Miehle Printing Press & Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 26, 1955

113 N.L.R.B. 1252 (N.L.R.B. 1955)

1252 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
for of the sampling plant, mill and yard truckdrivers, and over-the-
road truckdrivers, but excluding office clerical employees, instrument-
men, pusher of the bull' gang, guards, technical and professional em-
ployees, and supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
Miehle Printing Press & Manufacturing Company 1 and Inter-
national Union of Electrical , Radio & Machine Workers of
America, CIO, Petitioner . Case No. 13-RC-4401. August 26,
1955
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 Raymond A. Jacob-
son, hearing officer. The hearing oflicer'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 National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organization named below 'claims to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. -A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of certain employees of the Employer, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and ('7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of all office clerical
employees at the Employer's Chicago, Illinois, plant, including time-
study methods, and planning and production control employees, and
time clerks, but excluding guards and professional and supervisory
employees as defined in the Act z The parties are in substantial agree-
ment as to the composition of the unit and have stipulated on the
record to the exclusion of various specified groups of employees .3
They disagree, however, on the question of whether the following
The name of the'Employer appears as amended at the hearing.
The requested unit appears as amended at the hearing.
a The Employer and Petitioner stipulated to exclude the following employees : the audi-
-tor of disbursements , engineering research coordinator , cost reduction analyst, job evalu-
ator, standard cost estimator, industrial nurse and first aid attendant, cooperative students,
patent counselors , graduate engineers practicing their profession , chauffeur, Star-Kimble
Division employees , salesmen, folding box specialist, sales engineer , advertising and sales
promotion men, field sales manager, western district sales manager, export-import sales
manager, service engineer , outside erectors , letterpress and offset demonstrators , printing
technician , test pressman , chief credit clerk, supervisor of technical adjustment , claims
clerk, comptroller , assistant comptrollers, supervisor of accounts payable, supervisor of
repair billing , chief cost accountant , supervisor of tabulating section, assistant cost ac-
countant , purchasing agent, supervisor of purchasing department, assistant purchasing
agent, supervisor of castings and subcontracting and purchasing and expediting, personnel
manager, assistant personnel manager, assistant sales manager , sales research manager,
product service manager, supervisor of repair order department , supervisor of installation.
113 NLRB No. 122.
MIEHLE PRINTING PRESS & MANUFACTURING COMPANY 1253
employees should be included or excluded : the time-study men and
production standards tabulator, safety inspector, assistant traffic man-
ager, repair order editor-correspondents, photographers, secretary to
the vice presidents and administrative engineer in the engineering
department, and the designers and draftsmen in the engineering de-
partment. The Petitioner would include the time-study men, including
the production standards tabulator and the safety inspector, but would
exclude the remaining employees listed above. The Employer con-
tends that the time-study men, including the production standards
tabulator and the safety inspector, are supervisors and that, therefore,
they should be excluded from the unit. The Employer would include
all others.
Time-study men and' production standards tabulator: These em-
ployees set the standards which determine the incentive pay of ap-
proximately 90 percent of the production workers.' Time-study men
examine blueprints and instruction sheets, observe and make notations
,of component job elements, and then evaluate the jobs studied. They
may be called in as witnesses during grievance discussions relating to
incentive rates established. The production standards tabulator sets
standards on the basis of prior time studies. Without passing on the
question of whether or not these employees are supervisors as defined
in the Act, we find that they are specialized employees whose interests
and duties are substantially dissimilar to those of the other employees
in the unit. Under Board precedent, such employees may not appro-
priately be grouped with clericals where any party objects to such in-
'elusion. Accordingly, we exclude them from the unit.'
Safety inspector: This employee formulates and implements the
Employer's safety policies and represents the Employer on the union-
management safety committee. In the performance of his duties, he
has the authority to recommend disciplinary action where an employee
disregards safety rules. In view of the foregoing, we find that his
interests are more closely allied with management than with the office
.clerical employees. We shall, therefore, exclude him from the unit.'
Assistant traffic manager: Petitioner contends that this employee is
a supervisor. The record indicates that he assists the traffic manager
and service and his technical administrative assistants, traffic manager, chief research
engineer , consulting engineer, project or development engineers, chiefs in the engineering
department, coordinating engineer, administrative assistant to the vice president of manu-
facturing, superintendent of manufacturing, general foremen, plant foremen, production
control supervisor and his assistant, finished stock foremen, industrial engineer and his
assistant, chief shop clerk, general shop clerk, supervisor of time study, production engi-
neer, chief tool designer, tool application man, supervisor of toolroom and maintenance,
supervisor of the pattern shop, supervisor of methods, quality control supervisor, chief
inspector, secretaries in the executive department who work for the president, executive
vice president, general counsel, and company attorney, and the secretaries in the personnel
department who work for the personnel manager and his assistant.
