Hamilton Watch Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 6, 1944

55 N.L.R.B. 1026 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of HAMILTON WATCH COMPANY and HAMILTON WATCH
WORKERS UNION , AFFILIATED WITH THE AMERICAN WATCH WORKERS
UNION
Case No. 4-R-1336.-Decided April 6, 1944
Mr. John F. Dumont , of Little Falls, N. J., for the Company.
Mr. Arthur E. Whittemore , of Boston , Mass ., for the Union.
Mr. Louis Waldman , of New York City , and Mr. ,Samuel Duleer, of
New York City , for the Jewelry Workers.
Mr. Stanley N. Lentz , of Philadelphia , Pa., for the I. A. Al.
Miss Margaret M. Farmer, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon an amended petition duly filed by Hamilton Watch Workers
Union, affiliated with American Watch Workers Union, herein called
the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen
concerning the representation of employees of Hamilton Watch Com-
pany, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations
Board, herein called the Board, provided for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice before Eugene M. Purver, Trial Examiner. Said
hearing was held at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on February 10, 11, and
16, 1944. Prior to the hearing the Regional Director of the Board in
Philadelphia granted a written motion to intervene filed in the Re-
gional Office by the International Jewelry Workers Union, A. F. L.,
herein called the Jewelry Workers. At the commencement of the
hearing the Trial Examiner granted a motion of the International
Association of Machinists, A. F. L., herein called the I. A. M., to inter-
vene. The Company, the Union, the Jewelry Workers, and the I. A. Al.
appeared at and participated in the hearing, and 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. During the course of the hearing the Trial
55 N. L. R. B., No. 191.
1026
HAMILTON WATCH COMPANY 1027
Examiner reserved for ruling by the Board motions by the Union (a)
that in the absence of a showing of substantial interest, the allowance
of intervention by the intervenors be revoked or in the alternative,
that the case proceed to determination as though there were no claims
by rival unions, and (b) that the intervenors not be granted a place
on the ballot in the event the Board orders an election. Said motions
are hereby denied.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Hamilton Watch Company, a Pennsylvania corporation, is engaged
at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the manufacture of jeweled watches,
marine chronometers, time fuses, and precision instruments. In 1942
the Company produced approximately 800,000 units to the approximate
value of $7,000,000. At the present time the Company's products are
sold almost exclusively to the armed forces. The Company receives
virtually all the raw materials used in the manufacture of its products
from States other than Pennsylvania and ships approximately 90 per-
cent of its finished products to points outside Pennsylvania.
The Company admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS -INVOLVED
Hamilton Watch Workers Union, affiliated with the American
Watch Workers Union, is a labor organization admitting to member-
ship employees of the Company.
International Jewelry Workers Union, affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to membership
employees of the Company.
International Association of Machinists, affiliated with American
Federation of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to membership
employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On January 4, 1944, the Union requested by letter that it be recog-
nized as collective bargaining agent for employees of the Company.
The Company replied by letter on January 7, 1944, that it would refuse
to recognize the Union until it had been certified as bargaining agent
by the Board.
A statement of a Field Examiner of the Board, introduced into
evidence at the hearing, together with a statement of the Trial Ex-
1028 DECISIONS OF ' NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
aminer of the results of a check of cards submitted to him at the
hearing indicate that the Union i represents a substantial number of
employees within the unit herein found to be appropriate.2
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 Company 's two plants , employing a total of approximately
2,700 employees , are located on adjoining properties and operated as
a unit. The Union, the Company, and the Jewelry Workers all de-
sire a bargaining unit composed of maintenance and production em-
ployees. These parties 3 desire the inclusion in said unit of depart-
mental machinists who repair and maintain machinery in the various
departments of the plant , service department employees who engage
in the repair of watches , employees in the model and hairspring de-
partments of the Engineering and Research Division who manufacture
the hairsprings for watch movements and produce the models used in
the production of watches , respectively , and inspectors on depart-
mental pay rolls who make preliminary inspections of work in their
respective departments . We shall include all these employees in the
unit. All parties desire to exclude from the unit administrative em-
ployees and executives ; foremen ; acting foremen ; assistant foremen;
and night supervisors ; factory stockroom supervisors ; guards ; office
clerical employees , including secretaries to factory executives located
at or near production areas; mechanical planning department em-
ployees who plan and schedule work for machine and tool shops, issue
orders and keep records ; boilerhouse employees who operate the
IThe Feld Examiner iepoited that the Union presented 1,121 application cards. undated,
but signLd between December 0, 1943, and January 21, 1944, and that the I A M presented
2-7 application cards, all but 5 of which were dated and signed between Match 194, and
January 1964 In view of the large number of petitioner's cards and the low tarn-over of
employees in the plant, these cards were not checked a ainst the Coinpan3' s pay roll The
Trial Examiner stated that a check of appl,eation cards s, bmitted to him at the hearing
on February 10, 1944, by the Jeweliy workers revealed that 107 boie apparently genuine
signatures of names appealing on the Company s then curient pay loll. There are approxi-
mately 1,750 employees in the unit
2 Although the repiesentation in the plant of the Jewelry workers and the Intel national
Association of 'Machinists is insufficient to support petitions for investigation and certifi-
cation of representatiies by these organizations , we are of the opinion that theLr iepie-
sentation is of sufficient strength to permit their interiention in the instant proceedings.
