Idaho Power Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 9, 1960

126 N.L.R.B. 547 (N.L.R.B. 1960)

IDAHO POWER COMPANY 547
It is also recommended that Respondent be ordered to make available to the
Board upon request, payroll and other records to facilitate .the checking of the amount
of earnings due and Respondent's compliance with the recommended order for
reinstatement
The unfair labor practices found to have been engaged in by Respondent are of
such a character in scope that, in, order to insure the employees their full rights
guaranteed them by the Act, it is recommended that Respondent cease and desist
from in any manner interfering with, restraining, and coercing its employees in their
rights guaranteed by the Act
On the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, and upon the entire record in the
case, I make the following
,CoNcLusIoNs of LAW
1 Sheet Metal Workers Local No 159, Sheet Metal Workers International As-
sociation, AFL-CIO, is a 'labor organization within the meaning of Section 2(5) of
the Act, admitting to membership employees of Respondent
2 By discriminating in regard to the hire and tenure of employment of Robert
E York, Buddy F Robbins, and Tommy Meyers, Respondent has engaged in and
is engaging in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 (a) (3) of the
Act
3 By interfering with, restraining, and coercing its employees in the exercise of
the rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act, Respondent has engaged in and is en-
gaging in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8(a)(1) of the Act.
4 All production and maintenance employees at Respondent's Randleman plant,
excluding office clerical employees, guards, watchmen, and all supervisors as defined
in the Act, constitute an appropriate unit for purposes of collective bargaining within
the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act
5 On and since August 1, 1958, the above-named Union was, and presently is,
the exclusive representative of the employees in the above unit for the purpose of
collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act
6 By failing and refusing to bargain with the above-named Union pertaining to
wage increases granted to employees in the above unit, and by failing to famish the
Union with requested wage information, Respondent has engaged in and is engaging
in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8(a) (1) and (5) of the Act
7 The aforesaid unfair labor practices are unfair labor practices within the mean-
ing of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act
8 Respondent has not engaged in any unfair labor practices in refusing to rein-
state Keneth Farabee or in discharging Harry Baldwin
[Recommendations omitted from publication l
Idaho Power Company and International Brotherhood of Elec-
trical Workers, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Cage No. 19-RC-2363
February 9, 1960
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Dan E Boyd, 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 -member
panel [Chairman Leedom and Members Bean and Jenkins]
Upon the entire record in this case , the Board finds
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act
126 NLRB No 73
548 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9(c) (1) and Section 2(6) and ( 7) of the Act.
4. The Employer is a public utility engaged in the generation, dis-
tribution , and sale of electrical energy in Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada.
Its general office, mobile construction facilities , and maintenance shops
and garages are located in Boise, Idaho. Management of the system
is centralized in the Boise general office . The distribution functions
of the Employer's operating system is divided into four geographical
divisions , which are subdivided into districts , and operational activ-
ities are divided into the following five major divisions : commercial,
powerplant design and construction , electrical operations and
construction , power production , and industrial development. The
electrical operations and construction division is composed of six
departments , as follows : operations, construction , communications,
inspection , planning, and analysis. Personnel policies are centrally
determined and are uniform throughout the system . Major employee
benefits apply uniformly throughout the system. There is no bar-
gaining history affecting any of the employees.
The Petitioner , desirous of representing all production and main-
tenance employees of the Employer who are directly engaged in the
production , transmission, and distribution of electrical energy, seeks
a unit of production and maintenance employees in the power pro-
duction division , operations and construction departments of the
electrical operations and construction division , and in the electrical
departments of the four geographical divisions of the Employer, ex-
cluding the employees in the inspection and communications depart-
ments of the electrical operations and construction division. More
specifically , Petitioner would include transmission dispatchers , power-
plant operating and maintenance employees , all employees engaged in
construction and maintenance of transmission lines, and all employees
in the electrical department of the four geographical divisions. And
it would exclude employees who maintain the Employer's communica-
tions system , the garage , machine shop , motor vehicles and equipment,
and the warehouse and stores personel who store and issue materials
issued in construction.
Alternatively , Petitioner seeks a unit of production and mainte-
nance employees in the electrical operations and construction and
powerplant production and construction divisions of the Company,
including transmission dispatchers and excluding or including the
Boise shops and garages . However, Petitioner is willing to partici-
pate in an election in any unit found appropriate by the Board.
IDAHO POWER COMPANY 549
The Employer maintains in substance that a companywide produc-
tion and maintenance unit is appropriate herein. Its basic disagree-
ment with the unit preferred by the Petitioner is as to the unit
placement of those referred to above whose functions are alleged by
the Petitioner to be indirectly, rather than directly, related to the
production, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The parties
are also in dispute over whether certain persons, discussed below,
should be excluded from the unit as office clericals, technicals, super-
visors, or managerial employees.
