Compagnie Generale Transatlantique

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 4, 1957

117 N.L.R.B. 535 (N.L.R.B. 1957)

COMPAGNIE GENERALE TRANSATLANTIQUE 535
Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (French Line ) 1 and Steam-
ship Office Workers Union Local 1809 , International Longshore-
men's Association , Independent , Petitioner. Cases Nos. 2-RC-
8543 2 and 2-RC-8558. March 4,1957
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before
Norman A. Cole, 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 these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims 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 Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate unit :
The Petitioner seeks a unit of office clerical employees at the Em-
ployer's offices at 17 State Street and pier 88, North River, New York,
New York, excluding professional employees, guards, executives, and
all supervisors as defined in the Act. Alternatively, the Petitioner
manifested its willingness to proceed to an election in any unit of
office clericals which the Board finds appropriate. The Employer
contends that the only appropriate unit should consist of the office
clerical employees at its offices at 610 Fifth Avenue in New York,
New York, as well as the office clericals at 17 State Street and pier 88,
North River. There is no history of collective bargaining covering any
of the employees here involved.
The Employer is a private French stock corporation licensed to do
business in the State of New York and is engaged in the ownership and
operation of oceangoing vessels on which it transports passengers and
freight from New York City to various foreign ports. To facilitate
these operations, the Employer maintains three offices in New York
City located at 17 State Street, 610 Fifth Avenue, and pier 88, North
River. All offices are under the control and" direction of a general
manager located at 17 State Street who determines all operational and
policy matters and to whom all department heads directly report at
frequent intervals.
1 The Employer's name appears as amended at the hearing
' The Petitioner 's separate petitions for separate units of office clerical employees at
the Employer's offices at 17 State Street and pier 88, North River, in New York, New York,
were consolidated for purposes of hearing On motion of the Petitioner at the hearing,
to which the Employer did not object , the separate unit requests were consolidated.
117 NLRB No. 75.
536 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
There are four departments at the State Street location-personnel,
accounting, freight, and claims and insurance. The personnel depart-
ment maintains all personnel records, payroll records, and wage lists
for the employees at all of the Employer's locations in New York
City. All requests for personnel at the various locations are routed
to the personnel department manager who procures and screens can-
didates for employment. The accounting department maintains books
and records for all locations, pays all bills, and prepares payroll checks
for all personnel. The record discloses that an employee in the ac-
counting department at State Street works as a cashier at the Fifth
Avenue offices. The freight department performs its primary function
of soliciting and booking freight. In addition, however, it solicits and
books passenger accommodations, a function performed by the pas-
senger department at Fifth Avenue. Employees in the freight de-
partment work in close cooperation with the employees in the pas-
senger department at Fifth Avenue in preparing manifests for each
sailing and in insuring that entry requirements at foreign ports -have
been met. The claims and insurance department handles all claims
against the Employer for personal injuries and property loss sus-
tained by its passengers and shippers, and procures and keeps account
of fire, property damage, and theft insurance for all locations. In
addition, the claims and insurance department works closely with the
immigration department at Fifth Avenue on immigration problems
arising out of the Employer's operations.
The Employer maintains three departments at its offices at 610 Fifth
Avenue-passenger and baggage, immigration, and advertising and
public relations. The passenger and baggage department solicits and
sells accommodations on the Employer's oceangoing liners. Some
of the employees in this department process all baggage incident to
customers' ocean travel and are permanently stationed in offices at
pier 88, North River, although they remain at all times under the
supervision of the department manager at Fifth Avenue. As indi-
cated above, a cashier from the accounting department at State Street
is stationed at the Fifth Avenue offices to handle sales receipts of the
passenger and baggage department. The employees in the immigra-
tion department visit the Employer's offices at pier 88 whenever any
of the Employer's vessels sails from or docks at the pier to handle im-
migration problems which might arise concerning its passengers or
crew. The advertising and public relations department publicizes
the Employer's passenger and freight operations. Advertising ma-
terials prepared by the employees in this department are stored in a
storage room at pier 88 and are mailed to interested parties on request
of this department by a mailing clerk stationed at the pier. The rec-
ord discloses that employees in the advertising and public relations
COMPAGNIE GENERALE TRANSATLANTIQUE 537
department work in close cooperation with employees in the operations
department at the pier in preparing releases involving technical as-
pects of the Employer's operations.
