American Insulated Wire Corp.

In the Matter of AMERICAN INSULATED WIRE CORPORATION and INTER- NATIONAL BROTHERHOOD of ELECTRICAL WoRKERs, LOCAL B-1203 (A. F. OF L.) Case No. B-2665.-Decided July 23, 1941 Jurisdiction : electrical wiring device manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: Com- pany refused to accord union recognition because of its doubts as to the appro- priate unit and the union's claim to represent a majority of employees; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em- ployees, including supervisors not having authority to hire or discharge, but excluding executives, foremen, and office and clerical workers. Mr. Maw-Winograd, of Providence, R. I., for the Company. Mr. Francis I. Moore, of West Hartford, Conn., for the Union. Mr. Herbert N. Shenkin, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On May 16, 1941, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local B-1203, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the First Region (Boston, Massachusetts) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of American Insulated Wire Corporation," Providence, Rhode Island; herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and cer- tification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On June 117 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 authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. 1 Referred to in the petition as American Insulated Wire Company. 33 N. L. R. B., No. 130. 745 746 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On June 12, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the Union. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on June 23, 1941, at Providence, Rhode Island, before Anthony E. Molina, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company was repre- sented by counsel and the Union by its representative; both partici- pated in the hearing. Full opportunity 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 various rulings on 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. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY American Insulated Wire Corporation is a Rhode Island corporation with its principal office and place of business at Providence, Rhode Island, where it is engaged in the manufacture and sale of elec- trical wiring devices, rubber insulated wire and cotton braid insu- lated wire. During 1940, the Company purchased raw materials.val- ued in excess of $50,000, more than 50 per cent of which was shipped to the Providence plant from points outside the State of Rhode Island. During the same year, the finished products manufactured by the Com- pany had a value of over $150,000, more than 50 per cent of which was shipped to points outside the State of Rhode Island. The Company stipulated, for the purposes of this proceeding, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local B-1203, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organiza- tion admitting to membership production and maintenance employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION At a conference held in the office of the Regional Director the Com- pany refused to grant the Union exclusive bargaining rights because of its doubts as to the appropriate bargaining unit and the Union's claim to represent a majority of its employees. A statement of the Regional Director, introduced into evidence, indicates that a substantial number of the Company's employees within AMERICAN INSULATED WIRE CORPORATION 747 the unit alleged and hereinafter found to be appropriate have desig- nated the Union as their bargaining representative? 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 Union asserts that the appropriate unit consists of all pro- duction and maintenance employees, including supervisors not having authority to hire or discharge, but excluding executives, foremen, and office and clerical workers. The Company, while agreeing to the foregoing exclusions, contends that there should be two appro- priate units for the production and maintenance employees, one for employees in the rubber department, and the other for the remaining employees. The Company is engaged in the manufacture of electrical wiring devices, rubber insulated wire, and cotton braid insulated wire. Its operations are integrated. The rubber department, which employs 55 of the 290 production and maintenance employees, makes rubber and covers copper wire with it for insulating purposes. About 40 per cent of the wire produced by the rubber department is used for manufacturing purposes in other parts of the plant. There is no evidence that the work in the rubber department requires any unusual skill, and the rates of pay in the rubber department are comparable to the rates in other departments. The Union has organized the entire plant, and has a substantial representation among all the em- ployees, including a large majority of the employees in the rubber department. Although there is no bargaining history between the Company and the Union, the Union has contracts on a plant-wide 2 The Regional Director reported that he had examined 173 signed applications for membership in the Union . The Regional Director stated that 45 of such applications were dated between October 1940 and May 1941 and that 112 of such applications were undated. (A representative of the Union testified at the hearing that the undated applications were all signed between April 1 and May 8, 1941. ) The Regional Director further stated that 171 of the applications appeared to bear genuine original signatures and that 157 of these applications correspond to names on a list of production and maintenance employees, sub- mitted to the Regional Director by the Company , taken from the May 17, 1941, pay roll. This list showed a total of 290 production and maintenance employees. 748 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD basis with other employers in the locality engaged in substantially the same type of business. We conclude that a single plant-wide unit is appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining. Accordingly, we find that all production and maintenance em- ployees of the Company, including supervisors not having authority to hire or discharge, but excluding executives, foremen, and office and clerical workers, 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 concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. We shall direct that all employees of the Company in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preced- ing this Direction of Election, subject to such limitations and addi- tions as are set forth in the Direction, shall be eligible to vote. 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 of American Insulated Wire Corporation, Providence, Rhode Island, 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 of the Company, in- cluding supervisors not having authority to hire or discharge, but excluding executives, foremen, and office and clerical workers, con- stitute 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 National Labor Rela- tions 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 American Insulated Wire Corporation, Providence, Rhode Is- land, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, AMERICAN INSULATED WIRE CORPORATION 749 but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction of Election, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Di- rector for the First 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 mainte- nance employees of the Company who were employed during the pay- roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including supervisors not having authority to hire or dis- charge, and employees who did not work during said 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 exclud- ing executives, foremen, and office and clerical workers, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local B-1203, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining.