Douglas Aircraft Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 16, 1948

79 N.L.R.B. 752 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT COMPANY, INC.. EMPLOYER and
AERONAUTICAL INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT LODGE No. 720 AND INTERNA-
TIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS , PETITIONER
In the Matter of DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT COMPANY, INC., EMPLOYER and
DOUGLAS EL SEGUNDO POLICE UNION ( INDEPENDENT ), PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 291-RC-.226 and 21-IBC-24,3, respectiiveiy.Decided
September 16, 1948
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon petitions duly filed, a consolidated hearing was held before a
hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. 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,
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organizations named below claim to represent 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 unaffiliated Police Union seeks to be certified as the bargain-
ing representative of a unit of plant policemen and firemen. The
International. Association of-Machinists, desire certification for a unit
limited to plant firemen. The Employer agrees that the unit proposed
by the Police Union is appropriate.
The Employer has a plant-protection force consisting of uniformed
policemen and firemen., Both groups of employees work under the
general supervision of the chief of plant protection. The policemen
i Roth groups were represented by TAM under a contract which expired June 23, 1948.
The contract referred to plant-protection employees and required them , in case of a strike
or other interference with the Employer's busme.s, to cioss picket lines and to discharge
their duties
79 N. L. R. B., No. 102.
752
DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT COMPANY, INC.. 753
perform the usual duties of plant-protection personnel. They are un-
questionably guards within the meaning of the Act.
The firemen fight fires and do fire-prevention work. As part of the
latter duty, they report all fire and safety hazards. They may stop
work involving a fire hazard, until the hazard is removed, and they
have authority to take into custody any person who is found violating
a serious fire-prevention rile. If at any time there is a shortage. of
men in the firemen's group, or in the policemen's group, members of the
other group are temporarily assigned to fill the vacancies. In the
light of the foregoing facts, we find that ,the firemen are also guards
as defined in the statute.' Accordingly, we shall include both police-
men and firemen in a single unit.
We find that all policemen and firemen at the Employer's El
Segundo plant, excluding all supervisors as defined In the Act, con-
stitute aunit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by
secret ballot shall be'coiid acted as early as possible, but not later than
30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Twenty-first Region, and sub-
ject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations-Series 5, among the employees in the unit
fotfnd appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were em-
ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of
this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work
during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or
temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since
quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein-
stated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether
or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargain-
ing, by 60u-gads El Segundo Police Union (Independent).
MEMBER REYNOLDS took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
3 Section 9 (b) (3) of the Act defines as a guard any individual employed "to enforce
against employees and other persons rules to protect the property of the Employer or to
protect the safety of persons on the Employer ' s premises (Emphasis supplied
a The IAM will not,he placed on the ballot, because it admits to membership ' employees
other than guards See Section 9 (b) (3) of the Act.