Dover Appliance Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 5, 1948

76 N.L.R.B. 1131 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of DOVER APPLIANCE COMPANY, EMPLOYER and UNITED
BRICK & CLAY WORKERS Or AMERICA, AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 8-RC-9.-Dec4ded April 5, 1948
Stanley and Smoyer, by Mr. Harry E. Smoyer, of Cleveland, Ohio,
and Messrs. Russell I. Huffman and Charles W. Morgan, of Dover,
Ohio, for the Employer.
Mr. Howard R. Hill, of New Philadelphia, Ohio, for the Petitioner.
Mr. Irvin S. Reinhart, of Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Ray Muehlho ff er, of
Cleveland, Ohio, and Mr. Carl Hubbell, of Pittsburgh, Pa., for the
Intervenor.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at New
Philadelphia, Ohio, on December 22, 1947, before Ramey Donovan,
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 the case, the National Labor Relations
Board 2 makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Dover Appliance Company is a division of Knapp-Monarch Com-
pany, a Delaware corporation which operates plants at St. Louis,
' At the healing the Employer questioned the adequacy of the Intervenors showing of
interest.. ,and moved that the Intervenor be excluded from this proceeding This motion
was referred to the Boaid The deteimination of the adequacy of a union 's showing of
interest is an administrative process of the Board , and is not litigable by any parties to the
proceeding In its brief filed subsequent to the hearing , the Employer contended that the
Intervenor had no standing because its organizational activity and its application to the
Board occurred subsequent to a Stipulation for Certification upon Consent Election entered
into by the Employer and the Petitioner on November 20, 1947 ; and, further that the Boaid
should hnve proceeded with the Consent Election despite the Intervenor ' s claim . The con-
flicting claims of the Petitioner and the Intervenor could best be resolved on the basis of a
hearing Accordingly the Employer's motions to exclude the Intervenor are hereby over-
ruled
x Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to it
three -man panel consisting of the undersigned Board Members [ Houston , Murdock, and
Gray]
76 N. L. R. B., No. 161.
1131
1132 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Missouri, and Dover, Ohio. The Employer manufactures electric
irons at the Dover plant, the only one herein involved. Its annual sales
of finished products exceed $50,000, more than half of which are
shipped outside the State of Ohio.
The Employer concedes, and we find, that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
11. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers, and Helpers International Union,
herein called the Intervenor, is a labor organization affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the
Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer is willing to recognize the Petitioner, but refuses to
recognize the Intervenor as the exclusive bargaining representative of
employees of the Employer until the Intervenor has been certified by
the Board in an appropriate unit.
Inasmuch as there are conflicting claims of representation, we find
that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation
of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1)
and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner seeks a unit composed of all production and mainte-
nance employees, excluding office and clerical employees, watchmen-
firemen,3 and supervisors.
The Intervenor seeks a craft unit composed of employees of the Pol-
ishing, Buffing, and Plating departments, including polishers, buffers,
and platers, and their helpers, tank operators, tank helpers, cleaners,
rackers, and inspectors. The Petitioner and the Employer contend
that this unit is composed primarily of unskilled workers, and is
inappropriate for bargaining purposes.
The Plating, Polishing, and Buffing departments are in adjoining
rooms. On both day and night shifts, there is one supervisor for these
three departments alone. During the day there is a foreman who
supervises these departments plus the Drill and Tap Departments.
'There are four watchmen who fire the boilers in the intervals between their rounds.
There is no evidence of what proportion of their time is spent as watchmen . Matter of
C. P. Hill cf Company . Inc., 76 N. L R. B. 158.
DOVER APPLIANCE COMPANY 1133
The employees in these three departments work the same hours and
have the same general working conditions as other employees.
Wages, with minor exceptions , are on a piecework basis. However,
the average wages of employees such as belt sanders, disc grinders,
cleaners , rackers, and laborers in these three departments are about
the same as the wages of unskilled production workers throughout
the plant. Polishers ' and buffers ' wages are somewhat higher, com-
parable to the more skilled workers on the assembly line.
With regard to skill required on the job, it appears that the pro-
ductive processes in these three departments are broken down so
that each employee performs only a few relatively simple processes.
The first steps in the polishing process are performed by disc grinders
and belt sanders , whose only qualification for employment is that
they pass a physical examination . Following that, there are two
polishing machines , one operated by a skilled polisher and three un-
skilled helpers, the other operated by an unskilled polisher and helper.
It was stated that both polishers and buffers were given 4 mouths'
training and then placed on the job at full polishers' or buffers' pay.
The wheel setting, in the Polishing and in the Buffing departments,
is done by two skilled craftsmen.
In the Plating department , in each crew of four or five employees,
there is a group leader who sees that the proper voltage is main-
tained in the tank and that the work proceeds in an orderly fashion.
Other employees, such as tank helpers, rackers (who put the part
to be plated on hooks), and cleaners (who run the part through a
series of cleaning tanks ), are completely unskilled. There is one so-
lution -tester in this department who had no particular training or
experience . Inspectors in the three departments are given no more
than 30 days ' training before being placed on the job . It is under-
stood by all employees in these three departments that if their work
is slack they may be assigned temporarily to the foundry or to other
departments , though in the past such interchange has been infrequent.
From the foregoing facts it is clear that a large majority of the
employees in the unit sought by the Intervenor possess no special skill
to distinguish them from other production employees . Accordingly,
we find that a unit composed of all employees in the Employer's
Polishing , Plating, and Buffing departments is inappropriate for
collective bargaining purposes.
We find, in accordance with the agreement of the Employer and
the Petitioner , that all production and maintenance employees, ex-
eluding office and clerical employees , watchmen-firemen, and super-
visors, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining , within the meaning of Section 9 ( b) of the Act.
1134 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Dover Appliance Company,
Dover, Ohio, 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 Eighth Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and
203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-
Series 5, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Sec-
tion IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period ini-
niediately preceding the date of this Direction, 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 reinstated prior to the date of the election, and also ex-
cluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement,
to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by United
Brick & Clay Workers of America, AFL, for the purposes of collective
bargaining.4
4 Metal Polishers , Buffers , Platers, and Helpers International Union , AFL, shall be ac-
corded a place on the ballot if, within 10 days of its receipt of the Decision and Direction
of Election herein, it shall express in writing to the Regional Director a desire to partici-
pate in the election and a readiness to bargain on behalf of all the employees in the appro-
priate unit designated in Section IV.