General Motors Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 5, 1948

80 N.L.R.B. 145 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, CHEVROLET FORGE,
SPRING AND BUMPER DIVISION, DETROIT, MICHIGAN, EMPLOYER and
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF BLACKSMITHS, DROP-FORGERS AND
HELPERS, AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 7-RC-416.-Decided November 5, 1948
DECISION
AND
ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before a hearing
officer of the National Labor Relations Board. At the hearing, In-
ternational Union, United Automobile, Aircraft, and Agricultural
Implement Workers of America, UAW-CIO, herein called the In-
tervenor, moved to dismiss the petition on the ground, among others,'
that the unit sought is inappropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining. For the reasons set forth in Section III, below, the
Intervenor's motion is granted. The hearing officer's rulings made at
the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case,2 the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The labor organizations involved claim to represent employees of
the Employer.
' We find it unnecessary to consider the Intervenor's remaining reasons contained in its
motion to dismiss the petition, because we are granting the motion on the ground stated
above
'The Petitioner 's request for oral argument is denied inasmuch as the record, in our
opinion, adequately presents the issues and positions of the parties.
80 N. L. R. B., No. 34.
145
-146 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
III. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION ; THE ALLEGED
APPROPRIATE UNIT
At the hearing, the Petitioner amended its petition to request a unit
composed of the following classifications of employees : All steam
hammermen, board hammermen, forging press operators, upset oper-
ators, roll operators, coin hammermen, restrike hammermen, bulldozer
operators, blacksmiths-tool and die, blacksmiths-maintenance, and
heaters and helpers of the foregoing classifications, including hot and
cold trim press operators, bender operators, scale blowers, flash pullers,
cut-off press operators, and axle padders,3 employed in the Chevrolet
Forge, Spring and Bumper Division of General Motors Corporation.
The Employer and the Intervenor contend that the unit requested is
not appropriate because it is neither a craft unit nor a unit which is
functional or integrated in nature; that it is an arbitrary grouping
based on the extent of the Petitioner's organization and contains
employees who are skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled; and that the
history of collective bargaining both in the Employer's plant and in
the automobile industry generally has been on industrial lines except
in the case of pattern makers and die sinkers. They urge that the
only proper unit is the industrial unit described in the contract between
the Employer and the Intervenor, covering all production and main-
tenance employees in the Employer's Chevrolet Forge, Spring and
Bumper Division 4 The Employer takes the further position that in
the event the Board should decide that a unit smaller than the indus-
trial unit is appropriate, such lesser unit should be based on functional
and integration considerations and should include, in addition to the
classification contained in the Petitioner's amended petition, the fol-
lowing classifications : die caulker, trimmer setter, hammer repairmen,
press repairmen, pipe fitter, welder, electrician, bricklayer, oiler, hot
inspector, cold inspector, counter, shear operator, trucker, heat treat
load and unload, burner operator, pickling equipment operator, crane
operator, and helpers.5 The Employer would exclude blacksmiths-
tool and die, blacksmiths-maintenance, and their helpers.
Bargaining history
In 1938 the Employer signed a members-only contract with the Inter-
- venor covering all production and maintenance employees in the Chev-
a There are approximately 810 employees in the Petitioner 's unit.
At the time of the hearing the Employer and the Intervenor were engaged In negotiating
changes in their collective bargaining agreement , which was not urged as a bar to this
proceeding.
5 There are approximately 1,000 employees in the unit proposed by the Employer.
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 147
rolet Forge , Spring and Bumper Division . In February of 1940 the
Board directed 6 elections among employees at each of 58 General
Motors Corporation plants enumerated in the decision , including the
Chevrolet Forge , Spring and Bumper Division . Separate elections
were ordered among die sinkers and pattern makers in specified plants
employing those classifications , and craft units were established for
those groups . The present Petitioner did not participate in those
proceedings . As a result of the elections , the Intervenor was certified
in 52 of the Corporation 's 58 plants as the exclusive bargaining repre-
sentative of the production and maintenance employees in 52 separate
plant units. A master agreement was entered into covering all 52
plants, and local plant wage and seniority agreements were executed
between the Intervenor and each individual plant unit , one being with
the Chevrolet Forge, Spring and Bumper Division, the operating unit
involved herein . Since that time, the employees employed in the unit
sought by the Petitioner have participated fully in all aspects of the
collective bargaining ' carried on by the Intervenor in this Division,
have held office in the Local , and have served on grievance committees.
