Bull Dog Electric Products Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 17, 1940

22 N.L.R.B. 1043 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter of BULL DOG ELECTRIC PRODUCTS COMPANY and LOCAL
B-1063 , INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS,
AFFILIATED WITH THE A. F. L.
Case No. R-1758.-Decided April 17, 1940
Electrical Equipment Manufacturing Industry-Invest'gatton of Representa-
tives: controversy concerning representation of employees : refusal by Company
to enter into contract with petitioning union-Unit Appropriate for Collective
Bargaining : draftsmen , engineers , and estimators in the research and devel-
opment engineering department , production engineering department , and sales
engineering department , excluding office, clerical , production , and maintenance
employees , executives , and supervisory employees having authority to recom-
mend hiring and discharging-Election Ordered
Mr. Arthur C. O'Connor, for the Board.
Butzel, Levin & Winston, by Mr. Isadore Levin and Mr. Jacob
Ii: eidan, of Detroit, Mich., for the Company.
Mr. F. M. Harris, of Detroit, Mich., and Mr. Lawson Wimberley,
of Washington, D. C., for the I. B. E. W.
Mr. Herbert B. Galton, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On November 14, 1939, Local B-1063, International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers, herein called the I. B. E. W., filed with the
Regional Director for the Seventh Region (Detroit, Michigan) a
petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen con-
cerning the representation of employees of Bull Dog Electric Products
Company, Hamtramck, Michigan, herein called the Company, and
requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pur-
suant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat.
449, herein called the Act. On February 15, 1940, the National Labor
Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section
9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered
an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it
and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice.
22 N. L. R B, No. 86.
1043
1044 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
On February 21, 1940, the I. B. E. W. filed an amended petition.
On the same day, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the
I. B. E. W. Pursuant to notice of postponement, a hearing was held
on March 12 and 13, 1940, at Detroit, Michigan, before P. H. McNally,
the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board and
the Company were represented by counsel, and the I. B. E. W. by a
representative. All participated in the hearing. Full opportunity
to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to intro-
duce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties.' At the
conclusion of the hearing, counsel for the Company moved to dismiss
the petition. The Trial Examiner reserved ruling on this motion.
The motion to dismiss the petition is hereby denied. During the
course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on
other motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The
Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that
no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby
affirmed.
On April 2, 1940,, pursuant to request therefor by the Company
and notice to all parties, a hearing was held before the Board in
Washington, D. C., for the purpose of oral argument. Both the
Company and the I. B. E. W. were represented and participated in
the oral argument. Pursuant to leave granted by the Board, at .oral
argument, the respondent filed a brief with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Bull Dog Electric Products Company is a corporation organized
under the laws of the State of West Virginia. Its principal office
and place of business are located in Hamtramck, Michigan.' It is
engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of electrical
equipment.
The principal raw materials used by the Company consist chiefly
of steel, copper bars, wire, and plastics. During 1939 the value of
the raw materials which the Company obtained from outside the
State of Michigan was in excess of $300,000.00, constituting more than
50 per cent of the value of all the raw materials used by the Com-
pany. During the same period the value of the finished products
which the Company shipped to points outside the State of Michigan
was in excess of $700,000.00, constituting more than 50 per cent of the
3 The plant is located partly in Hamtramck and partly in Detroit, Michigan
BULL DOG ELECTRIC PRODUCTS COMPANY 1045
value of all the Company's shipments. The Company employs sales-
men whose territories embrace practically all of the States of the
United States.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Local B-1063, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, admitting to its membership employees of the respondent.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On or about November 13, 1939, the I. B. E. W., claiming to rep-
resent a majority of employees in an appropriate unit, requested the
Company to enter into a contract with it for these employees. The
Company, although it did not deny that the I. B. E. W. represented
a substantial number of these employees, refused to enter into a con-
tract with the I. B. E. W.
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of
employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
UPON COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen ; occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, and
tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The I. B. E. W. at the hearing claimed that the appropriate unit
consists of draftsmen and engineers employed by the Company in the
research and development engineering department, production engi-
neering department, and sales engineering department, excluding
office, clerical, production, and maintenance employees, executives,
estimators, and supervisory employees who have the, right to hire and
discharge. Although at the hearing the I. B. E. W. desired the exclu-
sion of estimators,2 at oral argument it agreed with the Company's
position that the duties of the estimators are closely allied to the duties
of other employees in the proposed unit and should be included. The
Company contends that the unit claimed by the I. B. E. W. is not an
appropriate unit.
