E. I. du Pont De Nemours and Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 3, 1945

63 N.L.R.B. 1387 (N.L.R.B. 1945)

In 'the Matter of E. I. DU PONT DE NEIIIOURS AND COMPANY and THE
BUFFALO DU PONT WORKERS' INDEPENDENT UNION, AFFILIATED WITH
CONFEDERATED UNIONS OF AMERICA
Case No. 3-R-9,99.-Decided October 3, 1945
Mr. H. O. Blumenthal, of Wilmington , Del., for the Company.
Mr. James Kozma, of Rome, N. Y., and Mr. William Dietrich, of
Kenmore, N. Y., for the petitioner.
Mr. Clarence J. Hiam, of Tonawanda, N. Y., for the intervenor.
Mr. Mozart G. Ratner, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by The Buffalo du Pont Workers' Inde-
pendent Union, affiliated with Confederated Unions of America, herein
called the petitioner, alleging that a question affecting commerce had
arisen concerning the representation of employees of E. I. du Pont de-
Nemours and Company, Tonawanda, New York, herein called the Com-
pany, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate
hearing upon due notice before Eugene von Wellsheim, Trial Examiner.
The hearing was held at Buffalo, New York, on June 29, 1945. The
Company, the petitioner, and Buffalo du Pont Salaried Workers Union,.
herein called the intervenor, appeared and participated. All parties
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. All parties were afforded
an opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF TIIE COMPANY
The Company, a Delaware corporation, operates a plant at Tona--
wanda, New York, alone involved in this proceeding, where it is
63 N. L. R. B, No. 213.
1387
1388 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
engaged in the manufacture of staple fiber and cordura. The fiber is
utilized in the cotton spinning process ; cordura is used in the manu-
facture of fuel cells, automobile tire materials, and similar products.
During the fiscal year beginning June 1, 1944, the Company utilized
raw materials valued in excess of $1,000,000, of which more than 74
percent was shipped to the Tonawanda plant from points outside the
State of New York. During the same period the Company's finished
products were valued in excess of $5,000,000, more than 98 percent of
which was shipped to points outside the State of New York.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. TTTE ORGANTZATIONS INVOLVED
The Buffalo du Pont Workers' Independent Union, affiliated with
Confederated Unions of America, is a labor organization admitting
to membership employees of the Company.
Buffalo du Pont Salaried Workers Union, although not having
completed its formal organization, was represented at the hearing
by its temporary president who testified that it was an independent
organization formed for the purpose of engaging in collective bar-
gaining on behalf of certain employees of the Company. We find
that Buffalo du Pont Salaried Workers Union is a labor organization
within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the Act.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to the petitioner
as the exclusive bargaining representative of the employees named in
the petition until the petitioner has been certified by the Board in
an appropriate unit.
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear-
ing, indicates that the petitioner represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate."
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.
' The Field Examiner reported that the petitioner submitted 147 authorization cards, all
of which bore apparently genuine original signatures , that the names of 139 persons
appearing on the cards were listed on the Company's pay roll of May 1, 1945 , which con-
tained the names of 214 employees in the appropriate unit ; that many of the cards were
dated between 1938 and 1944 , and that the remainder were dated in March, April, and
May of 1945.
The intervenor submitted 31 authorization cards, all of which bore apparently genuine
original signatures The n a mes of all persons appearing on the cards were contained in the
aforesaid pay roll. All cards were dated in May and June 1945, except for 12 which
were undated.
E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
1389
The petitioner seeks a unit composed of office, clerical, and technical
employees, including both hourly paid and salaried workers in these
classifications. The intervenor seeks a unit containing only the sal-
aried employees in these classifications. The Company concurs with
the petitioner that both salaried and hourly paid employees should be
included in the unit.
Prior to June 10, 1944, the petitioner represented all employees of
the Company, production and maintenance, as well as office, cleri-
cal, and technical employees, in a single unit. On July 10, 1944, fol-
lowing a consent election, the petitioner was designated as the exclu-
sive bargaining representative of a unit composed of all production
and maintenance employees. Thereafter, the petitioner continued to
act as bargaining representative for its members among the office,
clerical, and technical employees.
The evidence shows that employees on the salaried pay roll and
employees on the hourly pay roll both work in the office, clerical, and
technical classifications sought by the petitioner. It was testified that
the "take home pay" of both groups is comparable, that they work side
by side, that there is frequent interchange of employees between the
salaried and hourly pay rolls, that hourly employees are'often employed
in the office and that salaried employees are often employed outside of
the office, that the same disability wage plans and insurance plans cover
both types of employees, and that the classification of employees as to
manner of payment is in large part fortuitous. It further appears
that the only differences between employees on the hou_•ly pay roll and
those on salary are that salaried employees are entitled to vacation if
they appear on the pay roll as of January 1, whereas hourly employees
are entitled to vacation only after 1 year's service with the Company;
that hourly workers are not paid for the time they are absent, whereas
salaried workers do not sustain a loss as a result of short absences;
that the compensation of salaried employees is deemed confidential by
the Company, whereas the pay rates of hourly workers is not deemed
confidential; and that during the absence'of a salaried employee his
work accumulates while this does not generally occur in the case of
hourly workers. We find that the community of interest between all
employees in the office, clerical, and technical classifications out-
weighs the dissimilarities which stem from differences in manner of
payment and hold that both hourly paid and salaried workers are
appropriately included in a single bargaining unit.
We find, in substantial accord with the position taken by the peti-
tioner and the Company, that all employees of the Company's rayon
department at Tonawanda, New York, including all employees of the
rayon and technical divisions, but excluding the goggleman, all hourly
1390 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
roll employees of the rayon division in the production and mainte-
nance unit established in Case No. 3-8-764, guards, cleaners, all
employees of the cellophane and cell-o-seal divisions, confidential
employees, leadermen, and all other supervisory employees with au-
thority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect
changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such
action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. TILE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which,
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election
herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direc-
tion.'
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 National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with E. I. du Pont de-
Nemours and Company, Tonawanda, New York, 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 Third Region, acting in
this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and
subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11 of said Rules and Regula-
tions, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section
IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
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, acid including employees in the armed forces
of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but
excluding any who have since quit or been discharged for cause and
have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to,
determine whether they desire to be represented by The Buffalo du
Pont Workers' Independent Union, affiliated with Confederated
Unions of America, or by Buffalo du Pont Salaried Workers Union,
for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
2 In view of our rejection of the intervenor 's contention concerning the composition of
the unit, we shall permit the intervenor to withdraw from participation in the election if
it so desires by notifying the Regional Director for the Third Region within ten (10) days
from the issuance of this Direction of Election.