The Employer's operations
The Chevrolet Forge, Spring and Bumper Division consists of four
manufacturing plants under the same general enclosure , a power plant
and an administration office. Forging operations are confined to
Plants No. I 8 and No. 11 9 where 90 percent of all the forgings used
by the Employer in its motor cars and trucks are produced. Springs
and bumpers are manufactured by non-forging processes in Plants
No. III and No. IV. For 10 years the Intervenor has represented a
Division-wide unit of production and maintenance employees 10 ex-
cluding die sinkers. The unit requested by the Petitioner and the
alternate unit proposed by the Employer, are both limited to em-
ployees in Plants No. I and No. II who are engaged in work relating
to forging.
Most of the forging operations are performed in Plant No. I which
contains the Roll Shop, Steam Shop, Forge Press Operation, Board
Hammer Shop, Heat Treat and Pickling Department, Cold Trim
Department, Upset Department, Bulldozer Operation, Machine Shop,
6 20 N L. R. B. 950.
1 On March 11, 1946, Local 534 of the Petitioner filed a petition requesting a unit sub-
stantially identical with the one involved in the present petition . On August 13, 1946,
the Regional Director for the Seventh Region dismissed the petition and on October 1, 1946,
the Board considered the Petitioner 's request for a review of the Regional Director's re-
fusal to issue a notice of hearing , and sustained the decision of the Regional Director.
Plant No I employs a total of 1,800 employees.
° Plant No II employs about 300 employees.
There aie presently about 3,000 such employees.
817319-49-vol. 80-11
148 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and Die Room. Various maintenance employees work throughout the
plant. Adjacent to the plant is a yard where the shear operations
take place. Plant No. II is devoted to the forging of crank shafts.
In connection with each department and operation involved, the rec-
ord contains the following facts relative to the type of operation, the
job classifications employed therein, and the duties and skills required
of both the employees requested by the Petitioner and those who the
Employer contends should also be included.
Forging press operation: There are approximately seven forging
press units which produce forgings that are complete except for ma-
chining. Each unit includes a pusher-type forging furnace, a forging
press, and a trim press. The employees engaged in this forging opera-
tion are furnace loaders or heaters, forging press operators , trimmer
setters, hot trim press operators, helpers, truckers, crane operators, hot
inspectors, counters, and machine repairmen. The Petitioner seeks to
represent only the heater, forging press operator, hot trim press oper-
ator, and helpers.
In this operation, steel billets which have been sheared to size in
the plant yard by shear operators, are brought to the forging furnace
by truckers or crane operators. The heater places the billet in the
furnace, heating the forging to the proper degree, when it is removed
and placed in the forging press. The forging press operator sets the
dies with the help of the trimmer setter, and inserts the heated billet
in the buster section of the die. The billet passes through a number
of impressions in the die, each one bringing it closer to the ultimate
shape desired. The heated billet is then passed to the blocker section
and finally to the finisher section. The forging is then taken to the
trim press which contains dies also set by the trimmer setter. The
forging is properly located in the trimmer die where the flash or excess
metal is trimmed off.
The record contains the following information with respect to those
employees engaged in this operation who are requested by the
Petitioner :
Heaters may be hired without experience and require about 6
months' training to be proficient in performing their job. Heaters
may also be promoted to hot trim press operators. They must learn to
control the temperature of the forging furnace, know forging heats,
and coordinate their work with that of other members of the crew.
They may be promoted to forging press operators or to die caulkers.
The forging press operators are usually secured from men trained
as heaters, or bulldozer operators. They require 3 months' experience
on the forging press before they are fully qualified. The forging press
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 149
is electrically operated and requires no control on the part of the
operator. He sets his own dies with the help of the trimmer setter.
The hot trim press operator is usually hired without experience, and
requires about 1 week's training. His duties include the proper loca-
tion of the forging in the trimmer die. He presses a pedal, setting in
motion the trim press whose stroke is automatically controlled. After
the flash has been cut off, he places the completed forging on the floor
with tongs. He maybe promoted to the job of heater.
Helpers are hired without experience and require approximately 2
days' training. They do not operate a machine but rather act as
handymen, transferring the billet from the forging press to the trim
press. They maybe promoted to any number of semi-skilled jobs.