In addition to the baggage operations performed at pier 88, the
employees of which are directly supervised by the passenger and bag-
gage department at Fifth Avenue, the Employer maintains opera-
tions, purchasing, and accounting departments at pier 88. The opera-
tions department employees arrange for the docking of the Employer's
vessels at the pier, insure that all supplies, equipment, and repairs
are made available in timely fashion so that the vessels may ful-
fill their departure schedules, and work with employees in the immi-
gration department at the Fifth Avenue location on immigration
problems which arise. Purchasing department employees purchase
supplies for the offices at all the Employer's locations. Employees in
the accounting department on the pier prepare payroll lists for bag-
gage porters who are not employees of the Employer, which payrolls
are chargeable to a private stevedoring firm which supplies the porters
to load and unload the Employer's vessels.
The record discloses that all employees of the Employer located at
the three locations in New York City are paid on the same basis, work
the same hours, receive the same holiday, vacation, pension, hospital-
ization, and bonus benefits. Moreover, the record establishes several
instances of transfer of employees between the Fifth Avenue offices
and the State Street location, as well as transfers from Fifth Avenue
to pier 88. Finally, although some of the clerical employees at the
various-locations have acquired ;specialized skills due to long periods
of training on the job, it appears that the great majority of the em-
ployees here sought exercise the same skills and perform similar duties.
On the basis of the foregoing, and the entire record in this proceed-
ing, we find that the duties and interests of the office clerical employees
at the Employer's three locations at 610 Fifth Avenue, 17 State Street,
and pier 88, North River, are sufficiently allied and interrelated to
warrant including them in a single unit for collective-bargaining pur-
poses.3 Accordingly, we find that the Petitioner's unit request, limited
to the office clerical employees at the Employer's offices at 17 State
Street and pier 88, North River, is inappropriate. However, as the
Petitioner has expressed its willingness to proceed to an election in
the broader unit, and as its showing of interest in the broader unit
is sufficient, we shall order that an election be conducted among the
employees in such unit.
There remains for consideration the unit placement of certain
office clerical personnel. The Petitioner urges that Sonia Kinczel,
Irma Ripert, and Babette Ebert should be excluded from the unit on
3 See American Broadcasting Company, 107 NLRB 74.
538 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the ground that they are confidential employees and that Francis
Cristelli should be excluded on the ground that he -is either a super-
visor or a managerial employee. The Employer contends that these
individuals do not enjoy the status attributed to them by the Petitioner
and should therefore be included in the unit. The Employer urges
that Andre Morin, 'Sebastian Scordia, Harold Wilson, Charles
Gourbaisville, and John E. Intravaia are supervisors who should be
excluded from the unit and that Roland Gareau and Oreste Fagoni are
either supervisors or managerial employees who should also be ex-
cluded. The Petitioner urges that these individuals should be
included.
Kinczel is the personal secretary to the operating and assistant op-
erating managers at pier 88 and performs general stenographic duties.
There is no evidence that the operating manager or his assistant in any
way formulates, determines, and effectuates management policies in
the field of labor relations, nor is there any evidence that Kinczel has
ever been assigned to work on any labor relations matters. Ebert is a
secretary to the assistant operating manager and apparently performs
the same duties as Kinczel. Ripert is the secretary to the manager of
the claims and insurance department. The record discloses that the
manager of the claims and insurance department does not formulate,
determine, and effectuate the Employer's labor relations policies.4 In
view of the foregoing, we find that Kinczel, Ebert, and Ripert do not
assist and act in a confidential capacity to persons who formulate,
determine, and effectuate the Employer's labor relations policies and
that they are therefore not confidential employees.5 We shall include
them in the unit. Cristelli is employed as a clerk in the claims and in-
surance department at 17 State Street where he processes claims filed
against the Employer to the extent that he assembles the relevant data
upon which the claim is based, transfers the data to company forms,
and then transmits the forms to others who adjust and dispose of the
claims. He possesses no authority to hire, discharge, or otherwise af-
fect the terms and conditions of employment of other employees, nor
has he authority either to settle claims or commit the Employer to any
such settlement. On these facts, we find that Cristelli is neither a
supervisor nor a managerial employee.6 We shall therefore include
him in the unit.
