International Harvester Co.Tractor Works

In the Matter of INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY TRACTOR WORKS and CHICAGO DIE SINKERS LOCAL No. 100 OF THE INTERNATIONAL DIE SINKERS CONFERENCE Case No. R-3021.-Decided October 30, 1941 Jurisdiction : agricultural equipment and motor truck manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re- fusal to accord union recognition ; contract with rival organization no bar to, where petitioning union gave notice of its claim to representation prior to its 'renewal date and where the contracting parties are in the process of negotiating a new contract; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : determination of whether die sink- ers and die trimmers should constitute a separate unit or be part of a larger bargaining unit held dependent upon the desires of the employees themselves. Mr. Frank B. Schwarer, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company. Mr. J. G. Mainer, of Cleveland, Ohio, for the Die Sinkers. Meyers & Meyers, by Mr. Irving Meyers, of Chicago, Ill., for the F. E. W. O. C. Mr. Sydney S. Asher, Jr., of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On July 2, 1941, Chicago Die Sinkers Local No. 100 of the Interna- tional Die Sinkers Conference, herein called the Die Sinkers, filed with the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region (Chicago, Illinois)=-a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen con- cerning the representation of employees of International Harvester Company, Chicago, Illinois, herein called the Company, at its Tractor Works in Chicago, Illinois, 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 August 22, 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 36 N. L. R. B., No. 109. 520 INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY 521 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 hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the Die Sinkers, and Farm Equipment Workers Organizing Committee, Local 191, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called the F. E. W. O. C., a labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on September .16, 1941, at Chicago, Illinois, before Charles F. McErlean, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Coln- pany, the Die Sinkers, and the F. E. W. O. C. were represented and 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. During the course of the hearing, 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 com- mitted. The rulings are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY International Harvester Company is a New Jersey corporation, with general offices in Chicago, Illinois, engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of motor trucks, harvesting machines, general farm equipment, and similar products. It owns and operates 15 man- ufacturing plants throughout the United States. The Tractor Works is a plant of the Company located at Chicago, Illinois. At this plant, the Company is engaged in the manufacture and development of tractors, tractor parts, power units, and engines. During the year 1940 the value of raw materials purchased by the Company for the Tractor Works amounted to many millions of dollars, a very substan- tial part of which represented materials received from sources outside the State of Illinois. The total value of manufactured products shipped from the Tractor Works during the year 1940 was approxi- mately $30,000,000, of which approximately 95 per cent was shipped from the Tractor Works to locations in States other than the State of Illinois. H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Chicago Die Sinkers Local No. 100 of the International Die Sinkers Conference is a labor organization which admits to membership die sinkers and die trimmers in the employ of the Company. 522 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Farm Equipment Workers Organizing Committee, Local 101, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organiza- tions, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION In the latter part of March 1941, a representative of the Die Sinkers called upon a Company official and requested higher wages for Die Sinkers members. Because of the existence of a contract with the F. E. W. O. C. the Company refused to bargain with the Die Sinkers. On July 2, 1941, as noted above, the Die Sinkers filed its petition for an. investigation and certification of representatives. The F. E. W. O. C. contends that this contract is a bar to an investi- gation and certification of representatives. It was executed on August 1, 1940, and recognizes the F. E. W. O. C. as the sole representative of all the employees in the Tractor Works, with certain exceptions not now important. The contract provides that it shall remain in effect until August 1, 1941, and thereafter from year to year unless either party gives thirty (30) days notice of termination in writing, -and that if either party gives notice of a desire for changes, the con- tract shall remain in effect until a. new agreement is negotiated. No notice of termination of the contract has been given by either party. The F. E. W. O. C., however, gave notice prior to August 1, 1941, that it desired amendments to the contract, but the present agreement has been allowed to run while negotiations for a new contract were in progress. At the time of the hearing, a new contract had not, as yet, been consummated. Since the parties are presently negotiating a new agreement,' and since the Company was notified of the claim of the Die Sinkers more than thirty days before the expiration date of the contract,2 we find that the contract does not constitute a bar to this proceeding. From a report prepared by the Regional Director and introduced in evidence it appears that the Die Sinkers represents a substantial majority of the employees of the Company in the unit alleged by it to be appropriate.3 We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company at its Tractor Works. 1 Matter of Certain -Teed Products Corporation and International Longshoremen's & Ware- housemen's Union, Local 1-6, 28 N. L. R. B., No. 140. 2 Matter of National Distillers Products Corporation and United Distillery Workers Local Industrial Union No. 758, C. I. 0., 28 N. L. R. B., No. 172. 3 The Regional Director reported that the Die Sinkers submitted to him the dues ledger for the Chicago lodge, which disclosed that 56 individuals , whose names appear on the Company's pay roll for the period ending July 12, 1941, were members in good standing of the Die Sinkers for the month of July 1941 . The pay roll contained 76 names. The F. E. W. 0 . C. presented no proof of membership to the Regional Director . At the con- clusion of the hearing, counsel for the F. E. W. 0. C. requested the Trial Examiner to grant him one week in which to produce such proof. No proof of membership was, however, thereafter submitted by the F. E. W. 0. C. INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY 523 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 Die Sinkers contends that the appropriate bargaining unit should be limited to die sinkers and trimmer die makers, both journey- men and apprentices, and Keller machine operators and die sinking specialists, herein collectively called the die sinkers and die trimmers, and that supervisors and assistant supervisors should be excluded. All of these employees work in the die shop which is referred to as Department 19. The F. E. W. O. C. contends that the die sinkers and die trimmers should not be separated from the remaining em- ployees of the Company. The F. E. W. O. C. urges, however, that, if a separate election is ordered, the appropriate unit should not be limited to die sinkers and die trimmers, but should include all the employees in Department 19. The Company takes no position. with respect to the appropriate unit. The entire Tractor Works houses approximately 5600 employees. Of this number approximately 140 men are employed in Department 19, of which 76 would be included in the unit alleged to be appro- priate by the Die Sinkers. Among other groups of employees who work in Department 19 there are cleaners, planer hands, lathe men, die punchers, polishers, machinists, and machinist helpers. Some of these meh are laborers; others do work upon the dies after their production has been completed. Although the die sinkers and die trimmers work along with other employees in Department 19, the record discloses that the work of the, die sinkers and die trimmers differs substantially from that of other employees. Die sinking and die trimming are universally recognized as a separate trade. 