The following are the remaining crew members, who are not re-
quested by the Petitioner and who, the Employer urges, are too closely
allied in interest and duties to be excluded :
The trimmer setters are usually secured from men who have been
trained as trim press operators. They require 6 months' experience
as trimmer setters to become proficient. They must know how to set
dies properly in both the forging press and the trim press, making
necessary adjustments. Their tools are chisels, hammers, air grinders,
and wrenches. They must understand the operation of both presses.
The usual line of promotion is to the Die Room on trimmer dies.
The hot inspectors are usually promoted from cold inspectors and
require from 3 to 6 months' training as hot inspectors. The full period
of training is from 18 to 20 months. The hot inspector checks finished
forgings as to dimensions, lack of metal, off-match, and proper filling.
They use calipers and visual inspection and must know forging prac-
tices, heats, and die design. They notify the forging press operator
or the trimmer press operator of any defects in the forging. The line
of progression is to supervision.
The crane operator is usually hired without experience and requires
about 3 months' training. He operates an electrical overhead bridge
crane for the purpose of setting and knocking out dies (locking and
unlocking) by the use of a ram. He also assists the maintenance men
in removing equipment.
The trucker is usually hired from the outside and is put on an
operation that will acquaint him with the shop lay-out. After
approximately 3 months, he is assigned to a certain section of the shop.
He operates a shop truck which is electrically operated and brings the
steel billets from the sheds to the furnace and later removes the com-
pleted forgings from the trim press.
Counters are hired without experience and require approximately
3 days' training. They help load the completed forgings on skiffs
150 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and count them. They tabulate the production in the units to which
they are assigned. They may be required to hang forgings on a
conveyer. The usual line of progression is to cold inspector.
A machine repairman requires 2 years' experience to be proficient
in repairing the forging machines used in the plant. He is usually
assigned to a particular machine such as a press or a hammer and is
expected to attend to any mechanical failure. The parties agreed
that this is a skilled occupation.
Steam hammer operations: There are approximately 79 steam
hammer units which produce third arms, truck knuckles, and axle-I-
beams. Some units contain 1 steam hammer and some 2. In the
2-hammer units, the first is a blocking hammer and the second is
a finishing hammer, requiring an additional heating operation. When
the steam hammer operation is completed, the forging is finished
except for heat treatment or a bending operation. The equipment
used in this unit consists of the forging furnace, steam hammer, the
trim press, a portable bending machine, and a padding press. The
steam hammer unit may consist of the following classifications :
heater, steam hammer operator, trim press operator, bender operator,
axle padder, scale blower, flash puller, trimmer setter, hot inspector,
crane operator, trucker, counter, and the necessary repair and mainte-
nance employees. The Petitioner seeks to represent all these em-
ployees except the trimmer setter, hot inspector, crane operator,
trucker, counter, and repair and maintenance crew.
Steel billets are brought to this unit by the same general categories
of employees as those described in connection with the forging press
operation. The forging must pass through four impressions in the
steam hammer before the forging is finished. These are known as
the edger which breaks down the stock, the fuller which begins shap-
ing the forging, the blocker which approximates the finished shape, and
the finisher which completes the processing of the forging. The forg-
ing must then be placed in a bending machine since the bend required
is too deep to be accomplished by hammer operation.
The record contains the following information with respect to the
classification of employees in the steam hammer unit requested by
the Petitioner and not already described above n
The steam hammer operator is usually promoted from an experi-
enced heater and requires about 2 years of training on the steam
hammer to be fully proficient. He has full control of the steam
hammer with respect to the speed and force of the blow. He sets his
U The heater, hot trim press operator , counter, etc ., perform substantially the same func-
tions and exercise the same skills in all of the forging units , and accordingly we shall not
reiterate that material in discussing other units in which these classifications are found.
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 151
own dies with the assistance of the heater, the trim press operator,
and the crane operator. He must know forging heats, how to manipu-
late the steel through the various steps of the die, and how to
coordinate the crew. The usual progression is to supervision.
The bender operator is usually hired without experience and re-
quires only 2 or 3 days of training. He operates a steam driven
machine containing a die in which the forging is inserted. The
operation of the machine is entirely automatic and the operator must
know only how to set the forging properly in the die. Bender opera-
tors generally progress to heaters.
Axle padder. When an axle-I-beam is forged in the steam hammer
unit, padding press and scale blowing operations are required. The
padding press is not a forging machine and the operator, known as
an axle padder, is classified by the employer as a helper. He is hired
without experience and requires only a day or two of training. He
inserts the I-beam in the press, trips a lever, and a pad is pressed out
as part of the front axle-I-beam.
