Pennsylvania Edison Co.

In the Matter Of PENNSYLVANIA EDISON COMPANY and UTILITY WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, LOCAL UNION No. 180, AFFILIATED WITH- C.I.O. Case No. R-3001.-Decided October 28, 1941 Jurisdiction : electric utility industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : Com- pany refused to accord recognition to either of rival labor organizations until certified by the Board ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : system-wide unit: all hourly rated and salaried physical and clerical employees of the Company, excluding 'em- ployees in the power plants, foremen, and supervisors; three separate units which when combined covers the same employees desired by one of the labor organizations involved held inappropriate. Mr. W. G. Stewart, for the Board. Mr. Robert C: Haberstroh, of Altoona, Pa., for the Company. Mr. Albert F. G.alusha, of Youngstown, Ohio, for the U. W. O. C: Mr. J. C. McIntosh, of Washington, D. C., and Mr. Bernard Kaplan, of Pittsburgh, Pa., for the I. B. E. W. Miss Melve n R: Krelow, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS STATEMENT OF THE CASE On August 29, 1941, Utility Workers Organizing Committee, Local Union No. 180,, affiliated with C. I. 0., herein called-the U. W. O. C:, filed with. the, Regional Director for the Sixth Region (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had. arisen concerning the representation of employees of Pennsylvania Edison Company, Altoona, Pennsylvania; 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 September 8, 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 36, N. L. R. B., No. 86. 432 PENNSYLVANIA EDISON COMPANY 433 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 September 9, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the U. W. O. C., and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the I. B. E. W., a labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to notice, a hearing :was held on Sep- tember 11 and 12, 1941, at Altoona,": Pennsylvania, before. Webster Powell, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Exam- iner. The Board, the Company, and the U. W. O. C. were represented by counsel, the I. B. E. W. by counsel and by its representative; all participated 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. At the commencement of the hearing . and again during the course of. the hearing, the I. B. E. W. moved for a continuance of the hearing. The Trial Examiner in effect denied the motion. His ruling is hereby affirmed. During the course of the hear= ing, 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. On September 26 and 30, .1941, respectively, the U. W. O. C. and the I: B. E. W. filed briefs which the Board has considered. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS, OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Pennsylvania Edison Company is a Pennsylvania corporation with its principal office in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It is engaged in the State of Pennsylvania in the business of manufacture, distribution, and wholesale, and retail sale of gas and electric current. In connection with its system, the Company has electric current generating plants at Saxton, Williamsburg, Warrior Ridge; and Rays= town, and principal substations at Lewistown, Roxbury, Collinsville, and Summitt, Pennsylvania. In addition, its gas division, which con- sists of plant manufacturing and. producing artificial gas and the dis- tribution lines in connection therewith, is located at Huntingdon, Lewistown, and Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. The essential raw ma- terials used by the Company in the course and conduct of its business are coal, poles, machinery, copper wire, insulators, pole-line hardware, meters, rubber goods, lubricating oils, transformers, and feeder regu- 433118-42-vol. 36-29 434 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD lators, approximately 75 per cent of which is shipped to the Company from points outside the State of Pennsylvania. During 1940, the Company purchased 21,500 kilowatt-hours of electric current from outside the State of Pennsylvania. During the same period, approxi- lnately 348,000,000 kilowatt-hours of electric current was produced and distributed by the Company. In addition, the Company supplies elec- tric power to many industries within the territory covered by the sys= tem; a large proportion of whose products are shipped outside Penn= Sylvania. - It also provides service for the United States Post Office and other. Federal agencies within said territory. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Utility Workers Organizing Committee; Local Union No. 180, is a Labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organi- zations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is a labor organi-, zation affiliated with the American Federation of. Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company. . III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On or about July 29, 1941, and August 11, 1941, respectively, the U. W. O. C: and' the I: 'B. E. W. requested the Company to enter into collective bargaining negotiations affecting its etiiployees in the 'units claimed by each to be appropriate. The Company denied the requests until one or the other of the organizations should be certified by the Board as the exclusive collective bargaining agency. A report prepared by the Regional Director concerning claims of authorization for the purposes 'of representation which was introduced into evidence at the hearing, shows that, the U. W: O. C. represents a substantial number of employees of the. Company within the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate., We find that a question has arisen concerning the representatioi of employees, of the Company. 