Consolidated Aircraft Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 30, 1942

46 N.L.R.B. 493 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In, the Matter of CONSOLIDATED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION (MODIFICATION
CENTER-TUCSON, DIVISION and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
MACHINISTS LODGE.1125, TUCsoN DIvIsioN, A. F. L.
Case No. R-4600.-Decided December 30, 1942
Jurisdiction : aircraft manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of 'question': re-
fusal to accord recognition without Board certification ; election directed in an
expanding plant although a full complement of employees had not been reached ;
election necessary '
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance
employees, with specified inclusions and exclusions.
Mr. Harris G. Nelson, of San Diego, Calif., for the Company.
Mr. Walter Owen,. of Phoenix, Ariz.,, Mr. W. D. Lewis, of Tucson,
Ariz, and Mr. N. R. Pyeatt, of San Diego, Calif., for the Union.
Mr. Leon Novak, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE.-CASE
Upon petition duly filed by International Association of Machinists,
Lodge 1125, Tucson Division, A. F. L.,1 herein called the Union, alleg-
ing that a question affecting, commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of Consolidated Aircraft Corporation,
San Diego, California, herein called' the Company, the National Labor
Relations Board, provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice
before Robert C. Moore, Trial Examiner. , Said hearing was held at
San Diego, California, on November 25,'1942. The Company and the
Union appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity to
be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses and to introduce
evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made
at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
'Incorrectly designated in the petition and other formal papers as "International Asso-
ciation of Machinists , A. F L " and corrected by stipulation at the hearing
46 N. L R B, No 62.
493
494 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Consolidated Aircraft Corporation is' a Delaware corporation with
plants located at San Diego, California, and Tucson, Arizona. We
,are concerned with its plant at Tucson, Arizona, known as the Tucson
Division, which is maintained for the purpose of making modifications
on completed aircraft. The Company is engaged in the design, inanu-
facture, development and sale of aircraft, -aircraft parts and acces-
sories. During its fiscal year ending November 30, 1941, the Company
purchased raw materials valued in excess of $5,000,000, over 50 percent
of which was shipped to it from outside. California. - During'the same
period, the Company'sold finished'products valued at $95,000,000, sub-
stantially all of which was shipped to points outside California.
H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
International Association of Machinists, Lodge 1125, Tucson Di-
vision, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation
,of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company refuses to recognize the Union as exclusive repre-
sentative of the Company's employees until such time as the Union is
certified by the Board.
A statement of a Field Examiner, introduced into evidence at the
hearing, ahd further testimony taken at the hearing 'indicate that
the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit
hereinafter found to be appropriate.2
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 Union seeks an appropriate unit consisting of all production
and maintenance employees at the Tucson Division, whether employed
on an hourly or salaried basis of pay, excluding supervisory employees
who have the right to hire and discharge'and the guards and watch-
men. The Company wishes to exclude all salaried employees.
2 The Field Examiner reported that the Union presented 454 application cards - bearing
apparently genuine signatures , that 349 of these cards bore the names of persons appearing
on the Company's pay roll of October 7, 1942 At the hearing the Union presented an addi-
tional 349 application cards, bearing apparently genuine signatures . 35 of which bore names
appearing on the Company's pay roll of October 7, 1942, which listed approximately' 534
employees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate One hundied and seventy-six
of the cards submitted at the hearing were dated in October and November 1942 ; 172
were undated.
CONSOLIDATED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION 495
Not all of ' the salaried employees are employed in a supervisory
capacity . The purchase and inspection departments clearly include
salaried employees who are not employed in a supervisory capacity.
Among them are employees engaged in the purchase of materials,
stockroom employees , receiving and shipping clerks, and salaried in-
spectors in the production shop who inspect work in progress and
make suggestions to the workers . Under the circumstances we shall
include these salaried employees in the appropriate unit.
The shop and field departments include foremen and assistant fore-
men=who'are employed in a supervisory capacity having the 'authority
to recommend discharge in appropriate cases. Since the parties are
in agreement that these employees should be excluded from the appro-
priate unit, we shall exclude them . We shall also exclude all other
salaried personnel 'of the Company except such persons as perform the
-same duties as hourly paid production and maintenance employees.'
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the
Company, whether hourly or salary rated , including salaried em-
ployees performing the same type of work as hourly, paid employees,
salaried inspectors , stockroom employees , receiving and shipping
clerks, but excluding other salaried employees , foremen, assistant
foremen, guards , watchmen , and supervisory employees with 'the right
to discharge , constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 ( b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
.Actual production at the Tucson Division did not begin until June
1942, and since that time has expanded rapidly. The number of
production and maintenance employees in the plant increased from
250 on July 23, 1942, to 1660 on November 20, 1942. According to
an estimate of a representative of the United States Army Air Corps,
it is anticipated that a peak of about 4500 production and maintenance
employees will not be reached until May , or July 1943.
The -Company contends that no election should be directed at this
time on the ground that a certification would be premature, • in that
a large number of workers who are expected to be employed would
have no voice in the choice of their representative. It now , appears
that the plant is in actual production and that there are in addition
a substantial number of employees presently on the pay , roll compris-
ing numerous categories of employees which the Company will main-
tain 'at the Tucson Division . We do not believe that the large number
of employees now working should be deprived of their right at the
present time to bargain collectively with the Company as provided
in the Act.' We shall accordingly 'proceed with an immediate deter-
mination of representatives . ' ' ' ' --
496 DECISIONS 'OF' NATLO'NAL LABOR RELATION'S BOARD
Since the plant expansion of the Tucson, Division may 'almost triple
the number of production and maintenance employees at that plant
in a comparatively short time, we shall not, in the event a collective
bargaining representative is certified as a result- of this proceeding,
adhere to our usual rule of refusing to-entertain a petition for in-
vestigation and certification of • representatives within 1 year after
*e have issued a certification. We shall instead entertain a new
petition for an investigation and certification 'of representatives at
any time following. issuance of any certification in' this proceeding,
'provided we are satisfied, under all the circumstances then shown
(including proof that there has been a substantial increase in the
number of employees at the Tucson Division and that the petitioner
'represents a substantial number of employees), that a,question con-
cerning representation affecting commerce has arisen.3
The employment record of the Company discloses that at the,pres-
ent rate of expansion approximately one-half of the contemplated
maximum number of employees will be reached in about the first week
of January 1913. We shall direct that the employees eligible to vote
in the election shall be those in, the appropriate unit who shall be
employed during the first pay-roll period exclusively in January.,1943,
subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
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 NationalLLabor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain represen-
tatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Consolidated
Aircraft Corporation, San Diego, California, an election 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 Twenty-first Region,
acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board
and subject to Article III, Section '10, of said Rules and Regulations,
among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV,
above, who are employed during the first pay-roll period exclusively
in January 1943, 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
- See Matter of Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company and
Internationgl
Assornat,on of Machinists , Local 804, (A. F. of L.), 38 N. L. R. B. 404.
J
CONSOLIDATED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION 497
any who have since quit or been discharged for cause , to determine
whether or not they desire to be represented by International Asso-
ciation of Machinists , Lodge 1125, Tucson Division , affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
504086-43-vol. 46--32