Chrysler Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 30, 1949

87 N.L.R.B. 304 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter Of CHRYSLER CORPORATION , EMPLOYER and INTERNA-
TIONAL UNION , UNITED AUTOMOBILE , AIRCRAFT & AGRICULTURAL
IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO), PETITITONER
Case No. 7-RC-582 .Decided November 30, 1949
.DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Herman
Corenman, 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 Gray].
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 organization involved claims to represent employees
of the Employer. .
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.
4. The Petitioner seeks a unit of all mechanical and experimental
technicians, experimental mechanics, laboratory assistants, inspectors,
interplant contact and pickup men, storekeepers, and International
Business Machine operators at the Employer's Central Engineering
Plant (Highland Park, Michigan) including, but without limitation
thereto, all such employees in those departments of the Engineering
Division of Chrysler Corporation designated as Departments 445, 455,
456, 457, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 469, 470, 471, 474, 475, 476, 477,
481, 482, 483, 487, 491., 493, 494, 496, and 498, excluding all clerical
employees, professionel employees,' guards, and supervisors. The
1 The parties agree that laboratory technicians are professional employees. Certain
persons erroneously classified as laboratory technicians at the time of the hearing are
being reclassified to nonprofessional titles more descriptive of their work.
87 NLRB No. 46.
304
CHRYSLER CORPORATION 305
Employer generally agrees that the proposed unit is appropriate.
The Petitioner, however, would include in the proposed unit photo-
static machine operators, blue print machine operators, blue print
trimmers and feeders, IBM key punch operators, and IBM tabulating
machine operators working in Department 443. The Employer would
exclude all employees in Department 443 from the unit on the ground
that they are clerical employees.
As an alternative, the Petitioner requests that the above-described
employees of Department 443 be separately polled to determine
whether they desire to be included in the proposed unit, or in the
already existing unit of draftsmen.
The Petitioner is already the recognized bargaining representative
of production and maintenance employees at the Employer's Highland
Park plant.2 The Petitioner is also the recognized bargaining repre-
sentative of draftsmen at the same' plant.' It herein seeks to set up a
residual bargaining unit of technical employees not included in either
of the established units.
Department 443, concerning which the parties disagree, is a depart-
ment in the general administration section of the Employer's plant
called the blue print department. Drawings prepared by draftsmen
are sent to the blue print department where they are reproduced for
use in the engineering division, production divisions, and other de-
partments of the plant. By various reproduction methods, this de-
partment also supplies to all divisions copies of engineering papers,
laboratory data, and office records, documents, and papers. We there-
fore find that all employees in the blue print department are clerical
employees serving all.divisions of the plant, and are thus excluded
from the technical unit within the engineering division.
The Petitioner would include, and the Employer would exclude, five
road test leaders'
The road test leader sets up test routes, determines roads and test
locations to be followed, the conditions and the duration of tests. He
spends 50 to 60 percent of the year away from the plant on test runs.
The road test leader has a crew of 8 to 12 men of his own choosing on a
test run. He receives a wage differential of 10 percent above the salary
classifications of men in the crew. Although he may drive an automo-
bile on the tests himself, he determines whether lie is to drive or not.
The Employer allocates the road test leader funds from which he pays
hotel bills and other expenses incurred, such as medical and hospital
2 Chrysler Corporation, 17 NLRB 737.
3 Chrysler Corporation, 55 NLRB 1039; 57 NLRB 759.
"The parties agree that other leaders in the engineering division who do not ordinarily
engage in the same work as employees under their direction should be excluded from the
unit as supervisors.
306 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
care needed by employees in the crew. He may discipline, a member
of the crew while on a test run. In view of these facts, and upon the
entire record of the case, we find that road test leaders are supervisors
within the meaning of the Act. Accordingly, we shall exclude them.
We find that all mechanical and experimental technicians, experi-
mental mechanics, laboratory assistants, inspectors; interplant contact
and pickup men, and storekeepers at the Employer's Central Engi-
neering plant (Highland Park, Michigan), including, but without
limitation thereto, all such employees in those departments of Engi-
neering Division of Chrysler Corporation designated as Departments
445, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 4.63, 469, 470, 471, 474, 475,
476, 477, 481, 482, 483, 481 491, 493, 494, 496, and 498, excluding em
ployees in Department 443 and all other clerical employees, road test
leaders, professional employees, guards and supervisors, constitute a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
,&s 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
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
or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bar-
gaining, by International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft &
Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO).
S There are several buildings housing the Central Engineering Plant among which are
the main Engineering Building, Dynamometer Building, Laboratories Building, and Air-
craft Building. These buildings are adjacent to the Employer's Highland Park (Michigan)
plant.