Armstrong Bros. Tool Co.

In the Matter of ARMSTRONG BROS. TOOL CO. and LOCAL 732, INTERNA- TIONAL UNION UNITED AUTOMOBILE WORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE A. F. OF L. Case No. R-3288.-Decided November 29, 1941 Jurisdiction : tool manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: Com- pany refused to recognize petitioning union pending Board determination of majority representation; stipulation of mutual substantial interest of two unions involved ; elections necessary. Units Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : units comprising (1) all employees in the Die Room, including die sinkers, engaged in making forge dies and trimming dies for the drop forge department; and (2) all productions, mainte- nance, and other employees, excluding from either unit working foremen and higher supervisory employees, office and clerical employees, and time study men. Fyffe and Clarke, by Mr. Albert J. Smith , of Chicago, Ill., for the Company. Mr. Joseph. M.,Jacobs and Mr. Philip D. Goodman, of Chicago, Ill., for the U. A. W. A.-A. F. L. Mr. J. G. Meiner, of Cleveland , Ohio, for the Die Sinkers. Mr. Armin Uhler, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS STATEMENT OF THE CASE On August 8, 1941, Local 732, International Union United Auto- mobile Workers of America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., herein called the UAWA-AFL,1 filed with the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region ( Chicago, Illinois ) a petition alleging that a ques-, tion affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Armstrong Bros. Tool Co., Chicago, Illinois, herein called the Company , and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela- 3 The Trial Examiner at the hearing granted a motion to correct the petition and other formal papers pertaining to this proceeding by adding "Local 732" to the name of the Union. 37 N. L R. B , No. 34. 221 222 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD tions Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. -On October 29, 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 Di- rector to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. On October 30, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company ' and the UAWA-AFL. On or about October 31, 1941, International Die Sink- ers Conference and Chicago Die Sinkers Local No. 100 of the Interna- tional Die Sinkers` Conference,2 herein called, the Die Sinkers Local, filed a motion to intervene. Pursuant to notice a hearing was held on November 12, 1941, at Chicago, Illinois, before Stephen M. Reynolds, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. At the beginning of the hearing the Trial Examiner granted the mo- tion of the Die Sinkers Local to intervene. The Company, the UAWA-AFL, and the Die Sinkers Local were represented by counsel or official representative, and participated in the hearing. Full op- portunity 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 UAWA-AFL moved to amend its allegations concerning the appropriate unit in certain particulars set out in Section IT, below. The Trial Examiner granted the motion. No objections to the rulings of the Trial Examiner were made by any of the parties. 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 Armstrong Bros. Tool Co. is an Illinois corporation with its plant and principal place of business at Chicago, Illinois. The Company is engaged in the manufacture and sale of tools, such as lathe tools, pipe tools, and wrenches. During the calendar year 1940 the - Com- pany purchased raw materials consisting principally of open-hearth, alloy and high-speed steel, at a cost of approximately $100,000. Ap- proximately 50 per cent of these materials were purchased by and shipped to the Company from outside the State of Illinois. During the same period the Company manufactured products exceeding in value $750,000, approximately 60 per cent of which products were sold 2 Sometimes referred to in the record as Chicago Die Sinkers Lodge No. 100. ARMSTR,OTN'G BROS. TOOL 00. 223 and shipped to points outside the State of Illinois. The Company concedes that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Local 732, International Union United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., and Chicago Die Sinkers Local No. 100 of the International Die Sinkers Conference, are labor organizations admitting to membership employees of the Company. M. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The parties stipulated that on or about August 6, 1941, the UAWA- AFL requested recognition from the Company as the sole collective bargaining agent of certain of its employees, and that the Company questioned the representation by the UAWA-AFL of a majority of its employees and refused to grant recognition until the UAWA-AFL should be certified by the Board. The UAWA-AFL and Die Sinkers Local further stipulated that each has a substantial interest in this proceeding.8 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 UAWA-AFL's unit claim, as modified at the hearing, extends to all employees of the Company, except die sinkers, supervisory, office and clerical employees.4 8A statement prepared by the Regional Director and introduced in evidence sets forth that UAWA-AFL submitted to him 271 application -for-membership cards, 261 of which appear to bear genuine signatures . Ninety-six of the 271 cards are dated in 1941, as follows : 1 in January ; 51 in June ; 5 in July ; 37 in August, and 2 in September. 175 cards are undated but were represented by the Union to have been signed during the months of August and September , 1941. By the stipulation hereinabove referred to it is agreed that each of the labor organizations involved in this proceeding has a substantial interest therein. The Company has in its employ approximately 550 employees at the present time 4 Originally the UAWA-AFL requested the inclusion in the unit of "all production and maintenance employees , excluding supervisory and office and clerical employees." It Is the UAWA-APL's intention to include in the unit employees in all classifications , except die sinkers. 