Curtiss-Wright Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 20, 1940

28 N.L.R.B. 29 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

i
In the Matter of ST. Louis AIRPLANE DIvIsION CURTISS-WRIGHT COR-
PORATION and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, DISTRICT
No. 9
Case No. R-0119.-Decided November 00, 1940
Jurisdiction : airplane manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question :
conflicting claims of rival representatives; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance
employees, including working foremen, but excluding foremen heading depart-
ments and whose work is strictly supervisory, and all engineers, office workers,
tool designers, stock clerks, stock chasers, production planning workers, stock-
room attendants, inspectors, watchmen, and porters.
Taylor, Chasnoff and Willson, by Mr. John H. Cunningham, Jr., of
St. Louis, Mo., for the Company.
Bartley cf Mayfield, by Mr. Waldo C. Mayfield, of St. Louis, Mo.,
and Mr. Paul R. Hutchings, of Washington, D. C., for the I..A. M.
Mr. Fred J. Ho ff meister, of St. Louis, Mo., for the Independent.
Mr. Harold M. Weston, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On August 5, 1940, International Association of Machinists, Dis-
trict No. 9, herein called the I. A. M., filed a petition with the Regional
Director- for the Fourteenth Region (St. Louis, Missouri) alleging
that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Curtiss-Wright Corporation, St. Louis Air-
plane Division, Robertson, Missouri, herein called the Company, and
requesting all investigation and certification of representatives pur'
scant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449,
herein called the Act. -
On October 11, 1940, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article
III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula-
tions-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized
the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate
hearing upon due notice.
28 N. L. It. B., No. 11
29
30 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
On October 21, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear-
ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the I. A. M.,
and the Aircraft Independent Vertical- Labor Union, herein called the
Independent. Pursuant' to the notice, a hearing was held on October
28, 1940, at St. Louis, Missouri, before L. N. D. Wells, Jr., the Trial
Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Company, the I. A. M.,
and the Independent were represented by counsel and participated in
the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-
examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was
afforded all parties. During the course of the hearing the Trial
Examiner made several rulings on motions and on objections -to the
admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the
Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed.
The rulings are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing for the purpose of oral argument was
held before the Board on November 12, 1940, at Washington, D. C.
The I. A. M. was represented by counsel and participated in the
argument.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Curtiss-Wright Corporation, a Delaware corporation, operates at
Robertson, Missouri, a plant known as the Curtiss-Wright Corpora-
tion, St. Louis Airplane Division, herein called the St. Louis plant,
where it is engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of air-
planes and airplane parts. During the first nine months of 1940 the
Company produced at its St. Louis plant, the only plant involved in
this proceeding, airplanes and airplane parts amounting to more than
$600,000 in value, over 99 per cent of which were shipped to customers
outside the State of Missouri. During the same period, raw materials
consisting of steel, timber, cotton, wool, copper, lead, zinc, glass, rubber,
and leather, valued at $500,000, were used at the St. Louis plant,
approximately 97 per cent of-which were transported to the St. Louis
plant from points outside the State of Missouri.
The Company employs approximately 2,000 employees at its St.
Louis plant.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Association of Machinists, District No. 9, is a labor
organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
Aircraft Independent Vertical Labor Union is an unaffiliated labor
organization admitting to membership employees of the Company.
ST. LOUIS AIRPLANE DIVISION CURTISS-WRIGHT CORP.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
31
On August 21, 1939, the Company entered into i collective bargain-
ing agreement with the I. A. Al., operative for one year, with provision
for automatic renewal for one year thereafter, unless either party
should give notice of "a desire to negotiate a new agreement" more than
thirty days prior to the'expiration date of the agreement. ' On July 18,
1940, the I. A. M. notified the Company that it desired to negotiate a
new agreement. On July 19, 1940, the Company was advised by the
Independent that it represented a majority of the employees in the St.
Louis plant and that it desired to negotiate an agreement with the Com-
pany "instead of the contract [then] in force" with the I. A. M. The
Company forwarded the Independent's notice to the I. A. M. and no
negotiations between the Company and the I. A. M. or the Independent
have taken place since that time.,
At the hearing, there was introduced in evidence a statement of the
Regional Director showing that the I. A. M. and the Independent each
represent a substantial number of employees within the units they claim
to be appropriate.,
We find that a question has arisen concerning representation of
employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, and
tends to lead to, labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and, the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The I. A. M. contends that an appropriate bargaining unit consists
of all production and maintenance employees, including working fore-
men, but excluding foremen who head departments and whose work is
strictly supervisory, and all engineers, office workers, tool designers,
stock clerks, stock chasers, production planning worker's, stockroom
attendants, inspectors , watchmen, and porters. The Independent
claims that all employees of the Company, excluding supervisory em-
ployees who have a right to hire and discharge, constitute an appropri-
ate unit.
' The statement showed that on October 19, 1940 , the I . A. M. and the Independent, re-
spectively , had signed membership cards of 311 and 333 of the approximately 1 131 and
1900 employees in the respective units claimed by them to be appropriate
32 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The sole issue before the Board is whether the engineers, office work-
ers, tool designers, stock clerks, stock chasers, production planning
workers, stockroom attendants, inspectors, watchmen, and porters
should be included within, or excluded from, the bargaining unit. As
to this, the Independent claims that the work of all employees in its
proposed unit is essential to plant'operation and thus all such employees
belong within a single bargaining' unit. The Company takes a neutral
position as to the unit.
