Columbian Iron Works

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 2, 1943

52 N.L.R.B. 370 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of COLUMBIAN IRON WORKS and UNITED STEELwoRKERs
OF AMERICA
Case No. R-5753.-Decided September 2, 194.3
Messrs. T. Pope Shepherd and Robert C. Hunt, of Chattanooga,
Tenn., for the Company.
Messrs. 0. S. Banter, M. T. Elder, and Wm. Frazier, of Chatta-
nooga, Tenn., for the Steelworkers.
Messrs. H. G. B. King and W. R. Barney, of Chattanooga, Tenn.,
for the I. A. M.
Mr. W. G. Kissinger, of Chattanooga, Tenn., for the Moulders.
Mr. J. A. Lipscomb, of Bessemer, Ala., and Mr. H. N. Brown, of
Chattanooga, Tenn., for the Pattern Makers.
. Miss Muriel J. Levor, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon amended petition duly filed by United Steelworkers of Amer-
ica, herein called the Steelworkers, alleging that a question affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of
Columbian Iron Works, Chattanooga, Tennessee, herein called the
Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an ap-
propriate hearing upon due notice before T. Lowry Whittaker, Trial
Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chattanooga, Tennessee, on
July 23, 1943. The Company, the Steelworkers, Success Lodge No.
56, International Association of Machinists, herein called the I. A. M.,
International Moulders and Foundry Workers Union of North Amer-
ica, herein called the Moulders, and Pattern Makers League of North
America, and Pattern Makers Association of Chattanooga, Tennes-
see, herein collectively called the Pattern Makers, appeared, par-
ticipated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine
and cross-examine witnesses, and - to introduce evidence hearing on
the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
52 N. L. R. B., No. 54.
370
COLUMBIAN IRON WORKS 371
The I. A. M. made a motion at the hearing to dismiss the petition
insofar as it relates to employees of certain specified departments
on the ground that the I. A. M. has a presently subsisting contract
with the Company covering them. Ruling was reserved to the Board.
The motion is hereby denied for reasons hereinafter set forth.
The Moulders also moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that
evidence of representation had not been adduced in the unit sought
by the Moulders. The motion is hereby denied for reasons hereinafter
set forth.
The Pattern Makers also moved at the hearing to dismiss the peti-
tion as to the Company's pattern makers. Ruling was reserved to
the Board. However, since the petition was amended at the hearing
to exclude pattern makers, a ruling on the motion is unnecessary.
All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Columbian Iron Works, a Tennessee corporation with its principal
office and place of business at Chattanooga, Tennessee, is engaged in
the general brass and foundry business. It is a wholly owned sub-
sidiary of the Mueller Co. of Decatur, Illinois. The Company oper-
ates two plants at Chattanooga; we are solely concerned in this pro-
ceeding with the one which the Company denominates the No. 1 Plant.
The raw materials used by the Company during the past year con-
sisted principally of pig iron, scrap iron, brass, bronze; and other
materials, valued at more th to $200,000, of which 50 percent was
shipped from 'points outside the State of Tennessee. The finished
products manufactured by the Company during the same period at
its No. 1 Plant consisted of cast valves, fire hydrants, sluice gates, and
other casting products used in connection with water dams and sewer-
age works, valued at more than $1,000,000, of which approximately
80 percent was shipped to points outside the State of Tennessee.
For the purposes of this proceeding, the Company concedes- that
it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor
Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Steelworkers-of America is a labor organization affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to member-
ship employees of the Company.
Success Lodge No. 56, International Association of Machinists, is
a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the
Company.
549875-44-vol 52-25
372 DIECISNONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
International Moulders and Foundry Workers Union of North
America is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federa-
tion of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company.
Pattern Makers Association of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the
Pattern Makers League of North America affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, of which the former is an affiliate, are labor
organizations admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
By letter to the Company dated June 21, 1943, the Steelworkers
asserted its claim to represent a majority of the Company's employees
and requested a conference for collective bargaining purposes. The
Company stated that it had a contract with the I. A. M. and it refused
to recognize the Steelworkers as bargaining representative of its
employees unless and until it is certified as such by the Board.
The contract to which the Company thus adverted was executed.
April 29, and succeeded a previous agreement executed April 27,
1942, which had just expired. Both these agreements recognize the
I. A. M. as the "bargaining agency" for employees in the machine shop,
assembly room, and machine repair maintenance (departments 11, 60,
and 70). It is the contract of April 1943, which the I. A. M. claims
precludes an investigation of representatives among the employees
covered by it and on which it predicates its motion to dismiss the
petition.
