Hotpoint, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 29, 1949

85 N.L.R.B. 485 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of HOTPOINT, INC. and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
FIREMEN AND OILERS, LOCAL 125, A. F. L.
In the Matter Of HOTPOINT,. INC. and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED
AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF
AMERICA, CIO
Cases Nos. 13-RC-637 and 13-RC-W, respectively.-Decided July 09,
1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon separate petitions duly filed , a consolidated hearing was held
before Irving M. Friedman , 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 National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three -member panel [ Chairman Herzog and Members
Reynolds and Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case , the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The Petitioner in Case No . 13-RC-637, herein called the Firemen
and Oilers , the Petitioner in Case No . 13-RC-648, herein called the
UAW, and District No. 10, International Association of Machinists,
herein called the IAM, are labor organizations claiming to represent
employees of the Employer.'
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the represents.
tion of the employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
'The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers of America , A. F. of L. herein
referred to as the IBEW, also sought to intervene in this proceeding because of its con-
tractual interest in a unit of electrical workers heretofore established at the Employer's
plant . Upon disclaimer by the other parties of any interest in this unit , this union with-
drew from the hearing.
85 N. L . R. B., No. 81.
485
486 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
4. The appropriate-unit:
The Firemen and Oilers seek certification as representative of a unit
of all the Employer's maintenance employees at its Milwaukee, Wis-
consin, plant, including carpenters, millwrights, sheetmetal workers,
painters, maintenance machinists, welders, trade helpers, oilers, store-
keeper, janitors, and matron. The UAW seeks certification as repre-
sentative of a unit of all production and maintenance employees, in-
cluding plant clericals, inspectors, tool and die makers, timekeepers,
and custodial employees employed in this plant. The TAM also seeks
certification as representative of a unit of production and maintenance
employees. All three agree to exclude the electricians and their
helpers from any unit that may be found appropriate. The UAW
and TAM also agree to exclude the powerhouse employees, at present
represented by the Firemen and Oilers, from the production and main-
tenance unit that they seek. The Employer agrees that a unit of pro-
duction and maintenance employees is appropriate for its Milwaukee
plant, but contends that its plant clericals and timekeepers should also
be excluded from this unit.
The Employer, a New York corporation, with its principal office in
Chicago, Illinois, owns and operates an electrical appliances plant in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It has bargained collectively with the IBEW
for its electricians and their helpers,' and the Firemen and Oilers for
its powerhouse employees,3 in this plant. These two units are part of
the Employer's maintenance force, supervised by a maintenance fore-
man. The maintenance employees have their headquarters in a sepa-
rate part of the.plant, and, except for the powerhouse employees, are
sent out by the maintenance foreman to perform repair or maintenance
work wherever required throughout the plant. The production em-
ployees are divided by the Employer into two groups : "direct" and
"indirect" production employees. Those engaged in actual fabrica-
tion or assembly line work are considered to be engaged in direct pro-
duction. Those engaged in the supplementary activities, such as
receiving raw materials, loading and unloading articles, and ship-
ping and trucking,. are designated as indirect production employees.
Except for an incentive bonus plan for certain employees who are
engaged in direct production work, there is one policy as to wages,
hours of work, pensions, insurance benefits, vacations, and overtime,
for both production and maintenance employees. Seniority is on a
departmental basis.
2This unit includes all electrical maintenance and alteration employees with the usual
exclusions.
3 The powerhouse unit covers all powerhouse employees and all employees "working out
of he powerhouse," and includes engineers , firemen, firemen helpers, oilers , coal and ash
handlers , steamfitters , and plumbers.
HOTPOINT, INC. 487
The Board has been reluctant to sever a maintenance group, such
as that requested by the Firemen and Oilers, from a preexisting pro-
duction and maintenance unit, where to do so would disrupt stable
collective bargaining relations on a broader basis 4 However, where,
as here, there is no collective bargaining history on a broader basis,
we have found that the maintenance employees, as a multi-craft group
possessing separate interests from those of the production and main-
tenance employees, may constitute a separate unit.b
There remains for consideration the question of inclusion of the
timekeepers and certain other plant clericals in the proposed produc-
tion and maintenance unit. The duty of the timekeepers is merely
to record the hours worked by the various employees, as well as the
number of items finished by those who work under the incentive bonus
plan, and to report them to the Employer's pay-roll section which
computes and determines the amounts to be paid the various employees.
