Celanese Corp. of America

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 24, 1949

85 N.L.R.B. 832 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of CELANESE CORPORATION OF AMERICA, EMPLOYER and
UNITED TEXTILE WORKERS OF AMERICA AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 10-RC-628.-Decided August N4, 19.4,9
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Clarence D.
Musser, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.'
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-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members
Houston and Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case,' the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Sec-
tion 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate unit:
The Petitioner and the Textile Workers Union of America, CIO,
an Intervenor, request a plant-wide unit of production and mainte-
nance employees. The International Association of Machinists,
1 The Petitioner questioned the intervention of the Intervenors who requested the
identical units declared inappropriate in Matter of Celanese Corporation of America, 84
N. L. R. B. 207, decided June 13, 1949. The propriety of the unit urged is not a basis
for granting or denying intervention. See Board's Rules and Regulations, Series 5, as
amended, Sec. 203.57 (b). The hearing officer referred to the Board the question of
whether a letter requesting intervention and entry of appearance sufficed as an appear-
ance. The letter constituted a proper motion to intervene. See Matter of Southern Paper-
board Corp., 80 N. L. R. B. 1456. Moreover, an intervenor need not appear at the hearing.
See Matter of General Dairy Equipment Company, 71 N. L. R. B. 1197.
2 The parties stipulated that the record in Cases 10-RC-393 and 10-RC-425 (84 N. L.
R. B. 207) be incorporated by reference herein.
85 N. L. R. B., No. 142.
832
CELAXESE CORPORATION OF AMERICA 833
Lodge No. 1779, and International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers and its Local No. 379 intervened to renew their requests for
smaller units which we carefully considered and found inappropriate
in Matter of Celanese Corporation of America, 84 N. L. R. B. 207,
decided June 13, 1949. No persuasive reason has been given for
reversing that decision.3
Accordingly, we find that all production and maintenance employees
in the Employer's Celriver Plant, Rock Hill, South Carolina, but
excluding office clerical, professional employees, guards and super-
visors as defined in the amended Act, constitute an appropriate unit
for the purposes of collective bargaining.
5. The Employer contends that an election at the present time would
be premature because the plant is less than one-half equipped and has
only one-third of its anticipated complement of hourly paid em-
ployees. It appears that the Employer is engaged in capacity pro-
duction, with 1,400 employees, and that there has been no significant
change in plant or employment since February 1949. Moreover,
the planned expansion is admittedly dependent upon business develop-
ments. As it is uncertain when the Employer will undertake the
projected expansion, we do not believe that the Employer's current
employees, who constitute a substantial and representative group,
should be deprived of their rights at the present time to bargain
collectively with the Employer as provided in the Act 4 Accordingly,
we shall order an immediate election.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than
30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was
heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the
5 After the hearing, the IBEW requested a unit consisting of the "power plant" em-
ployees. If the request was intended to exclude the filter plant and river pump house
employees, the unit would be inappropriate for the reasons stated in Matter of Beaunit
Mills, Inc., 85 N. L. R. B. 316. If the filter plant and river pump house employees were
included, the unit involved could be appropriate, but we are administratively advised that
the IBEW has not made a sufficient showing of interest to support such a petition.
"Matter of Celanese Corporation of America, 73 N. L. R. B. 864; Matter of Sturgis
Foundry Corporation, 85 N. L. R. B. 309.
834 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were
employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date
of this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work
during said pay-roll period because. they were ill or on vacation or
temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since
quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein-
stated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether
they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining,
by United Textile Workers of America, AFL, or Textile Workers
Union of America, CIO, or neither.