The evidence reveals that on July 12, 1939, the Company and the
I. A. M. entered into an agreement defining a bargaining unit identical
to that now claimed by the I. A. M. to be appropriate, and consenting
to the holding of an election by the Board's Regional Director to ,deter-
mine whether the I. A. M. represented a majority of the employees in
That-unit.2 The consent election was held on the basis of such a unit on
August 4, 1939, and resulted in a majority vote for the I. A. M. On
'August 21, 1939, the I. A. M. and the Company entered into a collective
bargaining agreement which, according to the uncontroverted testi-
mony of Lloyd Weber, the I. A. M.'s business representative, embraced
the same unit as is now claimed by the I. A. M. to be appropriate.'
The record reveals no sufficient reason-for departing from the unit
that has formed the basis of past bargaining between the Company and
its employees. In view of all the evidence, we find that all production
and maintenance employees, employed by the Company at its St. Louis
plant including working foremen, but excluding foremen who head
departments and whose work is strictly supervisory, and all engineers,
office workers, tool designers, stock clerks, stock chasers, production
planning workers, stockroom attendants, inspectors, watchmen, and
porters, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining, and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company
the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bar-
gaining and otherwise'effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen
can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. We shall accord.
ingly direct that `such an election be held. For the purpose of deter-
mining eligibility to vote, we shall direct the use of the Company's last
regular I pay roll immediately preceding this Direction of Election,
2 Because of dissatisfaction over the progress of negotiations with the Company, the
I A. M had called a stoke on March 1, 1939. The strike was finally settled on August
21, 1939 , after the consent election had been held and the Company had entered into a
collective bargaining agreement with the I. A M
3 The contract , a copy of which w as introduced in evidence at the hearing, referred to the
unit only in general terms, piovidmg for the recognition of the I A âl as "the exclusive
bargaining agency for the production and maintenance employees " '
ST. LOUIS AIRPLANE DIVISION CURTISS-WRIGHT CORP. 33
-including employees who did not work during such pay-roll period
because they were ill or on vacation, and employees who were then or
;hall have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding those who
shall have since quit or been discharged for cause.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of, employees of Curtiss-Wright Corporation, St. Louis Air-
plane Division, Robertson, Missouri, within the meaning of Section 9
(c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. All production and maintenance employees employed by the
Company at its St. Louis plant, including working foremen, but exclud-
ing foremen heading departments and whose work is strictly super-
visory, and all engineers, office workers, tool designers, stock clerks,
stock chasers, production planning workers, stockroom attendants,
inspectors, watchmen,"ancl porters, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purpose of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
0 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
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,
49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining
with Curtiss-Wright Corporation, St. Louis Airplane Division, Rob-
eAson, Missouri, 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 Direc-
tor for the Fourteenth Region, acting in this matter as the agent for
the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section
9, of said Rules and Regulations, among all production and main-
tenance employees of Curtiss-Wright Corporation, St. Louis Airplane
Division, including working foremen, whose names appear upon the
pay roll immediately preceding this Direction, including employees
who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or
on: vacation, and employees who were then or shall have since been
temporarily laid off, but excluding foremen heading departments and
whose Work is strictly supervisory, and all engineers, office Workers,
34 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tool designers, stock clerks, stock chasers, production planning work-
ers, stockroom attendants , inspectors , watchmen, and porters, and
employees who shall have since quit or been discharged for cause, to
determine whether they desire to be represented by International Asso-
ciation of Machinists, District No. 9, or by Aircraft Independent Ver-
tical Labor Union, or by ' neither, for the, purposes of collective
bargaining.
CHAIRMAN HARRY A. MILLIS took no part in the consideration of
the above Decision and Direction of Election.
[SAME TITLE ]
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 11, 1911
On. November 20, 1940, the National Labor Relations Board
issued its Decision and Direction of Election in the above -entitled
proceedings .' Pursuant to the Direction of Election , an election
by secret ballot was conducted on December 12, 1940, under the direc-
tion and supervision of the Regional Director for the Four-
teenth Region (St. Louis, Missouri). On December 13, 1940, the
Regional Director, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of
National -Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2,
as amended , issued an Election Report; copies of which were ' duly
served upon the parties., No objections to the conduct of the ballot
or the Election Report have been filed by any of the parties.
As the balloting and the results thereof, the Regional Director
reported as follows :
Total number of ballots cast-------------------------------- 867
Total number of ballots counted---------------------------
Total number of votes for International Association of Ma-
866
chinists , District No. 9------------------------------------ 589
Total number of votes for Aircraft Independent Vertical Labor
Union---------------------------------------------------- 250
Total number of votes for neither organization --------------- 18
Total number of blank ballots ------------------------------- 0
Total number of void ballots -------------------------------- 1
Total number of challenged votes---------------------------- 9
Since the challenged ballots could have no effect on the results
\of the election, it is unnecessary to make any determination with
respect thereto.
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, 49 Stat . 449, and pursuant to Article III, Sections
ST. LOUIS AIRPLANE DIVISION CURTISS-WRIGHT CORP.. 35
8 and 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-
Series 2, as amended,
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that International Association, of Ma-
chinists , District No. 9, affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, has been designated and selected by a majority of all pro-
duction and maintenance employees employed by Curtiss -Wright
Corporation , St. Louis Airplane Division , Robertson , Missouri, in-
cluding working foremen , but excluding foremen heading depart-
ments and whose work is strictly supervisory , and all engineers , office
workers , tool designers , stock clerks , stock chasers, production plan-
ning workers , stockroom attendants , inspectors , watchmen, and port-
ers, as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining,
and that, pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 (a) of the National
Labor Relations Act, International Association of Machinists, Dis-
trict No. 9 , affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is the
exclusive representative of all such employees for the purposes of
collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages , hours of
employment , and other conditions of employment.
28 N. L. R. B., No. 11a.
41 3UO7-42-N of 28 4