Fabri-Tek Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 28, 1971

191 N.L.R.B. 675 (N.L.R.B. 1971)

NATIONAL CONNECTOR 675
National Connector , Division of Fabri-Tek Incor-
porated and International Union of Electrical, Ra-
dio and Machine Workers of America, AFL-CIO,
Petitioner . Case 18-RC-8392
June 28, 1971
DECISION ON REVIEW AND ORDER
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS FANNING
AND KENNEDY
On October 8, 1970, the Acting Regional Director
for Region 18 issued a Decision and Direction of Elec-
tion in the above-entitled proceeding in which he found
appropriate the requested single-location unit, rejecting
the Employer's contention that the smallest appropri-
ate unit must be divisionwide, encompassing all
production and maintenance employees at its two
facilities. Thereafter, in accordance with Section 102.67
of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations, Series 8, as amended, the Employer filed
a timely request for review of the Acting Regional
Director's decision, contending, inter alia, that in
reaching his unit determination he made findings of
fact which are clearly erroneous and departed from
officially reported precedent.
On November 2, 1970, the National Labor Relations
Board by telegraphic order granted the request for re-
view and stayed the election pending decision on re-
view. Thereafter, the Employer filed a brief on review.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its powers
in connection with this case to a three-member panel.
The Board has considered the entire record with
respect to the issues under review and makes the fol-
lowing findings:
The Petitioner requested a unit of production and
maintenance employees at the Employer's New Hope
facility. As indicated above, the Employer contends
that the only appropriate unit herein must encompass
production and maintenance employees at both its New
Hope and Cokato, Minnesota, operations. We agree.
The Employer manufactures a broad variety of elec-
trical connectors, the two main types being plastic
molded connectors and headers (metal plates contain-
ing contacts). Since its acquisition by Fabri-Tek in
November 1969 it has been operating a division of that
corporation. The Employer now has facilities at New
Hope and Cokato, Minnesota, 40 miles apart.'
' National Connector bagan operations in 1959 at a location in down-
town Minneapolis, Minnesota In 1961 it moved to New Hope, a suburb of
Minneapolis In 1966, because of increased business , it acquired additional
facilities at Cokato and moved a portion of its assembly operations there
(then, as now, the Employer's production and maintenance operations en-
compassed toolroom, punch press, automatic screw machine, plastic mold-
191 NLRB No. 131
The administrative offices of the Employer are at
New Hope. A director of manufacturing is in charge of
production and maintenance operations at both plants.
A director of quality control and quality assurance, a
manager of production control and purchasing, a
production engineer, and a personnel manager also
have divisionwide responsibilities. The directors of
manufacturing and of quality control, quality assur-
ance, and the personnel manager maintain offices at
both locations and divide their time between them.
It was testified that there are 18 hourly employees at
New Hope and 248 hourly employees at Cokato.2 The
requested New Hope employees comprise five machine
operators (three punch press and two automatic screw
machine operators), three plating employees, two
production control employees (stockroom and ship-
ping and receiving), four inspectors, and four plant
maintenance employees. Cokato has 18 machine opera-
tors in plate fabrication; a few in the toolroom; substan-
tial numbers of employees in plastic molding and as-
sembly; 10 production control employees; 13
inspectors, and 21 plant maintenance employees.3
As to supervision, the machine operators and tool-
room employees at New Hope are under a foreman, as
are the plating employees. At Cokato the toolroom and
plate fabrication machine operations are headed by a
general foreman, as are both the plastic molding and
assembly operations. There is a foreman of the plant
maintenance employees at both plants who is based at
New Hope. The immediate supervisor of production
control employees divides his time between the two
locations and reports to the manager of production
control and purchasing,' who in turn reports to the
director of manufacturing. The above-mentioned fore-
men report directly to the director of manufacturing.
The immediate supervisor of inspectors at each plant
ing, plate fabrication, metal finishing or plating, assembly, inspection,
production control-including stockroom, shipping and receiving, and plant
maintenance). In 1968, the plastic molding operation was moved to Cokato
Prior to acquiring the Employer, Fabn-Tek employed a consultant who
studied the operations and recommended that the remainder of assembly
and the plate fabrication operations be shifted to Cokato. This was imple-
mented by January 1970. Other operations, including a portion of the tool-
room, have since been transferred to Cokato
2 The total employee complement of New Hope is 74, including main
office personnel; at Cokato, it is 256. The current number and status of
toolroom employees is unclear from the record However, there were 18
toolroom employees at New Hope in September 1969 when an election was
held among them leading to the certification of Independent Local Tool
Makers Union as their representative In late 1969 a toolroom operation was
instituted at Cokato, and in January 1970 a consent election was held among
Cokato toolroom employees. Only two votes were cast in the election, both
against representation.
' For the purposes of seniority which is departmental on a divisionwide
bases, the Employer lists the following six operations as departments: assem-
bly; molding; plate fabrication, toolroom and plating, inspection; mainte-
nance, and production control.
4 Purchasing employees are located at both plants.
676 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
reports to the director of quality control.' Aside from
making work assignments and responsibly directing the
employees under them, first line supervisors have au-
thority to make verbal reprimands and to initiate writ-
ten warnings as to employees under them. Final deci-
sions affecting the status of employees are made by the
personnel manager.
Contacts for the connectors are machined at New
Hope, sent to Cokato for forming operations, returned
to New Hope for plating, and then reshipped to Cokato
for storage until needed for final processing in assembly
or plastic molding operations. A station wagon and a
truck transport engineering, maintenance, and inspec-
tion personnel and material between the two plants as
needed on a daily basis.
Labor relations and personnel policies are centrally
formulated, and wage rates, hours of work, and fringe
benefits are common for employees at both plants.
In view of the foregoing, and the entire record in this
case, especially the high degree of integration of the
6 At the present time the supervisor of inspection at New Hope is in layoff
status.
operations of the two plants in the division and the
absence of local autonomy in supervision, we find that
there is insufficient basis for finding the requested unit,
confined to unrepresented employees at the New Hope
facility, to be appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining.'
Accordingly, as the Petitioner has not indicated a
desire to proceed to an election in a broader appropri-
ate unit, we find that no question affecting commerce
exists concerning representation of certain employees
of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1)
and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act, and we shall dis-
miss the petition herein.
ORDER
It is hereby ordered that the petition filed. herein be,
and it hereby is, dismissed.
6 See Tungsten Contact Manufacturing Company, Incorporated, 189
NLRB No. 4 and The Kendall Company, 181 NLRB No 177. The cases
of Dixie Belle Mills, Inc, 139 NLRB 629, The Black and Decker Manufac-
turing Company 147 NLRB 825; and Duluth Avionics, Guidance & Control
Systems, Division ofLitton Systems, Inc., 159 NLRB 1319, relied on by the
Acting Regional Director, are factually distinguishable.