ITT Grinnell Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 1, 1974

212 N.L.R.B. 734 (N.L.R.B. 1974)

734 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ITT Grinnell Corporation and United Steelworkers of
America , AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case 8-UC-92
manufacturing engineering in the office clerical unit
is hereby affirmed.
August 1, 1974
DECISION ON REVIEW
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS FANNING
AND JENKINS
On March 29, 1974, the Regional Director for Re-
gion 8 issued a Decision and Order Clarifying Bar-
gaining Unit in the above-entitled proceeding in
which he included, among others, the position of sec-
retary to the manager of manufacturing engineering
in a unit of office clerical employees, finding that the
secretary was not a confidential employee.
Thereafter, the Employer filed a request for review
of the Regional Director's Decision, on the ground,
inter alia, that the Regional Director's finding that the
manager of manufacturing engineering does not ap-
pear to be responsible for the formulation and effectu-
ation of the Employer's labor policy is clearly
erroneous on the basis of the record before him and
that he departed from officially reported precedent in
not excluding the position of secretary to the manager
of manufacturing engineering from the bargaining
unit.
By telegraphic order dated April 22, 1974, the
Board granted the request for review.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au-
thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
The Board has considered the entire record in this
case with respect to the issue under review and hereby
adopts the findings and conclusions of the Regional
Director, with respect to that issue, as set forth in the
excepted portion of his Decision attached hereto.
Accordingly, the Regional Director's action in in-
cluding the classification of secretary, manager of
APPENDIX
DECISION AND ORDER CLARIFYING
BARGAINING UNIT
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(b) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before a
Hearing Officer of the National Labor Relations Board.
The Hearing Officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
The position of secretary, manager of manufacturing en-
gineering, was not occupied at the time of the close of the
hearing, although the job is viable, having been established
in 1972. This secretary is directly supervised by the manager
of manufacturing engineering and performs general steno-
graphic duties, including the taking and transcribing of dic-
tation, typing, and filing work. Recently the manager of
manufacturing engineering has been placed in charge of the
maintenance department. His secretary will be responsible
for typing documents which may relate to the handling and
processing of maintenance employee grievances. It is well
established, however, that the typing of grievances or mate-
rial relating to grievances is not sufficient to render an em-
ployee confidential. Weyerhaeuser Company, 173 NLRB
1170 (1968). While the record reflects that the manager of
manufacturing engineering may, in the indefinite future,
participate to some unknown degree in collective-bargain-
ing negotiations regarding unit employees, it does not ap-
pear that he is responsible for the formulation and
effectuation of the management labor relations policies of
the Employer. Under these circumstances the position of
secretary, manager of manufacturing engineering is not
confidential in nature. The B. F. Goodrich Company, 115
NLRB 722 (1956); Ford Motor Company (Chicago Branch),
66 NLRB 1317 (1946); Weyerhaeuser Company, supra; Holly
Sugar Corporation, 193 NLRB 1024 (1971). I find that al-
though the duties of the secretary, manager of manufactur-
ing engineering may expand somewhat with additional
duties developing upon the manager, it does not appear that
those duties are materially different from those traditionally
performed by office clerical personnel and I shall include
the classification of secretary, manager of manufacturing
engineering in the office clerical unit presently represented
by the Petitioner.
212 NLRB No. 105