224 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL 'LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The Die Sinkers Local requests a separate unit.of all die sinkers and their apprentices engaged in making forge dies and trimming dies for the drop-forge department .5 The Company takes no posi- tion, but requests that the Board determine the appropriateness of a separate unit composed of these employees. The record shows that the employees sought to be represented by the Die Sinkers Local are employees who are regularly engaged in sinking drop-forge dies and employees in accessory units, such as trimmers and punchers. It is further shown that these employees constitute a separate department which in the Company's plant occu- pies a locality known as the Die Room. They are highly specialized workers who acquire their skill in the course of from 7 to 9 years' apprenticeship. Apparently all of these employees are members of the Die Sinkers Local. The UAWA-AFL, which has organized production, maintenance, and certain other employees, agrees to the exclusion of these employees from a plant-wide unit. We shall exclude the die sinkers and their apprentices from the plant-wide unit hereinafter found appropriate and shall establish them as a separate bargaining unit.6 The UAWA-AFL desires the exclusion from the production and maintenance unit, for which it contends, of all employees perform- ing supervisory duties, including straw bosses and assistant straw bosses or working foremen, regardless of the extent to which they may perform manual work. However, the Die Sinkers Local asks for the inclusion of working foremen in the Die Sinkers unit. The Company takes the position that working foremen should be excluded from- the units claimed by both the Die Sinkers Local and the UAWA-AFL. The record shows that, due to defense work, employ- ment in the Company's plant has increased from approximately 250 to 550 employees during the current year. In consequence, the pro- portionate amount of supervision exercised' by working foremen has increased during recent months. Under these circumstances we shall exclude all working foremen and higher supervisory employees from the units herein found appropriate.? All parties are in agreement that office and clerical employees, including time-study men, should be excluded. In accordance with our usual practice, we shall exclude them from the units herein. 5 The Company carries on its pay roll the following employees who are engaged in these activities , including one working foreman: Clarence E. Lindahl, Albert R Kreft, Carl A. Anderson, Arthur Gulbrandsen, Clarence E. Gibbons, Fred Jacobson , Raymond Algrup, William Prining, Frank Langer, John Berg, Ed. Berg, and Anton Frederickson. 6In the Matter of International Harvester Company (East Moline Works) and Pattern Makers' League of North America and Pattern Makers Association of Quad Cities if Vicinity, ( A. F. of L. ), et at., 32 N. L . It. B., No S. 7 There is only one working foreman (Anton Frederickson ) among the employees in the proposed die sinkers unit The Die Sinkers Local's representative stated at the heating that this employee is eligible to his organization. ARMSTRONG BROS. TOOL CO. 225 We find that the following two groups of employees, excluding working foremen and higher supervisory employees, office and cleri- cal employees, and time-study men, constitute separate appropriate units for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that said units will insure to the respective employees of the Company the full bene- fit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining, and otherwise will effectuate the policies of the Act: 1. All employees in the Die Room, including die sinkers and their apprentices, engaged in making forge dies and trimming dies for the drop-forge department; 2. All production,' maintenance, and other employees of the Company. 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 elec- tions by secret ballot. The Company and the UAWA-AFL have expressed their preference for a current pay-roll date as the basis upon which eligibility to vote should be determined. The Die Sink- ers Local has expressed no preference in this respect. In accordance with our usual practice we shall direct that all employees in the appropriate units who were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of Elections, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in our Direction, shall be eligible to vote. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon 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 Armstrong Bros. Tool Co., Chicago, Illinois,, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and '(7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All employees of the Company in the following two, groups, -Ex- cluding working foremen and higher supervisory employees, office and clerical employees and time-study men, constitute units appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Sec- tion 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act: (a) All employees in the Die Room, including die sinkers and their apprentices, engaged in making forge dies and trimming dies for the drop-forge department; (b) All production, maintenance, and other employees of the Com- pany. 226 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS 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, 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 Armstrong Bros. Tool Co., Chicago , Illinois, elections 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 Thirteenth 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 employees in each of the two groups described below who were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction , 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 working foremen and higher supervisory employees , office and clerical employees , and time- study men, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause : (1) All employees in the Die Room, including die sinkers, and their apprentices , engaged in making forge dies and trimming dies for the drop -forge department , to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Chicago Die Sinkers Local No. 100 of the Inter- national Die Sinkers Conference for the purposes of collective bargaining ; (2) All production, maintenance and other employees of the Coin-' pany, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Local 732, International Union United Automobile Workers of Amer- ica, affiliated with the A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective bargaining.