Scale blower. The scale blower may be hired without experience
or may be promoted from a helper classification and requires a short
period of training. He holds a flexible hose and plays a stream of
live steam on the die and on the hot forging to remove any excess scale.
Flash puller. This employee is also classed by the Employer as a
helper, is hired without experience and requires little training. After
the forging is trimmed, the flash puller takes the flash out of the press
and throws it into a skiff. 12
Board hamvmer operation: There are approximately 17 board drop
hammer units. The forging equipment used is a box-type forging
furnace and a board drop hammer. Each unit consists of a trucker, a
heater, a board hammerman, a counter, a hot inspector, and the same
repairmen and maintenance crews as those described in connection
with the forging press operation. There is no trim press operation
in this unit. The Petitioner seeks to represent the heater and the
board hammerman. The only job classification not already described
in connection with the units mentioned above is the board hammer-
man. The board hammerman is usually promoted from heater. He
needs less skill than the steam hammer operator and can be proficient
with a few months' less experience. He does not control the force or
frequency of the blow of his hammer. He must acquire skill in the
proper manipulation of the heated billet from one section of the die
to the other.
n The record does not indicate the probable line of promotion for axle padders, scale
blowers, and flash pullers . All are laboring classifications and the work is unskilled.
152 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Roll shop: The roll shop produces axle shafts. There are approxi-
mately seven units in this shop, each unit consisting of a forging fur-
nace, a roll machine, a coin hammer and a cut-off press. A crew is
made up of a heater, a roll operator, a coin hammerman, a cut-off
press operator, a hot inspector, and the usual repairmen and mainte-
nance employees. The Petitioner seeks to represent the heater, roll
operator, coin hammerman, and cut-off press operator. In this opera-
tion steel billets are placed in the furnace on a roller conveyer. The
hot billet is picked up by the roll operator and inserted in a series of
passes in the rolling dies which lengthen the billet to the length of an
axle shaft. It is then moved on a conveyer to the coin hammerman
who places the shaft in a coining die. The coining die is a steam-oper-
ated press actuated by a treadling hammer which opens and closes
the die. Using tongs, the coin hammerman turns the shaft in the die
until it becomes round. The shaft is then moved by conveyer to the
cut-off press where the excess material or "tong hold" is cut off. The
hot inspector then inspects the forging.
A roll operator is usually promoted from a heater or a coin ham-
merman. He requires about 6 months' experience to become efficient.
He must know forging heats and must coordinate his activities with
the rolling action of the machine which is electrically operated and has
a mechanical speed. He sets his own dies with the help of his crew.
Roll operators can progress to steam hammermen.
The coin hammermen are usually secured from heaters or cut-off
press operators. They require from 3 to 6 months' experience before
they are proficient. A coin hammerman is less skilled than either
the board or steam hammerman. He controls the force of his hammer
but operates his machine to make only one impression in the die. Coin
hammermen may progress to roll operators.
A cut-off press operator is usually hired without experience and can
be trained in about a week. He operates an electrically actuated trim
press which is automatically controlled. He may progress to coin ham-
merman.
Upset department: The upset shop contains a number of upset units
for the production of axle shafts, piston gears, and tie rods. Each unit
contains a forging press and an upset machine. A typical crew con-
sists of a heater, upset operator, trucker, hot inspector, counter, repair-
men, and maintenance employees. These employees perform the same
general type of work as in the other units, except the upset machine
operator. This machine consists of a stationary die, a moving die, and
a set of punches. The machine is started by a foot pedal causing the
moving die to meet the stationary die. The forging goes through a
series of passes, the operator moving the billet to the next pass as soon
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 153
as the machine completes a cycle. The number of passes depends on
the type of forging to be processed. After the forging is completed,
it moves on a conveyer to the back of the machine or is loaded on a
skiff by the operator. Forgings made on this machine are complete
except for inspection, or they may require a cold trim press operation.
No pickling or heat treatment is required.
The upset operator is usually promoted from heater and he requires
approximately 12 months' training on his job to become proficient.
He must know forging heats and be skilled in the proper insertion of
the billets in the various passes. He sets his own dies with the help
of the heater.
The Petitioner seeks to represent only the heaters and the upset oper-
ators in this department.
