Local 98, Plumbers

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 29, 1968

169 N.L.R.B. 422 (N.L.R.B. 1968)

422 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Local 98, United Association of Journeymen and Ap-
prentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Indus-
try of the United States and Canada , AFL-CIO,
and Consumers Power Company and Utility Work-
ers Union of America , AFL-CIO, and its
Michigan State Utility Workers Council. Cases
7-CD-187 and 7-CD-192
January 29, 1968
DECISION AND DETERMINATION OF
DISPUTES
BY CHAIRMAN MCCULLOCH AND MEMBERS
FANNING AND BROWN
This is a proceeding under Section 10(k) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, follow-
ing charges filed by Consumers Power Company,
herein called the Company, alleging that Local 98,
United Association of Journeymen and Ap-
prentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry
of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO,
herein called the Plumbers, has violated Section
8(b)(4)(D) of the Act. A hearing was held before
Hearing Officer Francis A. Mastro on October 9,
10, and 11, 1967. The Company, the Plumbers, and
Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, and
its Michigan State Utility Workers Council, herein
called Utility Workers, appeared at the hearing and
were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to ex-
amine and cross -examine witnesses , and to adduce
evidence bearing on the issues.
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
powers in connection with this case to a three-
member panel.
The rulings of the Hearing Officer made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed. Briefs have been filed by the Com-
pany and the Utility Workers. No brief has been
filed by the Plumbers.
Upon the entire record in this proceeding, the
Board makes the following findings:
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Company, a Maine corporation with its
general offices located in Jackson, Michigan, is a
public utility engaged in the distribution and sale of
gas and electric power in the State of Michigan.
During 1966, the Company purchased goods and
materials valued in excess of $500,000, which were
shipped to it from points outside the State. We find
that the Company is engaged in commerce within
the meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act, and
that it will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert
jurisdiction herein.
II. THE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
We find that the Plumbers and the Utility Work-
ers are labor organizations within the meaning of
Section 2 (5) of the Act.
III. THE DISPUTES
A. The Work in Issue; Background Facts
In Case 7-CD-187, the work dispute arose at the
Farmington Village Co-op housing project in
Farmington Township, Michigan, referred to herein
as the Farmington project, where several apartment
and townhouse buildings are under construction. In
Case 7-CD-192, the dispute also occurred at a
housing project, The Glens of Bloomfield, in
Bloomfield Township, Michigan, herein called the
Bloomfield project.
At each project, at the request of the respective
land developers, the Company has installed a cen-
tral gas meter just inside the property line.' At the
Farmington project, the disputed work concerns the
installation of gas mains and gas service lines from
the central meter to the individual buildings. The
disputed work at the Bloomfield project concerns
the installation of gas post lights at outdoor loca-
tions between the central meter and the individual
buildings, including the setting of bases, posts, and
lamps, and the tapping of gas mains and gas service
lines to connect the gas post lights. At both pro-
jects, the Company has assigned the work to its em-
ployees who are represented by the Utility Work-
ers. The Plumbers claims that. its members are en-
titled to the work.
In the centrally metered housing projects in-
volved herein, a combination of gas mains and gas
service lines are used for the distribution of gas. A
gas main is pipe having a diameter of 2 inches or
larger from which gas service lines (pipes having a
diameter of five-eighths of an inch) are extended to
individual buildings. This main runs from a street
gas main to the central meter and continues from
the meter through the grounds of the project. From
various points along the main, service lines are at-
tached which run to a regulator affixed to each
building.2 The gas post lights involved at the
Bloomfield project have regulators installed at the
base of each post, each post being connected to a
gas service line which runs to a gas main.
Two groups of the Company's employees are in-
volved in this proceeding. Employees in the gas dis-
tribution department are engaged in the construc-
tion, installation, and maintenance of gas mains and
' This system of measuring the total gas consumption from a central
meter is in contrast to the meter which is installed for each tenant within
an apartment building , or the use of one meter for an entire building.
2 A regulator is a device which reduces the gas pressure in gas mains
and service lines from 2 to 60 pounds per square inch to utilization pres-
sure of one-fourth pound per square inch.
169 NLRB No. 88
LOCAL 98, PLUMBERS
gas service lines; these employees work in crews of
seven or eight employees and are also known as gas
line or outside groups. Employees in the gas
customer service department are engaged in the in-
stallation, servicing, and repairing of fuel lines and
gas appliances inside buildings, and also install, ser-
vice, and repair appliances such as gas post lights,
swimming pool heaters, and cooking grilles outside
of buildings. On outside work, a gas service crew
consists of two employees, who also install central
gas meters and regulators.
At the Farmington project, the disputed work of
installing gas mains and service lines between the
central meter and the individual buildings is per-
formed by employees in the gas distribution group.
