Bucyrus-Erie Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 2, 1948

76 N.L.R.B. 483 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of BUCYRUS-ERIE COMPANY,, EMPLOYER and PATTERN
MAKERS' LEAGUE OF NORTH AMERICA, AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 6-R-1687.-Decided March 2, 1948
Mr. Arthur R. Donovan, of Evansville, Ind., for the Employer.
Mr. C. D. Madigan,,i of Cleveland, Ohio, for the Petitioner.
Mr. Phillip M. Curran, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Mr. John Gravey, of
Erie, Pa., for the Intervenor.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Erie,
Pennsylvania, on August 7, 1947, before Henry Shore, hearing officer.
The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudi-
cial error and are hereby affiriiied.2
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Bucyrus-Erie Company, a Delaware corporation, is engaged in
the production, sale, and distribution of power shovels, drag lines,
cranes, tractor winches, trailers, and gun carriage mounts. This pro-
ceeding is concerned only with the Employer's plant at Erie, Pennsyl-
vania. During -the past year, the Employer purchased for use at its
Erie plant raw materials valued in excess of $1,500,000 from sources
outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. During the same period,
the Employer manufactured at this plant $5,000,000 worth of products,
93 percent of which was sold and shipped to purchasers outside the
Commonwealth.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
' The Employer' s name appears as amended at the hearing.
% The Intervenor' s motion to dismiss is denied for reasons stated herein
76 N. L R B., No. 74.
781902--4&--vol . 76-32 483
484 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
The United Steelworkers of America, herein called the Intervenor,
is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Or-
ganizations, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the
Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
We find that a question affecting commerce 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.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Petitioner seeks a unit of all wood and metal pattern makers and
apprentices at the Erie, Pennsylvania, plant of the Employer. The
Intervenor contends that the appropriate unit is a plant-wide unit,
including pattern makers, which it has represented since it was certi-
fied by the Board in 1942. The Employer asserts a preference for
the existing unit, although its formal position is neutral.
In August 1942, the Board certified the Intervenor to represent a
unit of production and maintenance employees, which included pattern
makers.3 Thereafter, the Employer and the Intervenor entered into
successive collective bargining contracts, the most recent one of which
was executed in June 1947.4
During the 15-day escape period provided in the June 1946 contract,
the pattern shop employees withdrew from the Intervenor and notified
the Employer to cease checking off their dues.r, In December 1946,
these employees joined the Petitioner, and in the following month the
latter made its first request of the Employer for recognition on behalf
of the pattern makers.
Although the benefits derived from the Intervenor 's contracts with
the Employer have been extended to the employees in the pattern shop,
there is no evidence that the Intervenor handled, or refused to handle,
grievances for them. The pattern makers perform the usual skilled
work of their craft. They construct patterns which are used essen-
tially for the production of castings at the Erie plant . They are
S Matter of Bucyrus -Erie Company, 42 N L. R. B 1265
4 This contract is presently in effect ; it is not asserted as a bar.
5 The record indicates that there was a plant-wide strike from January to June 1946.
BUCIRUS-ERIE COMPANY 485
separately located and are under the separate direction of a super-
visory working foreman. Seniority is on a departmental basis.
It appears that the pattern makers sought herein constitute a genuine
craft group 6 and that the Board has in numerous instances established
similar bargaining units of pattern makers in the industry generally.
Therefore, we find that they may be bargained for separately, if they
so elect.? However, we shall make no final unit determination at the
present time but shall direct an election among all wood and metal
pattern makers and apprentices at the Erie, Pennsylvania, plant of
the Employer, excluding the pattern shop foreman,8 and all other
supervisory employees. If the majority of these employees 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 Bucyrus-Erie Company, Erie,
Pennsylvania, 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 Sixth Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62, of
National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5,
among all wood and metal pattern makers and apprentices, excluding
the pattern shop foreman, and all other supervisory employees, who
were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the
date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during
said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or tempo-
rarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since quit or
been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated 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 by Pattern Makers' League of North America,
AFL, for the purposes of collective bargaining .9
CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
° See Matter of Kaiser -Frazer Corporation , 73 N L 11 . 11,109.
7 Cf. Matter of York Corporation , 74 N L R B 934 ; Matter of Combustion Engineering
Company , 74 N. L. R. B. 556 ; Matter of The National Cash Register Company, 74 N L.
R. B 1350.
s Harry Breter Jr
° Having failed to comply with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f), (g), and (h) of
the Act , as amended , the Intervenor will not be accorded a place on the ballot The Inter-
venor 's contentions contained in the document it filed with the Board entitled "Objections
of Intervenor to Proposed Denial of Status as Party in Interest and Request for Oral
Argument" are hereby rejected and request for oral argument is hereby denied for reasons
stated in Matter of Rite-Form Corset Corn peep, 75 N. L. R B 174.