We are in essential agreement with the Employer's unit position.
The primary unit sought by the Petitioner excluding the employees
indicated does not correspond to any administrative subdivision of
the Employer's operations, nor may it be found appropriate on the
basis of any bargaining history. Upon the entire record, including
the nature and integration of Employer's operations, the centralized
control of management over the operation, and the uniformity of
employee benefits, we find that a systemwide unit of production and
maintenance employees, except for those excluded for reasons given
below, is appropriate.1
'Contrary to the Employer, the Petitioner would exclude the follow-
ing as technical employees : estimators and layoutmen, the surveying
classifications, including chief of the party, transitmen, instrument-
men, rodmen, chainmen, stakemen, communications technicians, and
powerplant technicians.
Estimators and layoutmen are located at the headquarters of the
various divisions of the Employer. The layoutmen make surveys for
line extensions to customers, prepare work orders for the reconstruc-
tion or maintenance of lines, and prepare maps to guide line crews to
their work. The estimators make surveys laying out boundaries,
locating poles, and ascertaining rights-of-way, and design and lay out
proposed lines and line modifications. These employees use a transit
and the customary surveying tools.
The surveying classifications work as a team. They perform sub-
stantially the same duties as the layoutmen and estimators but in the
construction phase of work. They run the alignment of transmission
lines, determine land boundaries, run centerline station staking, take
notes necessary for making line profiles, and stage out structures or
tower locations. They are required to possess skill in the use of
surveying tools and drafting instruments.
1 See The Houston Corporation , 124 NLRB 810 ; Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., 115
NLRB 1396; The Gas Service Company , 115 NLRB 944; Pioneer Natural Gas Company,
111 NLRB 502.
550 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
We have heretofore found, as we do in this case, that employees of
the type discussed above are technical employees.2 We therefore shall
exclude estimators, layoutmen, and the surveying crews from the unit.
The communications technicians install and maintain microwave,
carrier current, telephone lines, and high frequency radio equipment.
They are qualified to work on every type of communications equip-
ment used by the Employer. Their work-in maintaining communi-
cations equipment requires an extensive training in electronics.
The powerplant technicians maintain control equipment at power-
plant stations. They install or remove equipment from switchboards
and control panels, test and maintain telemetering equipment, and
carrier-current relay equipment. Knowledge of trigonometry and a
basic knowledge of electrical circuits is necessary for their work.
We believe that the communications technicians and powerplant
technicians are highly skilled maintenance employees rather than
technical employees as contended by Petitioner.' As maintenance
employees, they are included in the unit.
Also contrary to the Employer, the Petitioner would exclude the
employees in the following clerical classifications : district service
clerks, meter readers accountant, mobile stores, and meter reader col-
lectors; residential salesmen, stores inventory clerks, records clerks,
machine shop clerks, and materials coordinators 4
District service clerks, sometimes called cashier-clerks, work in the
district offices of the Employer. They maintain the customer order
file, accept payments of bills, make bank deposits, receive customer
complaints, and service outage reports. In certain of the offices, dis-
trict service clerks spend some time using radiophones to receive calls
from, and relay messages to, servicemen. Meter readers are under
the jurisdiction of an accounts manager. They are engaged primarily
in reading meters and tabulating their readings which are transmitted
to the billing department for customer billing purposes. Meter reader
collectors, in addition to reading meters, attempt to collect delinquent
accounts. Residential salesmen, like other sales people employed by
the Employer, work under the direction of a sales manager. They
are mainly engaged in outside work selling electric power and ap-
pliances handled by the Employer. They may also be called upon
to investigate customer service complaints and they prepare work
tickets for meter changes or increases in line or transformer capacity.
2 Brown Engineering Company, Inc., 123 NLRB 1619; Western Association of Engineers,
Architects, and Surveyors, 101 NLRB 64 ; Buckeye Rural Electric Co-operative, Inc.,
88 NLRB 196. Also see Puget Sound Power & Light Company, 117 NLRB 1825.
8 See Indiana & Michigan Electric Company, 115 NLRB 512; Central Operating Com-
pany, 115 NLRB 1754.
4 The Employer would also include service dispatchers in the unit, a classification as to
which the Petitioner 's position is not clear The record does not adequately deal with all
employees in this classification and we shall permit such employees to vote subject to
challenge.
