Armour & Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 30, 1950

88 N.L.R.B. 309 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter of ARMOUR & COMPANY, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL
UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCAL 36 A. F. OF L., PETITIONER
Case No. 18-RC-470.-Decided January 30, 1950
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Clarence A.
Meter, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hear-
ing 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 Reynolds].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of 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 all powerhouse employees at the Em-
ployer's South St. Paul, Minnesota, plant, excluding all other em-
ployees and supervisors as defined in the Act.' The Intervenor, United
Packinghouse Workers of America, Local 4, C. I. 0., contends that the
unit sought is inappropriate because the plant operations are highly
'integrated, and because of a bargaining history on a broader basis.
The Employer takes no position as to the appropriateness of the unit
sought by the Petitioner.
The powerhouse is located in a separate building at the Employer's
plant and houses such equipment as steam boilers , turbo-electric
3 The proposed unit would include the following categories : first engineers ,. second engi-
neers, relief engineers , firemen and water tenders ,' switchboard operators , oilers and
refrigeration employees , temperature readers and oilers, boiler-room helpers, pump engi-
neers, and a laborer who works exclusively in the powerhouse.
88 NLRB No. 93. 309
310 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
generators, refrigeration equipment, and steam and water pumps.
Its functions are to produce steam for the generation of electric energy
which is used to run production machinery ; to produce steam for
canning, sterilizing, and clean-up operations; and to provide scalding
water for manufacturing purposes as well as the cleaning of equip-
ment. All the employees sought by the Petitioner have their head-
quarters in the powerhouse and all are under the supervision of the
chief engineer, who supervises all powerhouse operations.
There are about 1,900 employees at the Employer's plant who have
been represented by the Intervenor in a production and maintenance
unit. Of these, about 36 are the powerhouse employees now sought
by the Petitioner. These powerhouse employees are carried on a
separate payroll. All the first engineers, second engineers, relief
engineers, and a number of other powerhouse employees are licensed
by the State of, Minnesota. The powerhouse operates on a 3-shift
basis, unlike most of the other plant departments. There is very
little employee interchange, even in the less skilled categories, between
the powerhouse and other departments.
In support of its contention that the work of the powerhouse em-
ployees is highly integrated with the production process, the Inter-
venor points to the fact that the steam produced in the powerhouse
is indispensible to the manufacturing of its end product. It is clear,
however, that the steam itself is neither the end product nor a com-
ponent part of the end product, We have held that the mere fact
that a substantial amount of steam is consumed in the production proc-
ess does not establish the degree of integration which would warrant
denying powerhouse employees an opportunity for separate repre-
sentation.2
Nor is the unit rendered inappropriate by the fact that among the
powerhouse employees are temperature readers, who spend the ma-
j ority of their time in coolers in the production areas taking the
temperatures of hog carcasses. Contrary to the contention of the
Intervenor, the work of these temperature readers is closely related
to the operations of the powerhouse. They are also under the super-
vision of the chief engineers, and are required to record their findings
in the powerhouse to assure constant temperatures in the coolers.
They work three shifts, as do all the other powerhouse employees, and
perform none of the production processes. We have frequently held
that such employees are properly included in units of powerhouse
2 Induatrial Rayon Corporation , Covington, Virginia, Plant, 87 NLRB 4; The Beattie
Manufacturing Company , 86 NLRB 694.
ARMOUR & COMPANY 311
employees. We shall include them in the voting group hereinafter
described.3
Each first engineer is responsible for the operation of one of the
three shifts in the powerhouse. Each shift consists of seven men. Both
the Petitioner and Intervenor desire their inclusion in any unit found
appropriate. These first engineers are directly responsible to the
chief engineer, who supervises all operations of the powerhouse. They
were included in the bargaining unit represented by the Intervenor
until 1948, when they were put on a salary and excluded from the
unit by action of the Employer. They have no authority to hire or
discharge employees in the powerhouse, but the record discloses that
they do have the authority effectively to recommend hiring or dis-
charge. We shall exclude them as supervisors within the meaning
of the Act.4
In view of the foregoing, we find that the powerhouse employees
may, if they so desire, constitute a separate bargaining unit, despite
the past bargaining history on a broader basis.' Accordingly, we shall
direct an election in the following voting group :
All powerhouse employees at the Employer's South St. Paul, Minne-
sota, plant, excluding all other employees, first engineers, and all other
supervisors as defined in the Act.
However, we shall make no final unit determination at this time,
but shall first ascertain the desires of these employees as expressed in
the election hereinafter directed. If a majority vote for the Petitioner,
they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate
appropriate unit.
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 than
30 days from the date of this Direction , under the direction and super-
vision 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
3 Swift and Company, 81 NLRB 333; Swift and Company, d/b/a H . L, Handy Company,
81 NLRI3 425.
The Intervenor also contends that because "maintenance gangs," not sought by the
Petitioner , repair powerhouse machinery occasionally when breakdowns occur, this
intermingling of employees indicates integration not found in other cases in which we
have found similar powerhouse units appropriate . We do not agree , as we have found
such units appropriate despite some intermingling of maintenance and powerhouse em-
ployees. Swift and Company d/b/a H . L. Handy Company, 81 NLRB 425.
4 Biae Diamond Corporation, et at., 81 NLRB 484 ; General Motors Corp., 76 NLRB 879.
5 Swift and Company, d/b/a H. L. Handy Company , supra.
312 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the
unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were
employed during the payroll period immediately preceding the date
of this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work
during said payroll 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 re-
instated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether
they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining,
by International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 36, A. F. of L.,
or by United Packinghouse Workers of America, Local 4, C. I. 0.,
or by neither.