Campbell Soup Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 28, 1954

109 N.L.R.B. 518 (N.L.R.B. 1954)

518 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
election is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the
Petitioner for such unit, which the Board, under such circumstances,
finds to be appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining. On the
other hand, if a majority of the employees in the voting group vote
for the Intervenor, they will be taken to have indicated their desire
to remain part of the existing unit currently represented by the Inter-
venor, and the Regional Director will issue a certification of results
of election to that effect.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY and DISTRICT No. 8, INTERNATIONAL ASSO-
CIATION 1 OF MACHINISTS, AFL and DISTRICT No. 8, INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, AFL and LOCAL 194, FOOD, TOBACCO
AND AGRICULTURAL 2 DIVISION OF THE DISTRIBUTIVE, PROCESSING AND
OFFICE WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO and PIPE FITTERS' ASSOCIATION,
LOCAL UNION 597,3 UNITED ASSOCIATION, A. F. OF L. and LOCAL 194,
FOOD, TOBACCO AND AGRICULTURAL DIVISION OF THE DISTRIBUTIVE,
PROCESSING AND OFFICE WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONERS.
Cases Nos. 13-RC-3679, 13-RC-3686, 13-RC-3710, 13-RC-3715,
and 13-RC-3731. July 08,1954
Decision , Direction of Elections , and Order
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National La-
bor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Rush F. Hall, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer 4
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
At approximately 1: 30 p. in. on December 1, 1953, the Employer
and DPO executed a memorandum agreement extending their re-
cently expired contract for the production and certain maintenance
1 Herein called IAM.
2 Herein called DPO
3 Herein called Pipe Fitters
4 DPO was permitted to intervene at the hearing in Cases Nos . 13-RC-3679, 13-RC-3686,
and 13-RC-3715 , and IAM was permitted to intervene in Cases Nos . 13-RC-3710 and
13-RC-3731
109 NLRB No. 83.
CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY 519
employees, including pipefitters, for a period of 2 years, with specific
modifications. The Employer contends that this agreement bars the
Pipe Fitters' petition in, Case No. 13-RC-3715. The Pipe Fitters
had, however, at approximately 10 a. in. that same day, claimed to the
Employer that it represented the pipefitters, and then filed a petition
for certification with the Board before the day expired. Further-
more, the memorandum agreement specifically stated that "It is un-
derstood that this Agreement is subject to ratification of the employees
in the bargaining unit but that the Negotiating Committee of the
Union will recommend to such employees its acceptance." In these
circumstances, we find that the agreement is not a bar to the Pipe
Fitters' petition.
4. The appropriate unit :
The DPO has represented the employees of the Employer in a pro-
duction and maintenance unit since 1940. Several craft units, i. e.,
electricians, millwrights, sheet metal workers, and carpenters, were
severed from the production and maintenance unit in 1952. Pursuant
to the Board-directed elections, the IBEW was certified as represen-
tative of the electricians, and the IAM was certified as the represen-
tative of separate units of millwrights, sheet metal workers, and
carpenters.
The IAM now seeks to sever from the existing production and main-
tenance unit separate units of welders and helpers, and machinists,
machine repairmen, die repairmen, scale repairmen, and their helpers,
excluding machine adjustors and maintenance men. The Pipe Fitters
seeks to sever a unit of pipefitters and helpers. The DPO petitions to
represent the millwrights and helpers, and the sheet metal workers
and helpers, who are now represented as separate units by IAM. The
DPO does not, however, seek to represent the millwrights and sheet
metal workers as separate units but desires to represent them as part
of the present production and maintenance unit.
The Employer and DPO contend that a production and mainte-
nance unit is the only unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining. They urge that craft units should not be found appro-
priate in the plant involved herein because of (1) the past bargaining
history on a production and maintenance basis which began in 1940,
(2) the integrated nature of the Employer's operations, and (3) be-
cause the past establishment of craft units in the plant has been dis-
ruptive of orderly collective bargaining. The Board, however, care-
fully considered and rejected similar contentions in American Potash
d Chemical Corporation, 107 NLRB 1418.
As a further basis for its contention that only a production and
maintenance unit is appropriate in its plant, the Employer points to
the facts that (1) maintenance employees perform a substantial por-
tion of their work in production areas, (2) about one-third of its pres-
0
520 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ent maintenance employees were transferred from the production de-
partments, and (3) it maintains no apprenticeship program for maul-
tenance employees. The record, however, reveals that (1) each unit
of maintenance employees sought herein has a separately located shop
area in the machine shop, perform no production work, and is super-
vised by maintenance foremen on work performed in production
areas, (2) transfers from the production to the maintenance depart-
ment were at the lower grade levels unless prior training or experi-
ence qualified the transferee for a higher grade, and (3) although no
apprenticeship program is maintained, the Employer admits that its
maintenance employees are skilled in the performance of their work
content as specified in their job descriptions. In view of these cir-
cumstances, we find no merit in the Employer's contention that a pro-,
duction and maintenance unit is the only unit appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining in its plant.
The machinists: The Employer has approximately 145 employees
in the classifications of machinists, machine repairmen, die repairmen,
scale repairman, machine adjustors, and maintenance men .-3 The
machinists construct and repair metal parts, tools and machines, and
perform other work requiring close tolerances. The machine repair-
men disassemble, fit, repair, and assemble the Employer's mechani-
cal equipment using hand and machine tools. The die repairmen dis-
mantle, clean, rebuild, harden, and reassemble punches and dies. The
scale repairmen test, repair, and maintain the scales used in the plant.
