American Cyanamid Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 3, 1947

73 N.L.R.B. 144 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter of AMERICAN CYANAMID COMPANY, CALCU CHEMICAL
DIVISION, EMPLOYER and DISTRICT 50, UNITED MINE WORKERS OF
AMERICA, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR, PETITIONER
Case No. 5-R-2561.-Decided April 3,19V
Mr. Henry C. Little. of New, York City, for the Employer.
Mr, Hugh V. Brown, of Richmond, Va., for the Petitioner.
Air. Leonard J. Mandl, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition drily filed, hearing in this case was held at Lynch-
burg, Virginia, on November 1, 1946, before Charles B. Slaughter,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing 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 OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
American Cyanamid Company, a Maine corporation, is engaged in
the business of developing and manufacturing pigments used in dyes
and paints, at its Calco Chemical Division plant, located at Piney
River, Virginia. During the period from November 1, 1945, to Novem-
ber 1, 1946, the Employer purchased for use at this plant raw materials
valued in excess of $100,000, of which more than 50 percent represented
shipments from outside the Commonwealth of Virginia. During the
same period, the Employer's sales from this plant amounted to more
than $150,000, of which in excess of 50 percent represented shipments to
points outside the Commonwealth.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the ineanumg of the National Labor Relations Act.
IT. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
73 N. L. R. B., No 24.
144
AMERICAN CYANAMID COMPANY 145
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
At the hearing it appeared that the Employer refused to recog-
nize the Petitioner as the exclusive bargaining representative of either
the clerical or the technical employees of the Employer until the Peti-
tioner has been certified by the Board in appropriate units.
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. TILE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner seeks two separate units as follows: (1) all clerical
employees, including technical secretary in the research department,'
stenographer-clerk (personnel department), clerk-typist in the ac-
counting department, assistant purchasing agent, and assistant works
accountants, but excluding secretary to the works manager, works
accountant, personnel director, assistant personnel directors, store-
keeper, production superintendents, maintenance superintendents, as-
sistant maintenance superintendents and other supervisors; (2) all
technical employees, including junior research chemists and nurse,
but excluding senior research chemists, draftsmen, chemical engineers,
metallurgists, technical assistant to the works manager, and super-
visors. The Employer apparently does not object to the establish-
ment of a single clerical unit; however, it does object to the creation
of a single technical -unit. Instead of one technical unit, the Em-
ployer urges that two technical units, one limited to employees in the
Standards and Analytical Control Laboratories, and the second to
employees in the Analytical Research, Application and Research
Laboratories, be found appropriate. In addition to the Petitioner's
exclusions from its propose([ units, the Employer would also exclude
the following from all units : junior research chemists, assistant works
accountants, assistant purchasing agent, stenographer-clerk in the
personnel department, nurse and technical secretary in the research
department.
Units
Clerical: It is the policy of the Board to separate clerical from
technical employees where any of the parties requests such separation.
Inasmuch as the Petitioner seeks a unit of clerical employees apart
from technical employees, we shall include the former in the separate,
unit.
Technical: The Technical employees whom the Petitioner seeks to
represent work in five separate laboratories. Two of the laboratories,
the Standards Laboratory and the Analytical Control Laboratory,
are located in the warehouse building; the other three, the Research
1 Referred to also as the librarian.
146 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Laboratory, the Analytical Research Laboratory and the Application
Laboratory are housed in the office building, which is about 100 feet dis-
tant from the warehouse. The Standards and Analytical Control Lab-
oratories are engaged in making routine tests of materials at various
stages of the production process. Their work is considered to be an in-
tegral part of the production operations and they are referred to as pro-
duction laboratories. The laboratories in the office building, on the
other hand, are engaged in various kinds of research and they are
known as research laboratories. Each laboratory has its own immedi-
ate supervisor although all are under the general supervision of the
director of research and development. There is no interchange of em-
ployees between the production and research laboratories . The employ-
ees in the production laboratories work on a 3-shift, 7-clay basis, as do
production and maintenance employees; whereas employees in the re-
search laboratories work on a I-shift, 5-clay week schedule. The pro-
duction and research laboratory employees pmich separate time clocks
and utilize separate facilities. In view of the foregoing, we are of the
opinion that the technical employees in the production and research
laboratories, respectively, should constitute separate units.'
