourly rated production and maintenance employees at the Bloom- field, New Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division of General Motors Corporation, excluding the chief engineer, office, clerical, and super- visory employees, timekeepers, time-study men, watchmen, guards, and direct representatives of the management, as their representative for, the purposes of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, United Electrical, Radio & Machine Work- ers.of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organiza- tions, 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. 28 N. L. B. B., No. 53a.