Bulldozer operations: The bulldozer units contain a furnace and a
bulldozer. The employees in this unit are heaters, bulldozer operators,
bulldozer helpers, hot inspectors, trimmer setters, repairmen, and
maintenance employees. Front axle-I-beams forged in the steam shop
by a steam hammer unit are taken to the bulldozer units where the
heater places them in an endless chain heating furnace. The I-beam
is heated through the center section of the beam and when it arrives
at forging heat temperature at the discharge end of the furnace, it is
hooked by the bulldozer operator and slid over to the bulldozer machine
and placed in the dies, with the assistance of a helper. The bulldozer
machine stretches and straightens the I-beam. The forging is then re-
moved from the machine, placed on a rack and removed by a trucker to
the heat treat department.
The bulldozer operator, whom the Petitioner seeks to represent along
with the heater and bulldozer helpers, may be hired without previous
experience and can be trained in a period of 3 months. He may also
be promoted from less skilled helpers in the plant. Bulldozer opera-
tor helpers are usually hired without experience and can be trained
in a few weeks. The bulldozer machine is operated by electricity and
air and is automatic. The controls are set in the machine and the
stretching dies determine the amount of stretch. The operator must
set his own dies or he may be assisted by a trimmer setter. The forg-
ing falls into place in the die without manipulation. The only skill
required of the operator is in synchronizing his operation with the
action of the machine. The bulldozer operator can progress to trim
press operator, heater, or forging press operator. The bulldozer oper-
ator helper may progress to bulldozer operator.
A heat treat department and a pickling department are maintained
in Plant No. I. In some instances forgings require a pickling or acid
bath process to clean off scales before they go to the inspection depart-
154 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ment prior to shipping. These departments utilize heat-treat load and
unload employees and pickling equipment operators who are unskilled
and merely load the forgings into the processing equipment and later
remove them. These employees are hired without experience and are
trained in 2 or 3 days. The Petitioner does not seek to represent them.
Cold trim department: Some forgings which do not require hot
trim are taken to the cold trim department where they are cooled and
placed in a cold trim press which trims off the flash or excess metal.
The only machine in this department is the cold trim press. This de-
partment utilizes cold trim press operators, trimmer setters, and cold
inspectors. The work of the trimmer setter is the same as the work of
the trimmer setter in the forging press or steam hammer units. The
cold inspector is similar to the hot inspector but requires less skill and
is promoted to hot inspector. The Petitioner seeks to represent only
the cold trim press operators.
The cold trim press operator may be hired without experience and
requires about 3 months' training. He operates an electric press which
is activated by a foot pedal and is automatically controlled. He must
become skilled in the proper location of the forging in the die. The
usual line of progression is to hot trim press operator.
The following classifications are not connected with any particular
forging unit in Plant No. I. The only ones whom the Petitioner seeks
to represent are the blacksmiths and their helpers.
There are two classifications of blacksmiths in Plant No. I, black-
smiths-tool and die and blacksmiths- maintenance . The blacksmiths-
tool and die work on the salvaging of piston rod steel for use in the die
room 13 Blacksmiths-maintenance 14 make all the tongs used in the vari-
ous hammer units to hold the steel billets. They also rough-form all
small repair parts, using pneumatic hammers. Both types of black-
smiths are skilled employees and are hired with previous experience.
There are four blacksmith's helpers who assist the two classifications
of blacksmiths. The Employer does not include these classifications
in its alternate unit because of the strictly maintenance nature of their
duties.
Shearing operation: In the yard outside Plant No. I, the shearing
operation takes place, where the steel is cut to proper size by shear
operators and their helpers. The shearing machine is automatically
controlled and requires little skill to operate. A shear operator be-
comes proficient in about 4 weeks and may progress to trim press
operator. The Petitioner does not seek to represent the shear opera-
tor, although it does seek to represent the trim press operator.
>s There are two employees in this classification.
14 There are two blacksmiths -maintenance.
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 155
The Petitioner would exclude and the Employer would include the
following skilled employees who repair and maintain the furnaces and
machines; machine repairmen, pipe fitters, bricklayers, electricians,
welders, and oilers. All of these employees are required to keep the
various machines in operation and all are highly skilled. These em-
ployees are hired as skilled craftsmen and are promoted to supervision.
