General Electric Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 30, 1948

78 N.L.R.B. 857 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of GENERAL ELECTRIC Co1IrANi, EMPLOYER and INTER-
NATIONAL BROTIIERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LocAL 613 (A. F.
OF L.), PETITIONER
Case No. 10-RC-13..-Decided July 30, 19418
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
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-Iran panel consisting of the undersigned Board
Members.*
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 representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks a unit composed of all the employees in
the Employer's warehouse in Atlanta, Georgia, including office clerical
employees and truck drivers, but excluding supervisors. The Em-
ployer objects to the inclusion of office clerical employees in the pro-
posed unit, contending that they should be established in a separate
unit.
The Employer stores electrical apparatus in its warehouse in At-
lanta, Georgia. Employed at the warehouse are approximately 16
warehouse employees and 5 office clerical employees. The warehouse
employees are under the supervision of a head stockman and perform
°Cluuiman Herzog and Member, Re^noldc and Murdock
78 N. L. it. B, No. 113.
857
858 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the usual duties of such employees which is essentially physical in na-
ture. The office clerical employees work in an office which is parti-
tioned off from the rest of the warehouse under the supervision of a
chief clerk. They are all high school graduates, trained in office rou-
tine, and devote their full time to office and clerical duties. Unlike
the warehouse employees who are hourly paid, the office clerical em-
ployees are paid on a salary basis. Furthermore, their holiday and
vacation benefits are greater than those of the hourly paid employees.
It is clear that the interests and work of the office clerical employees
is different from those of the warehouse employees.' We shall, there-
fore, establish two separate units, one limited to the warehouse em-
ployees and the other to the office clerical employees.
We find that the following two groups of employees employed in
the Employer's warehouse at Atlanta, Georgia, excluding from each
group all supervisors, constitute separate units appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the meaning of Section 9 (b)
of the Act :
(a) All warehouse employees, excluding office clerical employees.
(b) All office clerical employees.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, separate elec-
tions 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 supervision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this
case was heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, among the
employees in the units 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 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, for purposes
of collective bargaining, by International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, Local 613 (A. F. of L.).
1 Matter of Cash Wholesale Company, Inc., 73 N . L. R. B. 699 ; Matter of Mayflower
Bales Company, 78 N. L . R. B. 69.