The Petitioner would include, and the Employer exclude, the follow-
ing employees :
Junior Research Chemists: These employees work in the Research
Laboratories. They are required to have a college technical educa-
tion or its equivalent. After a period of training, which usually takes
about 2 years, the junior research chemists are promoted to the position
of senior research chemists, a classification which all parties agreed
to exclude. It is apparent that the junior research chemists are pro-
fessional employees. In conformity with our practices, we shall ex-
clude them from both technical units."
Assistant Works Accountants: The Employer employs two men in
this category-one has charge of general accounting work and the
other of cost accounting records and procedures. They both supervise
employees, such as clerks and bookkeepers, give efficiency ratings, and
effectively recommend the hiring, discharge, and reelassification of
subordinates. We find that the assistant works accountants are super-
visors within the Board's customary definition. Accordingly, we
shall exclude them.
Assistant Purchasing Agent: This employee works under the gen-
eral supervision of the works accountant. He places orders for sup-
plies and materials of all kinds, committing the Employer on con-
tracts involving 95 percent of its purchases. He has one subordinate,
concerning whom he has the power effectively to recommend a change
in status . We shall exclude this employee as a supervisor.
2 Cf Matter of Aluminum Company/ of rl noer,ca, 61 N L R B 1066 Matter of Curtiss-
Wright Corpo?atzon , 63 N L R B 207
3 Matter of Peter Carller Kohler Swiss Chocolates Co, Inc., 66 N L R B 257, 260
AMERICAN CYANAMID COMPANY 147
Stenographer -Cleric (Personnel Department) : The Employer
would exclude this individual as a confidential employee. As sec-
retary to the Personnel Director, her work includes the taking of
dictation and the transcribing of letters and memoranda relating to
labor relations policies, labor relations materials, rind grievance meet-
ings. We find that she is a confidential employee, and we shall exclude
her from the unit.
Nurse: This employee is in charge of the Employer's medical de-
partment. She keeps the medical records of all employees, renders
first-aid when needed, takes injured employees to the doctor, keeps
records of accidents, and arranges for routing physical examinations
of new employees. Inasmuch as her training, skill, duties, and inter-
ests differ from those of the clerical and technical employees, we shall
exclude her from all units'
Technical Secretary in the Research, Department: This employee
works under the supervision of the director of research and develop-
ment. Her work is mostly technical in nature, including the handling
and abstrating of patents. In view of the technical aspects of her
work and her supervision by the director of research and develop-
ment, we are of the opinion that she has a community of interest with
the technical employees in the Research Laboratories. We shall in-
clude her in that unit.
Accordingly, we find that the following units at the Employer's
Calco Chemical Division, Piney River, Virginia, excluding from
each of the units stenographer-clerk (personnel department), secre-
tary to the works manager, technical assistant to the works manager,
senior research chemists, junior research chemists, nurse, storekeeper,
draftsmen, chemical engineers, metallurgists, works accountant, assist-
ant works accountants, assistant purchasing agent, personnel director,
assistant personnel directors, production superintendents, maintenance
superintendents, and all other supervisory employees with authority
to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in
the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, are ap-
propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
(1) All clerical employees.
(2) All technical employees in the Standards and Analytical Con-
trol Laboratories.
(3) All technical employees in the Analytical Research, Applica-
tion, and Research Laboratories, including the technical secretary in
the research department.
4Matter of American Stove Companrf, 70 N L R B 1059 , Matter of The Elect) is Con-
troller it Manufactioinp Compa n y, 69 N L R B 1242, Matter of The Newark Stove Com-
pany, 70 N. L It B 1232 , Matt er of Aluminum Company of America, 61 N L R B 1066,
1082.
148 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining with American Cyanamid Company,
Calco Chemical Division, Piney River, Virginia, an election 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 su-
pervision of the Regional Director for the Fifth 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 Regulations-Series 4, among the employees in each of the units
found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the
pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, in-
cluding employees who did not work during said pay-roll period be-
cause they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including
employees in the armed forces of the United States who present them-
selves 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 District 50, United Mine Workers
of America, American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of col-
lective bargaining.
CHAIRMAN HEIIZOG took no part in the consideration of the above De-
cision and Direction of Election.