The Employer would include and the Petitioner would exclude the
burner operators who light and operate heat treat furnaces. This
classification is promoted from heat treat load and unload employee
and requires 6 months' training on the job. He must have a knowledge
of steel and proper heat treating temperatures. In connection with
electrically heated furnaces, he must be able to read a pyrometer and
to adjust controls to maintain required temperatures. He may pro-
gress to die maker in the die room.
Plant No. II-crank shaft: In Plant No. II crank shafts are forged.
This forging requires a steam hammer operation similar to that
carried out in Plant No. I except that there is an additional operation
performed on a restrike hammer. There are also a heat treat depart-
ment and an inspection department in Plant No. II. The employees
utilized are heater, steam hammerman, scale blower, hot trim press
operator, restrike hammerman, heat treat load and unload employees,
hot inspector, and trimmer setter. The only classification not already
described above is the restrike hammerman. This employee operates
a restrike hammer for the purpose of straightening the crank shaft
which may be bent during the trimming operation. This hammer is
manually controlled but operates with much less speed than the steam
hammer and the operator is not required to be as skilled as a steel
hammer operator. His skill is similar to that of the coin hammerman
in the roll shop. Restrike hammermen are usually promoted from
heaters or from the more skilled helper classifications. He requires
about 2 or 3 months' training on the restrike hammer. He sets his own
dies and must learn to locate the forging properly in the die. The
usual line of progression is to trim press operator or, after considerable
training, to steam hammerman.
As stated above, the Employer contends that any unit other than the
division-wide production and maintenance unit, should include all the
employees described above.
The Petitioner concedes that in the shipbuilding and railroad indus-
tries where it has many contracts, and in the Nash-Kelvinator Corpo-
ration plant (Petitioner's only contract in the automobile industry),
the units involved more nearly approximate the functional or depart-
mental unit suggested by the Employer. In the commercial forge
shops, the Petitioner customarily represents a unit of all the produc-
156 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tion and maintenance employees excluding the die sinkers. The Peti-
tioner explains the instant departure from its customary unit for
collective bargaining by pointing out that Section 9 (b) (2) of the
amended Act requires that a unit must be a true craft group before
severance will be permitted in the face of prior bargaining on a more
comprehensive basis. The Petitioner contends that the unit it re-
quests has a nucleus of highly skilled craftsmen, i. e., hammermen
(steam, board, coin, and restrike), forging machine operators( forging
press operators, roll operators, and bulldozer operators) and anvil
blacksmiths (maintenance, and tool and die). These employees, the
Petitioner urges, are the journeymen blacksmiths and the remaining
classifications in their unit are identical with the traditional appren-
tices to such journeymen. The Petitioner concedes that the Em-
ployer has no established apprentice training programs such as are
in force in the commercial forging industry and in the railroad and
shipbuilding industries. The Petitioner argues that the fact that the
various helpers in the Employer's employ are not apprentices is im-
material because they would be included with a craft group of skilled
forgers in the same way that helpers of tool and die makers, elec-
tricians, and plumbers, are customarily included.
We are unable to agree with the above arguments and conclusions
of the Petitioner. That the heaters and the helpers classifications in
this Employer's plants are not actually apprentices subjected to the
regular 4-year apprentice training program prescribed by the Peti-
tioner's constitution and provided for in its collective bargaining
agreements with employers in other industries, is, in our opinion,
highly material. The record reveals that operations in the two forge
plants have all the characteristics of a mass production industry.
Even the most skilled forging machine operator is required to exercise
only a minimum of independent judgment. He is expected to become
proficient, in a relatively short time, in the operating of only one
machine which will produce one or a very few types of forged parts,
and his greatest value lies in his speed and his ability to coordinate
the work of his crew in performing operations that are essentially
routine and repetitive. The Employer's engineering department de-
velops the part to be forged, designs the dies, and plans the complete
step-by-step procedure to be followed in forging the part. In this
type of production, the smallest detail is predetermined and it is not
necessary for the operator to read blueprints, make complicated meas-
urements, or decide on the proper number of hammer blows to meet
specifications.
In the Employer's plant a heater may become proficient in his job
in 6 months and may then progress to a top forging job such as steam
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 157
hammer operator. Such an employee requires only a few weeks' ex-
perience to make his piece work rate and only 2 years' experience to
become fully proficient as a steam hammer operator in this plant. The
record further reveals that a steam hammer operator at the Em-
ployer's plant is not the all-round skilled craftsman that a steam
hammer operator is in a commercial forge plant where he has served
a 4-year apprenticeship and is capable of operating all the various
forging machines.
