Michigan Alkali Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 13, 1942

40 N.L.R.B. 480 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter of MlcmGAN ALKALI COMPANY and BRICKLAYERS,
MASONS & PLASTERERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL 35, A . Y of L.
Case No. R-3614.Decided April 13, 1942
Jurisdiction : chemical manufacturing, industry.
Practice and Procedure : petition dismissed where no appropriate unit within
scope of petition ; unit composed of bricklayers found inappropriate since
employees are functioning successfully tinder an industrial unit.
Mr. Milton F. Mallender, of Detroit, Mich., for the Company.
Mr. Joseph Wilkinson, of Lincoln Park, Mich., for the A. F. of L.
Mr. Ray Thomason, of Detroit, Mich., and Mr. Louis Zygaj; of
Wyandotte, Mich., for the C. I. O.' -
Mr. Fred A. Dewey, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On December 4, 1941, Bricklayers, Masons & Plasterers Interna-
tional Union, Local 35, A. F. of L., herein called the A. F. of L., filed
with the Regional Director for the Seventh Region (Detroit, Mich-
igan) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen
concerning the representation of employees of Michigan Alkali Com-
pany, Wyandotte, Michigan, herein' called the Company, and J. B.
Ford Company,' and requesting an investigation and certification of
representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On February 20, 1942, the
National Labor Relations' Board, herein-called the Board, acting pur-
suant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3 of National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended,
ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to
conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice.
1 At the hearing, on motion of, the J ; B. • Ford Compa ny and with the consent of the
petitioning union and without objection by any of the parties, the petition was amended
so as to eliminate J B. Ford Company as a patty to the proceedings.
40 N. L. R. B , No. 82.
480
MICHIGAN ALKALI COMPANY 481
On March 3, 1942, the Regional Director issued a notice of heating,
copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the A. F. of L.,
and District No. 50, United Mine Workers of America, Local 12270,
C. I. 0., herein called the C. I. 0., a labor organization claiming to
represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant
to notice a hearing was held at Detroit, Michigan, before Harry N.
Casselman, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial
Examiner. The Company, the A. F. of L., and the C. I. 0. appeared
by their representatives and participated in the hearing. Full op-
portunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to
introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. At
the hearing, the C. I. 0. moved to dismiss the petition on the ground
that the unit proposed therein is inappropriate for bargaining. The
Trial Examiner reserved ruling upon this motion for the Board. For
reasons which appear in Section III below, the (notion is granted. The
Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner made' at the
hearing and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The
rulings are' hereby affirmed. The A. F. of L. and the C. I. 0. filed
briefs which the Board has considered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACYr
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Michigan Alkali Company is a Michigan corporation with its
principal plant located at Wyandotte, Michigan., It is engaged in
the manufacture, sale, and distribution of heavy chemicals. During
1941, the Company purchased raw materials valued in excess of
$1,000,000 of which over 50 percent was purchased and received from
points outside the State of--Michigan. In the same year the Company
sold finished products valued in excess of $1,000,000 of which over
50 percent were sold and delivered to customers outside the State of
Michigan.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Bricklayers, Masons & Plasterers International Union, Local 35,
A. F. of L., and District 50, United Mine Workers of America, Local
12270, C. I. 0., are labor organizations admitting to, membership
employees of the Company.
III. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The A. F. of-L. contends the bricklayers employed at the Company's
two plants constitute an appropriate bargaining unit. The C. I. 0.
contends that the petition of the A. F. of L. should be dismissed on
455771-42-vol. 40-31
482 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the ground that all hourly, piece-rate, and day-rate employees in the
Company's two plants engaged in production, maintenance, shipping
and receiving, except foremen, assistant foremen, plant-protection
employees, laboratory workers, and plant-clerical workers, constitute
a single appropriate unit. The Company's operations are carried on
in two plants located approximately 11/2 miles apart called the North
and the South plants. The total number of hourly workers in the
two plants is approximately 2,156. Each plant has a mason depart-
ment and there is a superintendent and foreman for each of the
mason departments. The mason department is, in turn, a division
of the maintenance department. There are approximately 130 em-
ployees in the two mason departments, including bricklayers, brick-
layers' helpers, concrete finishers, janitors, and common laborers.
