Ford Motor Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 18, 1941

34 N.L.R.B. 436 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of FORD MOTOR COMPANY, A DELAWARE CORPORATION, and
INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AuTOMOBILR WORRIERS OF AMERICA,
AFFILIATED WITH THE C. I. 0.
Cases Nos. R-2425 and R-2426
SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION
AND
AMENDMENT TO CERTIFICATION OF
REPRESENTATIVES
August 18, 1941
. On April 7, 1941, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called
the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Elections 1 in the above-
entitled proceeding. , The Board therein directed that separate elec-
tions be conducted among (1) all production, maintenance, and
clerical employees employed at the Lincoln Plant, Detroit, Michigan,
of the Ford Motor Company, herein called the Company; (2) all
production, maintenance, and clerical employees at the River Rouge
plant of the Company, Dearborn, Michigan; and (3) all pattern
makers, wood and metal, and their apprentices, who are employed at
the River Rouge plant of the Company, Dearborn, Michigan. Pur-
suant to the Direction of Election, separate elections by secret ballot
were conducted at the Company's Lincoln plant, Detroit, Michigan,
and at the Company's River Rouge plant, Dearborn, Michigan, on
May 21, 1941, under the direction and supervision of the Regional
Director for the Seventh Region (Detroit, Michigan). On June 3,
'1941, the Regional Director, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9,
of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2,
as amended, issued and duly served upon the parties his Elections
Report with respect to the balloting among the production, mainte-
nance, and,clerical employees at the Lincoln plant of the Company
and among the production, maintenance, and clerical employees at
the River Rouge plant of the Company. In his Elections Report the
Regional Director stated that he would issue a separate Elections
Report with respect to the balloting among the pattern makers at
1 30 N L. R B 985
34 N. L. R. B., No. 65.
. 436
FORD MOTOR COMPANY 437
the Company's River Rouge plant. On June 21, 1941, the Board
issued a Supplemental Decision and Certification of Representatives 2
in which it certified International Union, United Automobile Workers
of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called the U. A. W.-
C. I. 0., as the exclusive representative of all production, maintenance,
and clerical employees at the Lincoln plant, and of all such employees
at the River Rouge plant. On June 18, 1941, the Regional. Director,
acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regula-
tions, issued and duly served upon the parties a Supplemental Elec-
tion Report. The Supplemental Election Report dealt with the
balloting among the pattern makers, wood and metal, and their ap-
prentices, employed at the River Rouge plant of the Company.
As to the balloting among such employees and its results, the Re-
gional'Director reported as follows:
Total all Valid votes
ballots only
Total on eligibility list------------------------------ 285
Total votes cast------------------------------------ 402
Total ballots challenged----------------------------- 143
Total blank ballots--------------------------------- 0
Total void ballots---------------------------------- 0
Total valid votes cast------------------------------ 259 .259
Votes cast for Pattern Makers League of Detroit and
vicinity, affiliated with Pattern Makers League of
N. A-------------------------------------------- 90
Votes cast for International. Union, United Automobile
Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0----- 161
Votes cast for neither------------------------------- 8
With respect to the 143 challenged ballots the Regional Director re-
ported as follows : that on June 6, 1941, upon prior notice to all the
parties and in the presence of representatives of all the parties except
Pattern Makers Association of tetroit and Vicinity, affiliated with
the Pattern Makers League of North America, herein called the Pat-
tern Makers, the names of the persons who had cast the 143 challenged
ballots were compared with the poll list used in the conduct of the
election; that challenges to 117 of such ballots should be sustained on
the ground that the names of none of the 117 persons appeared upon
the poll list used in connection with the election which had been sub-
mitted to all parties prior to the election and had been found to be
complete and correct by the Regional Director; that the 26 remaining
challenges should be overruled on the ground that the ballots were cast
by persons whose names appeared on the poll list. Since the 26 bal-
lots, the challenges to which were overruled, could not affect the re-
sult of the election the Regional Director did not open or count them.
232 N. L. R. B. 1001.
451269-42-vol. 84-29
438 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
On June 27, 1941, the Pattern Makers filed its Objections to ^ the
Supplemental Election Report with the Regional. Director. On July
22, 1941, the Regional Director issued and duly served upon the parties
his Report on Objections in which he found, in effect, that the Ob-
jections filed by the Pattern Makers raised no substantial or material
issues with respect to the conduct of the ballot or the Supplemental
Election,Report. The Board has considered the Objections filed by
the Pattern Makers and the Regional Director's report thereon and
finds that the Objections raise no substantial or material issues with
respect to the conduct of the ballot or the Supplemental Election
Report. The Objections are hereby overruled.
In its Decision and Direction of Elections,, the Board stated that
a determination of the appropriate unit or, units for the Company's
River Rouge plant would depend in -part on the results of the elec-
tions held among the production,. maintenance, and clerical employees
at the River Rouge plant and among the pattern makers, wood and
metal, and their apprentices, at the River Rouge plant. The Board
therein said:
If the groups of employees participating in each of the elec-
tions at the River Rouge plant of the Company select the same
representative, they will together constitute a single appropriate-
unit. If they choose different representatives, they will consti-
tute separate appropriate units.
In its Supplemental Decision and Certification of Representatives the
Board said :
The results of the election among all production, maintenance,
and clerical employees at the River Rouge plant of the Company
show that International Union, United Automobile Workers of
America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., has been selected as bargain-
ing agent by a majority of the employees voting therein. 'We
believe, especially in view of the fact that the production, main-
tenance; and clerical employees at the River Rouge plant of the
Company constitute a large majority of all the' employees in
that plant, that certification of a bargaining representative
chosen by them should not await a determination of the,question
whether pattern makers are to be included in a single appro-
priate unit with the production, maintenance, and clerical em-
ployees at the River Rouge plant or instead comprise a separate
appropriate unit. We shall, therefore, now issue a certification
applicable to the employees of the River Rouge plant -of the'
Company other than the pattern makers. ' ' This certification will
not, of course, preclude the possibility that International Union,
United Automobile Workers of America, Affiliated with the
FORD MOTOR COMPANY 439
C. I. 0., may be certified as the bargaining agent for a larger
unit following our determination regarding the pattern makers.