The pipe fitters : The Employer employs approximately 31 pipe-
fitters. They install thermostatic systems, sanitary fixtures and
equipment, radiators, heating and ventilation units, and other work
requiring the use of pipes. The Employer admits that the services
of highly skilled pipefitters are required in its operations.
The welders: The Employer employs approximately six welders.
They perform both acetylene and electric are welding and are re-
quired to have the ability to lay out metal in accordance with blue-
prints or other specifications and to weld and cut steel, stainless steel,
cast iron, copper, monel metal, aluminum, and nickel and perform
any necessary brazing. Although these employees frequently work
on a maintenance job with employees of other craft skills and in pro-
duction areas, they perform no production work and are not assigned
to any one craft group but work as a pool.
There is no evidence in the record that the Petitioner for the weld-
ers' unit is a labor organization which has historically and traditional-
ly represented welders. Therefore, without determining whether the
s The employees classified as machine adjustors and the maintenance men make only
adjustments and minor repairs to machines located in the production department and are not
sufficiently skilled to make major repairs. These employees are permanently located in the
production department and are under the supervision of production foremen. We , there-
fore, find that they are not true craftsmen and shall exclude them from the unit.
CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY 521
maintenance welders sought by the Petitioner constitute a true craft
group, we find that a unit of welders in this case is inappropriate for
severance purposes and we shall dismiss the petition seeking their
severance 6
The millwrights: The Employer employs three millwrights who
dismantle and erect machines and mechanical equipment using meas-
uring devices'such as micrometers, calipers, and plumb bobs in erecting
machine foundations, in installing machines and equipment in the
correct position, and in aligning power shafting and pulleys. They
must also be able to read and work from sketches, blueprints, or other
specifications.
The sheet metal workers: The Employer employs approximately
seven sheet metal workers who lay out, cut, and assemble sheet metal
parts, brackets, and hangers and make various attachments, seams,
and joints in such work by riveting, soldering, bolting, etc. Some
of this work is performed pursuant to blueprints. There is also one
class C sheet metal worker who is stationed near the welders and
grinds and polishes the welding on sheet metal work 75 percent of his
time. The remaining 25 percent of his time is spent working directly
with the sheet metal workers.
As we find that the machinists and pipefitters groups possess and ex-
ercise the skills of true craftsmen, and are sought by the unions which
have traditionally devoted themselves to the representation of em-
ployees in those craft groups, we find that these employees may, if
they so desire, constitute separate bargaining units. The inclusion of
these employees in the existing production and maintenance unit is also
appropriate. The employees petitioned for by the DPO, i. e., mill-
wrights and sheet metal workers, may continue to be separately rep-
resented by the IAM if they so desire. Their inclusion in the existing
production and maintenance unit presently represented by DPO is
also appropriate. If DPO were seeking to sever separate craft units
of millwrights and sheet metal workers from an existing production
and maintenance unit, our recent decision in American Potash &
Chemical Corporation, 107 NLRB 1418, would preclude such sever-
ance, as DPO has not traditionally devoted itself to the separate rep-
resentation of such craft units. That is not the situation here, as DPO
is not seeking to sever the millwrights and sheet metal workers from
the existing production and maintenance unit. Moreover, it is not
even seeking to represent them as separate craft units, but is desirous
of representing them only as a part of the existing production and
maintenance unit which it now represents.
6 For the reasons stated in his dissenting opinion in Campbell Soup Company, 109,
NLRB 475, Member Rodgers does not agree with this disposition of the petition seeking
a unit of welders He, however, deems himself bound by the decision of the majority in
that case.
522 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Accordingly, we direct that the questions concerning representation
which have arisen among the employees of the Employer at its Chi-
cago, Illinois, plant, be resolved by separate elections by secret ballot
among the employees in the voting groups enumerated below :
(1) All machinists, machine repairmen, die repairmen, scale re-
pairmen, and their helpers, excluding supervisors and all other
employees.
(2) All pipefitters and helpers, excluding supervisors and all other
employees.
(3) All millwrights and helpers, excluding supervisors and all
other employees.
(4) All sheet metal workers and helpers, excluding supervisors and
all other employees.
If a majority of the employees vote for the IAM in voting groups
(1), and for the Pipe Fitters in voting group (2), and for the IAM
in voting groups (3) and (4), they will be taken to have indicated
their desire to constitute separate bargaining units, and the Regional
Director conducting the elections directed herein is instructed to issue
a certification of representatives to the union concerned for such unit
or units which the Board, under the circumstances, finds to be appro-
priate for purposes of collective bargaining. In the event a majority
of the employees vote for the DPO in voting groups (1), (2), (3),
or (4), the Board finds the inclusion of such voting group or groups
in the existing production and maintenance unit to be appropriate
and the Regional Director will issue a certificate of results to such
effect to the DPO in voting groups (1) and (2), and a certification of
representatives to the DPO in voting groups (3) and (4).
[The Board dismissed the petition in Case No. 13-RC-3679.]
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
MOHAWK VALLEY AND VICINITY DISTRICT COUNCIL, UNITED BROTHER-
HOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF AMERICA , AND LOCAL No. 1261,
UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF AMERICA, AND
IRVING J. GIBBS, BUSINESS AGENT and GLEN W. COOLEY. Case
No. 3-CB-193. July 29,1954
Decision and Order
On April 5, 1954, Trial Examiner C. W. Whittemore issued his In-
termediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that the
Respondents had engaged in and were engaging in certain unfair
labor practices and recommending that they cease and desist there-
from and take certain affirmative action, as set forth in the copy of
109 NLRB No. 84.