The unit as to which the I. A. M. desires the dismissal of the petition
is composed of skilled and semi-skilled machinists and machine oper-
ators and some toolroom men, assembly men, a trucker, and a stock
clerk, and from it are excluded numerous categories of semi-skilled
employees. It has been our policy to hold inappropriate for collective
bargaining purposes 1 such a heterogeneous and illogical group and
we are of the opinion that a contract, the coverage of which is not
coextensive with a possible appropriate bargaining unit, should not
be a bar to an investigation of representatives? Moreover, the extent
of the coverage of the I. A. M.'s contract is delimited by a considera-
tion, which we have held, the Act does not permit,3 viz, distinctions
of color 4 Accordingly, we find that the contract between the I. A. M.
and the Company is no bar to a present determination of
representatives.
I Matter of ITE Circuit Breaker Company, 51 N. L R B 1087
2 See Matter of Kinnear Manufacturing Company, 4 N L R B. 773.
8 Matter o f Crescent Bed Company, Inc, 29 N L R B. 34
' An I. A. M. witness testified that colored workers are not eligible to membership
thei ein.
COLUMBIAN IRON WORKS 373
A statement of the Trial Examiner read into evidence at the hear-
ing indicates that the Steelworkers, the I. A. M.,5 the Moulders, and the
Pattern Makers each, represents a substantial number of employees
in the unit each claims to be appropriates
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the
representation of employees of the Company within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT ; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The C. I. 0. claims as appropriate for collective bargaining a single
industrial unit excluding guards, office, clerical and supervisory em-_
ployees, pattern makers, and,employees of the engineering department
and the cafeteria. The I. A. M. claims as appropriate a unit coexten-
sive with the coverage of its contract, hereinbefore discussed. The
Moulders contends that a unit composed of the hand molders, hand
core makers, and their apprentices, is appropriate. The Pattern
Makers desires to be certified as sole bargaining representative, or in
default of certification, that the Board direct an election with only
the Pattern Makers on the ballot in a unit composed solely of pattern
makers and apprentices. The Company is in accord with the respec-
tive positions of the I. A. M., the Moulders, and the Pattern Makers.
However, it also regards a residual unit as appropriate, and at the
hearing the Company offered to recognize the C. I. 0. as exclusive
bargaining agent for such a unit. Thus, conflicts have arisen con-
cerning both the appropriateness of craft units, as such, and what
should be their composition.
Machinists unit: Historically, machinists have been an identifiable
craft and since those employed by the Company have bargained on a
craft basis for a considerable period of time, we find that they may
properly constitute a separate bargaining unit or function with equal
effectiveness as a part of an industrial unit.
Although the designations submitted by the I A. M. indicated that the I A M was
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, we take notice of the fact that the
1. A M has withdrawn from the American Federation of Labor.
g The Trial Examiner reported that the Steelworkers submitted 193 designations, of
which 167 , bearing apparently genuine original signatures , correspond with names on the
Company's pay roll of June 15, 1943, which contains 281 names
The Trial Examiner also reported that the I A M. submitted 61 designations bearing
apparently genuine original signatures and 22 dues records which together contain 69
names which correspond with names on the aforesaid pay roll , which contained 142 names
min the 3 departments in which the I. A. M. claims to represent employees
In addition , the Trial Examiner reported that the Moulders submitted 13 designations
bearing apparently genuine original signatures which correspond with names on the afore-,
said pay roll.
The Pattern Makers, the Trial Examiner reported , submitted a petition containing 6
signatures which correspond with names on the above pay roll, containing 6 names in
the unit claimed by the Pattern Makers.
374 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATION-IS BOARD
We have previously found' that the unit claimed as appropriate by
the I. A. M. and as covered by its contract was composed of a hetero-
geneous and illogical group of job classifications unsuitable for col-
lective bargaining. However, a unit consisting, substantially, of the
skilled and semiskilled employees of the machine shop and machine
repair maintenance, and excluding employees of the assembly room
whose functions and skills are dissimilar, conforms to the required
criteria of appropriateness.
There is a further controversy over group leaders, who, the C. I. 0.
asserts and the I. A. M. denies, should be excluded from the proposed
unit. Group leaders devote approximately 50 percent of their time to
instructing, about 5 percent to supervising, and the remainder to
checking with the foremen and laying out new jobs. They appear to
have the power to recommend hire and discharge. We shall exclude
them from the unit as supervisory employees.
Fowndry and core room employees: Molders and core makers have
long been recognized as an identifiable craft and they have bargained
historically on a craft basis. In our opinion they constitute a suffi-
ciently well defined occupational group so that they may properly
comprise a separate bargaining unit or function with equal effective-
ness as part of an industrial unit.
