Great Lakes Engineering Works

In the Matter of GREAT LAKES ENGINEERING WORKS and TUG FIRE- MEN, LINEMEN AND OILERS PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMEN ASSOCIATION AND THE' AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR Case No. R4451.-Decided April 30, 1941 Jurisdiction : shipbuilding and ship repairing industry. Practice and Procedure : petition dismissed where no appropriate unit within the scope of the petition. Mr. Russel C. Lakin and Mr. Frank Le Feuvre, of River Rouge, Mich., for the Company. Mr.'August E. Lundquist, of Detroit, Mich., for the Tug Firemen. Mr. Alex ZVrobleski, of Wyandotte, Mich., and Mr. Henry P. Laskowske, of River Rouge, Mich., for the D. S. A. Mr. David H. Karasick, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND ORDER STATEMENT OF THE CASE On February 5, 1941, Tug Firemen, Linemen and Oilers Protective Association of America, affiliated with the International Longshore- men Association and the American Federation of Labor, herein" called the Tug Firemen, filed with the Regional Director for the Seventh Region (Detroit, Michigan) a petition, and on February 10, 1941, an amended petition, alleging that a question affecting com- merce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michigan, 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 March 17, 1941, 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 directed the Regional Direc- tor to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing- upon due notice. 31 N L R. B., No. 82. 520 GREAT LAKES ENGINEERING WORKS 521 On March 21, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the Tug Firemen, and the Downriver Shipbuilders' Association, herein called D. S. A., a labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation., Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on April 1,"1941, at Detroit, Michigan, before Earl R. Cross, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company, the Tug Firemen, and the D. S. A. appeared by their respective representatives and participated in the hearing. Full op- portunity 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 sev- eral rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evi- dence. 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 Boarct makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Great Lakes Engineering Works, a Michigan corporation with its principal office and plant at River Rouge, Michigan, is en- gaged in shipbuilding and ship repairing. The Company purchases steel, pipe, valves and fittings, electrical equipment, rigging supplies, boilers, engine parts, winches, navigation instruments, anchors, an- chor chain, galley outfits, and numerous other items which it uses in its shipbuilding and repairing operations. Duri'ng 1940, 68.9 per cent, amounting to $523,500, of the materials so purchased were de- rived from sources outside' the State of Michigan, while 31.1 per cent; amounting to $236,000, of supplies and materials were purchased within the State of Michigan. The Company built no new vessels during 1940 but received a gross income for repairing vessels for customers within the State of Michigan amounting to $982,000, and for customers without the State of Michigan amounting to $1,293,000.2 IT. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Tug Firemen, Linemen and Oilers Protective Association ' of America is a labor organization, affiliated with the International 1 Although the International Association of- Machinists was also served with notice, it did not participate in the hearing. 2 See also Matter of Great Lakes Engineering Works and Detroit 'Metal Trades Council, 3 N L R. B. 825 , and Matter of Great Lakes Engineering Works and Welders International Association, 5 N L. R. B. 788. 522 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Longshoremen Association and the American Federation of Labor, which admits to membership the engineer, fireman, lineman, and captain comprising the crew of the tug Ecorse which is owned and operated by the Company. Downriver Shipbuilders' Association is an unaffiliated labor or- ganization which admits to membership employees 'of the Company. III. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Tug Firemen contend that the engineer, fireman, lineman, and captain, comprising the crew of the, tug Ecorse, constitute an appropriate unit. The D. S. A. and the Company claim that they have entered into a contract 3 which by its terms covers the Ecorse as a yard tool, and that the tug is considered part of the hand-gang department of the plant. The contract between the Company and the D. S. A. covers employees in all departments of the plant except the machine shop, The Company also has a contract with the Inter- national, Association of Machinists, herein called the Z. A. M., which covers the machine shop employees. During the summer the Company secures its tug service from the Great Lakes Towing Company. The latter company, however, does not operate its tugs in the winter months, and during that period the Company in the present case operates the Ecorse for the purpose of moving boats about the slips, docking boats, and occasionally bring- ing vessels from neighboring plants to the slips for