Automatic Electric Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 17, 1948

78 N.L.R.B. 1057 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC COMPANY, EMPLOYER and
OFFICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL No. 28, A. F.
or L., PETITIONER
Case No. 13-RC-68.-Decided August 17, 1948
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before a hearing offi-
cer 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-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board
Members.*
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 Petitioner is a labor organization claiming to represent em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question of representation exists concerning the representation
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 clerical employees at the Employ-
er's Chicago, Illinois, plant, excluding professional and technical
employees. The Employer, although not conceding that any unit of
clerical employees is appropriate, agreed with the Petitioner regard-
ing the unit placement of certain categories of employees in any unit
which may be established. Thus, as a ngcleus of the unit composition,
the parties agreed to include blueprint machine operators, bookkeepers,
bookkeeping machine operators, correspondents, dictating machine
operators, office boys, special messengers, switchboard operators, post-
'Houston , Reynolds, and Gray.
78 N. L R. B., No. 146.
1057
1058 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ing machine operators, order editors, comptometer operators, key
punch operators, tabulating machine operators, clerks, typists, and
stenographers.' The parties disagreed regarding the unit placement
of other categories of employees, and also disagreed regarding the
treatment of individual- employees within categories not in dispute,.
all of whom the -Petitioner would- include and the Employer exclude.
Disputed Matters
Alleged confidential employees: The Employer contends that dupli-
cating machine operators in the general order service department,
clerks in the pay-roll and cost accounting department, statistical
typists in the general -accounting department, and secretaries 2 should
be excluded as confidential employees. The duplicating machine op-
erators duplicate, among other things, the Employer's accounting
statements, and thus have access to the Employer's pay-roll data and,
fiscal records. The clerks in the pay-roll and cost accounting depart-
ment compute wage payments and also have access to pay-roll data.
The statistical typists type financial and operational statements
iN hich are "eventually" read by persons in top managerial positions,
who review the Employer's operations; the statistical typists also type
pay-roll data.3 Because the duplicating machine operators, the statis-
tical typists and the clerks do not assist or act in a confidential capacity
to anyone exercising managerial functions in the field of labor rela-
tions, we shall include them in the unit .4 For the same reason, although
I The parties agreed to exclude tool designers , time-study and rate setters, time and
,motion engineers , technicians , photographers , nurses , matrons, laboratory assistants, fac-
tory complaint investigators , people in charge of manufacturing layouts, engineers , drafts-
mien and draftswomen , people in charge of construction and maintenance , chemists, cashiers,
buyers, employees in the personnel department , professional employees , employees in the
Michigan Avenue offices , employees of Automatic Electric Sales Corporation , the assistant
to the factory superintendent , and specified supervisors, confidential , and managerial
.employees.
2 At the hearing , the Employer and the Petitioner agreed to include certain secreLat 1(,s in
,the unit, agreed further to exclude others as confidential employees , and disagreed as to the
.confidential status of 12 additional secretaries . In its brief , the Employer seeks the exclu-
sion of all secretaries , contending ( 1) that secretaries are confidential employees, and
.(2) that the secretaries whom the parties agreed should be excluded as confidential
employees are interchanged with the secretaries whose confidential status is in dispute.
We think that the secretarial classification is an appropriate inclusion within the clerical
.unit ; and we find no support in the record for the two contentions made in the Employer's
+brief regarding its secretaries.
8 The record does not show, as is stated by the Employer in its brief, that the financial
and operational statements which are prepared by the statistical typists are "used by top
management in its labor negotiations."
'Matter of American Window Glass Company, 77 N. L. R . B. 1030, and cases cited
therein. In the foregoing case, Board Member Gray indicated his disagreement with the
majority of the Board on the treatment of clerical employees who have access to confi-
dential information bearing upon potential wage increases . However, inasmuch as the
majority position now has the status of law, he deems himself bound thereby , and conse-
,fluently finds it unnecessary herein to reiterate his prior dissenting views
AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC COMPANY 1059
in varying degrees they have access to personnel records, attendance,
pay-roll , promotion , and wage increase records, and overhear discus-
sions on disciplinary action affecting other employees, we find that
the secretaries whose status was disputed 5 at the hearing are not
confidential employees within our meaning of that term, and we shall
include them in the - unit.e
Employees in the production control department : The Employer
would exclude stock-record analysts , order analysts, production
schedulers, and production chasers, all of whom are administratively
a part of the production -control department . This department coordi-
nates the procurement of raw materials , the shop facilities , and engi-
neering with the manufacturing departments , and generally expedites
the manufacture of customer requirements . The stock-record analysts
check items on order against finished products , parts, and materials
in stock to determine whether the products ordered , or the components
for such products , are on hand . They also initiate necessary manufac-
turing authorizations and purchase orders. Previous experience in the
production -control department or in the shop is necessary to give the
stock -record analysts the requisite knowledge of the Employer's manu-
facturing proce55es. The order lnalysts do essentially the same work
as the stock -record analysts , but perform their work in connection
with the Employer 's more complicated assemblies and patterns.