'To become a full-fledged die sinker an apprentice must go to school and learn the trade in die shops for a period of at least 4 years, including 2 years spent learning to operate a Keller machine. It ordinarily takes from 7 to 9 years to become a journeyman. The die sinkers and die trimmers in Department 19 constitute all the men who actually do production work on the dies, that is, cast them and put impressions on them. Die sinkers and' die trimmers in the Tractor Works are paid substantially more than other employees in Department 19. 524 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD :;,Since, 1934 the die sinkers and die trimmers of the Company have had ' a `separate representative for bargaining purposes. 'Originally they were represented by the International Association of Machinists, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the I. A. M., but in 1940 they withdrew and joined the International Die Sinkers Conference. On March 15, 1938, the I. A. M. was certified by the Board, following an election, as the representative of the die sinkers and die trimmers in Department 19.4 The election was conducted as the result of a petition filed by the Farm Equip- ment Workers Association (C. I. 0.), now known as the F. E. W. O. C., the intervenor herein. At the hearing on the petition of the Farm Equipment Workers Association in 1937, the parties stipulated that the. • die 'sinkers and die trimmers in Department 19 constituted an appropriate unit. While the I. A. M. was selected by a majority of the die sinkers and die trimmers, the Farm Equipment Workers Association was chosen by a majority of the remaining employees at the Tractor Works, and was certified as the exclusive bargaining representative of such employees by the Board. Subsequent to the elections referred to above, the Company bar- gained with the I. A. M. as the exclusive bargaining representative of the die sinkers and die trimmers in Department 19. On August 15, 1939, consent elections were held in the same two units as in the prior elections; that is, one election for the die sinkers and die trimmers, and another for the remaining employees in the plant. The F. E. W. O. C. was chosen by a majority of the employees, in each unit.5 Thereafter the Company and the F. E. W. O. C. bargained for and entered into a contract in which the two units were merged. This contract Was, on August 1, 1910, supplanted by the contract referred to in Section III above. It is clear from the record that die sinkers and die trimmers con- stitute a group apart from other employees in the die shop because of the nature of their work and by reason of their skilled trade and higher pay. Moreover, they have previously been represented in a separate unit, following an election in which the F. E. W. O. C. stipulated that the die sinkers and die trimmers constituted an appro- priate unit. On the other hand, they have been represented together with the remaining employees of the Company since the consent elec- tions of August 15, 1939, in which the F. E. W. O. C. secured a majority in both units. In view of the facts set forth above, it appears that the die sinkers and die trimmers can be considered either as a single unit appropriate 4Matter of International Harvester Company Tractor Works and Farm Equipment Work- ers Association, Division of A. A. I. S. f T. W. N. A., Lodge No. 1320, C. 1. 0., 5 N. L. R. B. 192. In the die sinkers unit the vote was 32 for the F. E. W. O. C., 28 for the I. A. M., and 3 for neither. INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY 525 for the purposes of collective bargaining, as claimed by the Die Sinkers, or as a part of a larger bargaining unit consisting of all of. the em- ployees at the Tractor Works, as contended by the F. E. W. O. C. Accordingly, we hold that the determining factor is the desire of the employees themselves. The record is inconclusive as to the present desire of the die sinkers and die trimmers. We shall, therefore, direct that an election by secret ballot be held among the die sinkers and die trimmers to determine whether they wish to be represented by the Die Sinkers or by the F. E. W. O. C. or by neither. If a majority of these employees cast their votes for the Die Sinkers, we shall hold, that the die sinkers and die trimmers constitute a separate unit and we shall certify the Die Sinkers as the exclusive representative thereof., If a majority of these employees cast their votes for the F. E. W. O. C., we shall conclude therefrom that these employees do not desire to constitute a separate unit. In such event, we shall dismiss the petition of the Die Sinkers for certification as the representative of a unit com- prising the die sinkers and die trimmers. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by, and we shall accordingly direct, an election by secret ballot. The employees of the Company eligible to vote, in the, election shall' be the die sinkers and trimmer die, makers, both journeymen and apprentices, and Keller machine opergtolrs, and' die sinking specialists in the Tractor Works, excluding supervisors and assistant supervisors, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to such limitations and additions as are set forth in the Direction. 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`representa- tion of employees of International Harvester Company, 'Chicago; Illinois, at its Tractor Works,. within the meaning..of Section, 9;.(c):.. and Section 2 (6) and (7) 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, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor 526 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 collective. bargaining with Interna- tional Harvester Company, Chicago, Illinois, at its Tractor Works, 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 Thir- teenth 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 the die sinkers and trimmer die makers, both journeymen and apprentices, and Keller machine operators, and die sinking specialists, at the Company's Tractor Works, who were em- ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, 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 tempo- rarily laid off, but excluding supervisors and assistant supervisors, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to deter- mine whether they desire to be represented by Chicago Die Sinkers Local No. 100 of the International Die Sinkers Conference, by the Farm Equipment Workers Organizing Committee, Local 101, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or by neither, for the purposes of collective bargaining. MR. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election.