4 Koehring Southern Company, 108 NLRB 1131, 1132; Florence Stove Company, 94 NLRB
1434, 1436.
5 Minnesota and Ontario Paper Go, 92 NLRB 711, 714.
1254 - DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
in arranging for transportation of the Employer's goods. He obtains
freight rates, makes out the usual bill of lading, and attends to the
other clerical matters necessary to shipment. In the manager's ab-
sence, he takes over for detail work. We find that he is not a super-
visor within the meaning of the Act and shall include him in the unit.6
Repair order editor-correspondents: These two employees conduct
correspondence with the Employer's customers to clarify orders and
correct miscellaneous mistakes. Petitioner contends that they should
be excluded as supervisors or managerial employees. Although there
is evidence that one of these employees is relied upon as senior man
in the supervisor's absence, there is no support in the record for a
finding that either possesses sufficient indicia of supervisory or mana-
gerial authority to warrant his exclusion from the unit. Accordingly,
we shall include them.
Photographers : Petitioner seeks to exclude these employees on the
grounds that they are closely allied to salesmen who are excluded from
the unit by agreement and that they might have access to confidential
labor relations material. The photographers copy documents and
photograph machinery and parts for use in making up manuals and
catalogs. These employees work principally for and in conjunction
with the sales and advertising personnel and spend much of their time
in the production area. They do no clerical work and there is no evi-
dence that they are in any way closely allied to the clerical employees.
We shall, therefore, exclude them from the unit found appropriate
herein.
Secretary to the vice presidents and the administrative engineer in
the engineering department: Petitioner requests the exclusion of this
employee, contending that she is a confidential employee. Since there
is no indication in the record that the men for whom she works are
directly concerned with formulating the Employer's overall labor
relations policies, we shall include her in the unit.'
Designers and draftsmen in the engineering department: The de-
signers and draftsmen are admittedly technical employees and the
Petitioner seeks their exclusion as such. Like the other employees
found herein to be specialized technicians, we exclude them from the
unit, since one of the parties objects to their inclusion.8
6 Chicago Railway Equipment Company, 85 NLRB 586, 587.
7 Republic Steel Corporation, 94 NLRB 1294, 1295.
iKoehring Solitheris Company, 108 NLRB 1131, 1132. The Employer contends that,
although the designers and draftsmen are specialized technicians, they should be included
in the unit on the ground that * (1) certain alleged technical employees, the tool designers
and methods men, are included by stipulation, and (2) a clerical unit which includes some
technical employees while excluding otheis is inappropriate. The record fails to reveal
whether the employees in question are specialized technicians. In any event, the fact
that a few alleged technicals have been included in the unit by agreement is an insufficient
reason foi deviating from the Board's fixed policy for excluding techmcals from a clerical
unit where any party objects to their inclusion. Cf. Bell Aircraft Corporation, 98 NLRB
1277, 1282.
STAUFFER CHEMICAL COMPANY OF NEVADA 1255
Accordingly, we find the following employees constitute a unit ap-
propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (b) of the Act : , ,
All office clerical employees at. the Employer's Chicago, Illinois,
plant, including the methods and planning and production control
employees, time clerks , assistant traffic manager, repair order editor-
correspondents, secretary to the vice presidents and the administrative
engineer in the engineering department, but excluding the stipulated
exclusions, time-study men and production standards tabulator, safety
inspector, photographers, designers and draftsmen in the engineering
department, guards, and professional and supervisory employees as
defined in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
Stauffer Chemical Company of Nevada and United Steelwork-
ers of America , CIO, Petitioner
Stauffer Chemical Company of Nevada and International Union
of Boilermakers , Blacksmiths , Iron Ship Builders and Helpers,
Local Union No. 92, Petitioner
Stauffer Chemical Company of Nevada and Local 631 of Inter-
national Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs , Warehouse-
men and Helpers of America , AFL, Petitioner
Stauffer Chemical Company of Nevada and Brotherhood of
Painters , Decorators and Paperhangers of America, Local
Union No. 159, Petitioner
Stauffer Chemical Company of Nevada and United Association
of Plumbers and Pipefitters Helpers and Apprentices, Local
Union No. 525, Petitioner
Stauffer Chemical Company of Nevada and International Broth-
erhood of Electrical Workers, Local B-357 , AFL, Petitioner.
Cases Nos. 2O-RC-2715, 2O-RC-P2724, 20-RC-2731, 2O-RC-2735,
2O-RC-92738, and 9O-RC-92748. August 26, 1955
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before
M. C. Dempster, 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 these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
Act.
113 NLRB No 119.
379288-56-vol. 113-80