After we have received an election report from the Regional
Director concerning the balloting and its results among the
pattern makers employed by the Company at its River Rouge
plant, we shall issue a supplemental decision in which we shall
finally determine the appropriate unit or units at that plant.
In view of the foregoing, the Elections Report, the Supplemental
Election Report, and the entire record in the case, we shall certify
the U. A. W.-C. I. 0. as the exclusive representative of all produc-
tion, maintenance, and clerical employees at the River Rouge plant
of the Company, including pattern makers, wood and metal, and
their apprentices. , We hereby vacate that portion of our previous
Certification of Representatives' relating to production, maintenance
and clerical employees at the River ' Rouge plant of the Company
and substitute therefor' our Amendment to Certification of Repre-
sentatives as hereinafter set forth.
Upon the basis of the entire record in the case, the Board makes
the following :
SUPPLEMENTAL FINDING OF FACT
All production, maintenance, and clerical employees employed at
the River Rouge plant of the Company, including pattern makers,
wood and metal, and their apprentices, but excluding direct repre-
sentatives of the management such as officers and directors of the
Company; sales managers and assistant sales managers; factory
managers and assistant factory managers; directors and employees
of sales, accounting, personnel and industrial-relations departments;
directors of purchases and assistant directors of purchases; super-
intendents and assistant superintendents; general foremen, foremen,
and assistant foremen; all other persons working in a supervisory
capacity (but not leaders, pushers, or inspectors) including follow-tip
men and those having the right to hire or discharge, and those whose
duties include recommendation as to hiring or discharging; socio-
logical workers and personnel investigators; service men; plant pro-
tection employees; time-study men; all clerical and secretarial
employees (including telephone operators) in the Rotunda and Ad-
ministration buildings and in the offices of building superintendents
and department superintendents and in the branch stock offices and in
main and badge cribs; designing (drawing-board), production, esti-
On June 28, 1941, the U. A. w: C. I. O. filed a petition with the Board requesting it to
certify U . A. W.-C. I. O. as the exclusive representative of all production , maintenance,
and clerical employees at the River Rouge plant of the Company including pattern makers,
wood and metal. The request is hereby granted.
4 See footnote 2, supra.
440 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
mating and planning engineers; draftsmen and detailers; physicists;
chemists; metallurgists; artists; designer-artists; clay, and plaster
modelers (but not those who make patterns); timekeepers; training-
school students (but not apprentices) ; instructors and clerks in all
schools; fire-department chiefs, captains, inspectors, clerks, leaders
and their assistants;. kitchen; cafeteria and dining-room help (but
not auxiliary help from production or maintenance departments) ;
hospital and first-aid employees and field men for medical depart-
ment (but not maintenance employees in hospital department) ;
safety inspectors; stock checkers; all employees in engineering and
airport buildings; all employees of the photographic department,
including those who work on blueprints, constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that such unit
will insure to employees of the River Rouge plant of the Company
the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective
bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act.
Upon the basis of the above Supplemental Finding of Fact and
upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
SUPPLEMENTAL CONCLUSION OF LAW
The above-described employees at the River Rouge plant of the
Company constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 0 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act.
AMENDMENT TO CERTIFICATION OF
REPRESENTATIVES
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Sections 8 and
9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series
2, as amended,
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that International Union, United Automobile
Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., has been designated
and selected by a majority of all'production, maintenance', and clerical
employees at the River Rouge plant of Ford Motor Company, Dear-
,born, Michigan, including pattern makers, wood and metal, and their
apprentices, but excluding direct representatives of the management
such as officers and directors of the Company; sales managers and
assistant sales managers; factory managers and assistant factory mana-
gers; directors and employees of sales, accounting, personnel and
industrial-relations departments; directors of purchases and assistant
directors of purchases; superintendents and assistant superintendents;
FORD MOTOR COMPANY 441
general foremen, foremen, and assistant foremen; all other persons
working,in a supervisory capacity (but not leaders, pushers, or in-
spectors) including follow-up men and those having the right to hire
or discharge, and those whose duties include recommendation as to
hiring or discharging; sociological workers and personnel investiga-
tors ; service men ; plant-protection employees ; time-study men ; all
clerical and secretarial employees (including telephone operators) in
the Rotunda and Administration buildings 'and in the offices
of building superintendents and department superintendents and
in the branch stock offices and in main and badge cribs; de-
signing (drawing-board), production, estimating and planning
engineers; draftsmen and detailers; physicists; chemists; metal-
lurgists; artists; designer-artists; clay and plaster modelers (but
not those who make patterns) ; timekeepers; training-school students
(but not apprentices) ; instructors and clerks in all schools; fire-
department chiefs, captains, inspectors1 clerks, leaders and their assist-
ants; kitchen, cafeteria and dining-room help (but not auxiliary
help from production or maintenance departments) ; hospital and
first-aid employees,.and field men for medical department (but not
maintenance employees in hospital department) ; safety inspectors;
stock checkers; all employees in engineering and airport buildings;
and all employees of the photographic department, including those
who work on blueprints, as their representative for the purposes of
collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of_the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, International Union, United Automobile
Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., is the exclusive
representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective
bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employ-
ment, and other conditions of employment. '
MR. EDWIN S. SMITH took no part in the consideration of the above
Second Supplemental Decision and Amendment to Certification of
Representatives.