Cubic Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 6, 1956

116 N.L.R.B. 449 (N.L.R.B. 1956)

CUBIC CORPORATION 449
the same hours, and are paid on a similar basis as all other employees;
they receive no special training and are not hired as experienced
drivers. These facts point to the lack of separate interests of the
truckdrivers here to a greater degree than in the lead case Richmond
Engineering Company, Inc.,7 where the Board denied severance to
a group of truckdrivers, who spent 60 percent of their time in road
driving. In that case, the truckdrivers also performed loading and
unloading duties and occasionally did production work. In addition,
they were sometimes interchanged with production and maintenance
employees."
We find, accordingly, that the unit requested is inappropriate for
purposes of collective bargaining, and we shall dismiss the petition.
[The Board dismissed the petition.]
MEMBERS MURDOCK and PETERSON took no part in the consideration
of the above Decision and Order.
4108 NLRB 1659. See, also , Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company, 106 NLRB 792.
8 See, also , Valleydale Packers Incorporated of Bristol, 5-RC-1789 , 1799 ( not reported
in printed volumes of Board Decisions and Orders ), decided January 17, 1956, where the
Board followed the reasoning of Richmond Engineering although the truckdrivers spent
75 percent of their time driving and the remaining 25 percent in production work. As in
the instant case, they received the same fringe benefits as plant employees . Cf. Tennessee
Egg Company, 110 NLRB 189.
Cubic Corporation and Local Union 569, International Brother-
hood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case No.
21-RC-4406. August 6,1956
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Irving Helbling,
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 this case, 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
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 appropriate unit :
The Employer is engaged in the manufacture, research, and devel-
opment of electronic devices. Its research and development program
116 NLRB No. 63.
405448-57-vol. 116-30
450 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL- LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
constitutes 85 percent of its gross sales. It also produces a small line
of items which it sells commercially. The corporation employs 35
engineers, 25 electronic technicians, 7 technical writers, 10 drafts-
men and designers, 15 production employees, and 30 administrative
and office employees. -
The Petitioner seeks a unit composed of all electronic technicians
engaged in research and development, including the electronic tech-
nicians working in the production area. The Employer contends that
this unit is inappropriate, asserting that the functions of engineers
and production employees classified as assembler-wirers overlap those
of the electronic technicians.
The electronic technicians work from schematic diagrams, or draw-
ings, of electronic devices. The drawings, which are prepared by
the engineers, show the wiring and placement of the parts that make
up the device. All but two of the technicians assemble the various
parts of the device and check its operation by means of electronic test
equipment. On the more difficult problems they consult the engineers,
who themselves may then take part in the actual fabrication of the
device. Occasionally technicians will make the actual drawing or
sketch of the device if it is a nonproduction item. There are 2 elec-
tronic technicians regularly assigned to the production area, 1 of
whom is engaged in the testing of equipment as it comes from the pro-
duction line. The other is engaged in microwave work, which is of
a development nature. All electronic technicians are paid on the
hourly basis and at all times are under the direct supervision of the
engineers; the technicians cannot make any changes or modifications
without the latter's approval. Technicians must have a good level of
intelligence, the ability to learn, and background experience in cir-
cuitry wiring and electronics. In many instances they have more
practical experience in electronics than the engineers, but lack the
educational background to be qualified as engineers. Technicians are
not required to have a degree of any kind.
The engineers are concerned primarily with the theory and design
of electronic devices. They are called on to evolve circuitry based
on known or theoretical concepts, to sketch out circuitry, and design
the various component parts for the purpose of prototype equipment
fabrication. Occasionally the engineers will actually take part in the
fabrication of this equipment, making the circuitry layouts, insert-
ing parts in the prototype chassis, and checking it on completion.
Approximately 90 percent of the engineers have degrees, the remaining
percentage have had 10 to 15 years' experience in electronics and have
a good working knowledge of electronics and electrical theory. All
engineers are paid on a salary basis and have different working hours
than the technicians.
CUBIC CORPORATION ' 451
In the production area there is a group of assembler-wirers (called
wire girls) engaged in routine wiring and assembly of production
items. Working from plans and specifications of a completed and
accepted prototype, it is their job to wire and assemble the various
component electrical parts of the device. In this respect their duties
are routine in nature. In certain instances, especially in high-
frequency circuits, technicians or engineers are called upon for as-
sistance and they may actually do some of the more critical type
wiring for the production employees. Occasionally, several of the
more experienced production-wirers are loaned to the research and
development department to work on the assembly of some smaller
parts of a system directly under the supervision of the project en-
gineer. On these occasions they are performing "lower-level" func-
tions of the electronic technicians. These employees are not classi-
fied as electronic technicians, and are not required to possess the same
experience or background in electronics as are the technicians.
In view of the foregoing, it appears, and we so find, that there is
a distinct differentiation between the basic functions of the electronic
technicians, the engineers, and the production assembler-wirers.
Based on the foregoing, we find that the electronic technicians, unlike
the engineers and the production-wirers, are technical employees.'
Being technical employees, they may constitute a separate unit .2
The Employer, as indicated, has in its employ 10 draftsmen and
designers, whose task "is to put on paper in final or rough sketch
form the schematics from which the other areas work." These em-
ployees are under the supervision of the chief project engineer. As
it appears that the draftsmen and designers are technical employees 3
we shall include them in the unit.
Accordingly, the Petitioner's showing of interest being sufficient
to cover the latter employees, we find that the following employees
constitute a unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All electronic tech-
nicians and all draftsmen and designers at the Employer's operations
in San Diego, California, excluding all other employees and super-
visors as defined in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
CHAIRMAN LEEDOM and MEMBER MURDOCK took no part in the con-
sideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election.
1 Sherold Crystals, Inc., 104 NLRB 1072 , 1074; Standard Coil Company, 98 NLRB 1296,
1298, 1299; Bell Aircraft Corporation, 98 NLRB 1277 , 1279 , 1280 , 1281 ; Monsanto,
Chemical Company, Mound Laboratory , 89 NLRB 1478 , 1480, 1481.
a See CIBA Products Corporation, 109 NLRB 873, 874.
8 See LeTourneau-Westinghouse Company, 113 NLRB 684 , 688 (design draftsman)
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, 112 NLRB 571, 572 ( draftsman).