Air Metals, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 27, 1949

83 N.L.R.B. 945 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of AIR METALS , INC.,'. EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS , DISTRICT LODGE No. 69, INDEPENDENT,'
PETITIONER
Case No. 19RC-275.-Decided May 27,1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Robert E. Till-
man, hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. The
hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial
error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a Three-member panel [Members Reynolds, Murdock, and
Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer= is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent employees
of the Employer 2
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9 (c)' (1) and Section 2 (6) `and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner requests a unit of all employees of the Employer,
excluding truck drivers and office employees,, guards, professional
employees, and supervisors. The Employer takes no position with
respect to the unit question. The Intervenor, who currently repre-
sents the sheet metal workers both at the Employer's plant at Paine
Field and at The Tricoach Company,} is in general agreement with
the Petitioner but differs from the Petitioner in certain respects. The
The names of the Employer and the Petitioner appear as amended at the hearing.
' Auto Sheet Metal Workers, Local, Union ' No. 387 , A. F. L., was permitted to intervene
upon the basis of a current contractual interest.
8 The petition was amended at the hearing by adding truck drivers and office employees
to the categories excluded.
4 A partnership of Robert L. Newell and Richard B. Newell , two of the four principal
officers and stockholders of Air Metals, Inc.
83 N. L. R. B., No. 137.
945
946 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Intervenor would include in the proposed unit office employees and
truck drivers of the Employer but would exclude from the unit four
employees performing certain machinists' work at the Employer's.
Paine Field Plant.5
The four machinists whose exclusion from. the unit is now sought
by the Intervenor apparently have been or are currently-being repre-
sented by the Intervenor as part of the unit defined in its contract with
the Employer. They are listed on the Employer's pay roll as journey-
men or production workers but their duties are entirely those of a
machinist. Thus, two of the employees operate lathes producing rivet
dies, small fittings, and other products which aid in the -production .
or become integral parts of sheet metal. parts and assemblies. The
other two machinists do general maintenance work including erecting,
dismantling, checking, and repairing production machines. Assuming
arguendo that these employees might be separately represented on a
craft basis, they may also constitute part of a larger production and
maintenance unite As no labor organization is seeking to represent
these employees as a separate unit, we shall include them in the unit
hereinafter found appropriate.7
The Petitioner seeks to exclude the single truck driver employed
at the present time. The truck driver works out of the plant at Paine
Field and devotes all of his time to hauling various supplies for use
at the plant and in delivering finished products to the Boeing company
at Seattle. Often the truck driver will deliver semi-finished work
to subcontractors, later picking up his material and returning it to the
Employer's plant. The interests of the truck driver under the circum-,
stances do not appear separate from the interests of the production
workers. The Board has on many occasions included truck drivers in
units of production and maintenance emplo'yee's where, as here, no
other labor organization sought, at the time to represent them in a
separate unit.8 In view of the above circumstances, including the fact
that were we to exclude this employee from the unit of production
and maintenance employees, he could not by himself constitute an
appropriate unit, and thus would be left entirely without an oppor-
tunity for representation, we shall include the truck driver in the unit
hereinafter found appropriate.
We find that all employees of the Employer at its Paine Field,
Washington, plant, including truck drivers, but excluding office
"Another contention of the Intervenor was that the employees of The Tricoach Company
should be included in the unit. We find it unnecessary to consider this contention , because
the issue appears moot by the transfer of such employees to the Employer , which transfer,
we assume , was accomplished as planned on or about May 1, 1949
6 Matter of Borg Warner, 72 N L . R. B. 1020.
4 Matter of Lynchburg Transit Company , 79 N L R B 546
" Matter of Glazer Steel Corp., 81 N L. R. B. 530.
AIR METALS, INC. 947
employees," guards, professional employees , and supervisors constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than
30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and
supervision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case
was heard and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among
the employees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4,
above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including employees
who did not work during the said pay-roll period because they were
ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees
who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been
rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, and also
excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement,
to determine whether they desire to be represented, for purposes of
collective bargaining, by International Association of Machinists,
District Lodge No. 69, Independent, or by Auto Sheet Metal Workers,
Local Union No. 387, A. F. L., or by neither.
9 We shall , in conformity with well -established Board principle, exclude office employees
from the unit of production and maintenance employees here found appropriate . Matter
of Standard Oil Company (Indiana ), 80 N. L. R. B. 1275.