Bendix Aviation Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 8, 1945

61 N.L.R.B. 993 (N.L.R.B. 1945)

In the Matter of ILLINOIS DIVISION , BENDIX AVIATION CORPORATION and
LOCAL B-134, INTERNATIONAL BROTIIERIIOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORK-
ERS, A. F. OF L.
Case No. 13-R-2873.-Decided May 8, 1945
Messrs. William H. King, Jr., E. A. Michaelsen, and Edward G.
Appelgate, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company.
Messrs. Emory J. Smith and George Wood, of Chicago, Ill., for the
I. B. E. W.
Meyers d Meyers, by Mr. H. E. Baker, of Chicago, Ill., and Messrs.
Harry J. Mays and Yolanda Hall, of Chicago, Ill., for the U. A. W.
Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by Local B-134, International Brother-
hood of Electrical Workers, A . F. of L ., herein called the I . B. E. W.,
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of Illinois Division , Bendix Aviation Cor-
poration , Chicago, Illinois , herein called the Company , the National
Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon
due notice before Benjamin B. Salvaty, Jr., Trial Examiner. Said
hearing was held at Chicago , Illinois , on March 19 , 1945. At the com-
mencement of the hearing , the Trial Examiner granted a motion of
International Union, United Automobile , Aircraft & Agricultural
Implement Workers of America , Local 330 , C. I. 0., herein called the
U. A. W., to intervene . The Company , the U. A. W., and the
I. B. E. W . appeared , participated , and were afforded full opportunity
to be heard , to examine and cross -examine witnesses , and to introduce
evidence bearing on the issues The rulings of the Trial Examiner
made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed. All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs with
the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case , the Board makes the following :
61 N. L . R. B., No. 166.
993
994 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Bendix Aviation Corporation, a Delaware corporation, owns and
operates several plants throughout the United States where it is
engaged in the manufacture of airplane parts. The plant which is
involved in this proceeding, known as the Illinois Division of the
Company, is located in Chicago, Illinois, and produces carburetors for
airplane engines. The principal raw materials used by the Company
in the operation of this plant are steel, aluminum, brass, and mag-
nesium. During the 6-month period ending in December 1944, the
total value of such raw materials purchased by the Company for use
at its Illinois Division exceeded $1,000,000, of which more than 50
percent was shipped to the plant from points outside the State of Illi-
nois. During the same period the total value of the finished products
manufactured at the Illinois Division exceeded $1,500,000, of which
more than 60 percent was shipped to points outside the State of
Illinois.
The Company admits that in its operations at the Illinois Division
it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor
Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural
Implement Workers of America, Local 330, is a labor organization
affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting
to membership employees of the Company.
Local B-134 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, is a
labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
During February 1945 the I. B. E. W. requested recognition from
the Company as the exclusive bargaining representative of certain
employees at the Illinois Division. The Company advised the I. B.
E. W. that recognition would not be, granted unless and until the
I. B. E. W. was certified by the Board.
Statements of a Field Examiner of the Board, and the Trial Ex-
aminer, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicate that the
I. B. E. W. and the U. A. W. each represents a substantial number of
employees in the voting group hereinafter found to be appropriate.'
1 The statements show that the I B E W. and the U. A. W. presented 11 and 7 authori-
zation cards , respectively , bearing the names of persons who appear on the Company's pay
roll of February 14, 1945 There are 16 emploN ees in the voting group
ILLINOIS DIVISION, BENDIX AVIATION CORPORATION 995
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company , within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT; THE DETERMINATION OP REPRESENTATIVES
The I. B. E. W. seeks a unit of all maintenance electricians and their
helpers at the Illinois Division of the Company, including the elec-
trical foreman. The Company agrees with the contention of the
I. B. E. W. The U. A. W. contends that the employees claimed by the
1. B. E. W. should constitute a part of the production and maintenance
unit.
On February 29, 1944, the Board certified the U. A. W. as the ex-
clusive collective bargaining representative of the production and
maintenance employees at the Illinois Division of the Company, ex-
cluding the employees claimed herein by the I. B. E. W. and other
enumerated classifications of employees. Thereafter the Company
and the U. A. W. entered into a contract covering the unit certified
by the Board. Prior to the February 29, 1944, certification, a sepa-
rate election was also conducted among the maintenance electricians
in which the I. B. E. W. and U. A. W. participated. A majority of
the employees participating in that election voted against the par-
ticipating labor organizations.
There are approximately 17 employees in the group claimed by the
I. B. E. W. These employees must be able to wire motors, starters,
and other electrical devices, must be able to read electrical blueprints
and drawings, and must be familiar with the electrical codes of the
State of Illinois and the city of Chicago. They, are employed exclu-
sively on maintenance work. The record indicates that the mainte-
nance electricians constitute a clearly identifiable skilled craft. We
are of the opinion that the maintenance electricians could function
as a separate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining, or be
included in the production and maintenance unit. Under the circum-
stances, our determination of the unit issue with respect to the mainte-
nance electricians will depend, in part, upon the results of the election
hereinafter directed among them.
The electricians are under the immediate supervision of the elec-
trical foreman, whom the I. B. E. W. would include in its proposed
unit. The Company objects to the inclusion of the electrical foreman
on the ground that he is a supervisory employee. The electrical fore-
man is a salaried employee and spends all his working time perform-
ing supervisory functions. We find that the electrical foreman is a
supervisory employee within the meaning of the Board's definition
of that term and we shall, therefore, exclude him from the mainte-
nance electricians voting group.
996 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot among
the employees in the following voting group who were employed
during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the
Direction of Election herein , subject to the limitations and additions
set forth in the Direction :
All maintenance electricians and their helpers at the Illinois Di-
vision of the Company, excluding the electrical foreman and any
other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, dis-
charge, discipline , or otherwise effect changes in the status of such
employees , or effectively recommend such action , to determine whether
they desire to be represented by the I. B. E. W., or by the U. A. WV.,
or by neither.
Upon the results of this election will depend, in part, our de-
termination of the unit . If a majority of the employees involved
herein express a desire to be represented by the I. B. E. W ., they will
then constitute a separate appropriate bargaining unit; if a majority
express a desire to be represented by the U. A. W., they will then
form a part of the larger production and maintenance unit presently
represented by the U. A. W.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act , and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain represent-
atives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Illinois Division,
Bendix Aviation Corporation , Chicago, Illinois, an election by secret
ballot shall be conducted as early as possible , but not later than
thirty ( 30) days from the date of this Direction , under the direction
and supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region,
acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board,
and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and
Regulations , among the employees in the voting group described in
Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period
immediately preceding the (late of this Direction , including employees
who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill
or on vacation or temporarily laid off , and including employees in
the armed forces bf the United States who present themselves in
person at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit or been
discharged for cause and liave not been rehired or reinstated prior
to the date of the. election , to determine whether they desire to be
ILLINOIS DIVISION, BENDIX AVIATION CORPORATION 997
represented by Local B-134, International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, A. F. of L., or by International Union, United Automobile,
Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Local 330,
C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
MR. JOHN M. HousToN took no part in the consideration of the
above Decision and Direction of Election.
4