The production schedulers take the manufacturing authorizations
originated by the stock -record analysts and order analysts and pre-
pare work schedules which enable shop departments to meet over-all
schedules and specific dates on particular orders. The production
chasers, although within the supervision of the production -control de-
partment , are newly hired employees who spend most of their working
time, in factory areas checking individual manufacturing orders
through various processing stages in order to expedite their comple-
tion and the meeting of schedule dates. Their normal avenue of
promotion is to that of a clerical position within the production-con-
trol department.
We are of the opinion that the employees in the production-control
department whose unit placement is disputed have interests similar
5 Marie Conrad! , Sue Thompson , Miss Murphy, Melissa D Di Dominico , K J Johnson,
Miss Greenstein , Miss Tellstrom , Miss Force , and the secretaries to Mr Wright in the pur-
chasing department , Mr. Axelson in the advertising department , and 1Ir Price in the
exporting department.
6 We find, in accordance with the agreement of the parties , that the following secretaries
are confidential employees the secretaries to the vice president and general manager, the
production manager , the director of public relations, the general attorney, the vice presi-
dent and assistant to the general manager , the director of labor operations , the chief
engineer , the sales director , the general auditor , the director of commercial operations, the
director of methods and betterment , the personnel manager , the factory superintendent, the
superintendent of manufacturing services , and superintendent of engineering.
1060 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
to those of other clerical employees whose inclusion within the unit
is not in dispute. Accordingly, we shall include in the unit stock-
record analysts, order analysts, production schedulers, and production
chasers.'
Shop clerks: These salaried employees spend 98 percent of their
time performing clerical duties in offices within the production areas
of the plant. The shop clerks are administratively within the cost
department, but are under the immediate supervision of the various
production foremen in whose departments they work. In accordance
with our usual policy of grouping shop clerical employees within units
of production workers, we shall, as requested by the Employer, exclude
the shop clerks from the unit."
Accountants: The Employer contends that all employees classified
as accountants should be excluded on the ground that they are profes-
sional employees and also supervisors within the meaning of the Act.
There are 10 employees classified as accountants in the general ac-
counting department. They maintain the necessary books and records
of the Employer's operations, and prepare reports to be reviewed by
top executives. They hold college degrees with majors in accounting
or have had 2 or 3 years of practical accounting experience; 4 of these
men are presently taking work in preparation for C. P. A. examination.
There are also 7 employees in the cost accounting and pay-roll de-
partment who are classified as accountants. They are not assigned to
any specific tasks; however, some of them work on cost-revision prob-
lems which involve the distribution of overhead and the averaging of
cost among manufactured products. Four of the accountants in the
cost department hold college degrees with majors in accounting; one
studied accounting at night school; and another had 2 years of college
schooling plus some night school training.
_ It does not appear that the work of these employees requires "knowl-
edge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily
acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction
and study in an institution of higher learning ..." within the mean-
ing of Section 2 (12) of the amended Act; and, therefore, we find that
the accountants are not professional employees .9
7 Board Member Reynolds would exclude the production chasers from the clerical unit on
the ground that their interests are similar to those of production and maintenance
employees.
8 In Matter of The Automatic Electric Company, 75 N. L. R B. 274, which involved the
Employer's plant herein concerned, the Board held that a unit limited to shop clericals,
and which did not include other factory clericals, was not appropriate. The Board's deci-
sion in the earlier case makes reference to approximately 200 clerical employees working in
the factory offices, including approximately 40 shop clerks. The record in the instant case
shows that there are approximately 55 shop clerks employed by the Employer, but that
there are no other clerks working in the factory offices.
8 See Matter of American Window Glass Company, 77 N. L. R. B. 1030.
AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC COMPANY 1061
Nor does it appear that any of the 17 accountants is a supervisor.