IDAHO POWER COMPANY 551
The accountant, mobile stores, is attached to the mobile stores depart-
ment. He records the issuance and receipt of materials. Stores in-
ventory clerks maintain inventory records of materials and supplies.
Records clerks are attached to the mobile office and handle all the
timekeeping and construction reports of the outside construction
forces. Machine shop clerks work in the machine shop office of the
Boise shops and garage. They maintain records of shop orders,
material purchased, and inventories, and also keep track of the ma-
chine shop employees' worktime, sick leave, and vacations. Materials
coordinators ascertain material needs of substation crews, prepare
material estimates, and coordinate with stores personnel to make sure
that adequate inventories are on hand.
On these facts, we find that the district service clerks, meter readers,
and meter reader collectors should be excluded from the unit as office
clerical employees 5 We view the accountant, mobile stores, the stores
inventory clerks, records clerks, machine shop clerks, and materials
coordinators as essentially plant clerical employees and we shall in-
clude them as such.' The residential salesmen do not have sufficient
community of interest with employees in the unit to warrant their in-
clusion, and they are therefore excluded.
The parties are in disagreement as to the supervisory status of
certain persons mentioned hereinafter? We find that the subcrew
foremen, working electrical foreman, and chief powerplant operator
are not supervisors. Such direction as they give is of a routine nature
and they are not shown to possess or exercise supervisory authority.
However, we find that the authority to hire, discharge, or discipline
employees is vested in the line working foreman, transformer depart-
ment foreman, engineering shop foreman, substation crew foreman,
senior communications technician, and stores supervisors. Accord-
ingly, we shall exclude those individuals from the unit. With respect
to the working garage foreman, the record does not enable us to deter-
mine his status. We shall therefore permit him to vote subject to
challenge.
Finally, the Petitioner, contrary to the Employer, would exclude
local representatives as either managerial or supervisory personnel
whereas the Employer, contrary to the Petitioner, would exclude
transmission dispatchers as managerial employees.
Local representatives maintain offices in small communities and
rural areas serviced by Employer. They handle customer complaints,
collect bills, makes sales contacts with customers, read meters, act as
5 The Houston Corporation, supra ; The Gas Service Company , supra.
6 See The Gas Service Company, supra
° Inasmuch as we are excluding the surveying classifications on the ground that they
are technical jobs, we find it unnecessary to decide whether the chief of party is a
supervisor.
552 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
troublemen or servicemen, and serve generally as the Employer's
representative in the area. The local representative directs the clerk
who may work in his office; he has the authority to grant overtime to
such employee, and appears to have the authority to make recom-
mendations with respect to the hiring of any such employee which
would carry "great weight." Local representatives are responsible
directly to the district manager. In these circumstances, we find that
local representatives have interests which are diverse from those of
employees in the unit and, as requested by Petitioner, shall exclude
them from the unit."
Transmission dispatchers are mainly concerned with the regulation
of generating facilities to meet changing demands for power. They
also arrange for the exchange of power with other utility companies.
We recently considered the status of employees performing similar
duties and rejected a claim of managerial status for the employees
involved.' In this case, too, we find that the transmission dispatchers
are not managerial employees and that they belong in the production
and maintenance unit. We shall include them.
Accordingly, on the basis of the entire record, we find that the
following employees of the Employer constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9(b) of the Act: All production and maintenance employees of the
Employer, including communications technicians, powerplant tech-
nicians, the accountant, mobile stores, stores inventory clerks, records
clerks, machine shop clerks, materials coordinators, subcrew foremen,
the working electrical foreman and chief powerplant operator, and
transmission dispatchers, but excluding chief of party, estimators
and layoutmen, transitmen, instrumentmen, rodmen, chainmen, stake-
men, district service clerks, meter readers, and meter reader collectors,
all office clerical employees, the residential salesmen, professional em-
ployees, guards, part-time janitors and switch pullers, local represen-
tatives, line crew foremen, the line working foreman, transformer
department foreman, engineering shop foreman, substation crew fore-
man, senior communications technicians, stores supervisors, and all
managerial employees and supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election 10 omitted from publication.]
8 See Gulf States Telephone Company , 118 NLRB 1039; General Telephone Company of
Ohio, 112 NLRB 1225.
8 The Connecticut Light and Power Company , 121 NLRB 768.
10 The unit found appropriate is larger than that originally sought by Petitioner, and
neither the exact size of the unit nor the precise interest of the Petitioner in the unit is
clear from the record Accordingly, the Regional Director is instructed not to proceed
with the election herein until he shall have first determined that the Petitioner has an
adequate showing of interest among the employees in the appropriate unit. Foremost
Dairies, Ina., 118 NLRB 1424, 1428.