American Sheet Metal Works

In the Matter of AMERICAN SHEET METAL WORKS and STEEL WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, LOCAL 2179, AFFILIATED WITH THE CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS Case No. R-2633.-Decided July ,3,1941 Jurisdiction : sheet metal products fabricating industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: Com- pany questions -union's majority in alleged appropriate unit ; expired con- tract no bar to election ; election necessary ; current pay roll. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all inside production and main- tenance employees of sheet metal shop, excluding foremen, supervisory and office personnel, and also excluding a journeyman and an apprentice. Mr. Samuel Lang, of New Orleans, La., for the Company. Mr. J. Bouche, of New Orleans, La., for the Union. Mr. Charles W. Schneider, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On April 14, 1941, Steel Workers Organizing Committee, Local 2179, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, herein called the Union, filed a petition with the Regional Director for the Fifteenth Region (New Orleans, Louisiana) alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em- ployees of American Sheet Metal Works, New Orleans, Louisiana, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certi- fication of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On May 21, 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. On June 4, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the Union 33 N. L. R. B., No. 131. 750 AMERICAN SHEET METAL WORKS 751 and also upon Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Local No. 11, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the Sheet Metal Workers. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on June 12, 1941, at- New Orleans, Louisiana, before Charles A. Kyle, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company and the Union were represented by counsel and partici- pated in the hearing. Sheet Metal Workers did not appear. 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 Nearing the Trial Examiner made several 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 Sheet Metal Works is a corporation having its office and plant in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is engaged in the fabrica- tion, sale, and distribution of sheet-metal products. The principal raw materials used in connection with the operations of the Company are steel, copper, aluminum, lumber, paint, and hardware. The Company uses annually raw materials to the, value of $75,000, 95 per cent of which are purchased outside the State of Louisiana. It produces annually finished products valued in excess of $175,000, approximately 75 per cent of which are shipped outside the State of Louisiana. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Steel Workers Organizing Committee, Local 2179, is a labor organ- ization, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION About April 9, 1941, the Union requested the Company to recog- nize it as the statutory representative of the Company's employees. The Company expressed its willingness to bargain with any accred- ited representative of its employees but questioned the Union' s major- ity and further stated that it had by a contract expiring April 18, 1941, recognized Sheet Metal Workers as bargaining agent for some of its employees.' A report of the Regional Director admitted into 1 The contract having expired, it does not constitute a bar to an election at this time. 752 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR -RELATIONS BOARD evidence discloses that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the alleged appropriate Unit .2 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's petition requests an appropriate unit composed of all the Company's production and maintenance employees, excluding supervisory and office personnel. The Company takes no position with reference to the scope of the appropriate unit. The Company fabricates, erects, and installs all kinds of sheet- metal products. The fabrication is performed by employees work- ing inside the plant or shop; erection and installation by a group of employees working away from the shop. The work is largely hand- skilled. On April 19, 1940,, the Company and the Sheet Metal Workers entered into a contract which expired April 18, 1941. The original agreement purported to establish a closed shop but by amendment of April 20, 1940, the "manufacturing end" of the Company's business was excluded from its operation. Sheet Metal Workers declined to define that provision, but the Company has interpreted it to exclude inside employees and operated on that understanding, throughout the life of the contract. At the hearing the Union stated that the appropriate unit should consist of the inside production and maintenance employees, exclud- ing foremen, supervisory and office personnel, and a journeyman sheet-metal worker, Robert Schuler, and an apprentice, L. Boettner, employed inside the shop. The Sheet Metal Workers did not appear to offer objections to the unit proposed by the Union. The exact na- 2 The Regional Director reports that the Union submitted 71 authorization cards all appearing to bear genuine original signatures and dated between March 1 and April 14, 1941 . Sixty-three of the signatures are the names of persons on the Company's April 25, 1941, pay roll. There are approximately 103 employees in the alleged appropriate unit Sheet Metal workers submitted no evidence of representation among the Com- pany's employees. AMERICAN SHEET, METAL WORKS 753 ture of the work performed by the journeyman and apprentice is not disclosed by the record. Since the Union desires their exclusion and they are members of the Sheet Metal Workers who were appar- ently covered by the Sheet Metal Workers' contract, as amended, it may be inferred that there is a closer connection between their work and that of the sheet-metal workers on the outside than is made clear in the record. For these reasons we shall exclude them from the unit. We find that all inside production and maintenance employees of the Company, excluding foremen and supervisory and office personnel, and further excluding the journeyman, Robert Schuler, and the ap- prentice, L. Boettner, constitute a unit appropriatE for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that said unit will insure to the em- ployees of the Company the- full benefit of their right to self-organi- zation 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 employees of the Company can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. In accordance with our usual practice we shall direct-that the employees of the Company eligible to vote in the election shall be those in the appropriate unit employed by the Com- pany during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to such limitations and addi- tions 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 : CONCLUSIONS or LAW 1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the rep- resentation of employees of American Sheet Metal Works, New Or- leans, Louisiana, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 2. All inside production and maintenance employees of the Com- pany, excluding foremen and supervisory and office personnel, and further excluding the journeyman, Robert Schuler, and the appren- tice, L. Boettner, 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 Re- lations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor 754 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 American Sheet Metal Works, New Orleans, Louisiana, an elec- tion by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction of Elec- tion, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fifteenth 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 inside production and maintenance employees of American Sheet Metal Works, New Or- leans, Louisiana, who were employed by it during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including 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 excluding foremen and supervisory and office personnel, the journeyman, Robert Schuler, and the apprentice, L. Boettner, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Steel Workers Organizing Committee, Local ,2179, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations for the purposes of collective bargaining.