On these facts we must conclude that the haminerman and the forg-
ing machine operators in the Employer's two forging plants are not
required to be skilled craftsmen within, and do not exercise the skills
of, the blacksmith's craft so as to warrant severance on a craft basis.
The four anvil blacksmiths engaged in maintenance and tool and die
work more nearly approximate the true craft principle, but their work
in these plants has little relation to the production forging operations
or to the several hundred employees working in the forging crews and
comprising the bulk of the unit requested by the Petitioner.
Nor is severance warranted on a. departmental basis. In addition
to the lack of skills characteristic of true craftsmen, the unit proposed
by the Petitioner lacks other characteristics usually present
where severance is justified on departmental grounds. The group
sought does not include all the employees engaged in the forging proc-
ess in the two plants. As pointed out above, a particular forging
operation requires the services of a number of other employees not
requested by the Petitioner, such as trimmer setters, inspectors, count-
er, truckers, crane operators, shear operators, and die caulkers 15 All
these employees share with those in the Petitioner's proposed unit the
same working conditions, including the physical hazards and dis-
comforts typical of a forging plant, shop facilities, insurance, and
vacation benefits, holiday pay, and grievance procedure.
There is no separate supervision for the unit requested by the Peti-
tioner. A shop foreman assigned to a given number of units in the
steam shop will supervise employees requested by the Petitioner
together with the employees mentioned above who are not in the
requested unit. The scope of such supervision is on the basis of inte-
grated production activities.
The Intervenor's separate seniority agreement with the Employer
provides for interchange and transfer of employees from one job
16 Petitioner stresses the fact that the employees in its requested unit are all paid on a
piece-work rate basis except for the anvil blacksmiths who are paid on an hourly basis, and
that all the other employees in the two plants are paid on an hourly basis. We have pre-
viously held that the mode of payment of employees is not the controlling factor in mak-
ing a unit determination . See Matter of George Ehlenberger and Co., 77 N. L. R. B. 701.
15$ DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
classification to another and such provisions result in interchange
between employees claimed by the Petitioner and employees not so
claimed. The record reveals that such interchange is possible because
of the highly integrated nature of the Employer's production processes
in the two forging plants. There is little interchange between em-
ployees in the forging plants and those in the spring and bumper
plants (Plant No. III and Plant No. IV).
In view of all the above facts, it does not appear that the unit
requested by the Petitioner possesses craft skills sufficient to warrant
severing such a unit from the long-established production and main-
tenance unit, either on a craft or departmental basis, and we conclude
that such unit is not an appropriate one within the scope of our prior
decisions.ls Therefore we find that no question affecting commerce
exists concerning the representation of employees of the Employer,
within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7)
of the Act, and we shall accordingly dismiss the petition 17
ORDER
Upon the basis of the entire record in this case, the National Labor
Relations Board hereby orders that the petition filed in the instant
matter be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
MEMBER HOUSTON took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Order.
1e In holding that the unit requested does not possess the requisite craft skills , we have
not relied solely on our recent decision in Matter of General Motors Corporation , New De-
parture Division, Sandusky, Ohio, Plant, 76 N. L. R. B. 879, wherein we denied a request
by a local union of the Petitioner herein for a unit of certain employees in the forge,
annealing and heat treat departments . Because the instant case involves a far more com-
prehensive forging operation, employing a greater number and variety of forging employees
exercising higher skills than was the case in the New Departure matter, we have reached a
similar conclusion only after a detailed consideration of all the facts presented. These
facts we find to be stronger in support of the Petitioner's position than in the New De-
parture case , but not strong enough to justify severance.
17 The alternate unit proposed by the Employer, based on functional and integrational
considerations , is, in effect , a departmental unit similar to the foundry unit which we
have found appropriate in other cases . See Matter of Fayscott Corporation, 78 N. L. R. B.
1256. The Petitioner , however, does not desire to represent employees in such a unit in
this plant and, accordingly, we need not pass upon its merits for severance purposes.
In their briefs, the parties have dealt extensively with the matter of prior bargaining
history along industrial lines both in this plant and in the automobile industry generally.
Inasmuch as we find the unit requested by the Petitioner to be inappropriate , we deem
it unnecessary to resolve the various contentions of the parties with respect to the effect
of such bargaining histories on the question of severance in this case.