Aluminum Alloy Casting Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 26, 1941

32 N.L.R.B. 1276 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter Of JERRY AND EDYTHE BELANGER , PARTNERS , DOING BUSI-
NESS UNDER THF9 FICTITIOUS NAME OF ALUMINUM ALLOY CASTING
COMPANY and NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DIE CASTING WORR:EItS,
LOCAL 101, C. I. O.
Case No. R-2575 .-Decided Jume 26, 1941
Jurisdiction : alloy castings manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to accord union recognition until certified by Board ; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance
employees including molders, core makers, furnace tenders, laborers, finishers,
grinders, saw men, watchmen and nightmen, excluding shipping clerk,
supervisory, clerical and office employees, and brother of one of partners.
Latham d Watkins, by Mr. Richard W. Lund, of Los Angeles, Calif.,
for the Company.
Mr. Jack C. Marcotti, Mr. Kenneth F. Eckert and Mr. Paul Fierro,
of Los Angeles, Calif., for the Union.
Mr. Marvin C. Wahl, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On April 8, 1941, National Association of Die Casting Workers,
Local 101, C. I. 0., herein called the Union, filed with the Regional
Director for the Twenty-first Region (Los Angeles, California) a
petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had risen con-
cerning the representation of employees of Jerry and Edythe Belanger,
partners, doing business under the fictitious name of Aluminum Alloy
Casting Company,' Los Angeles, California, herein called the Com-
pany, and requesting an investigation and certification of representa-
tives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,
49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On May 12, 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
1 The pleadings in this case incorrectly designated the Company as 'Aluminum Alloy
Casting Company." At the hearing , the caption was amended to read as appears herein.
32 N. L. R. B., No. 183.
1276
JERRY AND EDYTHE'BELANGER 1277
Relations ' Board Rules , and RegulationsSeries 2, as amended,
ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional 'Director to
conduct it and to- provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On May 13, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served on the Company and, the Union.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on May 20,1941, at Los Angeles,
California, before James A. Cobey, the Trial Examiner duly desig-
nated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company was represented
by counsel, the Union by its representatives; both parties 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 Ex-
aminer, made various rulings on motions and on objections to the
admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed all 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
The Company, a copartnership, located at Los Angeles, California,
is engaged in the manufacture and sale of aluminum alloy castings.
The' principal raw materials which it uses . in the operation of its
business are aluminum and molding and core sand. In, 1940, the
Company purchased 278,000 pounds of such materials, of which
approximately 250,000 pounds were aluminum, valued at more than
$75,000; sand purchases were valued at more than $15,000. All pur-
chases were made within the State of California. The aluminum
was.bough`t from the local division of the 'Aluminum Company of
Americi, which received over 95 per cent of its aluminum' ore and
ingots from sources outside of California. In the same year, the
Company sold 'over 250,000 pounds of aluminum alloy castings, worth
more 'than $300,000, to aircraft manufacturers within the area of
Southern California. '
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
National Association of Die Casting Workers, Local 101, affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
i
On or about April 4, 1941, the Union advised the Company 'by
registered letter that it represented 75 per cent of the Company's
1278 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
employees, and requested a conference with the Company for the pur-
pose of collective bargaining. Thereafter, the Company's attorney
advised the Union that it would not recognize any ;labor organization
as the exclusive.bargaining representative of the Company's employees
unless and until such organization was certified, by the Board as the
exclusive bargaining representative of, the Company's employees in an
appropriate unit.., A. statement of the Regional Director introduced
into evidence shows that the' Union' represents a substantial number
of employees in the unit found below too be appropriate.2
- We find that a question has arisen concerning 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 operations of 'the' Company de-
scribed 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. ' 11 , .1
V. THE' APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union and,the Company agreed generally that the appropriate
unit should consist of all production and maintenance employees of
the, Company, including molders, core makers, furnace tenders,
laborers, finishers, grinders, saw ,men, watchmen,and nightmen, but
excluding clerical and office employees and supervisory employees
with power to hire and, discharge. However, the Union further con-
tends that supervisory employees who do not ,have the power to hire
or, discharge, namely, Fred Belanger, William Hirst, Frank Martinez,
and G. W. Sowden and the, shipping clerk, Marcel Bidegian, should
also be excluded from the appropriate unit. The Company claims
that these employees should be included within the unit. It admits
that Fred Belanger, William Hirst, Frank Martinez, G. W. , Sowden,
and C. S. Swanson, hold supervisory positions but that only Swan-
son, the general foreman, has power to hire and discharge, and con-
tends, therefore, that only he, among. the supervisory employees,
should be excluded from the claimed'unit.
2 The Regional Director's statement shows that 47 signed membership application. cards
of the Union were submitted to him, 32 of which were dated between January and April,
1941, the remainder being undated. All signatures on such application cards appeared
to him to be genuine original signatures. Thirty-eight of the cards bore names which
appeared on the Company's April 1941 pay roll. It appeared that the Company employed
63 persons'at the date of the' hearing, 55 of whom comprise the unit which the Union
claims to be appropriate.
