American District Telegraph Co. of Missouri

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 6, 1949

83 N.L.R.B. 1139 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of AMERICAN DISTRICT TELEGRAPH COMPANY OF MIS-
SOURI , EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELEO2RIOAL
WORKERS , AFL, LocAL # 1, PETITIONER
Case No. 14-RC-563.-Decided June 6, 1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed,' a hearing was held before Glenn L.
Moller, a 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, [Chairman Herzog and Members
Houston and Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming to represent em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of certain employees of the Employer, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate unit :
The Petitioner seeks a.unit of employees of the Employer, including
employees in the operating and plant departments and the screen
factory, but excluding the traffic clerk, clerk and porter in the screen
factory, commercial and sales department employees, other clerical
employees, and all supervisors as defined by the Act. The Employer
contends that all employees sought by the Petitioner are guards within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) (3) of the Act and that, as such, they
may not be represented by the Petitioner, a labor organization which
represent employees other than guards. The Employer contends
further that, in any event, its screen factory employees should not be
I The petition and other formal papers were amended at the hearing to show the correct
name of the Employer.
83 N. L.R.B.,No.161. 1139
1140 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
included in the same unit with employees in the operating and plant
departments.
The Employer, a wholly owned subsidiary of American District
Telegraph Company, is engaged in St. Louis, Missouri , in the business
of protecting the property of its subscribers against fire, theft, and
unlawful entry. For such protection, the Employer, through its plant
department, installs and maintains various types of automatic alarm
systems on the property of its subscribers, and, through its operating
department, the Employer investigates the alarm signals received on
its control board from the subscriber's property. The Employer also
manufactures in its screen factory, burglar alarm screens and cabinets
for safes. ' The Employer uses approximately 5 percent of these
screens in the installation of its burglar alarm service for its sub-
scribers. The remainder is purchased by other subsidiaries of its
parent corporation located throughout the United States. The oper-
ating department, plant department, and screen factory are,located
in separate buildings within a mile radius.
The operating department: Approximately 33 employees in the Em-
ployer's operating department watch the control station, investigate
alarms on the property of subscribers, and provide "watchmen super-
vision." These, employees, classified as guard-operators, are deputized
by the Board of Police Commissioners and are licensed to carry guns
for their personal safety and self-defense. They do not arrest or
prefer charges against unauthorized persons on the property of sub-
scribers but they may detain such persons until the arrival of the
police. Guard-operators carry a small kit of tools for the purpose
of possible resetting or repairing of alarms. If an alarm is damaged
so that it cannot be repaired temporarily, the guard-operator protects
the subscriber's property until the alarm is fixed by an employee of
the Employer's plant department or until- other guard provisions are
made by the subscriber. If a subscriber's regular watchman fails to
report his presence at a predesignated time through the Employer's
call system, the Employer's guard-operator will take-over the watch-
man's patrol until the subscriber can make other guard arrangements.
For reasons set forth in a recent Decision 2 involving guard-opera-
tors performing substantially identical function in another subsidiary
of the parent corporation, we find that employees in the Employer's
operating department are plant guards primarily engaged in the
protection of, property against fire and theft and that they are guards
2 Matter of American District Telegraph Company, 83 N. L. R B . 517. For reasons
stated in their dissenting opinion, in the ADT case, Chairman Herzog and Member Houston
would not find the men in this Employer 's operating department "guards" within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) (3) of the Act and would include them in the bargaining unit.
However, they feel bound by the majority opinion in that case and therefore join in this
decision.
AMERICAN DISTRICT TELEGRAPH COMPANY OF MISSOURI 1141
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) (3) of the amended Act. We
shall, therefore, exclude them from the unit hereinafter found appro-
priate.
The plant department: The approximately 28 employees in the
Employer's plant department install, maintain, and inspect the Em-
ployer's various types of alarm systems. These employees have a
knowledge of electricity and of the Employer's alarm system. They
work on a shift basis. They repair and reset alarms, and may accom-
pany guards for this purpose. Plant department employees do not
carry arms or respond to alarms.
Two night repairmen in the plant department, however, are author-
ized to carry arms for their protection. In emergencies they respond
to alarms. At such times they are working under the supervision of
the operating department. They are employed principally, however,
as repairmen and not as guards, within the meaning of the Act.3
The screen factory: The approximately 25 employees in the Em-
ployer's screen factory manufacture burglar alarm screens and cab-
inets for safes. They are not skilled employees. They work from
7: 30 a. m. to 3: 30 p. m. and not on a shift basis. Experience in the
screen factory does not qualify employees to work in the plant depart-
ment. Screen factory employees have no contact with and there is
no interchange with employees in the plant department. The screen
factory and plant department are located in separate buildings, about
1 mile apart, and are under separate immediate supervision, subject
to a superintendent who is in over-all charge of both operations. There
is no history of collective bargaining with respect to any of the
Employer's employees.
In view of the foregoing, and upon the entire record in this case,
we find that a unit confined to employees of the Employer's plant
department is appropriate 4
We find that all employees employed in the Employer's plant depart-
ment, including the night repairmen, but excluding clerical employees
and supervisors 5 as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate
for the purposes of collective bargaining.
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
8 Matter of Shelbyville Desk Company, Inc, 82 N L R B. 1230
4 Matter of Foremost Dairies, Inc ., 80 N L. R. B 764 and cases cited therein.
6 The Employer and the Petitioner agree that the three employees classified as mainte-
nance supervisor , assistant foreman , and construction supervisor , do not possess super
visory authority , and therefore , we shall include them in the unit
844340-50-vol. 83-73
1142 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL, LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
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, includ-
ing employees who did not work during 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 election,
and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to rein-
statement, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented,
for purposes of collective bargaining, by International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers, AFL, Local *1.