repair. The tug is used only by the Company in its own operations and is not hired out to other companies. When the services of an additional tug are required the Ecorse may be used together with a tug of the Ford Motor Company or the Nicholson Terminal Company, in which event the employees of each company operate the respective tugs. During 1940 the Company operated the Ecorse for 7 months for periods varying each month from 25 hours in an interval of 9 days to 841/4 hours in an interval of 15 days.4 3 This agreement between the Company and the D S. A . was entered into on July 4, 1937, and was amended on March 12, 1940 . The agreement does not contain any express provi- sion with -respect to the operations of. the tug. 4 The following table shows the exact length of time during which the tug was operated each month during 1940: January---------------------------------------- 37 hours over a 10-day period. February--------------------------------------- 59 hours over a 14-day period. March-----------------------------------------. 68 hours over a 13-day period. April------------------------------------------ 843/4 hours over a 15-day period. May___________________________________________ 343/4 hours over a 10-day period. June------------------------------------------- 25 hours over a 9-day period December--------------------------------------- 29 hours over a 10-day period. The director of personnel of the Company testified that the above table constitutes the aver- age annual operations of the tug. GREAT LAKES ENGINEERING WORKS 523 The crew of the Ecorse are regular employees who work in other departments of the plant at such times as the tug is not in operation. -The lineman and fireman are employed as hand gang men in the labor department , the engineer is employed as a machinist erector, and the captain is a foreman in charge of the labor department. All except the captain have seniority ratings in their respective depart- ments. All members of the crew , including the captain, receive the ,same wages, whether they are working in the plant or are engaged in operating the tug. If the tug operates only part of the day, the crew work the remainder of the day in the plant, with the exception of the engineer, who stays aboard the tug during the time it is in operation. Since the lineman and fireman are employed in the hand- gang department, the D. S. A. claims that they are covered by the terms of its contract with the Company. The I. A. M. has agreed to release its bargaining rights for the engineer , who is also a machinist erector and is therefore covered by the terms of the contract between the I. A. M. and the Company, subject to the proviso that the Board designate the Tug Firemen as the proper bargaining agency for the engineer. The captain, as a foreman,, is not eligible to membership in the D. S. A. The record indicates that he is eligible to member- ship in the Tug Firemen in his capacity as captain of the Ecorse but there is no showing as to what effect, if any , his position as fore- man in the plant would have upon his eligibility to membership in that organization. ' Upon the basis of the entire record and by reason of the facts that the engineer, lineman, fireman, and captain , comprising the crew of the tug Ecorse are primarily engaged in work elsewhere in the plant and that they are represented by other labor organizations, we find that a unit confined to the engineer , lineman, fireman, and captain of the tug Ecorse is inappropriate. IV. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Since there is no appropriate unit within the scope of the Tug Firemen's petition, we-find that no question has been raised concern- ing the representation of employees of the Company ' within an appropriate unit. Upon the basis of the -above findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: CONCLUSION QF LAW No question concerning the representation of employees of Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michigan, in a unit which is appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining has arisen within the meaning of Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act. 524 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ORDER Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and conclusion of law, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the petition for investigation and certification of representatives of employees of Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michi- gan, filed by the Tug Firemen, Linemen and 'Oilers Protective Asso- ciation of America, affiliated with the International Longshoremen Association and the American Federation of Labor, be and it hereby is, dismissed. MR. EDWIN S. SMITH, concurring : With the exception of the machinists, the employees in the plant are organized on an industrial basis. I think the reasons expressed in my separate opinions in the Allis-Chalmers 5 and subsequent cases are applicable in the present instance and constitute an additional ground for dismissing the. petition herein. 'Matter of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company and International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, Local 248, 4 N. L R . B 159, 175. I