'The Regional Director reported that the U. W. 0: C. presented 329 application cards, 196 dated in July . 1941 , 67 dated in August 1941 , and 66 were undated. Of .the 329 application cards submitted , 317 bear the apparently genuine signatures of persons "onthe Company's pay roll of • August 1, 1941 . The Regional Director further reported that the I . B. E. W. presented 34 application cards , 15 dated in 1940 . 2 dated in . January 1941, 1 dated in July 1941, 3 dated in August 1941 , 10 dated in September 1941, and 3 undated. Of the 34 application cards submitted, 32 bear the apparently genuine signatures of per- sons on the Company's pay roll of August 1, 1941 . Of the 317 and 32 application cards submitted , 19 appear to bear signatures of persons who signed application cards in both unions . There are approximately 573 employees on the Company's pay roll of August 1, 1941, in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate. PENNSYLVANIA EDISON -COMPANY 435- 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 U. W. 0. C. contends that all hourly rated and salaried physi- cal 2 and clerical employees of the Company, excluding employees in- the power plants, foremen, and supervisors, constitute a single appro- priate unit. The I. B. E. W. claims to represent the same employees, but states. that a single unit is inappropriate and that there should be three sep- arate units: (1) all linesmen, groundmen, electricians, utility men, substation operators, load dispatchers, meter testers, service inspectors, cable splicers, transformer repairmen, apprentices, truck drivers, garage mechanics, laborers, store handlers, and line clerks, exclusive of gas:department, clerical, and supervisory employees; (2) all gas makers, firemen, meter testers, servicemen, plant attendants, and la-' borers in the gas department, exclusive of all clerical and ,supervisory employees in said gas department; and (3), all clerical and accounting employees, exclusive of operating. -and construction employees, gas- department employees, and supervisory employees. The Company. agrees with the U. W. 0. C. that there. should., he. a single bargaining unit. . . The- record discloses that prior to 1939 a the only. attempt to .organize the employees of the Company, made by the. American Federation of Labor -in 1917 or 1918, ,was unsuccessful. In 1940, the L. B. E. W. attempted to organize the employees herein involved but failed. It appears that there was, no further attempt by it to organize these employees until sometime in August 1941'. . In the summer. of 1941, employees were delegated from the various departments of the Company to invite the U. W. 0. C. to organize them. Following this invitation on or about July 17, 1941, the U. W. 0. C's organizer met with these employees. The following week a meeting was held which was attended by approximately. 300 employees- .'Designated in -the record as "manual workers:" - In 1939, the I. B. E.'W . organized the power -plant at Saxton (one of the Company's= four power plants which . plants are not involved in this proceeding ). The 'I. B. E. W. presently has a contract (executed August 14 , 1941 ) covering the Company's four power plants not here involved. - ' 436. DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD At this meeting, the employees expressed their desire. to be included in a single unit, and application for a U. W. 0. C. charter was made. The Company's general offices are located in Altoona. The manage- ment of the Company is centralized in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and all employee grievances must be taken up, and collective bargaining con- tracts must be negotiated with "the management" there. Practically all of the hiring is done through the central employment office in Altoona. There is a central load dispatcher, located in Altoona, who is responsible for the continuity of the service over the entire system, especially with regard to the transmission system. There is a general superintendent of operations and one superintendent of equipment. The majority of the departmental heads report directly to the presi- dent. Whenever vacancies occur they are usually filled from other 'departments through transfer and promotion, and employees are occa- sionally transferred within the system. In connection with the gas and electric departments, physical em- ployees are called upon from either department to help out in the other. Auditing is done by the same employees in both departments. As stated above, the U. W. 0. C. contends that the clerical employees should be included in the unit with the hourly rated and salaried phys- ical employees of the system. From the record it appears that a sub- stantial number of the clerical employees are included in the U. W. 0. C. membership. It also appears that the clerical and physical employees consider themselves as, one group and, attend picnics, parties, and all social functions together. Both the I. B. E. W. and the U. W. 0. C. -admit to membership all ,employees here involved. The U. W. 0. C. has organized a very sub- stantial number of them in a single bargaining unit. The I. B. E. W., which is seeking 3 units, presented to the Regional Director only 34 .application cards among approximately 573 employees covered by the proposed unit or units. The