Northwest Steel, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 7, 1972

200 N.L.R.B. 108 (N.L.R.B. 1972)

108 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Northwest Steel, Inc. and Chauffeurs, Teamsters,
Warehousemen and Helpers Local No. 45, affiliat-
ed with the International Brotherhood of Team-
sters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of
America, Independent, Petitioner. Case
19-RC-6215
November 7, 1972
DECISION ON REVIEW AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS
FANNING AND JENKINS
On July 10, 1972, the Acting Regional Director for
Region 19 issued a Decision and Order in the above-
entitled proceeding in which he found that the
requested unit of "truckdrivers, warehousemen, and
steelhandlers .. ." comprised but one employee and
therefore dismissed the petition. Thereafter, in
accordance with Section 102.07 of the National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, the
Petitioner filed a request for review of the Acting
Regional Director's Decision on the ground that he
erred in finding Earl Ennen, the warehouse foreman,
to be a supervisor as defined in the Act and,
therefore, should have directed an election. By
telegraphic order dated August 30, 1972, the request
for review was granted.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
powers in connection with this case to a three-
member panel.
The Board has considered the entire record in this
case with respect to the issues under review and
makes the following findings:
At its Great Falls, Montana, steel facility here
involved, the Employer is engaged in the retail and
wholesale sale of industrial steel, such as plate,
beams, and reinforced bar. The total personnel
complement at the facility consists of Morris Rose,
the general manager; Bruce Gessner, sales represent-
ative; Earl Ennen, warehouse foreman; and David
Weatherbee, warehouseman. The parties agreed that
Rose is a supervisor. The Acting Regional Director
found that Gessner, essentially an outside salesman,
is not part of the requested unit. He also found that
Ennen had sufficient supervisory power to require
his exclusion, pointing to evidence that he had
authority to fire and that he directed Weatherbee in
his work. The Petitioner contends that the record
does not support a finding that Ennen is a supervisor
as defined in the Act. We agree.
Ennen has worked for the Employer for 19 years.
He is in charge of the yard where he and Weatherbee
unload incoming steel, fill orders as they are received
from the office, load the trucks, and make local
deliveries. Because of an injury sustained 2 years ago,
Ennen attempts to avoid heavy manual labor. Like
Weatherbee, he is paid on an hourly basis but his
paycheck is not docked when he takes time off for
short periods.
Although Ennen stated that he had authority to
discharge, he went on in his testimony to say that he
doubted he had such authority and in fact had never
exercised it, and would not exercise it. He further
stated that in actuality he referred all supervisory
matters to Rose. His direction of Weatherbee's
activities, when both are present, appears to require
no independent judgment, as it is based on estab-
lished procedures for filling orders.
Upon these facts and the entire record in this case,
we find, contrary to the Acting Regional Director,
that Ennen does not, possess or exercise any of the
indicia of supervisory authority as defined in the Act,
and we include him in the requested unit.'
Accordingly, we find that the following employees
of the Employer constitute a unit appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9(b) of the Act:
All truckdrivers, warehousemen, and steel handlers
at the Employer's Great Falls, Montana, steel
warehousing facility, excluding office clerical em-
ployees, salesmen, guards, and supervisors as defined
in the Act.
[Direction of Election and Excelsior footnote
omitted from publication.]
1 Green Brothers Lumber Corp, 158 NLRB 1642 , 1644 ; United States
Gypsum Company, 116 NLRB 1771, 1773.
200 NLRB No. 22