Hatfield Wire & Cable Co.

In the Matter of HATFIELD WIRE & CABLE COMPANY and INTERNA- TIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, A. F. OF L. Case No. R-.647.Decided July 18, 1941 Jurisdiction : wire and cable products manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question :.Con- tract with rival labor organization terminated ; Company refused to recognize the union until it has been certified by the Board ; dispute as to appro- priate unit ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : determination of whether pro- duction and maintenance employees, excluding supervisory and clerical em- ployees, of one of Company's two plants constitute a separate unit or remain part of a single unit of Company's two plants, excluding one division thereof, held dependent on desires of employees. Mr. David A. Morse, of Newark, N. J., for the Company. Mr. Thomas L. Parsonnet, of Newark, N. J., for the I. B. E. W. Mr. Samuel Rothbard of Newark, N. J., for the United. Mr. Frederic B. Parkes, end, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On May 15, 1941, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, A. F. of L., herein called the I. B. E. W., filed with the Regional` Director for the Second Region (New York City) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of Hatfield Wire & Cable Company, Hacketts- town, New Jersey, herein called the Company, and requesting an in- vestigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On June 14, 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 Boai'd Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investiga- tion and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. 33 N. L. R. B., No. 102. 533 534 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On June 16, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were served upon the Company, the I. B. E. W., and upon Local 403, United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America, C. I. 0., herein called the United, a labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investi- gation. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on June 21, 1941, in New York City, before Will Maslow, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. ' The Company, the I. B. E. W., and the United were represented by counsel or official repre- sentatives and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evi- dence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. At the close of the hearing the United moved to dismiss the petition on the fol- lowing grounds: (1) the unit sought by the' I. B. E. W. was inap- propriate; (2) past bargaining history. was at variance with the unit sought by the I. B. E. W.; (3) by reason of the I. B., E. W.'s past action in 1939, when it filed a petition requesting another unit and consented to an election, the I. B. E. W. was estopped from now claiming the unit sought herein. The Trial Examiner reserved ruling on this motion for the Board. The motion is hereby denied. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made various rulings on other 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. On June 30, 1941, the I. B. E. W. filed a brief which the Board has considered. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Hatfield Wire & Cable Company, a New Jersey corporation having its principal office and place of business at Hillside, New Jersey, is engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of wire and cable products, electrical appliances, and related articles at its two plants at Hillside, New Jersey, and Hackettstown, New Jersey. The prin- cipal materials used by the Company are copper, cotton, rayon, crude rubber, asbestos, filler, lead, steel, fiber, and cord-set supplies. During the year 1940, the Company purchased such materials valued in ex- ccess of $100,000, of which 25 per cent were shipped to the Company from points outside the State of New Jersey. During the year 1940, the Company manufactured and sold finished products valued in excess of $100,000, of which 90 per cent were sold and shipped to points -outside the State of New Jersey. The Company employs 80 HATFIELD WIR'FI & CABLE[ COMPANY 535 workers at its Hackettstown plant and 350 workers at its Hillside plant. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is a labor organi- zation affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting employees of the Company to membership. United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, Local No. 403, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of In- dustrial Organizations, admitting employees of the Company to membership. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On December 21, 1938, pursuant to a stipulation between the Com- pany and the United, the Board issued its Decision and Order where- by the Company was directed to bargain collectively with the United as the representative of all production and maintenance employees at its Hillside and Hackettstown plants, respectively, excluding super- visory and clerical employees., On May 10, 1939, the I._ B. E. W. filed a petition with the Board, claiming to represent a majority of the employees at both the Hillside and Hackettstown plants. On June 1, 1939, pursuant to an agreement between the United, the I. B. E. W., and the Company, the Board conducted an election among all production and maintenance employees at both plants, excluding clerical and supervisory employees. The United won the election, and on June 14, 1939, entered into an exclusive bargaining contract with the Company for the employees of both plants as a single unit. On August 29, 1939, the I. B. E. W. filed a petition with the Board requesting an investigation and certification of representatives of employees in the Wire and Cable Division of the Hillside plant. Following a preliminary investigation, the Board dismissed the peti- tion on October 3, 1939. On March 25, 1940, separate petitions were filed by the I. B. E. W. for the employees in the Wire and Cable Division and those in the Hackettstown plant, respectively. These petitions were likewise dismissed by the Board on April 17, 1940. On June 12, 1940, the United and the Company entered into a . written agreement with respect to the holding of a consent election among the employees of the Wire and Cable Division of the Hillside plant, to determine whether they desired representation by the United or the I. B. E. W. The agreement provided that in the event the United won the election, the Company would enter into a closed- 1 Matter of Hatfield Wire & Cable Company, Inc and United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers, Local No. 403, 10 N. L. R. B. 763. 