General Motors Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 22, 1944

59 N.L.R.B. 1210 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, DELCO PRODUCTS DIvI-
SIoN, PLANT D and METAL PoLISl1ERS5 BUFFERS, PLATERS & HELPERS
INTERNATIONAL UNION5 A. F. OF L.
Case No. 9-R-1590.-Decided December 22, 19444
Messrs. Henry M. Hogan and Richard E. Helms, of Detroit, Mich.,
for the Company.
Mr.'Ray Kelsay, of Cincinnati, Ohio, for the A. F. of L.
Mr. Max W. Johnstone, of Akron, Ohio, and Mr. Ray Quinlan, of
Norwood, Ohio, for the C. I. 0.
Mr. Louis R. [llercado, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by Metal Polishers , Buffers, Platers &
Helpers International Union, A. F. of L., herein called the A. F. of L.,
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of General Motors Corporation, Delco
Products Division , Plant D, Cincinnati , Ohio, herein called the Com-
pany, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appro-
priate hearing upon due notice before Louis S. Penfield, Trial Exam-
iner. Said hearing was held at Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 27, 1944.
The Company, the A. F . of L., and International Union , United Auto-
mobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America,
UAW-CIO, herein called the C. I. 0.,1 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 af-
forded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
The record shows that the C. I. 0. began organizing the Company's
Plant D early in the spring of 1944 and filed a petition for representa-
3 The C I 0 moved to intervene at the hearing . There was no objection and the Trial
Examiner granted the motion.
59 N. L R. B., No. 219.
1210
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 1211
tion of the Company's employees in May. The hearing 2 on the
C. I. O.'s petition was held in July 1944, and the Board, in its decision
in August, found a general production and maintenance unit (metal
.polishers were not specifically mentioned) to be appropriate and di-
rected an election therein. At the time of the hearing on the C., I. O.'s
petition, the six metal, polishers 3 employed by 'the Company were
members of the A. F. of L., some of them for many years, and steps
were being taken by the A. F. of L. preliminary to securing a contract
with the Company as bargaining representatives of these polishers.4
-The officials of the A. F. of L. and one of the polishers testified that
they had no knowledge of the C. I. O.'s petition, the hearing thereon,
or the Board's Direction of Election until September 6, 1944, when
they filed the instant petition together with a motion to intervene in
the proceedings based on the C. I. O.'s petition. The Board denied
the A. 'F. of L.'s request for intervention, stating that its action was
without prejudice to a later determination of the propriety of estab-
lishing the metal polishers as a separate, bargaining unit .5 While
the C. I. O. conducted an open drive to organize the plant, there is no
credible evidence from which a fair inference can be drawn that either
.the A. F. of L. officials or any of the metal polishers knew of the prior
proceedings before the Board. Upon the entire record, we find no
merit in the motion of the C. I. O. to dismiss the petition for lack
of timeliness, and we, accordingly, deny the motion.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board'makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
General Motors Corporation, a Delaware corporation, has it prin-
cipal business offices in New York City and Detroit, Michigan. The
Company owns plants in several States, and maintains the Delco
Products Division, which operates several plants in Ohio. Only the
plant at Cincinnati, Ohio, known as Plant D, is involved in this
proceeding. In excess of 50 percent in value of the goods and
materials used in the processing and manufacturing operations at
Plant D comes from sources outside the State of Ohio; in excess of
2 No Notice of the Hearing was given to the Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers & Helpers
Intel national Union, A. F of L.
2 A cut-back in the Government contract on which the Company was working and a
subsequent reduction in work caused a reduction of the force of polishers from six to
two.
4 The Union officials conferred with the Company's polishers concerning the terms of a
proposed contract with the Company in the summer of 1944, later held a meeting where
the provisions of the proposed contract were discussed and were in the process of preparing
the contract for submission to the Company when they first learned in September that
an election was to be held by the Board
e Matter of General Motors C orporation, Plant D, 57 N L It B 1491 . The ballots
of the metal polishers were impounded pending the disposition of the present petition.
11212 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
50 percent of the completed products manufactured at Plant D is
shipped to points outside the State of Ohio. Substantially all the
products manufactured at Plant D are sold or delivered to the United
States Government for use by the armed forces of the United Nations.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning'of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Metal Polishers , Buffers, Platers & Helpers' International Union,
A. F. of L., affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a
labor organization admitting to membership employees of the
Company.
International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricul-
tural Implement Workers of America, UAW-CIO, affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations , is a labor organization admit-
ting to membership employees of the Company.
M. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to the A. F. of L.
as the exclusive bargaining representative of certain of its employees
until the A. F. of L. has been certified by the Board in an appropriate
unit. Pursuant to a Board directed election which the C. I. O. won
in September 1944, the Board certified the C. I. O. as'the exclusive
representative of the Company's production and maintenance em-
ployees, but expressly excluded the metal polishers, stating that its
action was without prejudice to a later determination in this pro-
ceeding of the propriety of establishing the metal polishers as a
separate bargaining unit.
