Bell and Howell Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 15, 1945

64 N.L.R.B. 220 (N.L.R.B. 1945)

In the Matter of BELL AND, HowELL, COMP AWI and OPTICAL &- INSTRU-
MENT WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE. C. I. O.
Case No. 13-R-2946.-Decided October 15, 1945
Fyffe d Clarke, by Mr. Albert Smith; and Messrs. Knute Petersen,
and M. C. Keene, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company.
Messrs. W. J. Widmem, Thomas E. Andert, Gabel F. Cralvens,
Walter H. Harris, Burt J. Mason, Ca.simer Kaminski, Roger Koske,
and Marvin Bartek, of Chicago, Ill., for the Instrument Workers.
Mr. Sam Kushner and Miss Florence L. Atkinson, of Chicago, Ill.,
for the Electrical Workers.
Mrs. Augusta Spaulding, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION-
AND
ORDER*
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by Optical & Instrument Workers Or-
ganizing Committee, C. I. 0., herein called the Instrument Workers,
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning
the representation of employees of Bell and Howell Company, Chi-
cago, Illinois,, herein called the Company, the National Labor Rela-
tions Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice
before Herman J. DeKoven, Trial Examiner. The hearing was held
at Chicago, Illinois, on May 29 and June 4 and 5, 1945. The Company,
the Instrument Workers, and United Electrical, Radio & Machine
Workers of America, C. I. 0., herein called the Electrical Workers,
appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be
heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evi-
dence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudical error and are hereby affirmed.'
All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
1 On July 2, 1945, the parties entered into a stipulation for correction of errors in the
transcript of the record made at the hearing The stipulation is hereby made part of the
official record in this proceeding , and the record is hereby corrected in conformity with the
stipulation.
64 N. L R. B., No. 36
220
11
BELL AND HOWELL COMPANY 221
Upon the entire record in the, case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. TILE BUSINESS OF THE COMP ANY
Bell and Howell Company, an Illinois corporation; is engaged in
the manufacture of photographic and fire control equipment at
Chicago, Illinois.. The Company operates four plants in Chicago,
one at 7100 McCormick Road, known herein as'the Lincolnwood plant;
another at 1801 Larchmont Avenue, known herein as the Larchmont
plant; another at 6618 North Western Avenue, known herein as the
Western plant; and the fourth at 4045 Rockwell Street, known herein
as the Rockwell plant. Employees at the Rockwell plant are directly
concerned in this proceeding.
For manufacturing purposes, the Company annually purchases raw
materials valued in excess of $100,000, of which more than 50 percent
is shipped to its plants in Chicago from points outside Illinois. The
Company annually produces goods valued in excess of $200,000, of
which more than 25 percent is produced at the Rockwell plant and,
upon completion at other plants, is shipped to points outside Illinois.
The Company admits that in the operations of its plants, includ-
ing the Rockwell plant, it is engaged. in commerce within the .meaning
of the National Labor Relations Act.
11. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Optical'& Instrulneet Workers Organizing Committee and United
Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America are labor organiza-
tions affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admit-
ting to membership employees of the Company.
IZ[. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On March 12, 1945, the Instrument Workers by letter informed the
Company that it claimed to represent a majority, of the ,employees
working'"at the ' Rockwell plant, and ' requested a conference for the
discussion of discharges of certain employees from that plant. On
March 19, the Instrument Workers informed the Company that it
had filed the petition herein. At the hearing the Company took the
position that it would not recognize the petitioner as bargaining repre-
sentative of employees at the Rockwell plant without the certification
of the Board.