536 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD shop contract with the United covering all production employees at both the Hillside and Hackettstown plants ; that if the United lost the election, the contract would cover all production employees other than those employed in the Wire and Cable Division. Although the I. B. E. W. was not a party to this agreement, it was further stated therein that the Company would also enter into a contract with the I. B. E. W. if it were chosen by the Wire and Cable employees as their repre- sentative. On July 9, 1940, with knowledge of the foregoing agree- ment between the Company and the United, the I. B. E. W. entered into a consent election 'conducted by the Board among the employees in the Wire and Cable Division of the Hillside plant. The I. B. E. IV. won the election. ' On September 6, 1940, the I. B. E. W. filed a petition with the Board requesting an investigation and certification of the employees of the Hackettstown plant. On October 11, 1940, pursuant to the agreement entered into on June 12, 1940, prior to the consent election in the Wire and Cable Division, the Company and the United signed a closed-shop contract covering all production employees at the Hackettstown and Hillside plants with the exception of those in the Wire and Cable Division in the latter plant to be retroactively ef- fective from September 1, 1940, to June 1, 1941. On December 3, '940, the Company entered into a similar contract with the I. B. E. W., covering all employees in the Wire and Cable Division to be effective until April 1, 1942. The Board dismissed the petition filed by the I. B. E. W. on September 6, 1940, for the reason that the con- tract between the Company and the United, executed on October 11, 1940, constituted a bar to an election at that time.2 The closed-shop contract between the United and the Company which expired on June 1, 1941, was mutually extended by the parties pending disposition of this proceeding. The Company has refused to recognize the I. B. E. W. as a collective bargaining representative of the Hackettstown plant employees until the I. B. E. W. has been certified by the Board. A statement of the Regional Director intro- duced into evidence shows that the I. B. E. W. represents a sub- stantial number of the Company's employees within the alleged appro- priate unit.3 We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of the Company's employees. - z lfatter of Hatfield Wire & Cable Company and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. A F of L., 30 N L R B. 360. e The I. B. It. W. filed with the Regional Director 80 application cards, of which 40 were signed in April 1941, and 40 in May 1941. Of the 76 cards found by the Regional Director to bear original signatures, 67 bore names of persons within the alleged appro- priate unit appearing on the Company's pay roll of May 12, 1941. There are 78 employees within the unit sought by the I. B. E. W. herein. HATFIELD WIRE' & CIABLEi COMPANY 537 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 com- merce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The I. B. E. W. contends that the unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining consists of all production and maintenance employees working in the Company's Hackettstown plant, exclusive of supervisory and clerical employees. The United denies the ap- propriateness of the unit sought by the I. B. E. W. and urges the dis- missal of the petition. The United further contends that the, ap- propriate unit consists of all production employees at both the Company's Hackettstown, and Hillside plants, excluding supervisory and clerical employees and employees of the Wire and Cable Division at the Hillside plant. As indicated above, the Company operates two plants, one at Hill- side and the other at Hackettstown, New Jersey, separated by a distance of 45 miles. The management of both plants is centralized at Hillside. The general manager at Hillside exercises direct control over the general manager at Hackettstown. The- wages, hours, and working conditions of employees at both plants are determined by the main office at Hillside. All shipments of finished products from both plants are made from the Hillside plant. The Hackettstown plant is engaged solely in the manufacture of lamp-cord and fixture wire, all of which is sent to the Hillside plant, 75 per cent for direct shipment, 5 per cent for further processing by the Wire and Cable Division, and 20 per cent for use by the Cord-set Division. The de- partmental organization of the Wire and Cable Division at the Hill- side plant is similar to that at Hackettstown and approximately 25 to 35 per cent of the wire manufactured in this division is the same type of lamp cord manufactured at the Hackettstown plant. The balance is a heavier type of cable for use in building construction. The Cord-set Division at Hillside cuts lamp-cord wire into appropri- ate lengths and attaches sockets and other electrical appliances there- to. Approximately 75 per cent of the wire used by this division is manufactured in the Wire and Cable Division of the Hillside plant, and the remaining 25 per cent is manufactured at the Hackettstown plant. The employees at the Hackettstown plant and those in the 538 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Wire and Cable Division at the Hillside plant work on an hourly basis; a majority of those employed in the Cord-set Division work on a piece-work basis. If either plant were closed, the other could operate normally. In view of the foregoing and the history of collective bargaining for the Company's employees, it appears that the production and maintenance employees at the Company's Hackettstown plant might properly constitute a separate appropriate bargaining unit or that they might remain a part of a single unit including the employees at the Hillside plant other than those in the Wire and Cable Division. We shall direct that an election be held among such employees to determine whether they desire to be represented by the I. B. E. W., by the United, or by neither. If they select the I. B. E. W. as their' representative, they will constitute a separate appropriate unit. Otherwise we shall dismiss the petition.4 We shall direct that those eligible to vote in the election shall be those employees who were employed during the pay-roll period im- mediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, sub- ject to such limitations and additions as are set forth in the Direction hereinafter. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: CONCLUSION OF LAW A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of Hatfield Wire & Cable Company, Hacketts- town, New Jersey, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) 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 Rela- tions 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 bargaining with Hatfield Wire & Cable Company, Hackettstown, New Jersey, * As Indicated in Section III, the Hackettstown employees were covered by the contract executed by the Company and the United on October 11, 1940. The contract expired on June 1, 1941, but was extended by mutual agreement of the parties pending disposition, of this proceeding. If the Hackettstown employees choose the United as their representa- tive, no further certification will be necessary in view of the existing contract. HATFIELD WIRE & OABLE 'COMPANY 539 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's Hackettstown plant, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on. vacation or in the active military service or training of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but ex- cluding supervisory and clerical employees and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, or by United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, Local No. 403, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or by neither. MR. EDWIN S. SMITH, dissenting: I dissent from the decision of the majority. For the reasons stated in my concurring opinion in Matter of Hatfield Wire c Cable Company and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, A. F. of L.,° I would find a single unit com- posed of production and maintenance employees at the Company's Hackettstown and Hillside plants to be appropriate for the pur- poses of collective bargaining, and I would accordingly dismiss the petition." 8 30 N. L R. B. 360. 6 See Matter of Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast, Waterfront Employers Association of the Pacific Coast, Waterfront Employers of Washington, et al. and Inter- national Longshoremen's Association, Affiliated with the A. F. of L., Local No. 38-83, 32 N. L. R. B. 668.