Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 30, 1947

73 N.L.R.B. 784 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter of ALLIS-CHAmuERs MANUFACTURING COMPANY, EM-
PLOYER and EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION, NORWOOD WORKS Or ALLIS-
CHALMERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, PETITIONER
Case No. 9-R-0189.-Decided April 30,19417
Mr. W. J. McGowan, of Milwaukee, Wis., and Mr. Arnold Thorsen,
of Norwood, Ohio, for the Employer.
Messrs. Philip J. Kennedy and Harry Detmaring, of Cincinnati,
Ohio, for the Petitioner.
Mr. Arthur L. Garfield, of Dayton, Ohio, and Mr. Ellsworth G.
Heine, of Norwood, Ohio, for the Intervenor.
Mr. Irving D. Roseninan, of counsel to the Board.,
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon an amended petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held
,at Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 27, 1947, before William O. Mur-
dock, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hear-
ing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OP FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF TIID EMPLOYER
Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, a Delaware corporation,
is engaged at its Norwood, Ohio, plant in the manufacture and sale of
integral horsepower electric motors and centrifugal pumps. During
the past year the Employer purchased for use at this plant raw
materials valued in excess of $5,000,000, of which) 60 percent repre-
sented shipments from points outside the State of Ohio. During the
same period the Employer manufactured in excess of $6,000,000 worth
of finished products, approximately 80 percent of which represented
shipments to points outside the State.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
73 N. L. R. B., No. 146.
784
ALLIS-CHALMERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
785
The Petitioner is an unaffiliated labor organization, claiming to
represent employees of the Employer.
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, Local
765, herein called the Intervenor, is a labor organization affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, claiming to represent
employees of the Employer.
III. TIIE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On April 30, 1946, the Petitioner requested recognition of the Em-
ployer as the exclusive bargaining representative of its production
and maintenance employees. The Employer refused this request, as-
serting that it intended to continue to negotiate with the Intervenor,
the certified bargaining representative of its employees, until the Pe-
titioner had been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. The
Petitioner filed its petition herein on May 31, 1946, and its amended
petition. on February 6, 1947.
The Petitioner and the Intervenor have at different times since
1937 served as exclusive bargaining representative of the employees
sought herein. On September 17, 1944, as the result of an election
held pursuant to the Board's Decision and Direction of Election,' the
Intervenor was certified as the exclusive bargaining representative
of these employees, and has since been in contractual relationship
with the Employer concerning them. It executed its most recent con-
tract with the Employer on September 30, 1946. The agreement
provided for an initial period ending April 15, 1948, and for its
automatic renewal for annual periods thereafter. A supplemental
a greement, executed by the Employer and the Intervenor simultane-
ously with the 1946 contract, provided further that :
This agreement * * * shall be subject to rulings or deter-
minations made by the National Labor Relations Board on
the petition filed by [the Intervenor] on or about May 31,
1946 * * *
At the hearing the Intervenor urged its current contract as a bar.
We do not agree. Inasmuch as the filing of the original petition pre-
ceded the execution of the September 30, 1946, contract,2 that instru-
ment cannot under well-established rules of the Board, bar an elec-
tion at this time .3 Furthermore, the contract is precluded from being
i Matter of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, 43 N L R B. 255
2 Although the amended petition followed the contract, it made only minor changes in
the requested unit, and therefore did not impair the effectiveness of the original petition
on the contract bar issue Matter of General Electric X-Ray Corporation, 72 N. L. R B
1245,
3 Matter of Central Ohio Light & Power Company, 72 N L R B. 1414, and Matter of
Ste Genevieve Lamed Quarry Company, 70 N. L. It. B. 1259.
786 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
a bar by the terms of the supplemental agreement thereto which
makes the contract subject to the rulings or determinations of the
Board.4 Accordingly, we find that no bar exists to a present deter-
mination of representatives.
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer, within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
We find, substantially in accord with the parties, that all produc-
tion and maintenance employees at the Norwood, Ohio, plant of the
Employer, including ordinary or checking inspectors and testers, but
excluding supervisory inspectors, main office employees, cooperative
students, operating engineers in the power- house, wood and metal pat-
tern makers and pattern makers apprentices, supervisory shop clerks,
superintendents, assistant superintendents, foremen, assistant foremen,
group or unit leaders, graduate student apprentices, time-study em-
ployees, confidential employees, and all or any other supervisory, em-
ployees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or other-
wise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend
such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.-'
DIRECTION OF ELECTION 6
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Allis-Chalmers Manufactur-
ing Company, Norwood, Ohio, an election by secret ballot shall be con-
ducted 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 Ninth Region, acting in this matter as agent
for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Sections
203.55 and 203.56, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regn-
4 Matter of Libby, McNeill & Libby, 64 N L R. B. 30 ; Matter of Willits Overland Motors,
Inc., 35 N. L. R . B. 549.
5 This unit conforms to the unit certified by the Boaid in Matter of Allis -Chalmers Manu-
facturing Company, 57 N. L R. B. 1381 , with the exception that the classifications "wood
and metal pattern makers " and "pattern makers apprentices ," which are currently repre-
sented by Pattern Makers League of North America , District 1, A. F. L., aie excluded from
the unit in accordance with the agreement of the parties , and that the classification
"indenture apprentices " is omitted from the exclusions in accordance with the requests
of the labor organizations. The Employer opposes the omission of the latter classifica-
tion, relying on the Boards poor certification and on the fact that the recent contract unit
specifically excludes such employees However , inasmuch as the record discloses that the
employer for many years has not had, does not now have, and does not contemplate having
in the near future , such a classification of emploi ees, we find it unnecessary to pass upon
this specific exclusion Matter of Chrysler Motors of California, 65 N L. R B 893, and
Matter of Curtiss-Wright Corporation, 63 N L It. B 207.
6 Any participant in the election herein may , upon its prompt request to , and approval
thereof by, the Regional Du ectoi, have its name removed from the ballot
ALLIS-CHALMERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY 787
lations-Series 4, among the employees in the unit found appropriate
in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period
immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees
who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill
or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in
the armed forces of the United States who present themselves in per-
son at the polls, 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, to determine whether they desire
to be represented by Employees Association, Norwood Workers of
Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, or by United Electrical,
Radio and Machine Workers of America, Local 765, C. I. 0., for the
purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.