Ford Motor Co.

In the Matter of FORD MOTOR COMPANY, A DELAWARE CORPORATION, and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AuTOMOBILR WORRIERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE C. I. 0. Cases Nos. R-2425 and R-2426 SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND AMENDMENT TO CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES August 18, 1941 . On April 7, 1941, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Elections 1 in the above- entitled proceeding. , The Board therein directed that separate elec- tions be conducted among (1) all production, maintenance, and clerical employees employed at the Lincoln Plant, Detroit, Michigan, of the Ford Motor Company, herein called the Company; (2) all production, maintenance, and clerical employees at the River Rouge plant of the Company, Dearborn, Michigan; and (3) all pattern makers, wood and metal, and their apprentices, who are employed at the River Rouge plant of the Company, Dearborn, Michigan. Pur- suant to the Direction of Election, separate elections by secret ballot were conducted at the Company's Lincoln plant, Detroit, Michigan, and at the Company's River Rouge plant, Dearborn, Michigan, on May 21, 1941, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Seventh Region (Detroit, Michigan). On June 3, '1941, the Regional Director, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, issued and duly served upon the parties his Elections Report with respect to the balloting among the production, mainte- nance, and,clerical employees at the Lincoln plant of the Company and among the production, maintenance, and clerical employees at the River Rouge plant of the Company. In his Elections Report the Regional Director stated that he would issue a separate Elections Report with respect to the balloting among the pattern makers at 1 30 N L. R B 985 34 N. L. R. B., No. 65. . 436 FORD MOTOR COMPANY 437 the Company's River Rouge plant. On June 21, 1941, the Board issued a Supplemental Decision and Certification of Representatives 2 in which it certified International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called the U. A. W.- C. I. 0., as the exclusive representative of all production, maintenance, and clerical employees at the Lincoln plant, and of all such employees at the River Rouge plant. On June 18, 1941, the Regional. Director, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regula- tions, issued and duly served upon the parties a Supplemental Elec- tion Report. The Supplemental Election Report dealt with the balloting among the pattern makers, wood and metal, and their ap- prentices, employed at the River Rouge plant of the Company. As to the balloting among such employees and its results, the Re- gional'Director reported as follows: Total all Valid votes ballots only Total on eligibility list------------------------------ 285 Total votes cast------------------------------------ 402 Total ballots challenged----------------------------- 143 Total blank ballots--------------------------------- 0 Total void ballots---------------------------------- 0 Total valid votes cast------------------------------ 259 .259 Votes cast for Pattern Makers League of Detroit and vicinity, affiliated with Pattern Makers League of N. A-------------------------------------------- 90 Votes cast for International. Union, United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0----- 161 Votes cast for neither ------------------------------- 8 With respect to the 143 challenged ballots the Regional Director re- ported as follows : that on June 6, 1941, upon prior notice to all the parties and in the presence of representatives of all the parties except Pattern Makers Association of tetroit and Vicinity, affiliated with the Pattern Makers League of North America, herein called the Pat- tern Makers, the names of the persons who had cast the 143 challenged ballots were compared with the poll list used in the conduct of the election; that challenges to 117 of such ballots should be sustained on the ground that the names of none of the 117 persons appeared upon the poll list used in connection with the election which had been sub- mitted to all parties prior to the election and had been found to be complete and correct by the Regional Director; that the 26 remaining challenges should be overruled on the ground that the ballots were cast by persons whose names appeared on the poll list. Since the 26 bal- lots, the challenges to which were overruled, could not affect the re- sult of the election the Regional Director did not open or count them. 232 N. L. R. B. 1001. 451269-42-vol. 84-29 438 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On June 27, 1941, the Pattern Makers filed its Objections to ^ the Supplemental Election Report with the Regional. Director. On July 22, 1941, the Regional Director issued and duly served upon the parties his Report on Objections in which he found, in effect, that the Ob- jections filed by the Pattern Makers raised no substantial or material issues with respect to the conduct of the ballot or the Supplemental Election,Report. The Board has considered the Objections filed by the Pattern Makers and the Regional Director's report thereon and finds that the Objections raise no substantial or material issues with respect to the conduct of the ballot or the Supplemental Election Report. The Objections are hereby overruled. In its Decision and Direction of Elections,, the Board stated that a determination of the appropriate unit or, units for the Company's River Rouge plant would depend in -part on the results of the elec- tions held among the production,. maintenance, and clerical employees at the River Rouge plant and among the pattern makers, wood and metal, and their apprentices, at the River Rouge plant. The Board therein said: If the groups of employees participating in each of the elec- tions at the River Rouge plant of the Company select the same representative, they will together constitute a single appropriate- unit. If they choose different representatives, they will consti- tute separate appropriate units. In its Supplemental Decision and Certification of Representatives the Board said : The results of the election among all production, maintenance, and clerical employees at the River Rouge plant of the Company show that International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., has been selected as bargain- ing agent by a majority of the employees voting therein. 