Foster Wheeler Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 28, 1948

79 N.L.R.B. 1062 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of FOSTER WHEELER CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and
OFFICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL No. 66, A. F.
OF L., PETITIONER
Case No. 16-RC-115.-Decided September p28, 1948
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a 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.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-man panel consisting of Board Members Hous-
ton, Reynolds," and Gray.
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 organization named below claims to represent em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the represen-
tation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Sec-
tion 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate unit :
The Employer is engaged in the construction and installation of
various types of oil refinery equipment for the Texas Company Oil
Refinery at Port Arthur, Texas. The Employer employs approxi-
mately 1,200 employees for the Port Arthur project. Among these
employees there are approximately 25 office and clerical workers,
with whom we are herein concerned, whose duties consist of prepar-
ing pay rolls, recording time distribution, purchasing materials, and
checking materials. There is no history of collective bargaining to
bear upon the appropriateness of the unit.
1 Board Member Reynolds did not participate in this case.
79 N. L. R. B., No. 139.
1062
FOSTER WHEELER CORPORATION 1063
The parties are generally agreed that all employees of the Employer
at the Port Arthur Works, Port Arthur, Texas, classified as pay-roll
-employees, timekeepers, purchasing employees, and warehouse em-
ployees, excluding laborers, confidential secretaries,2 engineers, tech-
nical employees, the superintendent, assistant superintendents, office
manager , foremen, and all other supervisors as defined in the Act,
constitute an appropriate unit. They disagree, however, concerning
the inclusion of department heads, tool checkers, and material checkers.
Department Heads: The Employer contends that the chief pay-roll
clerk, chief timekeeper, chief purchasing agent, and chief material
man are supervisors and should be excluded from the unit. The record
-discloses that these employees are heads of their respective departments
and are in charge of from one to six employees. They spend the major
portion of their time performing the same type of functions as the
employees whom they instruct and whose work they direct. However,
they are paid up to 50 percent more than the average received by the
next highest paid employees in their departments. Although it is not
clear from the record whether they have power effectively to recom-
mend the hire or discharge of employees, they have the power effec-
tively to recommend disciplinary action. Upon the basis of the fore-
going facts, and upon the entire record in the case, we believe that the
afore-mentioned department heads are supervisors and we shall exclude
them from the unit.
Tool Checkers: There are two tool checkers, each of whom is in
charge of a toolroom and is assisted by two or three helpers. Their
duties are of a routine nature and consist of issuing and storing tools
and other items such as waste rags and chalk. Although they keep
a record of tools issued, the amount of clerical work they perform is
riot, in our opinion, sufficient to classify them as clerical employees
and we shall, therefore, exclude them from the unit.
Material Checkers: The Employer employs three material checkers
who work in the warehouse. They receive and store supplies and
materials, check packing slips, bills of lading, and handle requisitions
drawn on the warehouse by the departments requiring materials.
Their duties, however, are primarily physical and bring them in close
contact with the craftsmen and construction workers to whom they
issue materials . In view of the foregoing, we believe that the duties
2 The Employer would exclude from the unit employee Kolsut on the ground that she is
a confidential employee . Although primarily a receptionist and telephone operator, the
record shows that she has access to labor relations data and assists the secretary to the
superintendent in the preparation of materials for grievance and labor negotiations.
Under these circumstances we believe that this employee is a confidential employee and
we shall exclude her from the unit. Matter of Dayton, Price & Company, Ltd., 73
N. L. R B 149.
1064 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL, LABOR, RELATIONS BOARD
and functions of material checkers are essentially non-clerical, and we
shall exclude them from the unit.
We find that all employees of the Employer at the Port Arthur
Works, Port Arthur, Texas, classified as pay-roll employees, time-
keepers, purchasing employees, and warehouse employees, excluding
confidential secretaries, tool checkers, material checkers, laborers,
engineers,` technical employees, the superintendent, assistant superin-
tendents, office manager, department heads, foremen and all other
supervisors, as defined in the Act, constitute a unit 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 conducted 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 Sixteenth Region, and subject
to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules
and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among the employees in the-
unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were
employed 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 Office Employees International.Union, Local No. 66, A. F. of L.