American Propeller Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 31, 1943

51 N.L.R.B. 955 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In . the Matter of AMERICAN PROPELLER CORPORATION and METAL
POLISHERS , BUFFERS, PLATERS & HELPERS INTERNATIONAL UNION,
LOCAL ^$ 2, A. F. OF L.
Case No. R-5611.-Decided July 31, 1943
Pruitt and Grealis, by Messrs. John J. Grealis and Francis J.
Naphin, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company.
Mr. Joseph Padway, by Mr. Robert A. Wilson, of Washington, D. C.,
for the Metal Polishers.
Messrs. Robert Burkhart, Sidney Friedlander, Richard Gosser and
Mike Bsharah, of Toledo, Ohio, for the UAW-CIO. -
Mr. Robert Silagi, of counsel to-the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers &
Helpers International Union, Local . $ 2, A. F. of L., herein called the
Metal Polishers, alleging that a question affecting commerce had
arisen concerning the representation of employees of American Pro-
peller Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, herein called the Company, the
National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hear-
ing upon due notice before John R. Hill, Trial Examiner. Said
hearing was held at Toledo, Ohio, on June 29 and 30, 1943. The Com-
pany, the Metal Polishers, and International Union United Auto-
mobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America,
Local No. 27, C. I. 0., herein called UAW-CIO, appeared and partic-
ipated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to
examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduced evidence
bearing on the issues.
At the hearing, the UAW-CIO and the Company moved to dismiss
the petition. The Trial Examiner reserved ruling on the motion for
the Board. For the reasons discussed hereinafter, the motion to dis-
miss is hereby granted. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the
51 N. L. R B.,, No. 148.
955
956 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All
parties were afforded an opportunity to file 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
American Propeller Corporation, incorporated in New York, is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Aviation Corporation, incorporated in
Delaware. The Company has its principal office and plant in Toledo,
Ohio, where it is engaged in the manufacture of airplane propeller
blades. The buildings and machinery used by the Company at its
plant are owned by the Defense Plant Corporation and leased by
the said corporation to the Company. The principal raw materials
used by the Company consist of steel-tubing. During the year 1942,
the Company purchased raw materials valued in excess of $500,000,
approximately 50 percent of which was shipped to the plant' from
points outside the State of Ohio., During the same period of time,
the Company manufactured and sold propeller blades valued in ex-
cess of $1,000,000, approximately 90 percent of which was shipped
outside the State of Ohio. All ,of the Company's contracts are with
governmental agencies, and its products are destined for the war
effort.,
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
- Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers & Helpers International Union,
Local #2, affiliated with'the American Federation of Labor, is a labor
organization admitting to membership employees of the Company.
- International Union United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural
Implement Workers of America, Local No. 27, affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations is a -labor organization admit-
ting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION ; THE ATJ
APPROPRIATE UNIT
On August 21, 1942, the Board issued its Decision and Direction of
Elections in a prior case involving the Company, the Metal Polishers,
and the UAW-CIO 1 In that case the Board found that an industrial'
unit was appropriate and that the alleged craft unit sought by the'
Metal-Polishers was inappropriate. By letter dated October 3, 1942,
1 Matter of American Propeller Corporation, 43 N. L R. B. 518.
AMERICAN PROPELLER CORPORATION 957'
the Metal Polishers advised the Company that the Decision of the
Board to the contrary notwithstanding, the employees it sought to
represent constitute an appropriate unit and therefore requested the
Company to negotiate with the Metal Polishers on their behalf. The
Company refused to deal with the Metal Polishers, announcing that
it proposed to follow the Decision of the Board. Thereafter, on
November 25, 1942, the Company and the UAW-CIO entered into
a contract for the term of 1 year, whereby the Company granted the
UAW-CIO recognition. as the exclusive bargaining agent in accord-
ance with the certification which the UAW-CIO received from the
Board on October 9,1942. As of the date of the hearing this contract
had been in existence little more than half of its term and is asserted
by both contracting parties to be a bar to a present determination of
representatives. Although the Metal Polishers attempts to show that
its members have received little or no representation by the UAW-
CIO, the record is clear that this is not so. All employees of the
Company's plant are eligible for membership in the UAW-CIO;
indeed, some of the stewards and officers of the UAW-CIO are among
the group of so-called metal polishers. There is further evidence
that the contracting union is presently engaged in the prosecution
of a claim before the National War Labor Board on behalf of the
employees petitioned for, among others.
It is therefore apparent that the contract in this case is a bar to
a present determination of representatives. For this reason , as well
as our finding that the bargaining unit sought to be established by
the Metal Polishers is inappropriate, we shall dismiss the petition.
As in the prior case, the Metal Polishers presently seeks a unit
composed of "all polishers and buffers working on abrasives." At
the hearing this was defined to include all employees working on
Mattison machines, Wysong & Miles machines, portable hand ma-
chines, and hand finishers.2 The UAW-CIO and the company each
contends that the appropriate unit is the industrial unit set out in
the previous case. In its brief and at the hearing the Metal Polishers
contends that the prior Board decision is erroneous and was made
upon an inaccurate and incomplete record. The Company and the-
UAW-CIO deny the truth of this contention. The record in the
instant case is nearly three times the size of the record made in the
former case. Detailed testimony was taken with respect to the manu-
facture of propellers and the operations of the employees whom the
Metal Polishers seeks to represent; yet the witnesses are agreed that
the present operations of the Company are substantially the same as
those in effect at the time of the hearing in the prior case in July
1942. The president of the Metal Polishers, an individual who testi-
A request to include group leaders of the employees so engaged was later withdrawn.
958 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
fled that he had some 40 years' experience as a metal polisher and
had been employed by the Company since April 1942, stated that
there had been no material change in the method of work since the
prior hearing. The vice president of the Company likewise testified,
that there had been some slight but no material changes in the Com-
pany's method of operations since that date.3 Then, as now, the
Company insists that it employs no metal polishers, but merely em-
ployees who work on internal and external sanding machines for the
purpose of removing metal from propeller tubes to obtain balance,
precision, and to meet the dimension tolerances specified. The length
of time required to learn efficiently to operate one of these machines
varies from estimates of 30 days by the Company and the UAW-CIO
witnesses to 2 to 8 months by Metal Polishers witnesses.
Upon the basis of the voluminous record herein, we agree with the
contention of the Company that the employees petitioned for do not
constitute a clearly defined, separable craft unit. We are convinced
that our finding in the previous.-decision is entirely correct and that
the instant record reveals no persuasive reason for making a different
unit finding. We find that no question concerning representation has
been raised, and that the unit petitioned for is inappropriate. Ac-
cordingly, we shall dismiss the petition of the Metal Polishers.
ORDER
i Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of .fact, the National Labor
Relations Board hereby orders that the petition for investigation and
certification of representatives of employees of American' Propeller
Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, filed by Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers
& Helpers, International Union Local #2, A. F. of L., be, and it
hereby is, dismissed.
CHAIRMAN MILLis took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision-and Order.
8 For a description of the Company 's operations and the work performed by the employees
petitioned for, see 43 N L. R B ., pp 522, 523.