4 The Petitioner apparently contends that the manager of the claims and insurance
department formulates , determines , and effectuates the Employer 's labor relations policies
because he is an attorney and appeared at the hearing in this proceeding to assist the
Employer 's counsel . The Petitioner therefore urges that the secretary to this manager
acts and assists him and is therefore a confidential employee. We find no merit in this
contention as the record discloses that this manager appeared at the hearing solely to
testify as to the operations of his department
6 See The B. F . Goodrich Company, 115 NLRB 722, 724.
6 See The Diamond Match Company, 108 NLRB 183.
COMPAGNIE GENERALE TRANSATLANTIQUE 539
Morin is classified as a principal clerk in the accounting department
at State Street where his duties consist of checking manifests, baggage
receipts, and making book entries. He possesses no authority to hire
or discharge, nor does he possess any other indicia of supervisory au-
thority. Although Morin's monthly salary is $50 higher than that of
the employees in the department, this higher salary is apparently at-
tributable to his greater length of service. Under the circumstances,
we find that Morin is not a supervisor and we shall include him in the
unit. Scordia is classified as the assistant manager of the passenger
accounting section of the State Street accounting department. In the
absence of the chief of his section, who is admittedly a supervisor,
Scordia possesses authority to discipline employees under him. He
makes effective recommendations as to retention or termination of
other employees. Wilson is the chief mail clerk in the State Street
mailroom. The record discloses that he possesses and has exercised
authority effectively to recommend the discharge of employees under
him. Gareau is employed in the maintenance, purchasing and sup-
plies section of the purchasing department at pier 88. He possesses the
authority effectively to recommend the discharge of employees in his
section. Gourbaisville is classified as the assistant manager of the
automobile section in the automobile and baggage department at pier
88. He too possesses authority effectively to recommend the discharge
of employees in his department. Additionally, he assumes the duties
and responsibilities of the department manager, who is concededly a
supervisor, during the manager's absence from the department. Intra-
vaia is the chief clerk of the baggage section of the automobile and
baggage department at pier 88. He can effectively recommend the
discharge of employees in his section as well as the granting of wage
increases to them. Fagoni heads the food purchasing section in the
purchasing department on pier 88. While he did not testify at the
hearing, uncontradicted testimony establishes that he responsibly
directs the employees in his section. On the basis of the foregoing,
we find that Scordia, Wilson, Gareau, Gourbaisville, Intravaia, and
Fagoni are supervisors within the meaning of the Act and that they
should be excluded from the unit.
Accordingly, we find that a unit of all office clerical employees at the
Employer's offices at 610 Fifth Avenue, 17 State Street, and pier 88,
North River, New York, New York, including the personal secretary
to the operating and assistant operating managers, the secretary to the
assistant operating manager, the secretary to the claims and insurance
department manager, the clerk in the claims and insurance department;
and the principal clerk in the accounting department at State Street,
but excluding professional employees, executives, guards, the assistant
manager of the passenger accounting section of the State Street ac-
,540 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
counting department , the chief mail clerk in the State Street mailroom,
the clerk in the maintenance , purchasing , and supplies section of the
,purchasing department at pier 88 , North River, the assistant manager
. of the automobile section in the automobile and baggage department
at pier 88, North River, the chief clerk of the baggage section of the
.automobile and baggage department at pier 88 , North River , and the
head of the food purchasing section in the purchasing department at
pier 88, North River , and all other supervisors as defined in the Act,
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9 ( b) of the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
Federal Paper Board Company, Inc., National Folding Box Com-
pany Division and International Association of Machinists,
AFL-CIO, Petitioner . Case No. 1-RC-41450. March 5,1957
DECISION AND ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before George A. Sweeney,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings lnade 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 employees
of the Employer.'
3. No 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, for the following
reasons:
The Employer is engaged in the manufacture of paper board and
paper boxes at its board mill and box plant, located on contiguous
property in New Haven, Connecticut. The Employer contends that
the unit sought by the Petitioner, consisting of machinists, millwrights,
electricians, welders, and other employees in the mechanical mainte-
nance department of the board mill, is inappropriate and, in sub-
stance, asserts that the only appropriate unit is the unit now
represented by the Printing Pressmen2 combining production em-
ployees at the box plant and all of the Employer's maintenance
"The United Paper Workers, Local 463, AFL-CIO, was permitted to intervene on the
basis of a possible interest in the unit alleged as appropriate
2 The Printing Specialties & Paper Products Union No. 508 , International Printing
Pressmen & Assistants' Union of North America, AFL-CIO
117 NLRB No. 79.