Henry L. Crowley & Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 2, 1942

41 N.L.R.B. 615 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter Of HENRY L. CROWLEY & Co., INC. and UNITED ELEC-
TRICAL, RADIO & MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH
THE CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS
In the Matter of H. L. CROWLEY & COMPANY, INC. and INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, LODGE 340
In the Matter of HENRY L. CROWLEY & Co., INC. and LOCAL 407,
UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA,
C. I. 0., AND INDEPENDENT ROTARY UNION
Cases Nos. R-3835, R-3836, and RE-40, respectively.Decided
June 2, 194
Jurisdiction : ceramic insulator and powdered magnetic core manufacturing
industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to accord recognition to any labor organization until certified by the
Board ; elections necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em-
ployees of core and ceramic divisions held to constitute a single unit in view
of the fact that the operations performed and skills required were substantially
the same, and no labor organization had restricted its membership to either
division ; determination of whether toolroom employees should constitute a
separate bargaining unit held dependent on election in view of the highly
skilled nature of their work and in the absence of any extended history of
collective bargaining upon a plant-wide basis.
Mr. Frederick R. Livingston, for the Board.
Mr. George D. Zahm, of New York City, for the Company.
Mr. Samuel L. Rothbard, of Newark, N. J., for the C. I. O.
Isserman, Isserman d Kapelsohn, by Mr. Morris Isserman, Newark,
N. J., for the I. A. M.
Mr. Harry Evangelista, of Newark, N. J., for the Independent.
Mr. Robert E. Tillman, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petitions duly filed by United Electrical, Radio & Machine
Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Or-
ganizations, herein called the C. I. 0., by International Association
41 N. L R. B., No. 121.
615
616 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
of Machinists, Lodge 340, herein called the I. A. M., and by Henry
L. Crowley & Co., Inc., West Orange, New Jersey, herein called the
Company, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen
concerning the representation of employees of the Company, the
National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hear-
ing upon due notice before William E. Spencer, Trial Examiner.
Said hearing w_as held at West Orange, New Jersey, on May 11, 1942.
The Company, the C. I. 0., the I. A. M., 'and Independent Rotary
Union, herein called the Independent, appeared, participated, and
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.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Henry L. Crowley & Co., Inc., a New Jersey corporation, main-
tains its main office and its plant in West Orange, New Jersey, where
it is engaged in the 'manufacture of ceramic insulators and powdered
magnetic cores. During the 6-month period preceding the hearing,
the Company purchased raw materials, consisting principally of
ceramic materials, valued in excess of $10,000, more than 50 percent
of which was purchased outside the State of New Jersey. During
the same period, the Company sold finished products valued in ex-
cess of $50,000, more than 90 percent of which was shipped outside
the State of New Jersey.
The Company 'admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organiza-
tion admitting to membership employees of the Company.
International Association of Machinists, Lodge 340, is a labor or-
ganization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. It
admits to membership employees of the toolroom of the Company.
Independent Rotary Union is an unaffiliated labor organization
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The parties stipulated that a question concerning representation
affecting commerce exists in that the Company refuses to accord
HENRY L. CROWLEY & CO.,,INC. 617
recognition to any labor organization unless it has been certified by
the Board.
A statement of the Regional Director, introduced in evidence at
the hearing, indicates that the C. I. 0., the I. A. M., and the Inde-
pendent each represents a substantial number of employees in The
unit it alleges, as appropriate.'
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 C. I. 0. requests a unit of all production and maintenance
employees of the entire plant, excluding foremen, executives,2 and
supervisory and office employees.
The Independent contends that the plant should be divided into
two units, one of employees of the core division and the other-of
employees of the ceramic division. It thus requests a unit of produc-
tion and maintenance employees of the core division, excluding fore-
men; executives, and supervisory and office employees. °
The I. A. M. requests a unit of tool makers, mechanical mainte-
nance ,men, and apprentices employed,in the toolroom, excluding the
foreman.
The Company stated that it desired to remain neutral as to the
appropriate unit or units. However, in its petition, and early in the
hearing, it stated that the core and ceramic divisions should be sepa-
rate units. Later on, the president of the Company asserted that
he had originally favored a plant-wide unit, but when faced with
the antagonism engendered by the the fact that most of the core
room employees were members of the Independent, whereas most of
the ceramic room employees had joined the C. I. 0., he petitioned the
Board for two units.