Each crew consists of a gas linesman, two street
utility men, a welder, a trenching machine operator,
and two unskilled workers. The trenching machine
operator operates a machine which digs a trench 30
inches deep. After the trench or ditch is cleared of
stones and other debris, sections of 4-inch steel pipe
are laid and welded together by the welder, and the
welded joints are then coated and wrapped. At-
tached to this 4-inch main is a 2-inch main which
runs along the perimeter of the project and which is
installed by the same work methods as the 4-inch
pipe. Using similar methods, gas service lines of
copper tubing (five-eighths of an inch diameter) are
connected to either the 4- or 2-inch mains and then
connected to the regulator on each apartment build-
ing. After all mains and service lines are blown out
with air and subjected to tests, the actual tapping of
the service lines into the mains is made. The
backfilling of all trenches with dirt completes the in-
stallation.
Some of the gas mains and service lines at the
Farmington project were installed by employees of
a subcontractor of the Company who followed the
same work methods described above and used
materials furnished by the Company. The subcon-
tractor's employees were classified as operating en-
gineers, welders, and laborers.
Bert L. Smokler and Company, herein called
Srnokler, Is the general contractor at the Farming-
ton project and has subcontracted the indoor
plumbing and heating work to B. & G. Plumbing
and Heating Company, herein called B. & G. The
record shows, as stipulated by the parties, that on
or about June 19, July 6, and July 10, 1967, agents
of the Plumbers demanded that the Company assign
the work in dispute at the
,
Farmington project to
employees (plumbers) who are represented by the
Plumbers, rather than to ,employees of the Com-
pany or any other employees not represented by the
Plumbers. To enforce these demands, the Plumbers
threatened the Company, Smokier, and B. & G. on
or about July 6 with a work stoppage and the
3 The gas mains and gas service lines at the Bloomfield project were in-
stalled by employees of the Company's gas distribution group with the
423
removal of all plumbers from the project, and in-
duced employees of B. & G. to engage in a work
stoppage; and on or about July 10, the Plumbers
began picketing the project and ordered, requested,
and appealed to the employees of B. & G. and em-
ployees of other subcontractors to cease work for
their respective employers. As a result of the Plum-
bers' conduct, the employees of B. & G. ceased
work while the Company's employees were per-
foming the disputed work. Subsequently, the
picketing activities ceased and all work was
resumed.
At the Bloomfield project, the disputed work of
installing gas post lights at outdoor locations
between the central meter and the individual
buildings is performed by crews of employees in the
Company's gas service group. Each crew consists
of an installation man and a helper. These em-
ployees assemble the various components of the
post lights, install a regulator at its base, and tap the
gas tubing inside the post to a gas service line,
which is hooked up to a 2-inch gas main that runs to
the central meter.3
Robinson Brothers, Incorporated,' herein called
Robinson, is the general contractor at the Bloom-
field 'project and has subcontracted the indoor
plumbing and heating work to Prince Plumbing and
Heating Company, herein called Prince. The record
shows, as stipulated by the parties, that on or about
August 11, 15, and 22, 1967, agents and represent-
atives of the Plumbers demanded that the Com-
pany assign the work in dispute at the Bloomfield
project to employees (plumbers) who are
represented by the Plumbers, rather than to em-
ployees of the Company or other employees not
represented by the Plumbers. In furtherance of
these demands, the Plumbers, on or about August
15, 1967, and between August 22 and September
13, 1967, induced employees of Prince to cease
work.
B. Applicability of the Statute
In a proceeding under Section 10(k) of the Act,
the Board- is only required to find that there is
reasonable cause to believe that Section 8(b)(4)(D)
has been violated before making a determination of
the dispute out of which the alleged unfair labor
practices have arisen. As shown above, there is
evidence that the Plumbers claimed the work in
dispute for its members and threatened a strike at
the Farmington project, and induced employees at
the Farmington and Bloomfield projects to strike in
furtherance of its demands. We find that there is
reasonable cause to believe that the Plumbers en-
gaged in the foregoing conduct with an object of
forcing the Company to reassign the disputed work
same work methods applied at the Farmington project, but this work is not
in dispute at Bloomfield.
424 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
at the two projects involved. Accordingly, the
disputes are properly before the Board for deter-
mination.
C. Merits of the Disputes
Section 10(k) of the Act requires the Board to
make an affirmative award of disputed work after
giving due consideration to various relevant factors.
The following factors are relevant in making a
determination of the disputes now before us.
1. Collective-bargaining history
Since 1942, when the Utility Workers predeces-
sor was certified by the Board for all of the Com-
pany's operating, maintenance , and construction
employees , including the employees to whom it has
assigned the disputed work herein, the Company
has been in contractual relations with the Utility
Workers and its predecessor covering all these em-
ployees. The Company has never been a party to a
collective-bargaining agreement with the Plumbers.
