Manistee Salt Works

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 11, 1949

85 N.L.R.B. 147 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter Of MANISTEE SALT WORKS , EMPLOYER and INTER-
NATIONAL CHEMICAL WORKERS UNION, AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 7-RC-456.-Decided July 11, 1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Harold L.
Hudson, 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.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section'3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members
Houston and Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The Petitioner claims to represent employees 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 Petitioner petitioned for a unit of all the salaried employees
of the Employer, excluding all hourly rated production and mainte-
nance employees,' and all superintendents and assistant superintend-
ents. The Employer does not object to the general composition of the
unit but contends that some of the individuals whom the Petitioner
seeks to represent should be excluded from the unit as supervisors.
Three of these individuals who are classified as night supervisors, ro-
tate between the second and third shifts. During the time a night su-
' The Petitioner is in compliance with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f), (g), and
(h) of the Act , although its Local 181 , which is the contractual bargaining representative
of the Employer ' s hourly rated production and maintenance employees , is not in com-
pliance. The record does not indicate that Local 181 has any interest in the representa-
tion of the employees sought by the Petitioner . If it should subsequently appear that Local
181 is participating in the representation of these employees, we will entertain a motion
to vacate any certification which may result from the election herein directed.
85 N. L. R. B., No. 25.
147
857 829-50-vol . 85--11
148 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
pervisor is on the job, he is in sole charge of the plant. He exercises
his own judgment as to the manner in which established policies of
the Employer must be carried out, and his disciplinary powers include
the authority to eject summarily any employee whose presence he feels
is_a. detrimental influence. We find that the, night supervisors are su-
pervisors.within the meaning of the Act, and we shall therefore exclude
them. The refinery carloading foreman checks freight cars to deter-
mine whether they'are suitable for the Employer's use, and directs 16
men in the loading of the cars. He also inspects the work of 8 em-
ployees who work on the salt brick machine. He is supervised only
by the refinery superintendent. He can increase the working force in
the carloading department, and in one instance at least, he has made
an effective recommendation for promotion. We find that the carload-
ing foreman is also a supervisor, and we shall exclude him from the
unit. The refinery packaging foreman directs and inspects the pack-
aging of the Employer's products. He spends as much as 5 hours a
day directing and inspecting the work of 32 employees, and he in turn
is supervised only by the refinery superintendent. He makes tempo-
rary transfers of employees, and can recommend permanent transfers. '
We find the packaging foreman to be a supervisor and shall therefore
exclude him from the unit,. The refinery stock and inventory foreman
was thus classified by the Employer, but testified that he had always
understood his classification to be "refinery stock and inventory clerk."
He testified that his job was to "supervise" the storage of the material
received in stock, and to "supervise" the operation of the printing
press. It appears that he supervises employees only on occasions when
there is a freight car to be unloaded. We find, on the present record,
that the stock and inventory foreman is not a supervisor witl'in the
meaning of the Act and we shall accordingly include him in the unit.
The o ice manager is chiefly engaged as an accountant for the Em-
ployer, but he has hired office employees without prior approval of his
own supervisor, and has also given other office employees disciplinary
lay-offs. We find that he is a supervisor, and shall exclude him from
the unit.
In accordance with the agreement of the parties, we find that all sal-
aried employees at the Employer's Manistee, Michigan, plant, includ-
ing the receiving clerk, secretary to the manager, switchboard operator
and receptionist, refinery shipping clerk, assistant to refinery shipping
clerk, the refinery stock and inventory foreman, assistant to refinery
stock and inventory foreman, and the technician, but excluding all
night supervisors, the refinery carloading foreman, the refinery pack-
aging foreman, the office manager, and all other supervisors, consti-
MANISTEE SALT WORKS , 149
tute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
. DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by secret
ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than 30
days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was
heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among
the employees described in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were,
employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date
of this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work
during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or
temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since
quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein-
stated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether or
not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining,
by International Chemical Workers Union, AFL.