The Instrument Workers and the Electrical Workers contend that
employees at the Company's Rockwell plant constitute a unit appro-
priate for bargaining purposes .apart from other employees of the
Company. The Company takes no position with respect to the scope
222 - DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
of the unit appropriate for its employees, but questions whether a
unit limited to employees of the Rockwell plant would be workable in,
practice and consistent with the unit findings of the Board in like
situations.2
The Company, as noted in Section I, above, presently operates 4
plants, called herein for convenience the Rockwell plant, the.Lincoln-
-wood plant, the Larchmont plant, and. the Western plant, all located
in the Chicago metropolitan area and within a radius of 5 miles. Em-
ployees at these plants, in the order named, number approximately 461,
576, 353, and 83. All 4 plants perform one or more of the operations
required- for the production of photographic and fire control equip `
nient, the products manufactured by the Company. The same opera-
tions are performed at several plants. There are no inter-plant bill-
ings or plant cost records. The 4 plants are operated as a single
business and there is a_ high degree of functional integration among
them.
- Parts for the completed products are manufactured or processed,
inspected, and assembled into completed, or partially completed, units
at all plants., Some parts manufactured at one plant are also manu-
factured at another plant. Parts manufactured at Rockwell, which is
the plant covered by the petition'in this proceeding, are enameled lit
Rockwell, Larchmont, and Lincolnwood, and are inspected and assem-
bled into completed or partly completed units, not only at the Rock-
well, but also at other plants. At Rockwell are enameled parts manu-
factured at other plants., Completed units are assembled at all plants
but Western. Parts manufactured at all plant Bare inspected at Rock-
well. Parts partially processed at one of the other plants may come
to Rockwell for further,processing. ' At Rockwell tools, which are used
in-all plants, are designed and made. Tool makers employed at'Rock-
well are sent to other plants for brief periods to correct defects iii tools
made by them at Rockwell. '-Employees at Rockwell are engaged in
heat treatment of tools and parts manufactured at all plants. At
Rockwell are prepared master 'process records which indicate the
sequence of operations to be,•perfotmed and tools' to. be used for all
parts manufactured at Rockwell,:Larchmont, and Western. At Rock-
well are stored tools, dies, and fixtures to be - used on all machine
operations at all plants. At the Larchmont plant, parts manufactured
20n April 23, 1943, pursuant to a petition filed by the Electrical Workers in a prior
representation proceeding , the Board found, in substantial agreement with the parties,
that employees in, the Company's, Rockwell , plant constituted au appropriate bargaining
unit At that time the Company operated the Rockwell and Larchmont plants only.
Shortly before the ordered election , the Electrical Workers withdrew -it's petition and
neither certification - of representatives nor c^ilective,bargaining resulted among the Com-
pany's employees at' the' Rockwell plant' 'Since,the'Board'ssdecision in the prior, proceeding
the Company bas greatly extended its operations ,. and we find that the previous decision'
has little bearing upon the issues presently presented * to the Board . Matter of -Bell and
Howell Company, 49 N. L . ' R B 42. - -
I
BELL AND HOWELL COMPANY 223
at all plants are assembled, and completed units assembled at 'all plaints
are finally inspected. Parts and materials used in all plants are stored
at Larchmont. At Lincolnwood are assembled parts produced at all
plants. Machine operations of the same kind are carried on at Lincoln,
Larchmont, and Rockwell. Some optics, manufactured only at Lin-'
colnwood are assembled at Larchmont. At Lincolnwood, new designs,
for photographic equipment are developed for manufacture at other
plants. At Western, amplifiers used in sound projectors are assem=
bled, some parts' of which are manufactured at all' plants. Sound pro'-
jectors, parts of which are manufactured at the other three plants, are
finally assembled at Western. At Western are stored 'raw materials
grid parts to be used at other plants.