JERRY AND EDYTHE BELANGER 1279
Fred Belanger is charged with examining castings and, supervising
the reconditioning of sand.s He does not- have assistants, working
under•him'nor has he authority'to recommend hiring or discharging:
He is a brother of Jerry Belanger, one of the partners of the Com-
pany. We shall exclude him from the unit .4
'William Hirst, Frank Martinez, and G. W. Sowden are admittedly
supervisory employees, although none of them has authority to recom-
mend hiring or discharging. Martinez is a general utility man and
in charge of patterns. The shipping 'clerk and one or two other
men often work under his direction. Hirst is in charge of the finish-
ing room,, having 12 men under his supervision; Sowden inspects
molds and examines castings as ,they come from the molds. There
are 19 employees,in his department. They, are paid on an hourly
basis and receive a higher rate of compensation than the.other em-
ployees. In view of these facts and the,, further fact that the one
union involved requests, their exclusion, we shall exclude Hirst, Marti-
nez, and Sowden from the unit.
Marcel. Bidegian, the shipping clerk, performs shipping .duties
from -1. hour. per day to a full day, depending* upon the, quantity of
work. Only when time permits does he undertake to do production
work. The Union has not solicited his membership. Bidegian will
be excluded from the` unit.
We find that all' production and maintenance employees of the
Company, including molders, core makers, furnace tenders, laborers,
finishers, grinders, saw men, watchmen, and nightmen, but excluding
the shipping clerk, supervisory, clerical and office employeesi and
Fred Belanger, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes. of col-'
lective bargaining and that such unit will insure to the employees of
the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and
to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the
Ac
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question which .has arisen concerning r'epre-
sentation of employees of the Company can best be resolved by hold-
The Company originally classified him as an assistant superintendent , but during the
bearing withdrew that classification and asked that he be considered as'a laborer.
'4 The ' Board has frequently excluded from an appropriate unit employees , of a company
who are in an intimate relationship with officers of the company . In .Matter of Louis
Weinberg Associates, Inc. and United ' Wholesale and Warehouse Employees, Local 65,
U. R. W. E. ,A., 13 N. L. R. B. 66 the Board held :
We, shall also exclude the son and daughter of the president and vice president
of the Company from the bargaining unit. We think that by virtue' of the relation-
ship of these employees that their interests are sufficiently distinguished from those
of the other employees to warrant their exclusion from the unit where, as , here, the
only union involved desires their exclusion.
And see, Matter of Standard Magazines, Inc., Better Publications , Inc., et al., and
Book and Magazine Guild, Local 18, C. I. 0., 31 N. L. R. B. 285 '(brother of publisher
excluded).
1280 DECISIONS OF 'NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ing an election by secret ballot. We shall direct that all employees
of the Company within the appropriate unit whose names'appear on
the Company's pay roll for the period immediately preceding this
Direction of, Election shall be eligible to vote, subject to such limita-
tions and additions as are set forth in'the Direction hereinafter.
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 Jerry and Edythe Belanger, partners, doing
business under the fictitiou's name of Aluminum Alloy'Casting Com-
pany, Los Angeles, California, within the meaning of Section 9 (c)
and Section 2 (6) and (7)'of the National'Labor Relations Act.
2. All production and maintenance employees of the 'Company,
including molders,' core makers, furnace tenders, laborers; finishers,
grinders, saw men, watchmen and nightmen, but excluding the ship-
ping clerk, supervisory, 'clerical and office employees, and Fred Bel-
anger constitute a unit -appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b)' 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 Rela-
tions Act, ' and pursuant to' Article III, Section 8, of National
Labor Relations Board Rule,,, 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 Jerry and Edythe Belanger, partners, doing business under
the fictitious name of Aluminum Alloy Casting Company, Los
Angeles, California, an election.by. secret ballot should, be conducted
as early as possible, but not later„than thirty (30) days from the
date of this Direction of Election, under the direction and supervision
of the Regional Director for the Twenty-first Region, acting in this
matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and sub-
ject to Article III, Section 9, of such Rules and Regulations, among
all production and maintenance employees of the Company whose
names appear on the Company's pay roll for the period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including molders,
core makers, furnace tenders, laborers, finishers, grinders, saw men,
watchmen and nightmen, and including employees who did not work
during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in
JERRY AND EDYTHE BELANGER 1281
the active military service or training of the United States , or tem-
porarily laid off, but excluding the shipping clerk, supervisory , cleri-
cal and office employees, Fred Belanger , and those employees who
have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether
or not they desire to be represented by National Association of Die
Casting Workers, Local 101, C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
MR. WM. M. LEISERSON , Concurring :
I agree with the Decision in this case but not with the reasons
stated for excluding Hirst, Martinez , and Sowden from the appro-
priate unit. To exclude employees from a , unit because a "union
requests their exclusion " seems to me no legitimate reason. I would
exclude the three employees because of their supervisory positions.