Missouri Utilities Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 3, 1942

43 N.L.R.B. 908 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter of MISSOURI UTILITIES COIiPANY and CONGRESS OF INDUS-
TRIAL ORGANIZATIONS (UTILITY WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE,
LOCAL No. 228)
Case No. R-4069.Decided September 3, 19/2
Jurisdiction : electric, gas, ice, and -Nvater utility industry.
Practice'and Procedure : petition dismissed where there was no appropriate unit
within its scope ; unit comprising employees at one city of a geographic division
of Company held inappropriate in view of the integration and functional coher-
ence of operations throughout the division.
Mr. R. B. Oliver, Jr.,,of Cape Girardeau, Mo., for the Company.
Mr. James P. O'Reilly, of St. Louis, Mo., for the C. 1 0.
Mr. Henry C. Kuehner, of St: Louis, Mo., for the A. F. of L.
-Mr.,Oscar Geltman, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by Congress of Industrial Organizations,
herein called C. I. 0., alleging that a question affecting commerce had-
arisen concerning the representation of employees of Missouri Utilities
Company, Cape` Girardeau, Missouri, herein called the Company, the
National Labor Relations Board provided for ail appropriate hearing
upon due notice before William W. Ward, Jr., Trial Examiner. Said
hearing was held at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on July 23, 1942. The
Company, the C. I. O. and International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, Local No. 2, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
herein called the A. F. of L., appeared, participated, and were afforded
full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses,
and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's
rulings made at the Bearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Missouri Utilities Company is-engaged principally in the manufac-
ture, distribution, and sale of electrical energy, gas, and ice, and the
43 N. L. R. B., Nor 156.
908
MISSOURI UTILITIES COMPANY 909
distribution and sale of water, at various locations in the State, of Mis-
souri. It maintains its principal office at Cape Girardeau, Missouri:
During the year 1941, its total income amounted to $1,716,000. In 1941,
the Company purchased 35,000 tons of coal, 6 carloads of oil, and more
thali $400,000 worth of household appliances, service equipment, and'
natural gas, most,of,which were shipped to it from outside the'State'
of Missouri. About 90 percent of the Company's business consists of
the sale of electrical energy, of which, a substantial portion is sold to
firms engaged in interstate commerce.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the mean-
ing of the National Labor Relations Act.
11. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Utility Workers Organizing Committee, Local No. 228, is ' a labor
organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers , Local No. 2, is a
labor organization affiliated with the American . Federation of Labor,
admitting to-membership employees of the Company.'
III. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING THE REPRESENTATION OF
EMPLOYEES OF THE COMPANY WITHIN AN APPROPRIATE UNIT
On May 16, 1942 , the C. I. 0. informed the Company that "United
Utilities Workers , C. I. 0.", represented a majority of the employees
in the Company 's plant located in Cape Girardeau City, and requested
that it be Ivcognized as the exclusive bargining agent for the employees
at that plant . Thereafter , the A. F. of L. claimed to represent certain
employees of the Company, and on June 4, 1942 , the Company advised
the C. I. 0. that the question of representation would have to be deter-
mined by the Board.'
The C. I. 0. contends that production workers only at the gas, elec-
tric , and water departments of the Company at Cape Girardeau City,
exclusi^,e of supervisory and clerical employees , constitute an appro-
priate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining . The C. I. 0.
urges that linemen and repair men be excluded from the unit.2
1 Membership ,application cards which were submitted by the C. I 0 to the Regional
Director bore no name of a local union, but prior to the hearing a chaster was issued to the
C I O. local at the Cape Girardeau City plant as "Utility Workeis Organizing Committee,
Local No 228 "
? The C. I. O. submitted to the Regional, Director 44 membership application cards, 33
dated in May 1942, and 11 undated, 40 cards bearing apparently genuine signatures and 4
beaming, printed names.' Of the 44 cards 41 bore names of persons in the above-described.
unit appearing on the Company's pay, roll of May 15, 1042, which pay roll shows a total
of 67 persons in this unit.
910 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The A. F. of L. claims that the unit requested by the C. T O. is
inappropriate. It contends that all the employees in the Cape Girar-
deau group, hereinafter described, exclusive of clerical employees and
certain supervisory employees, constitute an appropriate unit.'
The Company contends that all its employees ill, the Cape
Girardeau group constitute an appropriate unit.
- The Company serves three different groups of towns in the State
of Missouri. Only one group-referred to as the Cape Girardeau
group and also as the Southeast Missouri group-is involved in this
proceeding. Operations in each group are carried on separately ;
-there is no physical connection between the groups, and employees are
not transferred between the Cape Girardeau group, and any other
group.
The Cape Girardeau group serves approximately 30 small towns in
addition to Cape Girardeau City. The main generating plant in the
group and the gas and water plant are located at Cape Girardeau
City, and two ice plants are located in other towns within the group.
The Company's main office is located at Cape Girardeau City, where it
maintains headquarters for purchases, sales, accounting, payment of
salaries, generating plant supervision, repairs, and for a line repair
crew. The Company has smaller offices in several of the towns in the
group, and maintains another line repair crew- and a construction
crew at a town approximately in the center of the group. Employees
have the same wage scale, and are transferred from town to town to
do construction, operation, and maintenance w ork, and to be promoted.
The principal generating plant at Cape Girardeau City, which is at
one end of the group, is in hourly communication with a supplemental
generating plant at the other end, approximately 85 miles away; and
there are two reserve plants located approximately midway between.
In view of the integration and functional coherence of the Cape
Girardeau group, we find that the unit urged by the C. I. 0.', composed
solely of production employees at Cape Girardeau City, is not appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining .4
3 The A F of L submitted to the Regional Director 24 membership application cards,
3 of then dated in September 1941, December 1941, and January 1942, 19 dated in May
1942; and 2 undated Sixteen of the cards bore apparently genuine signatures of persons
whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of May 15, 1942, in the unit claimed
appropuate by the C I 0 , and 5 of the cards bore apparently genuine signatures of per-
sons whose names appear on the pay roll for the broader unit claimed appropriate by the
A P of L The pay roll for the broader unit contains 121 names inclusive of 67 at Cape
Girardeau City
4 See'Matter of Wisconsin Power and Light Company and United Electrical, Radio and
-Machine lVorkets of America, Local No. 1134, 6 N. L. R. B. 320; Matter of Tennessee Elec-
tric Power Company and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 7 N L It. B
24 , Matter of Gulf States Utilities Company and International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, A F L, 31 N. L R. B 740, Matter of Southern California Gas Company and
Pacific Gas Works Union, Independent, etc, 35 N L R B 263; Matter of Pennsylzania
MISSOURI UTILITIES COMPANY 911
We accordingly' find that no question has arisen concerning the
representation of employees of the Company in an appropriate bar-
gaining unit. 'The petition for investigation and certification of rep-
resentatives will therefore be dismissed.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and the entire record
in the case, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that
the petition for investigation and certification of representatives of
Missouri Utilities Company, filed by the Congress of Industrial Or-
ganizations, be, and it hereby is, dismissed. -
CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of 'the above
Decision and Order.
Edison Company and Utility Workers Organizing Committee, Local Union No 180, afhated
with C . I 0, 36 N L R. B 432; Matter of Savannah Electric and Power Company and
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers , 38 N. L . R. B 47.-
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