Management Services, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 21, 1954

108 N.L.R.B. 951 (N.L.R.B. 1954)

MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC. 951
MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC. and OFFICE EMPLOYEES
INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL NO. 144, AFL, Petitioner.
Case No. 10-RC-2656. May 21, 1954
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 David L.
Trezise, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made
at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case , the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning
of the Act.'
2. The labor organisation involved claims to represent
certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation 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 contends that the employerwide unit of all
clerical employees sought by the Petitioner is inappropriate
and that a separate unit of such employees in each department
is alone appropriate. The departments involved are the main
office, building maintenance , electrical , public works , residen-
tial and commercial property, police, fire, recreation, public
health and welfare, warehouse and sales , and revenue depart-
ments. These departments are located at Oak Ridge , Tennessee,
within a 10-mile radius and carry on various municipal func-
tions for which the Employer is responsible. Although each
department has separate immediate supervision , employees of
all departments are hired , assigned , and discharged by a
central office , after consultation with department supervisors.
Personnel and payroll records for all employees are maintained
by a central office and ultimate control of the labor relations of
all the Employer's employees is lodged in the personnel
manager . Under these circumstances , we find the single unit
proposed by the Petitioner to be appropriate.
'The Employer is a Tennessee corporation with offices at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where it
furnishes various municipal services to the inhabitants of Oak Ridge. It operates under a con-
tract with the United States Atomic Energy Commission. During the past year the Employer
purchased from out-of-State in excess of $500,000 worth of goods. We therefore find that the
Employer is engaged in commerce and that it will effectuate the purposes of the Act to assert
jurisdiction in this case. Federal Dairy Inc., 91 NLRB 638. Chairman Farmer and Members
Rodgers and Beeson concur in the assertion of jurisdiction, but are not to be deeded thereby
as adopting the Board's present jurisdictional standards as a permanent policy.
2 The Employer contends that no unit should be established at this time because Congress is
expected to pass legislation establishuig self-government at Oak Ridge and private ownership
of commercial and residential property, all of which is now owned by the Federal government.
Such legislation, it is argued, would cause such a drastic revision in the Employer's operations
as to render inappropriate any unit found at this time. Assuming arguendo that a drastic
revision would be necessary in the event of such legislation, we find that the legislation, as
well as the attendant revision in operations, is too remote and speculative to warrant de-
ferring the holding of an election. See Basic Management, Inc., 104 NLRB 1038.
108 NLRB No. 129.
952 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The parties disagree as to the unit placement of certain
employees . The Petitioner would include, and the Employer
would exclude, all clerk auditors , draftsmen, rodmen, and some
chiefs and inspectors.
Clerk auditors: There are five clerk auditors who work in
the Employer' s internal audit section of the main office depart-
ment. They review established accounting procedures, make
detailed and spot audits , survey accounting systems, plan audit
programs, and prepare reports . Although their duties require
more than a high school education, it appears that their work is
primarily clerical and the record fails to establish any basis
for excluding them from the unit. Accordingly we shall include
the clerk auditors in the unit.
Draftsmen : At the present time the Employer employs only
one draftsman . His work includes drafting detailed working
drawings for various types of repairs , alterations , and addi-
tions and developing design details . The record shows that some
training in drafting and engineering is a prerequisite for this
job. Accordingly, we find that the draftsman is a technical
employee and we shall exclude him from the unit.a
Rodmen and inspectors : The Employer employs one rodman,
who performs the usual duties of his classification , including
setting and reading a surveyor' s rod and maintaining surveying
equipment.
There are 13 inspectors 4 classified as commercial property,
public works, subcontract, and residential property inspectors,
whom the Employer would exclude and the Petitioner would
include. The inspectors are responsible for the maintenance of
property in Oak Ridge and devote most of their time to inspect-
ing and reporting on property condition and repair work.
In view of their duties and upon the entire record , we find
that neither the rodman nor the inspectors are clerical
employees nor do they have sufficient interests in common
with such employees to warrant their inclusion inthe proposed
unit. Accordingly , we shall exclude the rodman and inspectors
from the unit.
Chiefs: There are 31 chiefs, all of whom the Employer
would exclude as supervisors , except for the chief telephone
operator and the chief 7, plans and files, whom the parties
agree to include . The Petitioner agrees to the exclusion of the
chief 8, wage and salary administration , as a confidential
employee, but would include all the other chiefs.
As to the 28 chiefs in dispute , the record shows the following:
The chief 8, public works subwarehouse , directs the work of
eight employees, and it is clear that he has authority effectively
to recommend the discharge of such employees. We, therefore,
find that he is a supervisor and we shall exclude him from the
unit.
3 Union Sulphur and Oil Corporation, 99 NLRB 19 at 20.
4 There is also one employee classified as inspector -weighman whom the parties agree to
include.
MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
953
The chief 7, stores and issue section, directs the work of 7
employees; the chief 6, meter reading section, directs the work
of 4 or 5 employees; and the chief 7, timekeeping section,
directs the work of 1 employee. The record shows that
direction of employees by these 3 chiefs is merely routine,
and none of them has any of the statutory indicia of a super-
visor. We therefore find that they are not supervisors within
the meaning of the Act and as they are clerical employees,
we shall include them in the unit.
As to the 24 remaining chiefs, the record shows that they
direct the work of from 1 to 10 employees and that they have
authority to recommend changes in job status. The record,
however, does not show whether their direction of other
employees is other than routine in nature or whether their
recommendations are effective nor does it establish that they
have other functions which constitute them supervisors. The
record also fails to establish whether they are clerical em-
ployees. Accordingly, we will not decide at this time whether
they should be included in the unit but will permit them to vote
subject to challenge.5
We find that the following employees of the Employer consti-
tute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
All clerical employees, including secretaries,6 meter
readers, cashiers, stenographers, typists, dispatchers, tele-
phone operators, inspector-weighman, auditors, and chiefs,'
but excluding confidential employees, draftsmen, rodmen,
inspectors, nurses, servicemen , laboratory technicians, pro-
cess servers , clerk auditors, library employees, playground
directors, public health sanitarian, recreation center director,
recreation attendants, buyers, the clerk in the security depart-
ment, the clerk in charge of area 10 housing, guards, and
supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
5 If it appears on investigation of challenges that any of the chiefs is a supervisor or that he
is not a clerical employee, he will be excluded from the unit; otherwise, he will be included.
6In accord with the agreement of the parties, we exclude as confidential employees secre-
taries in the offices of the general manager, general counsel, personnel manager, and
corporate directors.
7As already stated, the unit placement of these employees is subject to redetermination
in case of challenges to their ballots, except for the chief telephone operator; chief 7, plans
and files section; chief 7, stores and issue section; chief 6, meter reading section; and chief
7 timekeeping section; whom we specifically include in the unit, and the chief 8, public works
subwarehouse, and chief 8, wage and salary administration, who are excluded for reasons
stated in the text above.