Lone Star Gas Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 24, 1953

105 N.L.R.B. 725 (N.L.R.B. 1953)

LONE STAR GAS COMPANY 725
other employees possessing the same skills as the employees
who comprise the craft nucleus which prevents a departmental
unit from being appropriate. 5 We are satisfied that the machine
operators and drill press operators in the machine shop are
performing functions and exercising skills sufficiently related
to the craftsmen in the machine shoptowarrant their inclusion
in the same unit with them. As the two welders spend most
of their time in the machine shop we will include them in the
unit.4 For the same reason we include the two sweepers in
the unit. The toolroom employees perform their services only
for employees of the machine shop and therefore have a
sufficient community of interest to be included in the unit
with them.
In view of the foregoing determinations, we shall direct an
election among the following employees of the Employer's
Phoenix, Arizona, plant, which we hereby find constitute an
appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All machine
shop employees, including tool and die makers, machinists,
drill press operators, machine operators, welders, toolroom
employees, and sweepers, excluding supervisors as defined
by the Act and all other employees.
[Text of Direction of Election 5 omitted from publication.]
$ Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 101 NLRB 441, General Electric Co., 101 NLRB 1341.
4Globe Steel Tubes Co., 101 NLRB 772.
5 The Petitioner requests that it be placed on the ballot as International Association of
Machinists and with the letters IAM appearing above the box in which the vote is marked. As
no adequate reason was presented for this departure from normal procedures the request is
denied.
LONE STAR GAS COMPANYand OIL WORKERS INTERNA-
TIONAL UNION, CIO, Petitioner . Case No. 16 -RC-1277.
June 24, 1953
DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS OF
ELECTION
Pursuant to a stipulation for certification upon consent
election , executed on April 6, 1953, and approved by the
Regional Director on April 7, 1953, anelectionby secret ballot
was conducted on April 20, 1953, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Sixteenth Region. Upon
the conclusion of the election, a tally of ballots was furnished
the parties, in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of
the Board. The tally showed that, of approximately 14 eligible
voters, 14 cast valid ballots, of which 3 were for the Petitioner
and 11 against.
Thereafter, the Petitioner filed objections to conduct affecting
the results of the election. In accordance with the Board's Rules
and Regulations, the Regional Director investigated the matters
raised by the objections and on May 19, 1953, issued and duly
served upon the parties his report on objections in which he
105 NLRB No. 109.
726 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
recommended that the objections had merit and that the election
be set aside. The Employer filed timely exceptions to the report
on objections and a supporting brief.
The Board has considered the objections, the report on
objections, the Employer's exceptions and brief, and the entire
record in this case, and hereby makes the following findings of
fact, and finds merit in the Employer's exceptions, for the
following reasons:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning
of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the rep-
resentation of employees of the Employer within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The following employees of the Employer constitute aunit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
All employees in the Employer's pipeline department pres-
ently under the direction of L. E. DePew, in the Employer's
Shamrock, Texas, pipeline district, excluding administrative,
clerical, and professional employees, watchmen, guards,
temporary employees, superintendents, and all other super-
visors as defined in the Act.
5. The Regional Director recommended that the election be
set aside because the Employer's acts of alleged unlawful
interrogation on March 17 and 18, 1953, and the wage increases
announced on April 6, 1953, "immediately prior to and upon
the date of the signing" of the consent-election agreement,
interfered with the employees' freedom of choice in the selec-
tion of a bargaining representative.' As contended by the Em-
ployer, we find that the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
case , 101 NLRB 1118, is dispositive of the issue raised by the
Petitioner's objections. In that case the Board held that the
policies of the Act will best be effectuated by not considering
election objections based upon conduct occurring prior to the
execution of consent-election agreements . As the agreement
herein was executed after the alleged unlawful conduct, we
hereby overrule the Petitioner's objections.
[The Board certified that a majority of the valid ballots
was not cast for Oil Workers International Union, CIO, and
that this labor organization is not the exclusive representative
of the employees of the Employer in the bargaining unit set
forth in paragraph numbered 4, above.]
Chairman Herzog and Member Styles took no part in the
consideration of the above Decision and Certification of Results
of Election.
'The Regional Director's investigation discloses that the Employer decided to grant wage
increases to some of its employees on March 19, 1953, and that after a normal amount of
administrative time elapsed , a memorandum to that effect, dated April 3. 1953, was sent to the
foremen of the employees involved herein and the employees were notified on April 4, 5, and
6. 1953.