Geneva Forge, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 2, 1948

76 N.L.R.B. 497 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of GENEVA FORGE, INC., EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS , PETITIONER
Case No. 34X-3.-Decided March 2, 1948
Goldstein and Goldman, by Mr. Manuel D. Goldman, of Rochester,
N. Y., for the Employer.
Mr. Daniel J. Omer, of Buffalo, N. Y., and Mr. Stephen M. Estey,
of Syracuse, N. Y., for the Petitioner.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Rochester,
New York, on November 3 , 1947, before Samuel J. Weintraub , hearing
officer. 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 Act , the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-man
panel consisting of the undersigned Board Members.'
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Geneva Forge, Inc., a New York corporation with three plants in
Geneva, New York, is engaged in the manufacture of various types
of cutlery. The Employer annually purchases more than $100,000
worth of raw materials, 50 percent of which is obtained from points
outside the State of New York. The Employer annually sells more
than $100,000 worth of finished products, 25 percent of which is
shipped to out-of-State customers.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
*Chairman Heizog and Members Reynolds and Murdock
76 N. L R. B., No. 78.
497
498 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner is an unaffiliated labor organization, claiming to
represent employees of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the
Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
We find that a 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.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner seeks a single unit of all the production and main-
tenance employees in the Employer's three plants, excluding office
employees, guards, and supervisors. The Employer, on the other
hand, urges a separate unit for the employees in each of its three plants.
The parties are also in disagreement with respect to various categories
of employees whom the Petitioner would include in, and the Employer
exclude from, any unit or units found appropriate.
The three plants of the Employer, which are known as Plants 1, 2,
and 3, respectively, are within less than a mile of each other. Plants
1 and 2 house all the manufacturing operations, and in addition, Plant
2 contains the general offices and packing and shipping rooms of the
Employer. Plant 3 is a warehouse where all raw materials used by
the production plants are received and stored until a request for them
is made.
The Employer fabricates both the metal blade and the wooden
handle of which its final product is composed. Until recently, all the
operations required for the production of these two items as well as
those for assembling them into the finished product were located in
Plant 2. About a year ago, the Employer acquired Plant 1 and trans-
ferred to it all but two of the departments which processed the metal
blade.' These two departments, however, will also be moved to Plant
1 shortly. All the blades produced at Plant 1 are shipped to Plant 2
for assembly with the wooden handles into the Employer's final product
and for various finishing operations, such as sanding, buffing, and edge-
setting. The finished products are packed and shipped by employees
1 These are the heat treating department and the blank and stamp department. These
departments will be moved to Plant 1 when the Employer is able to procure a new furnace,
a facility upon which their operation depends.
GENEVA FORGE, INC. 499
in Plant 2. Although each of the Employer's three plants is sepa-
rately supervised by a general foreman, these officials are each re-
sponsible to the Employer 's superintendent . The plants are all' served
by a single administrative office and a common group of maintenance
employees . Uniform working conditions , hours of employment, and
personnel policies prevail in the three plants and all employees enjoy
like vacation and insurance benefits. A single pay roll is maintained
at the main office for the entire personnel of the Employer. While
there is no interchange of employees between the plants, their skills,
for the most part, are not substantially different.
Under all the circumstances, including the integration of operations
among the three plants and the numerous features common to them,
we are persuaded that a single bargaining unit of all the employees in
the Employer's three plants is appropriate.
We turn now to a consideration of the disputed categories of
employees.
The set-up men: The Employer would exclude these employees on
the ground that their interests are different from those of the pro-
duction employees. These employees setup and adjust the machinery
in the Employer's production departments. If in the course of making
adjustments they observe that a machine is not being properly
operated, they report this fact to the foreman in charge of the depart,
ment in which they work. The record shows that they have no author-
ity to discipline production workers or recommend their hire or
discharge. No contention is made that these employees are super-
visors. While set-up men possess greater mechanical ability than the
operators whose machines they adjust, it seems clear that their skills
are not greater than nor more distinguishable from those of other
employees whom the Employer would include , such as the maintenance
employees of the millwrights. The set-up men are subject to the same
conditions of employment as the regular production workers. Their
rates of pay and hours of employment are substantially similar and
they enjoy like privileges and benefits. We are of the opinion that the
interests of the set-up men are sufficiently allied to those of the pro-
duction employees to warrant their inclusion in the unit hereinafter
found appropriate. Accordingly, we shall include them.
Toolrooma employees: There are 20 employees in the Employer's
toolroom which is located in Plant 2 . They construct and repair
machinery , and make tools , dies, and fixtures. While these employees
are a highly skilled group, they work under conditions of employment
identical to those of the regular production and maintenance em-
ployees. In view of these circumstances , and the fact that no other
78190-48-vol 76 33
500 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
labor organization is seeking to represent these employees on a separate
basis , we shall include them.2
Probationary employees : All new employees of the Employer are
subject to a 90-day probationary period. During this period, the
duties and working conditions of these employees are the same as
those of permanent employees except that they do not participate in
the vacation and insurance benefits. However, after they acquire the
status of permanent employees , the time spent in their probationary
period is credited to them in the computation of vacation privileges
and seniority rights. The record shows that 50 to 75 percent of the
probationary employees become permanent employees and that the
majority of those who do not acquire permanent status quit their jobs
of their own accord. We find that the probationary employees have
substantial interests in common with the permanent employees. We
shall include them.3
Ex-foremen : Several months ago, the Employer , because of a re-
duction in its business , demoted several of its foremen to production
jobs instead of laying them off. The Employer contends that these
employees should be excluded because they previously occupied super-
visory positions and because it contemplates restoring them to these
positions when its operations expand. While some of the demoted
employees have been reinstated to their former positions as foremen,
it is uncertain when the balance of them will be reinstated , if at all.
As production workers, these employees are subject to the same con-
ditions of employineiit as the other production employees. In view of
the fact that these ex-foremen have been demoted and thereby divested
of all supervisory authority and are currently employed as rank-and-
file production workers , we shall include them in the unit as production
employees.
We find that all the production ' and maintenance employees in the
Employer's three plants at Geneva , New York, including the set-up
men, the toolroom employees , and the probationary employees, but
excluding office and clerical employees , guards , and all supervisors,
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
purpose of collective bargaining with Geneva Forge, Inc., Geneva,
2 Matter of AircooleSl Motor Corporation, 63 N. L R . B. 1043 ; Matter of The Chace-Shaw-
mut Company, 71 N. L. R B 610
A See Matter of Wytheville Knitting Mills , Inc, 70 N L R B. 1354
Including ex-foremen employed as production workers
GENEVA FORGE, INC. 501
New York, 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 Third Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and
203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-
Series 5, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Sec-
tion IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immedi-
ately preceding the date of this Direction, 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 excluding em-
ployees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine
whether or not they desire to be represented by International Associa-
tion of Machinists for the purposes of collective bargaining.