We a"e accordingly denying the Union's motion that their i nteiventnon be disallowed The
omission of the I A M from the ballot (see Section V, below) is puisuant to the request
of that oiganizalion that it not be included in an election predicated upon the unit herein-
after found to be appropriate
4 The I A M participated in stipulations entered into at the heai ing in respect to the
inclusions in and exclusions from a maintenance and production unit Since , however, it
made clear its desire for a limited craft unit and its refusal to participate in an election
based on a broader unit, we shall disregard its expressions of opinion in respect to the
broad unit.
HAMILTON WATCH COMPANY 1029
boilers, located in a building separate from the rest of the plant, and
act as plant-protection firemen; employees in the chemical and metal-
lurgical department, the watch design department, the watch research
department, the engineering records department, engineering research
department, including secretaries in said department, and the metal
department of the Engineering and Research Division; employees in
the production manager division, the industrial engineering division,
the machine experimental division, the personnel department, the
works laboratory, and the medical department, of the production en-
gineering department; the project engineer; and the empolyees who
do original designing in the model department of the Engineering
Research Division. We shall exclude the above employees from the
unit.
The parties disagreed as to the inclusion in the unit of job bosses;
inspectors on the inspection department pay roll; production clerical
employees; service department clerks; clerks in the factory stockroom,
in the casing department of the sales office, and in the packing and
shipping section of the traffic department; production control em-
ployees; technical service and testing department employees in the
Engineering Research Division; training school employees; cafeteria
workers; and buildings and grounds maintenance workers. The rec-
ord discloses the following facts about these groups :
Job bosses. The Company testified that it employs the term "job
boss" to cover all categories of its supervisory hierarchy below the
rank of foremen; that the term covers specifically acting foremen,
assistant foremen, assistants to the foremen, supervisors, night super-
visors, section heads, engineers (in some instances), and so-called "rov-
ing inspectors." The Company testified that all its job bosses are
without exception supervisory employees charged with the training
and supervision of employees working under them, with the duty of
recommending discipline and discharge, and with the responsibility
of transmitting the foremen's orders to the operators and getting the
work out on tune. The Company and the Jewelry Workers contended
that all job bosses should be excluded from the unit. The Union a ;reed
that acting foremen, assistant foremen, and night supervisors should
be excluded from the unit, but contended that all other categories of
job bosses are not supervisory employees but merely gang leaders
without power to change effectively the status of other employees in
their respective groups, and contended that they should be included
in the unit. The Union did not, however, support this contention.
The only job boss witnesses who testified at the hearing admitted to
certain supervisory authority. No evidence was offered to show the
existence in the plant of job boss gang leaders without supervisory
authority. The record shows that the Company employs only 22
foremen and 8 job bosses in the category of assistant foremen. It is
1030 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
unreasonable to suppose that such a small group of supervisory em-
ployees carry the entire supervision of a plant of approximately 2,700
employees. Under these circumstances, we find that all job bosses are
supervisory employees and shall exclude them from the unit.
Inspectors on the inspection department pay roll. These employees
are divided into two groups. One group consists of so-called "roving
inspectors" who are classified by the Company as job bosses and who
inspect the work throughout the plant. The other group remains in
the inspection department office, inspecting work which is submitted
to it. The latter group has no supervisory authority. The Union
desires to include both groups in the unit. The Company desires to
include only the second group, and the Jewelry Workers desires to
exclude both groups. We shall exclude "roving inspectors" from the
unit and include the group that remains in the inspection department
office.
Production clerical employees. These employees, variously called
departmental clerks or factory clerks, work in departmental offices
located in partitioned-off spaces on the production floors of their re-
spective departments. They prepare and keep tabulating cards, spoil-
age, and other records, and keep and prepare requisitions, maintain
and check on time cards and general records. They also collect relief
dues from the employees. The Union and the Company desire their
inclusion within the unit. The Jewelry Workers desires their exclu-
sion. Since these employees are located on the production floor and
in constant contact with production workers, we shall include them
within the unit.
Service department clerks. Service department clerks, located in
the service department, appear to perform duties analogous to pro-
duction clerical employees in other departments. The Union desires
their inclusion in the unit. The Company and the Jewelry Workers
desire their exclusion. We shall include them within the unit.
Clerks in the factory stockroom, in the casing department of the
sales office, and in the packing and shipping section of the traffic de-
partment. These clerks are normally engaged in manual labor. The
clerks in the factory stockroom handle the stock, releasing it to pro-
duction departments upon request. The clerks in the packing and
shipping section of the traffic department pack and ship company
products. The Union and the Company desire the inclusion in the
unit of all these categories of clerks. The Jewelry Workers desires
their exclusion. We shall include both factory stockroom clerks and
packing and shipping section clerks in the unit. The clerks in the
casing department of the sales office place watches in containers from
whence they are dispatched to the traffic department for final packing
and shipping. It appears that at the present time the Company is
not casing its products, and that these clerks are engaged in purely
HAMILTON WATCH COMPANY 1031
clerical work. We shall therefore exclude them from the unit without
prejudice to a redetermination of this matter should they resume the
casing of watches.