The works manager, with an office at Lincolnwood, has general
charge of all plants. Responsible to the works manager is a'general
superintendent at ' each plant who directly supervises foremen at,
his plant. While the general superintendent has authority to hire and
discharge ' production employees; the hire and discharge of foremen
must be cleared with the works manager. Wage increases' for em-
ployees'at airy plant require the approval'of the main office at Lincoln-
wood. A central' production control . departient at Lincolnwood gov
erns production and plans, and schedules the work for all plants. A
central time standards department and a wage department for all
plants are located at Lincolnwood, and erployees of these departments
stationed at the various plaints report to the works manager. i . plants
engineer, whose central office is at Lincolnwood and who reports to
the works manager, is in charge of maintenance employees at all
plants. The maintenance department foreman atLarchnnont has
immediate supervisory authority over maintenance employees at Rock-
well hnd - Larchmont.- Maintenance employees transfer from one
plant to another where the work load may 'be`heaviest. Also` under
the supervision`of th'e'-works manager is a single production engineer-
ing division, covering tool designing, detail engineering, and drafting
'departments for all plants. The central offices are at Lincolnwood
with branche's' at Iarchmont and Rockwell. • The tool designing de-
partment inaiiitains a- central office at Rockwell ivith branches at
the other plants. The' drafting de'partment's central office ' is at
Lincolnwood' with blueprint stations ht other plaints. The methods
department' located 'at Rockwell is headed by a' director, who
is'•in charge of the small nrietho'ds department at Larclmont. The
plant-protection department 'for all plants is located at Lincolnwood,
and the personnel of that departmentare interchanged among the sev-
eral plants;'- The Company's personnel office at Lincolnwood is headed
by a personnel director; to whom report two assistants one' located at
Larchmont,-who is in charge of personnel at Larchmont and Rockwell,
224 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and the located at Lincolnwood, who,is in charge of personnel at
Lincolnwood and Western. The single industrial relations depart-
ment located at Lincolnwood determines the industrial relations policy
for all plants. The recreation department located at Lincolnwood
controls recreational activities of employees at all plants. The* single
training department which indoctrinates new employees for all plants
is located at Lincolnwood. The Company has a single purchasing de-
partment located at Larchmont and a single sales department located
at Lincolnwood, with a small branch at,Larchmont,' for all plants.
The single pay-roll department located at Lincolnwood serves all
plants, and compiles from pay-roll records prepared by a pay-roll
clerk stationed in each plant a single factory pay roll covering the pro-
duction and maintenance employees at all plants. Dleetings of the
foremen from all plants are conducted-at Lincolnwood. Apprentices
hired by the Companyspend a portion,of their training period at
each of the four plants.-
Through its central office, the Company directs the flow of work to
be performed at one or the other of its plants. Although the ability
of the Company to divert work from one plant to another to some
extent obviates the transfer of employees from one plant to another,
there is a substantial amount of interchange of personnel among the
four plants. From June 1944 through May 1945, out of approximately
1473'production and maintenance employees at all plants, there were
approximately 628 transfers of employees ,for periods exceeding 30
days among the several plants. The record does not disclose how
many transfers are effected for less than 30 days' duration. Upon
transfer from one plant to another, an employee carries with him_fulI
seniority rights respecting vacation, bonus, and other matters. Em-
ployees with similar skills are employed at all plants. The rates for
similar job classifications, wage differentials for employees working on
different shifts, job ev'aluations, and merit ratings are the same for all
plants. Vacation rights and other rights and.privileges are enjoyed by
all employees.
The Instrument Workers has presently confined its organizational
efforts to employees in the Rockwell plant. • The Electrical Workers
is presently actively-engaged ii ' i organizing employees in ;the- Larch-
mont plant. So far as the record discloses, neither of these labor
organizations has presently extended its organization to the Western
or Lincolnwood plants. There is nothing in the record to indicate
that organization among the Company's employees in a .clearly appro-
j)iiate unit upon a company-wide basis is not entirely feasible. In
.'iew of the close integration of work among the Company's plants
and the common interests among its employees, we believe that a unit
BELL AND HOWELL COMPANY 225
limited to employees in the Rockwell plant is not an appropriate
bargaining unit.3
Since a bargaining unit limited to employees at the Rockwell plant
is, not an appropriate bargaining unit, we find that no question has
arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company.
ORDER
On 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 Bell and Howell Com-
pany, Chicago, Illinois, filed by, Optical & Instrument Workers Organ-
izing Committee,-C. I. 0., be and it hereby is, dismissed.
3 Matter of Oneida, Ltd . 49 N L. R B 1178; bfatter of Triangle Publications, Inc.,
40 N. L R. B. 1330.
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