With the exception of accountants James Dwyer and C. J. Joedicker,
none of the indicia of supervisory authority as it is defined in the Act
has been shown to belong to any of them . The record . on the con-
trary, shows that the alleged supervisory authority is lodged else-
where. 'In the case of Dwyer and Joedicker, the record shows that
both of them have allegedly been given the power to recommend
changes in the status of other employees . In the case of Dwyer, how-
ever, within the past 21/2 years that power has been exercised but once,
and approval was required by 2 persons superior to Dwyer before his
recommendation. became effective; in the case of Joedicker, only one
instance of the exercise of the power was cited , which also required
the approval of 2 superiors before it became effective . We consider
such sporadic exercise of supervisory powers by Dwyer and Joedicker
not to warrant their classification as supervisors . Accordingly, we
shall include all accountants in the unit.
Clerks in engineering departments : The Employer contends that
clerks in the engineering departments are technical employees and
should therefore be excluded from the unit . Under the direction of
engineers and technicians, engineering clericals handle engineering
files, requisitions , and orders . They also write memoranda , and col-
lect blueprints. Some of them draw simple sketches and occasionally
use a drafting board. They are generally graduates of a technical
high school. The interests of the clerks in engineering departments
as to matters respecting wages, hours of work, and other conditions of
employment do not seem to be unlike those of other clerical em-
ployees whom we shall include in the unit, and we shall , therefore, also
include the engineering clerks.
Assistants to foremen: They assist production foremen, under whose
supervision they work, in assigning work to the -production operators.
They break down orders originating in the order department, so that
operations are separable, and they check to see that production sched-
ules are met . In the absence of production foremen, the assistants to
foremen perform the foremen 's functions. They also do some paper
-,^ ork, including the maintenance of control records. Occasionally,
they will aid production operators in performing manual work. All
of the working time of the assistants to foremen is spent in factory
areas. We are of the opinion that the assistants to foremen have in-
terests more closely allied with production workers than with clerical
employees , and, accordingly , we shall exclude them from the unit.
Alleged supervisors : The parties are in disagreement regarding the
status of three employees who the Employer contends are super-
visors. They are Betty York, a typist , who is an alleged working super-
798767-49-vol 78-68
1062 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
visor; Mr. Woytas of the pay-roll cost department; and Theresa
O'Grady, a clerk in the drafting department, who is also allegedly a
working supervisor. There are three employees working under Woy-
tas' direction ; two under York's ; and the record is silent regarding
the number of employees working under O'Grady. The record shows
that York has the power to assign work to the typists under her, but
it does not appear that she has supervisory powers as defined in the
Act; the record is silent as to powers of Woytas and O'Grady. Ac-
,cordingly, we find that Woytas, York, and O'Grady are not super-
visors as defined in the Act 10
We find that all office clerical employees employed at the Employer's
Chicago, Illinois, offices, including blueprint machine operators, book-
keepers, bookkeeping machine operators, correspondents, dictating
machine operators, office boys, special messengers, switchboard opera-
tors, posting machine operators, order editors, comptometer opera-
tors, key punch operators, tabulating machine operators, clerks,
typists, stenographers, secretaries, duplicating machine operators,
-statistical typists in the general accounting department, stock-record
analysts, order analysts, production schedulers, production chasers,
clerks in the pay-roll and cost accounting department, accountants,
clerks in engineering departments, but excluding tool designers, time-
study and rate setters, time and motion engineers, technicians, photog-
raphers, nurses, matrons, laboratory assistants, factory complaint
investigators, people in charge of manufacturing layouts, engineers,
draftsmen and draftswomen, people in charge of construction and
maintenance, chemists, cashiers, buyers, shop clerks, assistants to fore-
men, employees in the personnel department, employees of Automatic
Electric Sales Corporation, employees in the Michigan Avenue offices,
the assistant to the factory superintendent, professional employees,
technical employees, confidential employees, managerial employees,
and supervisors.
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-
10 We find, in accordance with the agreement of the parties , that the following persons
are supervisors : Messrs Jones, Weinshank , Engberg, Woods , Hubschman , Brandt, and
A J. Smith of the production -control department ; Messrs. Rauch , Kuehn, Morton , Ruets,
and Swenson of the cost department ; Messrs. Trebat , Wiltzse, Jackson , and Lemme of
the general accounting department ; and Messrs . Farriss, Kahn , Hershey, Benisek,' and
LawsQn, and Miss Summers of the engineering department
AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC COMPANY 1063
vision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region, and sub-
ject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations-Series 5, among the employees in the unit
found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were em-
ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of
this Direction of Election, including 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 rein-
stated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether
or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargain-
ing, by Office Employees International Union, Local No. 28, A. F. of L.