'We believe, especially in view of the fact that the production, main- tenance; and clerical employees at the River Rouge plant of the Company constitute a large majority of all the' employees in that plant, that certification of a bargaining representative chosen by them should not await a determination of the,question whether pattern makers are to be included in a single appro- priate unit with the production, maintenance, and clerical em- ployees at the River Rouge plant or instead comprise a separate appropriate unit. We shall, therefore, now issue a certification applicable to the employees of the River Rouge plant -of the' Company other than the pattern makers. ' ' This certification will not, of course, preclude the possibility that International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, Affiliated with the FORD MOTOR COMPANY 439 C. I. 0., may be certified as the bargaining agent for a larger unit following our determination regarding the pattern makers. After we have received an election report from the Regional Director concerning the balloting and its results among the pattern makers employed by the Company at its River Rouge plant, we shall issue a supplemental decision in which we shall finally determine the appropriate unit or units at that plant. In view of the foregoing, the Elections Report, the Supplemental Election Report, and the entire record in the case, we shall certify the U. A. W.-C. I. 0. as the exclusive representative of all produc- tion, maintenance, and clerical employees at the River Rouge plant of the Company, including pattern makers, wood and metal, and their apprentices. , We hereby vacate that portion of our previous Certification of Representatives' relating to production, maintenance and clerical employees at the River ' Rouge plant of the Company and substitute therefor' our Amendment to Certification of Repre- sentatives as hereinafter set forth. Upon the basis of the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : SUPPLEMENTAL FINDING OF FACT All production, maintenance, and clerical employees employed at the River Rouge plant of the Company, including pattern makers, wood and metal, and their apprentices, but excluding direct repre- sentatives of the management such as officers and directors of the Company; sales managers and assistant sales managers; factory managers and assistant factory managers; directors and employees of sales, accounting, personnel and industrial-relations departments; directors of purchases and assistant directors of purchases; super- intendents and assistant superintendents; general foremen, foremen, and assistant foremen; all other persons working in a supervisory capacity (but not leaders, pushers, or inspectors) including follow-tip men and those having the right to hire or discharge, and those whose duties include recommendation as to hiring or discharging; socio- logical workers and personnel investigators; service men; plant pro- tection employees; time-study men; all clerical and secretarial employees (including telephone operators) in the Rotunda and Ad- ministration buildings and in the offices of building superintendents and department superintendents and in the branch stock offices and in main and badge cribs; designing (drawing-board), production, esti- On June 28, 1941, the U. A. w: C. I. O. filed a petition with the Board requesting it to certify U. A. W.-C. I. O. as the exclusive representative of all production , maintenance, and clerical employees at the River Rouge plant of the Company including pattern makers, wood and metal. The request is hereby granted. 4 See footnote 2, supra. 440 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD mating and planning engineers; draftsmen and detailers; physicists; chemists; metallurgists; artists; designer-artists; clay, and plaster modelers (but not those who make patterns); timekeepers; training- school students (but not apprentices) ; instructors and clerks in all schools; fire-department chiefs, captains, inspectors, clerks, leaders and their assistants;. kitchen; cafeteria and dining-room help (but not auxiliary help from production or maintenance departments) ; hospital and first-aid employees and field men for medical depart- ment (but not maintenance employees in hospital department) ; safety inspectors; stock checkers; all employees in engineering and airport buildings; all employees of the photographic department, including those who work on blueprints, constitute a unit appro- priate for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that such unit will insure to employees of the River Rouge plant of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. Upon the basis of the above Supplemental Finding of Fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : SUPPLEMENTAL CONCLUSION OF LAW The above-described employees at the River Rouge plant of the Company constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 0 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. AMENDMENT TO CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES 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, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Sections 8 and 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., has been designated and selected by a majority of all'production, maintenance', and clerical employees at the River Rouge plant of Ford Motor Company, Dear- ,born, Michigan, including pattern makers, wood and metal, and their apprentices, but excluding direct representatives of the management such as officers and directors of the Company; sales managers and assistant sales managers; factory managers and assistant factory mana- gers; directors and employees of sales, accounting, personnel and industrial-relations departments; directors of purchases and assistant directors of purchases; superintendents and assistant superintendents; FORD MOTOR COMPANY 441 general foremen, foremen, and assistant foremen; all other persons working,in a supervisory capacity (but not leaders, pushers, or in- spectors) including follow-up men and those having the right to hire or discharge, and those whose duties include recommendation as to hiring or discharging; sociological workers and personnel investiga- tors ; service men ; plant-protection employees ; time-study men ; all clerical and secretarial employees (including telephone operators) in the Rotunda and Administration buildings 'and in the offices of building superintendents and department superintendents and in the branch stock offices and in main and badge cribs; de- signing (drawing-board), production, estimating and planning engineers; draftsmen and detailers; physicists; chemists; metal- lurgists; artists; designer-artists; clay and plaster modelers (but not those who make patterns) ; timekeepers; training-school students (but not apprentices) ; instructors and clerks in all schools; fire- department chiefs, captains, inspectors1 clerks, leaders and their assist- ants; kitchen, cafeteria and dining-room help (but not auxiliary help from production or maintenance departments) ; hospital and first-aid employees,.and field men for medical department (but not maintenance employees in hospital department) ; safety inspectors; stock checkers; all employees in engineering and airport buildings; and all employees of the photographic department, including those who work on blueprints, as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of_the Na- tional Labor Relations Act, International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employ- ment, and other conditions of employment. ' MR. EDWIN S. SMITH took no part in the consideration of the above Second Supplemental Decision and Amendment to Certification of Representatives.