The production operations of the plant consist of a core division
and a ceramic division, which are located in separated buildings and
I The Regional Director stated that the C . I. 0 submitted 59 application -for-membership
cards, all bearing apparently genuine signatures , dated from January 1941 through
February 1942, and that all the signatures were names of persons on the Company's pay
roll of April 1, 1942, which listed a total of 164 employees
The Independent submitted a treasurer s ledger of paid-up members , which contained
names of 17 people whose names appeared on the afore-mentioned pay roll. At the
hearing , the Independent declared that as of April 1 , 1942, it had 35 or 40 members in
the core division It did not , however , introduce any more authorizations . There are
approximately 40 employees in the core division
The, I. A M submitted 14 cards, 12 dated March 31, 1942, and 2 dated April 7, 1942;
all bore signatures which appeared to be genuine and were names of per sons on the
afore-mentioned pay roll , which listed approximately 17 employees . in the toolroom.
'The C. I. 0. stated , and the parties agreed, that the designation "executives" includes
engineers
618 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
will remain physically separated when the current building expan-
sion program is completed. The president of the Company stated
that the operations performed in each division were substantially
similar, the chief difference being that while each division has mix-
ing, pressing, and inspection operations, the ceramic division has more
types of pressing and, in addition, has several kinds of machining
and_ a drying process. Cores- are made by mixing powdered metals
with ingredients which enable the mixture to be bound together. In
successive operations the mixture is then insulated, pressed, and
finally baked at low temperatures to harden. Ceramics are non-
metallic insulating materials made from rocklike substances, ground
to a powder, pressed or extruded, dried, machined by drilling, turn-
ing, milling, cutting or grinding, and finally dried at very high
temperatures.
The president of the Company testified that as between a core
operator and' a ceramic operator no difference in inherent native
ability was required. In'both cases, the Company hires untrained
persons, and within approximately 3 weeks, turns out semi-skilled
operators, and in 2 months, skilled operators. He testified further
that a core or ceramic' operator would have to be retrained if shifted
to the other division, but that at least one man and several girls had
been so shifted. A witness for the C. I. O. testified without contra-
diction that on several occasions the Company, being pressed for
orders, borrowed personnel from one' division for use in the other.
The core room employees are paid 3 cents more per hour than
ceramic workers for-corresponding types of work, solely because the ,
materials they work with stain their clothing. At the time of the
hearing the core division was running at reduced hours, whereas the
ceramic division was running overtime.
The Company's history of collective bargaining is of recent origin.
The C. I. O. first claimed bargaining rights of the Company in
September 1941. Shortly thereafter an unaffiliated labor organiza-
tion sprang up at the plant. The Company carried on negotiations
with this latter, organization upon a plant-wide unit basis until it
went over as a body to the C. I. O. The Company then continued
the negotiations with the C. I. O. upon a plant-wide unit basis. On
October 16, 1941, the Company signed a consent election agreement
with the C. I. O. for an election among production and maintenance
employees. As this election was being conducted on October 17,
1941, employees of the core division went on strike, claiming that
their organization, the Independent, should have its name on the
ballot. The election was stopped by the Board Examiner. Subse-
quently the' C. I. O. and the Independent agreed to settle their
differences by resort to the Board. Pursuant to this agreement,- on
HENRY,,L.. CROWLEY. & _CO!, INC. 619,
October 30,_ 1941,-they signed _a joint members-only- contract with
the. Company, which applied to members throughout the plant and is
made expressly subject, to the Board's decision in this proceeding.
No party claims that the contract is a bar. In addition to this agree-
ment, there is other evidence -which indicates that the Independent
did not restrict its organizational efforts to the employees of the core
division, but sought and has members in both the core and ceramic
divisions.
In view of all the circumstances herein presented, we, find that
employees of the core and ceramic divisions should be combined in
a single unit.
There remains a further question whether employees of the tool-
room should constitute a separate unit or should be included in the
larger unit. The toolroom is a special room where tool and • die
makers and machinists work and will continue to work when the plant
has been expanded. Employees assigned to the toolroom make tools
and dies used by the production departments. At the time of the
hearing, there were eight tool and die makers, six machinists, and one
machinist's apprentice located there, all under the supervision of a
single, foreman.3 As a group, toolroom employees are the highest
paid personnel in the plant.
