Merck & Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 28, 1952

98 N.L.R.B. 372 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

372 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
MERCK & CO., INC. and EMPLOYEES, ORGANIZATION INC. OF MERCK
& Co., PETITIONER
MERCK & Co., INC., PETITIONER and EMPLOYEES' ORGANIZATION INC.
OF MERCK & CO. AND DISTRICT #47 OF INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF MACHINISTS. Cases Nos. 2-RC-3982 and 2-RM-328. Febru-
ary 28,1952
Decision and Direction of Elections
Upon petitions duly filed, a hearing was held before I. L. Broadwin,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudical 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
Murdock and Styles].
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 labor organizations involved claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.2
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 appropriate units :
The Employer and the Employees' Organization request a single
unit of five separate craft units of employees with the occupational
classification of carpenters, electricians, pipefitters, sheet metal
workers or tinsmiths, and welders, which were previously found by
the Board to constitute separate bargaining units.3 In effect, these
parties are requesting that the above employees be merged with the
existing production and maintenance unit now represented by the
Employees' Organization. Relying on the Board's prior certification,
the IAM contends that the existing craft units for which it was
separately certified are appropriate.
The primary basis for the position advanced by the Employer and
the Employees' Organization is that the IAM has treated the five
groups of employees as a single unit in its 1-year bargaining contract
negotiated with the Employer. Such alleged bargaining history is
not controlling, as it deviated substantially from the Board's deter-
'As part of the record herein, we have considered the exhibits in the record marked
"rejected "
' Employees ' Organization Inc of Merck & Co , herein called the Employees ' Organiza-
tion ; and District #47 of International Association of Machinists , herein called the IAM.
3 Merck & Co, Inc., 88 NLRB 975.
98 NLRB No. 52.
MERCK & CO ., INC. 373
lnination as to the appropriate units 4 In the circumstances here
present, we do not deem it appropriate to determine the desires of
the employees in the five craft units in question as to their unit
placement by grouping them together in a single voting group.
Nevertheless, as set forth above, the petitions do embrace five separate
appropriate craft units and these respective units may, depending
upon the desires of the employees, be continued or merged into the
existing production and maintenance unit.°
The record shows that employees classified as helpers are regu-
larly assigned to each craft and serve an apprenticeship period of from
21/2 to 3 years in order to qualify for a journeyman's status. We shall
therefore include them in the applicable voting groups.
In view of the foregoing, we shall make no final unit determination
at this time, but shall direct separate elections by secret ballot among
the employees of the Employer's Rahway, New Jersey, plant, in the
voting groups set forth below, excluding all other employees and
supervisors, as defined in the Act :
(a) All mechanics with the occupational classification of carpenter
and their helpers.
(b) All mechanics with the occupational classification of electrician
and their helpers.
(c) All mechanics with the occupational classification of pipefitter
and their helpers.
(d) All mechanics with the occupational classification of sheet
metal worker or tinsmith and their helpers.
(e) All mechanics with the occupational classification of welder
and their helpers.
If a majority of the employees in any of the voting groups vote for
the IAM they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute
a separate appropriate unit, and the Regional Director conducting the
elections directed herein is instructed to'issue a certificate of repre-
sentatives to the IAM for the applicable unit described in paragraph
numbered 4, which the Board, under such circumstances, finds to be
appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining. In the event a
majority of the employees in any of the voting groups vote for the Em-
ployees' Organization, they shall be represented by the Employees'
Organization as part of the existing production and maintenance unit
and the Regional Director will issue a certificate of results of election
to such effect.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]
4 The Budd Company, Red Lion Plant, 91 NLRB No. 105.
" For reasons stated in the earlier decision , we find no merit in the contention that the
nature of the Employer 's operations is such as to preclude the continuance of craft units.
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