Borg-Warner Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 26, 1948

76 N.L.R.B. 967 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of NORGE DIVISION, BORG-WARNER CORPORATION,
EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS,
PETITIONER
In the Matter of NORGE DIVISION, BORG-WARNER CORPORATION, EM-
PLOYER and STOVE MOUNTERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH
AMERICA, A. F. L., PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 14-RC-27 and 14-RC-83, respectively. -Decided March
26,1948
Mr. L. R. Ardis, of Herrin, Ill., and Mr. Carl Bersing, of Detroit,
Mich., for the Employer.
Mr. Cody Quinn, of St. Louis, Mo., for the Petitioner.
Mr. Hubert Rushing, of Herrin, Ill., for District 50.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
Upon petitions' duly filed, a hearing in the above-consolidated cases
was held at Herrin, Illinois, on December 11, 1947, before Glenn L.
Moller, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hear-
ing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.2
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board 8 makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Norge Division, Borg-Warner Corporation, an Illinois corporation,
operates many plants throughout the United States. Only the Em-
1 Stove Mounters ' International Union of North America, A . F. L., withdrew its petition
prior to the date of the hearing.
S The hearing officer limited the intervention of District 50, which was not in compliance
with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f), (g), and ( h) of the Act , to a showing of any
contractual rights it might have . In accordance with the policy announced in Matter of
American Chain and Cable Co., Case No. 4-R-2752, issued February 17, 1948, the con-
tracting union should have been permitted to intervene without such limitation. The
position of District 50 was, however , adequately presented at the hearing.
8 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 con-
sisting of the undersigned Board Members [ Houston , Murdock, and Gray).
76 N. L. R. B, No. 136.
967
968 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ployer's plant at Herrin, Illinois, is involved in this proceeding. In
the course of manufacturing washing machines at its Herrin, Illinois,
plant, the Employer purchases raw materials valued at more than
$1,000,000, 50 percent of which is received from outside the State of
Illinois. More than three-fourths of its finished products are shipped
outside the State.
The Employer admits, and we find, that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED 4
The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming to represent em-
ployees of the Employer.
Local 12694, District 50, United Mine Workers of America, herein
called District 50, is a labor organization claiming to represent em-
ployees of the Employer.
III. THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNIT ; THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING
REPRESENTATION
The Petitioner seeks a unit composed of tool and die makers classes
A, B, and C, toolrooin apprentices, and toolroom leadman, who con-
stitute all the employees of the Employer's toolroom. The Employer
and District 50 oppose the severance of these employees from the plant-
wide unit represented by District 50.5
The toolroom is partially separated from the remainder of the
plant by a wire screen. It is not separately supervised, but comes un-
der the direction of the foreman of the production machine shop.
There is no interchange of personnel between the toolroom and other
departments except by permanent promotion to the toolroom. How-
ever, toolroom employees are frequently assigned to do jobs in other
departments, and employees from other departments use equipment in
the toolroom from time to time. Toolroom employees use the same
plant facilities and have the same hours and working conditions as
other employees, although they are somewhat higher paid.
With regard to skill, the Employer claimed that a qualified tool and
die maker should have from 4 years' experience in the case of Class C
4 A representative of International Hod Carriers , Building and Common Laborers' Union
of America, A. F. L , which had indicated an interest in these proceedings , was present at
the hearing but made no attempt to intervene.
6 The plant-wide unit was certified by the Board pursuant to a Stipulation for Certifica-
tion on Consent Election in October 1946. Inasmuch as this plant was opened in June 1946,
there is no substantial collective bargaining history
At the hearing, District 50 contended that its collective bargaining agreement was a bar
to the proceeding That contract, which contained a 30-day automatic renewal clause,
expired on December 19, 1947, and an entirely new contract was negotiated . The petition
in this case was filed on October 13, 1947. The contract is therefore not a bar Matter of
Drewrys Limited U. S. A , Inc, 74 N. L. R. B. 31.
NORGE DIVISION, BORG-WARNER CORPORATION 969
tool and die makers to 8 years for Class A. However, the testimony
indicated that skilled tool and die makers are presently unavailable
in the vicinity of the plant, and that only two of the eight employees
have had any prior experience as tool and die makers. The others
were hired as production or maintenance employees, and either showed
an interest in and aptitude for mechanical work, or had some experi-
ence as mechanics or machinists. The group leader spends some time
assisting and instructing the other employees, but there is no formal
training program, and none of these employees is classified as an ap-
prentice. The Employer hopes that in time these employees will ac-
quire, on the job, sufficient skill to do many of the repair jobs which are
now being performed by outside contractors.
The predominance of inexperienced workers and the absence of a
formal apprentice training program disprove the Petitioner's assertion
that this is at present a highly skilled craft group, although these
employees may in the course of time become skilled craftsmen.
We find no justification in the record for severing this group of em-
ployees from the plant-wide unit at the present time. Accordingly we
find that the proposed unit is inappropriate, and we shall, therefore,
dismiss the petition herein.
Inasmuch as we have held that the bargaining unit sought to be
established by the Petitioner is inappropriate for collective bargaining
purposes, we find that no question exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9 (c) (1) of the Act.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and the entire record in
the case, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the
petition for investigation and certification of representatives of em-
ployees of Norge Division, Borg-Warner Corporation, Herrin, Illi-
nois, filed by the International Association of Machinists, be, and it
hereby is , dismissed.