The unit sought by the Moulders consists of slightly more than a
dozen hand molders and hand core makers and apprentices employed
in the foundries and the core room. The greater number of the Com-
pany's molders and core makers perform their work with the aid of
specially devised machinery. Although machine molding and core
making does not require as great skill as does hand work, it appears
that a number of workers employed by the Company at machine work
formerly did hand work when employed by other companies. It also
appears that the apprentices, whom the Moulders desires in the unit,
often have no great degree of skill. The hand workers are employed
in more than one department and to single them out to form a unit
would cut across both departmental and craft lines. The hand workers
employed by the Company are white while those employees of the
foundries and core room whom the Moulders seeks to exclude are
colored. As hereinbefore stated, the Act does not permit distinctions
based on color.8 Accordingly, we find that a molders' unit should be
composed, substantially, of all molders, core makers and bumpers of
the iron and brass foundries and the core room.
Pattern Makers: The pattern makers constitute a highly skilled
craft which can function effectively as a separate unit. Since they are
4 See Section III, supra.
sMatter of Crescent B ed Company, Inc., 29 N. L. R. B. 34; see also Matter of Georgia
Power Company, 32 N. L. R. B. 692.
COLUMBIAN IRON WORKS 375
not claimed by the Steelworkers, we are of the opinion that in the
interest of avoiding further proceedings 0 the pattern makers may
properly be given the opportunity to elect whether or not they desire
to be represented by the Pattern Makers for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
Accordingly, we find that all pattern makers and pattern makers'
apprentices employed at the Company's No. 1 Plant, constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
There is no controversy concerning the composition of the residual
unit. With respect to the machinists and foundry department em-
ployees, we shall make no final determination of the appropriate unit,
or units, at this time. In this situation, we shall permit the scope
of the bargaining unit, or units, to be determined in part by the results
of separate elections. In accordance with our finding that these
employees may function either as a separate unit or as part of a single
industrial unit, we shall direct that the question concerning representa-
tion which has arisen be resolved by separate elections by secret ballot
among the employees in the groups described below who were employed
during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our
Direction of Elections, subject to the limitations and additions set forth
therein 10
Group 1: All machine operators, tool room employees, tool room
servicemen, radial drill press helper, alternate crane operator and helper
on big machines, power cutoff sawman, machinists, and repairmen, in
the machine shop and maintenance department of the Company's Plant
No. 1, Chattanooga, Tennessee, excluding group leaders, foremen, and
any other supervisory -employees with authority to hire, promote,
discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of em-
ployees, or effectively recommend such action.
Group 2: All floor molders and apprentices, core makers and ap-
prentices, floor molders helpers, tabor molders and squeezer molders,
and their helpers, unit molders, unit facing men, unit sand muller
operators, unit finishers, unit helpers, strip plate molders, core blowers,
core bumper operators, core room sand muller operators in the iron
foundry, brass foundry, and core room departments of the Company's
Plant No. 1, Chattanooga, Tennessee, excluding group leaders, fore-
men, and any other supervisory employees with authority to hire,
0 fatter of Western Freight Handlers, Inc., 49 N. L R. B. 66.
10 The Steelworkers, the I. A. M., the Moulders, and the Pattern Makers requested that
they appear on the ballot as United Steelworkers of America (C. I. 0.), Success Lodge
No. 56, International Association of Machinists, Chattanooga, Tenn., International Moulders
and Foundry Workers Union of North America, affiliated with the A F. of L., and Pattern
Makers League of North America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., respectively. The requests
are hereby granted.
r
376 DECISQONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status
of employees, or effectively recommend such action.
Group 3: All production and maintenance employees of the Com-
pany's No. 1 Plant, Chattanooga, Tennessee, excluding employees
eligible to vote in Groups 1 and 2, guards, office, clerical and sales em-
ployees, pattern makers, employees of the engineering department,
office janitors, cafe man and head bus boy, and all supervisory em-
ployees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or other-
wise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend
such action.
QS
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
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 9, of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Columbian Iron
Works, Chattanooga, Tennessee, separate elections 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 Tenth Region, acting in this matter as
agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article
III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the
following groups of employees of the Company, 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 temporarily laid off,
and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who
present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have
since quit or been discharged for cause :
(1) To determine whether the employees in the machinists group
described in Group 1 of Section IV desire to be represented by Success
Lodge No. 56, International Association of Machinists, Chattanooga,
Tennessee, or by United Steelworkers of America (C. I. 0.), for the
purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither;
(2) To determine whether the employees in the foundry and core
departments described in Group 2 of Section IV desire to be repre-
sented by International Moulders and Foundry Workers Union of
North America, affiliated with 'the A. F. of L., or by United Steel-
workers of America (C. I. 0.), for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing, or by neither;
COLUMBIAN IRON WORKS 377
(3) To determine whether or not the employees in the residual group
described in Group 3 of Section IV desire to be represented by United
Steelworkers of America (C. I. 0.), for the purposes of collective
bargaining ;
(4) To determine whether or not the employees in the pattern makers
unit described in Section IV desire to be represented by Pattern Makers
League of North America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining.
CHAIRMAN MILLIs took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Elections.