2. Company and area practice
Since the advent of centrally metered housing
projects, the installation of gas mains and service
lines, and gas post lights , has been performed by the
Company's employees or by employees of subcon-
tractors of the Company. Although the subcontrac-
tors' employees doing this work in dispute have
been represented by various unions, it does not ap-
pear that any of them have been plumbers
represented by the Plumbers . While engaged in this
work , the Company 's employees exercise the same
skills and utilize the same work methods as used in
noncentrally metered projects during the many
years before the centrally metered system was
adopted , and even before the employees were first
represented by the Utility Workers.
The Plumbers claim to the work in dispute seems
to be based upon an asserted practice of its mem-
bers performing work "downstream from the me-
ter." This is a reference to inside work which is per-
formed where a meter is inside or on the face of a
building. But the outside work in dispute herein in-
volves different skills and work methods.
There is evidence that plumbing contractors in
the area have the equipment and manpower to per-
form some of the disputed work at centrally me-
tered housing projects , except for tapping into live,
gas mains and service lines . If plumbers
represented by the Plumbers who work for these
contractors were to be assigned to the laying and
joining of pipe , the Plumbers concedes that the
remaining work of "trenching , digging and opera-
tion of equipment, et cetera, [would] be performed
by other employees belonging to other unions."
Plumbing contractors in the area have employed
plumbers for the laying and joining of pipe in some
commercial or industrial installations where the "in-
frequent situation of a meter pit" was located at a
distance from the building. One contractor has in-
stalled gas post lights using plumbers, who did the
work of installing fuel lines from valves previously
placed on gas lines by the Company's employees.
3. Skills of the employees
The Company's employees have had extensive
experience and special training in installing gas
mains and service lines, and gas post lights at cen-
trally metered housing projects, and have had more
experience in performing such work than em-
ployees represented by the Plumbers, especially the
tapping of live gas mains.
4. Efficiency and economy of operations
The Company's employees perform most of their
outside work during the months when weather con-
ditions are favorable. In the winter months, when
maintenance repairs and gas leaks are at their peak,
the Company is also able to assign these employees
to such work. The Company is thus in a position to
utilize its employees in a manner which provides for
year-round employment of a highly trained, stable
work force, whose effectiveness would be substan-
tially diminished if employees represented by the
Plumbers were to replace employees of the Com-
pany to perform the work in dispute.
Having considered all the relevant factors, we be-
lieve that the employees represented by the Utility
Workers are entitled to the work in dispute. We rely
primarily on the long bargaining history between
the Company and the Utility Workers covering the
employees now engaged in the " installation of gas
mains , service lines, and gas post lights ; the fact
that these employees are sufficiently skilled to per-
form the work and have done so to the satisfaction
of the Company, which desires to continue to utilize
them; and that the use of the Company's employees
provides an efficient and economical operation.4
Accordingly, we shall determine the jurisdictional
disputes by deciding that employees represented by
the Utility Workers are entitled to the work in
dispute at the Farmington and Bloomfield projects.
In making this determination , we are assigning the
disputed work to the employees of the Company
who are represented by the Utility Workers, but not
to that union or its members . Our determination is
limited to the particular controversies that gave rise
to this proceeding.
* See United Association ofJourneymen and Apprentices of the Plumb- United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and
ing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada , Local No. Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada , Local No. 573,
481, AFL-CIO (Northwest Natural Gas Company), 163 NLRB 454; AFL-CIO; (Northwest Natural Gas Company ), 156 NLRB 1070.
LOCAL 98, PLUMBERS 425
DETERMINATION OF DISPUTES
Pursuant to Section 10(k) of the National Labor
Relations Act, as amended , and upon the basis of
the foregoing findings and the entire record in this
proceeding , the National Labor Relations Board
makes the following Determination of Disputes:
1. Employees of Consumers Power Company,
who are represented by Utility Workers Union of
America, AFL-CIO, and its Michigan State Utility
Workers Council , are entitled to perform the instal-
lation of gas mains and gas service lines from the
central meter to the individual buildings at the
Farmington Village Co-op housing project,
Farmington Township , Michigan.
2. Employees of Consumers Power Company,
who are represented by Utility Workers Union of
America, AFL-CIO, and its Michigan State Utility
Workers Council , are entitled to perform the instal-
lation of gas post lights at outdoor locations
between the central meter and the individual
buildings , including the setting of bases, posts, and
lamps, and the tapping of gas mains and gas service
lines to connect the gas post lights , at The Glens of
Bloomfield housing project , Bloomfield Township,
Michigan.
3. Local 98 , United Association of Journeymen
and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting
Industry of the United States and Canada,
AFL-CIO, is not entitled , by means proscribed by
Section 8(b)(4)(D) of the Act, to force or require
Consumers Power Company to assign the above
work to employees who are represented by it.
4. Within 10 days from the date of this Decision
and Determination of Disputes , Local 98 , United
Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the
Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United
States and Canada, AFL-CIO, shall notify the Re-
gional Director for Region 7, in writing , whether it
will or will not refrain from forcing or requiring
Consumers Power Company , by means proscribed
by Section 8(b)(4)(D ) of the Act , to assign the
above work in a manner inconsistent with the
Board 's determination herein.