The president of the Company stated that the Company tried
to keep certain men in the toolroom handling the' core work sent
there and others handling ceramic work. The foreman of the tool-
room, on the other hand, stated that no one was specifically designated
to handle the work for any one department, but that sometimes a
man was kept working on one type over a period of time, whereas
others. worked varying amounts on each type. At the time of the
hearing, about two-thirds of the tool work was ceramic; in October
1941, two-thirds was core work.
In view of the fact that the employees of the toolroom -make up
a well-defined, highly skilled craft, and in the absence of any extended
history of collective bargaining upon a plant-wide basis, we find
that tool and die makers, mechanical maintenance men, and appren-
tices employed in the Company's toolroom, excluding the foreman,
could properly constitute a separate unit or be included with produc-
tion and maintenance employees as part of a larger unit: We shall,
therefore, make no final determination of unit at this time, but shall
S In defining its proposed appropriate unit, the I A. M. used the designation "mechan-
ical maintenance men." This appears to be a general classification referring to those
employees who spend most of their working time in the toolroom, and enter the produc-
tion area of the plant only ' in an emergency to repair machinery . Thus,. the unit
claimed by the I . A. M. must be distinguished from the "set-up or maintenance men"
who are not included in its unit , whose functions are to handle the bulk of the plant
maintenance work, and who do, not work out of the toolroom' and are not paid machinists'
wages.
620 -DEiCISIONS ' 'OF NATIONAL- LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
direct- that the question concerning representation which has arisen
be resolved by separate elections by secret ballot among the employees
in the following voting groups who were employed during the, pay-
rol period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of Elec-
tions; subject to the limitations and additions set forth therein: (1)
among tool and, die makers, mechanical maintenance men, and ap-
prentices employed in the Company's toolroom, excluding the fore-
man, to determine -whether they desire to be represented by 'the
I. A. M., the C. I. 0.,4 the Independent,5 or none, and (2) among the
remaining production and maintenance employees, excluding foremen,
executives, -supervisory employees, and office employees, to determine
whether they desire to, be represented-by the C. 1. 0., the Independent,
or neither. Upon the results of these elections will depend in part
bur determination of the appropriate unit or units. If a majority
in l oth'voting groups choose the same representative, the groups will
together constitute a single unit.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
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, 49 , Stat ., 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of
National Labor Relations Board - Rules and Regulations-Series 2,
as, amended , it is hereby ,
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Henry L. Crowley
& Co., Inc., West Orange, , New Jersey , elections by secret ballot shall
be, conducted as early as possible , but not later than thirty (30)
days from the date of this . Direction of Elections , under the direction
and supervision of the Regional Director for the Second Region,
acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board,
and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations:
1. Among all tool and - die makers , mechanical maintenance men,
and apprentices employed in the Company 's toolroom, who were em-
ployed during the pay -roll period immediately preceding the date of
this Direction of Elections , including employees who did not work
during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or
4 The C. I. O. refused to state at the hearing what ballots it wanted to be on if the
Board found adversely to a plant-wide unit However, when the C. I. O. filed its
petition in September 1941, it claimed that it then had five of seven employees assigned
to the toolroom Accordingly, we shall include the name of the C I 0 on the ballot for
the toolroom employees.
6 The Independent stated at the hearing that it wanted to be on each and every ballot
whatever the unit or units found appropriate by the Board The President of the
Company testified that the bargaining committee of the Independent had included a
couple of employees of the toolroom . Accordingly ; we shall include the name of the
Independent on the ballot for the toolroom employees.
HENRY L. CROWLEY & CO., INC. 621
in the active military service or training of the United States, or
temporarily laid off, but excluding the foreman, and those employees
who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine
whether they desire to be represented by International Association of
Machinists, Lodge 340, or by United Electrical, Radio & Machine
Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organ-
izations , or by Independent Rotary Union, for the purposes of col-
lective bargaining, or by none.
2. Among all production and maintenance employees of the Com-
pany who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction of Elections, including employees
who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill
or on vacation or in the active military service or training of the
United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding foremen, execu-
tives, supervisory and office employees, and tool and die makers, me-
chanical maintenance men, and apprentices employed in the toolroom,
and those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause,
to determine whether they desire to be represented by United Electri-
cal, Radio & Machine Workers of America, affiliated with the Con-
gress of Industrial Organizations, or by Independent Rotary Union,
for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.