Aluminum Forgings, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 23, 1944

54 N.L.R.B. 1582 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of ALUMINUM FORGINGS, INC. and UNITED AUTOMOBILE,
AIRCRAFT & AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL
No. 491 (C. 1. 0.)
Case No. 6-R-890.-Decided February 23,1944
Mr. Lyman M. Bass, of Buffalo, N. Y., and Mr. John S. Slosson, of
Erie, Pa., for the Company.
Mr. Eugene 0. Drumm, of Erie, Pa., for the Union.
Mr. A. Sumner Lawrence, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
ARID
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricul-
tural Implement Workers of America, Local No. 491 (C. I. 0.), herein
called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had
arisen concerning the representation of employees of Aluminum Forg-
ings, Inc., Erie, Pennsylvania, herein called the Company, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice before James A. Shaw, Trial Examiner. Said hear-
ing was held at Erie, Pennsylvania, ,on January 19, 1944. The Com-
pany and the Union appeared, participated, and were afforded full
opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and
to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's
rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded the opportunity of filing
briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record" in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Aluminum Forgings, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation, has its prin-
cipal place of business in Erie, Pennsylvania, where it is engaged in
the manufacture of aluminum forgings in a plant owned by the De-
fense Plant Corporation, an instrumentality of the United States Gov-
54 N. L. R. B., No. 255.
1582.
ALUMINUM FORGINGS, INC. 1583
ernment. During the 12-month period ending September 9, 1943, the
Company purchased for use at its Erie, Pennsylvania, plalit, raw
materials valued in excess of $500,000, of which 50 percent was ob-
tained from points outide the Commonwealth of Pennylvania. Dur-
ing the same period, the Company manufactured at its Erie plant
finished products valued in excess of $200,000, of which 50 percent was
shipped to points outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The
Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning
of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers
of America, Local No. 491, is a labor organization, affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership em-
ployees of the Company.
M. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On December 9, 1943, the Union claiming majority representation,
requested that the Company recognize it as the exclusive bargaining
representative for the .Company's timekeeping employees. The' Com-
pany declined to grant the Union's request.
A statement of the Regional Director, introduced in, evidence at
the hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number
of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.'
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union contends that all timekeepers and assistants employed
by the Company, whether salaried or hourly rated, excluding all other
employees and supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote,
discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of
employees or effectively recommend such action, constitute an appro-
priate unit. The Company contends that these employees do not
comprise an appropriate unit, basing its contention upon the grounds
that (a) timekeeping employees do work of a confidential nature,
and (b) the Union cannot properly represent the, timekeeping em-
ployees because it already represents the production and maintenance
employees in a unit from which the Board expressly excluded time-
1 The Regional Director reported that the Union had submitted 10 authorization cards
dated in September 1943, of which 9 bore the apparently genuine original signatures of
persons whose names appear on the Company 's pay roll of December 24, 1943, containing
10 names within the claimed appropriate unit.
1584 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
keepers and assistants .2 In addition to the question of the appropri-
ateness of a timekeeping unit, the Union would include and the
Company exclude the chief timekeeper from any'unit of timekeepers
that may be found appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
The record reveals that the timekeepers are engaged in the duties
normally performed by such employees; there is no evidence that as a,
group they exercise any supervisory functions or that they have any
power to make recommendations. Their work is largely clerical in
mature. We have heretofore found that timekeepers, absent a clear
showing of confidential duties which refer to labor relations or the
performance of managerial functions, do not perform duties of a
nature sufficient to warrant depriving them of the rights of self-
organization and collective bargaining.3 We are of the opinion that
the employees herein perform no such duties as would warrant their
exclusion from the benefits conferred by the Act.
The Company further contends that since these employees were
expressly excluded from the production and maintenance unit previ-
ously found appropriate by the Board, the Union is precluded from
representing such employees. We find no merit in this contention;
I he fact that the Union now, represents the production and mainte-
nance employees in a unit from which timekeepers are excluded, does
not preclude it from representing such timekeeping employees in a
separate appropriate unit.4
There remains for consideration the question of including or ex-
cluding the chief timekeeper from the appropriate unit. This em-
ployee is the highest paid individual in the timekeepers group, is in
complete charge of such employees, and has authority to recommend
their heir and discharge. We find that the chief timekeeper is a su-
pervisory employee within our usual definition; we shall exclude him
from the appropriate unit.
We find that all timekeepers and assistants employed by the Com-
pany, whether salaried or hourly rated, excluding the chief time-
keeper, and all other employees and supervisory employees with
authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect
changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such
action, constitute an appropriate unit within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
2 See Matter of A lumen um Forgings , Inc , 53 N L R B 1054.
3 See Matter of United Aircraft Products, 41 N L . R. B 501 ; Matter of Bethlehem Steel
Company, Staten Island Yard, 46 N L. R B 1166; Hatter of General Motors Corpoiation,
Eastern Aircraft, Trenton Division, 51 N. L R. B 217
' See Matter of Chrysler Corporation , Morysbelle Plant , 36 N. L. R. B 157 ; Matter of
General Motors Corporation , Eastern Aircraft, Trenton Division, 51 N L R. B. 217
ALUMINUM FORGINGS, INC . 1585
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
It was disclosed at the hearing that the plant operated by the Com-
pany was in the process of expanding. Such expansion will, it was
estimated, add approximately 3 employees to the group of 10 time-
keepers and assistants included within the appropriate unit." While
the Board has in some instances dismissed proceedings when by reason
of expanding operations it has appeared that a representative group
of employees would not be attained within a reasonably short time
thereafter 6 we are of the opinion that inasmuch as the Company has
already attained more, than 50 percent of its contemplated timekeep-
ing personnel, the purposes of the Act would not be effectuated by dis-
missing the petition relating thereto.? Accordingly, we shall direct
that the question concerning representation which has arisen be re-
solved by an election by secret ballot among the employees in the ap-
propriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period imme-
diately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, sub-
ject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction.
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 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Aluminum Forg-
ings, Inc., Erie, Pennsylvania, 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 Sixth Region, acting in this matter as agent
for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III,
Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations among the employ-
ees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were em-
ployed 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
The record reveals that the peak of expansion is expected to be reached in the spring
or summer of the present year.
° See Matter of Lukas Harold Corp., 44 N. L . R B. 730; Matter of Solar Aircraft Com-
pany, 48 N. L. R. B. 242.
° See Matter of Remington Rand, Inc., Propeller Division, 50 N. L. R. B. 819 ; Matter of
Chapman Dehydrator Company, Inc , 51 N. L. R. B. 664.
567900-44-vol. 54--101
1586 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
States who present- themselves in person 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 or not they desire to be represented by United
Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement `Yorkers of America,
Local No. 491 (C. I. 0.), for the purposes of collective bargaining.