Although each of these employees -is assigned to a particular plant
interchange of employees between the two plants is frequent.
The Company manufactures heavy chemicals and is chiefly depend-
ent upon three raw materials namely, coal, salt, and limestone all of
which require processing. The work of the bricklayers involves the
reconstruction of ash rotary stokers, relining of ash rotary^sidewalls
and roof tops, reconstruction of boiler stokers, patching and relining
of coke ovens, rebricking of caustic pots, relining of cement and lime
rotary kilns, rebricking of ashpan furnaces, and the repair of fireboxes
in the boilerhouse where steam is generated for the plant. All of this
apparatus is necessary and essential to the processing of the raw
materials used in producing the final product and the work of the
bricklayers in connection with this apparatus is - necessary to the
continuity of operations in the two plants.
Although all bricklayers employed by the Company over a long
period of time have been members of the A. F. of L., and the Company
has paid bricklayers in its employ the union wage scale , which was
determined by the A. F. of L. and the Greater Detroit Contractors
Association,2 the A. F. of L. has never negotiated or attempted to
negotiate a contract with the Company. Neither have the bricklayers
ever attempted to bargain with the Company as a unit.
After the passage of the National Labor Relations Act, organiza-
tional activities were carried on by the Independent Chemical Work-
ers, an unaffiliated organization now defunct, and also by the C., I. 0.,
On July 21,1941, the Company, the J. B. Ford Company, the C. 1.0.,
and- the Independent Chemical Workers entered into an agreement,
for a consent election to be conducted by the Regional Director on
z This is an association comprised of a major part of the contractors in the metropolitan
area of Detroit, including Wyandotte The Company is not a member of-the association.
MICHIGAN ALKALI COMPANY 483
August 14, 1941.3 The C. I. O. won the election, and on October 7,
1941, the C. I. O. and the Company entered into a closed-shop agree-
ment covering a unit comprised of all hourly, piece-rate, and day-rate
employees of the Company at its Wyandotte, Michigan, plants, en-
gaged in production, maintenance, shipping and receiving, except fore-
men, assistant foremen, plant-protection employees such as policemen,
firemen and watchmen, full-time laboratory workers, and plant-clerical
workers. The bricklayers were a part of this unit and participated
in the benefits obtained for the employees by the contract.
In addition to the bricklayers, all of whom are members of the
A. F. of L., there are in the Company's employ, plasterers and cement
finishers who are eligible to membership in the same Local. However
they are not members and the A. F." of L. Local does not desire that
they be included in the unit which it seeks to represent. There are
also six bricklayers' helpers employed by the Company whose work
is directly connected with that of the bricklayers. They are not
eligible to membership in the A. F. of L. Local here involved and the
A. F. of L. does not desire that they be included in the unit.
At the present time the employees of the Company are functioning
successfully under an industrial unit. Under all of the circumstances
we find that a unit restricted to the bricklayers employed by the Com-
pany would not effectuate the policies of the Act and that such a unit
is inappropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
IV. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Since the bargaining unit sought to be established by the petition
is not appropriate as stated in Section III, above, we find that no
question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the
Company in an appropriate bargaining unit.
On the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record
in the case, the Board makes the following:
CONCLUSION OF LAW
No question concerning representation of employees of Michigan
Alkali Company, Wyandotte, Michigan, has arisen in a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act.
3 No notice was given to the A F of L but prior to the date set for the election a
representative of the A. F. of L heard about the agreed consent election and on August
7, 1941 , prior to the election , filed - a petition on behalf of the A. F of L in which it.was
alleged that the six bricklayers constituted an appropi fate unit This petition was later
wuthdiaNNn on Novembei 1, 1941
484 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ORDER
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and conclusion of
law, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the peti-
tion for investigation and certification of representatives of employees
of Michigan Alkali Company, Wyandotte , Michigan , filed by brick-
layers, Masons & Plasterers International'Union , Local 35, A. F. of L.,
be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
A