Nash Kelvinator Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 30, 1953

107 N.L.R.B. 644 (N.L.R.B. 1953)

644 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
daily newspaper consists of material supplied it by the 2
interstate weekly mail services referred to above. The
Employer receives only $210 a year from out-of-State sub-
scribers and only $50 a week from the United Press for the
sale of news tips to that agency.
Accordingly, the Employer' s motion to dismiss the petition
is granted.
[The Board dismissed the petition.]
NASH KELVINATOR CORPORATION and INTERNATIONAL
GUARDS UNION OF AMERICA, Petitioner . Case No. 13-RC-
3572. December 30, 1953
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 Kenneth L.
Keith, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at
the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed. i
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the mean-
ing of the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent
certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner, an independent guard union, seeks a
unit of employees classified as watchmen at the Employer's
Kenosha, Wisconsin, plant, on the ground that the watchmen
are guards within the meaning of Section 9 (b) (3) of the Act.
The Intervenor opposes the unit on the grounds that: (1) Its
current contract with Employer is a bar to this proceeding;
(2) the watchmen are not guards within the meaning of the Act;
and (3) the watchmen perform duties similar to those of
safety employees whom the Petitioner has not requested to be
included in the unit. The Employer takes no position concern-
ing the requested unit.
The Intervenor's current contract effective until October 1,
1954, includes the watchmen in the bargaining unit with the
Employer's production and maintenance employees. Because
we hereinafter find that the requested unit of watchmen is an
appropriate guard unit within the meaning of Section 9 (b)
iLocal 72, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America.
CIO, herein called Intervenor, was permitted to intervene in this proceeding upon the basis
of its current contract with Employer.
107 NLRB No. 137.
HIRES , CASTNER AND HARRIS , INC. 645
(3) of the Act, and because Section 9 (b) (3) prohibits the in-
clusion of guards in a unit with other employees, we find that
the Intervenor ' s contract is no bar to this proceeding.2
The Employer employs about 73 employees who are clas-
sified as watchmen. The watchmen patrol the plant checking
for fires , theft, enforcing no-smoking rules , and preventing
"horse play" among employees. They perform gate duty where
they check the identification of employees entering the plant
and they check employees leaving the plant to ascertain wheth-
er or not the employees are taking away plant property. They
also register trucks making deliveries to the plant . It is clear
that the watchmen enforce against employees and other per-
sons rules to protect property of the Employer. We, therefore,
find that the watchmen are guards within the meaning of 9 (b)
(3) of the Act.
Although the Employer contends that the safety department
employees perform duties similar to those of the watchmen,
there was very little evidence adduced at the hearing concern-
ing the safety employees. The record, however, shows that
at least two employees from the safety department contin-
uously check other employees engaged in hazardous work to
see whether or not they are wearing safety glasses and safety
shoes, and that they also continuously check for fire hazards.
Because it appears that the duties of the safety employees are
confined to checking for fire hazards and the checking of other
employees concerning the wearing of safety equipment, we find
that the safety employees are not guards within the meaning of
the Act. 8 Accordingly, they cannot properly be included in the
unit with the watchmen.
We find that all watchmen employed by the Employer at its
Kenosha, Wisconsin, plant, excluding safety employees, office
and clerical employees, all other employees, and supervisors
as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of
Section 9 (b) (3) of the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
2 See Sonotone Corporation , 100 NLRB 1127.
9See Schenley Distillers , Inc., 92 NLRB 1130; Chance Vought Aircraft Corporation, 102
NLRB 556.
HIRES, CASTNER AND HARRIS, INC. and DISTRICT NO. 1,
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, AFL,
Petitioner . Case No. 4-RC-2112 . December 30, 1953
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 Morris
107 NLRB No. 139.