They exercise no independent judgment or discretion in the perform-
ance of their duties. Although they are paid on a weekly rather than
an hourly basis, this does not essentially distinguish them from the
production employees with whom they work and have common in-
terests. We shall include them, as plant clericals, in the voting group
of production employees.6
There are five shop clerks employed in the production areas of the
plant whom the Employer would exclude as confidential employees.
They perform various types of paper work, such as typing letters and
memoranda, and act as filing clerks, for four departmental foremen
and a departmental supervisor. These foremen alid the supervisor
represent the Employer at one stage of the grievance procedure. After
consideration by the foremen, grievances are referred to the plant
superintendent and personnel director. As it appears that the depart-
lnental foremen are not concerned with the Employer's general labor
relations, we find that the shop clerks do not act in a confidential
capacity to any person exercising managerial functions in the field of
labor relations.' We shall include the shop clerks in the unit.
In view of the foregoing facts and considerations, we believe that
the employees may be represented either in a single plant-wide produc-
tion and maintenance unit, such as we have customarily found to be
appropriate, or in separate units of production employees and mainte-
4 Matter of Kimberly - Clark Corp ., 78 N. L. R. B. 478.
5 Matter of Weston Biscuit Company, Inc ., 81 N. L. R. B. 407; Matter of Armstrong Cork
Company, 80 N. L. R. B. 1328 . See also Matter of Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 84
N. L. R. B., No. 27. CP. Matter of Celanese Corporation, 84 N. L. R. B., No. 26.
8 Matter of Aragon-Baldwin Mills, Inc., Aragon Plant, 80 N. L. R. B. 1042 ; Matter of
Bryant Heater Co., 77 N. L. R. B. 744 ; Matter of H. C. Canfield Co., 76 N. L. R. B. 606.
' Matter of Chrysler Corporation, 84 N. L. R. B., No . 64; Matter of Inter-Mountain
Telephone Co., 79 N. L. R. B. 715.
488 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Hance employees. However, we shall make no final unit determination
at this time, but shall first ascertain the desires of the employees as
expressed in elections among the following groups of employees in
the Employer's Milwaukee, Wisconsin, plant:
(a) All maintenance employees, including carpenters, millwrights,
sheetmetal workers, painters, maintenance machinists, welders, trade
helpers, oilers, storekeeper, and janitors and matron in the mainte-
nance department, but excluding electricians and their helpers, pro-
fessional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.
(b) All. production employees including inspectors, tool and die
makers, custodial employees, timekeepers, and shop clerks, but ex-
cluding powerhouse employees and employees who work from the
powerhouse, professional employees, guards, and supervisors as de-
fined in the Act.
If the majority of the employees in voting group (a) select the
Firemen and Oilers, they will be taken to have indicated their desire
to constitute a separate aprpopriate unit.
5. The UAW contends that all the-employees who were on the Em-
ployer's pay roll at its Milwaukee plant on March 1, 1949, the date
when the Employer began to lay off a number of its employees, should
be eligible to vote at the election. It bases its contention on the asser-
tion that these employees were temporarily laid off and that they
would soon be reemployed. The Employer denies that it contemplates
the reemployment of its laid-off employees within the immediate fu-
ture, and asserts that, on the contrary, it is possible that business con-
ditions may require it to make additional lay-offs. We find that the
employees severed pursuant to reduction in force have been perma-
nently laid off, without any reasonable expectation of reemployment,
and are ineligible to vote in the election. We shall adhere to the
usual provision for determining voting eligibility in this proceeding.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS 8
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining with the Employer, elections by secret
ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than 30
days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region, and subject
to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the voting groups
described above, who were employed during the pay-roll period im-
8 Any participant in the election directed herein may, upon its prompt request to, and
approval thereof by, the Regional Director, have its name removed from the ballot.
HOTPOINT, INC. 489,
mediately preceding the date of this Direction of Elections, 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 employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstate-
ment, to determine :
(1) Whether the employees in voting group (a) desire to be repre-
sented for purposes of collective bargaining by International Brother-
hood of Firemen and Oilers, Local 125, A. F. L., or by International
Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement
Workers of America, CIO, or by District Lodge No. 10, International
Association of Machinists, or by none.
. (2) Whether the employees in voting group (b) desire to be repre-
sented for purposes of collective bargaining by International Union,
United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of
America or by District No. 10, International Association of Ma-
chinists or by neither.