A statement of a Field Examiner, introduced into evidence at the
hearing, indicates that the A. F. of L. represents a substantial
number of employees in the unit alleged by it to be appropriate .6
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.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The A. F. of L. contends that the polishers and buffers constitute
an appropriate craft unit. The C. I. O. and the Company contend
8 The Field Examiner reported that the A . F. of L. submitted two cards , both of which
bore apparently genuine original signatures ; that the names of the two persons appearing
on the cards were listed on the Company ' s pay roll of October 23, 1944, which contained
the names of two employees in the unit alleged to be appropriate ; and that the cards were
both dated October 1944. The C. I. O. relies on its certification by the Board as the
exclusive bargaining representative of the general production and maintenance unit to
show an interest in the proceedings.
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 1213
that the polishers and buffers should be included in the general
production and maintenance unit.
The Company's Delco Products Division, Plant D, is divided into
7 departments, 2 of which are electrical departments and are not
involved in either this proceeding or in the prior proceedings on the
C. I. O.'s petition (5,7 N. L. R. B., No. 237). The remaining 5 depart-
ments form a typical plant-wide unit of production and maintenance
employees. The 2 polishers for which 'the A. F. of L. seeks a
separate craft unit are employed in the Miscellaneous Machine De-
partment, a production department in which the Company now
employs 26 persons.7 The operations of this department start from
forgings of raw materials and move through various operations and
inspections to the final burring, polishing, and inspecting of the
products, after which they are packed and shipped. The polishers
operate polishing lathes and are required to work on only 13 machine
parts.at the present time.
The C. I. O. contends that one of the polishers holds the position
of foreman. This contention is not borne out by the record. We
find that his duties do not bring him within our usual definition of
supervisory employees, and, accordingly, we shall include him within
the unit alleged by the A. F. of L. to be appropriate.
In support of its position, the C. I. O. points to a history of collec-
tive bargaining in the industry and with the General Motors Corpora-
tion, citing Matter of Delco Remy Division, General Motors
Corporation, 53 N. L. R. B. 110, 113. However, in the instant case
the Company recently acquired Plant D from another firm. There
is no history of collective bargaining involving this plant and there
is evidence that the A. F. of L. undertook to ascertain the desires of
the metal polishers and to prepare a contract for submission to the
Company at about the same time that the C. I. O. commenced its
organizational drive within the plants From all of the circumstances
in this case and from the entire, record, we are of the opinion and
find that the metal polishers are a distinct craft group which could
either be part of the larger production and maintenance unit or
function as a separate craft unit for the purposes of collective
bargaining.s
P These include the 2 metal polishers. As a result of the Government's cancelation of
part of the contract on which the Company was working, the department had been reduced
from 50 to 26 employees. Officials of the Company testified that the future production
of the plant was entirely speculative and dependent upon future Government action.
8 The two metal polishers appear to be skilled craftsmen.
e See Matter of Bendix Production Division of Bendivi Aviation Corporation, 39 N. L.
R. B. 81; Matter of Tampa Florida Brewery, Inc., 42 N. L. R. B 642; Matter of Aluminum
Co. of America, 42 N. L. R. B 772 , Matter of General Motors Corporation, 52 N. L R B.
111; Matter of Dodge Chicago Plant, Division of Chrysler Corporation, 55 N. L. R B.
634; Matter of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, 55 N. L. R. B. 918; Matter of Cleve-
land Pneumatic Aeiol, Inc., 55 N. L. R B. 1269; Matter of Caterpillar Military Engine
Company, 56 N. L R. B. 1150; Matter of General Electric Company (Lynn), 58 N. L.
It. B. 57.
1214 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
-Accordingly , we shall make no final determination of the appro-
priate unit at this time , but shall first ascertain the desires of the
employees themselves . In view of the absence of any question con-
cerning representation among the employees in the general produc-
tion and maintenance unit, we shall direct an election by secret ballot
to be conducted among all metal polishers and buffers who were em-
ployed by the Company at its Delco Products Division , Plant D,
Cincinnati, Ohio, during the pay-roll period immediately preceding
the date of our Direction of Election herein, subject to the limita-
tions and additions set forth therein, but excluding all supervisory
employees with authority to hire, promote , discharge , discipline, or
-,.otherwise effect changes in the status of employees , or effectively
recommend such action , to determine whether they desire to be repre-
sented,by the A. F. of L. or by the C. I. 0., for the purposes of
collective bargaining, or by neither. Upon the results of this election
will depend , in part, our determination of the appropriate unit. If
a majority of the employees in the voting group select the A . F. of L.
as their bargaining representative , they will have thereby indicated
their desire to constitute a separate appropriate unit. If, however, a
majority of the employees choose the C. I., 0., then they will have
thereby indicated their desire to be included in the general production
and maintenance unit represented by the C. I. O.; in which event
the petition will be dismissed.
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 Rela-
tions 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 General Motors
Corporation , Delco Products Division , Plant D, Cincinnati , Ohio, 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 Ninth
Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela-
tions Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said
Rules and Regulations , among the employees in the voting groups set
forth 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 the said pay-roll period because
they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATTON 1215
employees in the armed forces of the United States who present them-
selves in person at the polls, 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, to determine whether they
desire to be represented by International Union, United Automobile,
Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, UAW-
CIO, or by Metal Polishers, Buffers; Platers & Helpers International
Union, A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by
neither.
618683-45-vol 59-78