membership showing of the I. B. E. W. -thus fails to indicate that any substantial number of employees throughout the system have indicated a desire to bargain in three :separate units. The record discloses that collective bargaining on a system-wide ',basis had been carried on innumerous other utility companies. Under the circumstances, we are -of the opinion that a single unit is appropriate for collective bargaining purposes. The parties are in disagreement as to whether certain categ ories of employees should be included in the bargaining unit. The I. B. E. W. contends that employees designated as district rep- resentatives are confidential and supervisory employees. These em- ployees read meters for billing purposes, collect delinquent accounts, adjust minor complaints, and do work of a similar nature directly affecting customers. They do not have the right to hire or discharge, PENNSYLVANIA EDISON COMPANY 437 nor are they in any way 'responsible for setting up policies concerning labor relations of fellow employees. We find that they are not con- fidential or supervisory employees, and we will include them in the' unit. The -T. B. E.' W. further contends that certain employees 4 appear- ing on the Company's pay roll of August 1, 1941, from their titles, are .apparently supervisory and confidential employees. However, the duties 'of these individuals were not developed in the record, and it is therefore not possible to decide on the present record the issue as to the propriety of their inclusion in or exclusion from the unit. That issue we shall reserve 'for disposition upon appropriate challenge at the election, if the occasion arises. We accordingly find that all hourly rated and salaried physical and clerical employees of the Company, excluding employees in the power .plants, foremen, and supervisors, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that such unit will insure to employees of the Company full benefit of their right to self -organiza- tion and to collective bargaining and otherwise will 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. The parties agreed that; ,iii the-event the Board directs an election, eligibility to vote shall be determined by the Company's pay roll of-August 1, 1941, which was introduced in evidence at the hearing. We find that the employees of the Company eligible to vote in the election shall be those employees whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of August 1, 1941, subject 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 * George E. Brehman, assistant chemist, and William A. Scholl , chief chemist (pro- duction department-Altoona) ; Don W. Sandrus, division engineer (distribution engineer- ing department ) ; David J. Davis ,' control supervisor , and Leo H. Frederick, accounting supervisor (continuing property records department-Altoona) ; Margaret E. Hauser, chief clerk ( purchasing department-Altoona ) ; Edna R. Vance, secretary-B. class ( commercial department-Altoona ); Norman O. Swanger, office supervisor (construction, department- Altoona) ; Walter E. Boyer, Dewey C. Byrd , Chester B. Claar, Bernard R. Donnelly, John R. Nankeville, and 1%laxmillian L. Yahner, subforemen , and Murl R. Weaver, utility fore- man (electric operating department-Altoona ) ; Chalmer E. Trotter, stores foreman (store- room) ; Arthur B. Baker, James J. McDermitt , Jay I. Reade, and Paul J. Wharton, subforemen ( electric operating department-Cambria County ) ; Francis J. Keating and William Metzgar , subforemen ( Roaring Spring electric operating department ) ; Harvey F. Brown, supervisory clerk, Donald A. Fisher and George E. Stump, subforemen, and Andrew C. Werts , utility foreman ( electric operating department-Huntingdon County) ; Calvin M. Eby , utility foreman, Marcus E. Engle, subforeman , and Francis O'Hara, super- visory clerk (electric operating department-Mifflin County ) ; Doyle E. Reid , supervisory clerk (electric operating department-Saxton ) ; William D. Craver, subforeman , and Harry C. Lehr, supervisory clerk ( electric operating department-Bedford ) ; William B. Mc- Crerey, utility foreman (electric operating department-Shippensburg). 438 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD CONCLUSIONS of LAW 1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the. repre- sentation of employees of Pennsylvania Edison Company , Altoona, Pennsylvania, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2.' All hourly rated and salaried physical and clerical employees of the Company, excluding employees in the power plants, foremen, and supervisors , 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 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 Pennsylvania Edison Company, Altoona, Pennsylvania, 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, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Sixth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regu- lations, among all hourly rated and salaried physical and clerical em- ployees of the Company whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of August 1, 1941, 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 excluding employees in the power plants, foremen, and supervisors, and those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by -Utility Workers Organizing Committee, Local Union No. 180 affiliated with C. I. O., or International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, for the purposes of collective bargaining or by neither. MR. GERARD D. REIlLY took no part in the consideration of the above 'Decision. and Direction of Election.