Production, control employees. These employees are normally
known as expediters or dispatchers. They are under the control of
supervisors in the engineering office. Although apparently located
in the departmental offices, they are under the control of the engineer-
ing department, the department which is responsible for planning and
scheduling the work for the entire factory. The production control
employees transmit work schedules from the engineering office to the
respective departments to which they are assigned, consult the fore-
men of these departments, assign work to individual operators with
or without consulting the job bosses over such operators, and see that
the time schedule is maintained. They notify the foremen if the job
bosses fall behind the production schedule. The Union desires the
inclusion of these employees in the unit. The Company and the
Jewelry Workers desire their exclusion. In view of the fact that
these employees do no production work, are charged with the responsi-
bility of assigning work and maintaining the production time sched-
ule, and are responsible to supervisors in the engineering office, we are
of the opinion that their interests are not closely allied with those of
the production workers and shall exclude them from the unit.
Technical service and testing department employees in the Engineer-
ing Research Division. These employees prepare specimens and
samples for experimental work to be conducted by the watch research
department. They also disassemble and make reports on competitors'
products. The Union desires the inclusion of these employees in the
emit. The Company has no objection to their inclusion, and the
Jewelry Workers desires their exclusion. We shall include them in
the unit.
Training school employees. Training school employees attend the
troirning school maintained by the Company. They are not engaged
upon production work and will not be so engaged in the future unless
they successfully complete their training. The Union desires their in-
clusion in the unit, and the Company and the Jewelry Workers their
exclusion. Since they are not engaged in production work, Ave shall
exclude then from the unit.
Cafeteria workers. The cafeteria employees prepare meals and
serve them. Although the cafeteria is owned and operated by the
Company, the cafeteria workers have no connection with the Com-
pany's productive work. The Union and the Company desire their
inclusion in the unit. The Jewelry Workers desires their exclusion.
We shall exclude them from the unit.
Bui7dings and grounds maintenance workers. These employees
include, in the building workers group, carpenters, painters, plumbers,
1032 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
steamfitters, electricians, and general laborers; and in the grounds
maintenance group, gardeners, laborers for gardening, and janitors.
The Union and the Company desire their inclusion in the unit. The
Jewelry Workers desires their exclusion. We shall include them
within the unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees employed
by the Company, including departmental machinists, service depart-
ment employees, employees in the model, technical service and testing,
and hairspring departments of the Engineering Research Division,
except, as hereinafter specifically excluded, inspectors other than
"roving inspectors" on both departmental and inspection department
pay rolls, production clerical employees, service departurent clerks,
clerks in the factory stockroom and in the packing and shipping section
of the traffic department, and buildings and grounds maintenance
workers; but, excluding all administrative employees and executives;
foremen; all job bosses, including acting foremen, assistant foremen,
night supervisors, and "roving inspectors"; factory stockroom super-
visors; office clerical employees, including secretaries to factory execu-
tives located at or near production areas; production control em-
ployees; mechanical planning department, employees; employees in
the chemical and metallurgical department, watch design department,
watch research department, engineering records dep,u•tnnent, metals
research department, engineering research depart anent, including
secretaries in said department. of the Engineering and Research
Division; employees of the production engineering department who
are employed in the production manager division, inclustvial engineer-
ing division, machine experimental division, personnel department,
works laboratory, and medical department; employees who do original
designing in the model department of the Engineering Research
Division; the project engineer; training school employees; guards,
boilerhouse employees; cafeteria workers; and all or any other super-
visory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, disci-
pline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or
effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
The position of the International Association of Machinists
The I. A. M. stated at the hearing and in its brief submitted to the
Board that it desired a craft unit limited to tool and die workers, ma-
chinists, machinists' helpers, machinist apprentices, and millwrights.
There is no evdence in the record concerting the disposition of these
employees throughout the plant, their community of interest, or the
supervisory authority to which they are subject. The I. A. M. stated
that its unit comprised approximately 100 employees but submitted
HAMILTON WATCH COMPANY 1033
approximately 247 authorization cards. There is no evidence to in-
dicate how many of these cards were signed by employees within
the unit desired by the I. A. M. Under these circumstances, we are
of the opinion that the craft unit desired by the I. A. M. is inap-
propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election
herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direc-
tion. The I. A. M. expressed a desire not to participate in an elec-
tion conducted in a maintenance and production unit. We shall
therefore omit its name from the ballot.
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 Relations
Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Hamilton Watch
Company, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 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 Fourth Region, acting in this matter
as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to
Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among
the employees in the unit found appropriate 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 dur-
ing the said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or
temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of
the United States who present themselves 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
Hamilton Watch Workers Union, affiliated with the American Watch
Workers Union, or by International Association of Jewelry Workers,
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes
of collective bargaining, or by neither.
CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.