s David Perlman , George Sevick, Russell Smith , and Heiman Stahl
253033-41-vol 22-67
1046 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
In support of its contention, the Company claims that it must have
complete confidence in the employees of the engineering departments,
as they are entrusted with confidential matters ; and as they act in
the interest of the management and exercise considerable discretion
and judgment in their work, they are not "employees" within the
meaning of the Act. We see no merit in the Company's contention
and no warrant under the Act to deprive these employees of the bene-
fits accruing from their right to self-organization and collective bar-
gaining through representatives of their own choosing.3
In 1937, 1938, and 1939, the Company entered into exclusive bar-
gaining contracts With the I. B. E. W. The 1939 contract covered all
employees of the Company except "Executives, salesmen, office em-
ployees, Factory manager, superintendent, foremen and assistant fore-
men, members of the engineering staff, time study men, members of
the production control staff, members of the time, cost and employment
staff, watchmen." Draftsmen, engineers, and estimators were not in-
cluded in the terms of any of these contracts. Thus the employees
now claimed to constitute a separate unit by the I. B. E. W. are all
excluded from the general industrial unit already established by
collective bargaining in the plant.
The I. B. E. W. desires that supervisory employees who have the
right to hire and discharge should be excluded. However, the Com-
pany's supervisors in the engineering departments' have only the au-
thority to recommend hiring and discharging.5 It is not clear from
the record whether the I. B. E. W. desires to exclude these supervisors.
As the interests of these supervisors are more closely connected with
the management than with the employees and the I. B. E. W. does
not affirmatively ask for their inclusion, we shall exclude from the unit
supervisors having authority to recommend hiring and discharging.
During the hearing the I. B. E. W. apparently desired to exclude
William Ford from the unit. Ford is an underwriters laboratory's
contact engineer and an outside material vendor's engineer. The
president of the Company considers Ford an engineer. We find
that Ford is an engineer, and we shall accordingly include him
in the unit.
3 See Matter of Willys Overland Motois , Inc and Intei national Union , United Automo-
bile Workers of America , Local No. 12, 9 N L R B 924 ; Matter of ,Allis-Chalmers Manu-
facturing Company and International Union , United Automobile Workers of America, Local
No 248, 4 N. L R B. 159; Matter of Chrysler Corporation and Society of Designing Engi-
neers, 1 N L R B 164
4 Lawrence B Fisher, Joseph H Fribley , William Harper , William Robertson , and Frank
Stach Raymond DeMorney is the chief tool engineer , has charge of the "engineering
phase of all production methods, tools and machines in connection with the production"
of the Company ' s products , and supervises an employee who is a tool designer We find
that DeMoiney is a supervisory employee
William H Frank, president of the Conip : inl, testified as follows , "They [the super-
visors ] have it limited authority to hire and fire . . . They may recommend but it must
be approved by an executive officer."
BULL DOG ELECTRIC PRODUCTS COMPANY 1047
We find that the draftsmen, engineers, and estimators employed
by the Company in the research and development engineering de-
partment, production engineering department, and sales engineering
department, excluding office, clerical, production, and maintenance
employees, executives, and supervisory employees having authority
to recommend hiring and discharging, constitute a unit appropriate
for the purposes of collective bargaining and that said unit will
insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to
self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise
effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The I. B. E. W., on the basis of cards and receipts submitted to the
Regional Director but not introduced into evidence, claims to rep-
resent 12 of the 23 employees within the appropriate unit, but does
not seek certification without an election. We find that the question
concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by
means of an election by secret ballot.
The I. B. E. W. contends that a pay-roll date closest to the date
of the original petition should be used for eligibility purposes.
While objecting to an election, the Company, in the event an elec-
tion is held, desires "a date as close to the date of election as possible."
In accordance with our usual practice we shall direct that all em-
ployees within the appropriate unit who were employed by the Coin-
pany during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date
of this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work
during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation, and
employees who were then or have since been temporarily laid off,
but excluding those who have since quit or been discharged for
cause, shall be eligible to participate in the election.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW '
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Bull Dog Electric Products Company.
Hamtramck, Michigan, within the meaning of Section 9 _(c) and
Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
2. The draftsmen, engineers, and estimators employed by the
Company in the research and development engineering department.
production engineering department, and sales engineering depart-
ment, excluding office, clerical, production, and maintenance em-
ployees, executives, and supervisory employees having authority to
1048 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
recommend hiring and discharging, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining , within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
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
Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended.
it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing with Bull Dog Electrice Products Company, Hamtramck, Mich-
igan, 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 of Election, under the direction and supervision of the
Regional Director for the Seventh Region, acting in this matter
as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and subject to
Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among the
draftsmen, engineers, and estimators of Bull Dog Electric Products
Company, Hamtramck, Michigan, employed in the research and de-
velopment engineering department, production engineering depart-
ment, and sales engineering department during the pay-roll period
immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, includ-
ing those employees who did not work during such pay-roll period
because they were ill or on vacation, and employees who were then
or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding office, clerical,
production, and maintenance employees, executives, and supervisory
employees having authority to recommend hiring and discharging,
and any employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause,
to determine whether or not they desire to be-represented by Local
B-1063, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor, for the purpose of collec-
tive bargaining.