Outboard Marine and Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 17, 1945

60 N.L.R.B. 725 (N.L.R.B. 1945)

In the Matter of GALE-PRODUCTS, A DIVISION OF OUTBOARD MARINE AND
MANUFACTURING COMPANY and AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR,
LOCAL No. 23794
Case No. 13-R-274.Decided February 17, 1915
Neagle & West, by Messrs. Richard J. Neagle, and C. W. Waldman,
both of Galesburg, Ill., for the Company. -
Messrs. John Schreier and L. J. Wadsworth, of Chicago, Ill., for
the AFL.
Messrs. Carl Ruesch and Charles E. Wilmott, of Galesburg, Ill.,
for the Independent.
Mr. Harry Nathanson, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF' ELECTION
k
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by American Federation of Labor, Local
No. 23794, herein called the AFL, alleging that a question affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of
Gale Products, a Division of Outboard Marine and Manufacturing
Company, Galesburg, Illinois, herein called the Company, the National
Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due
notice before Gustaf B. Erickson, Trial Examiner. Said hearing
was held at Galesburg, Illlinois, on January 19, 1945. - The Company,
the AFL, and Independent Marine & Machinists Union, Local No. 2,
herein called the Independent, appeared and participated. All parties
were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-ex-
amine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The
Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial
error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded an oppor-
tunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Gale Products, a Division of Outboard Marine and Manufac-
turing Company, is a Delaware corporation with a plant located
60 N. L. It. B., No. 120. 725
726 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
at Galesburg, Illinois, where it is engaged in the manufacture of spline
shafts, fire fighting pump parts, airplane instruments, compressors,
magnetos, and gas tanks for the Army, Navy, and British Lend-Lease.
The Company purchases annually, from outside the State of Illinois,
.approximately 70 percent of its raw materials. All its finished prod-
ucts are shipped to points outside the State of Illinois. The Company's
volume of business for the past fiscal year was in excess of $650,000,000.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce' within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
American Federation of Labor, Local No. 23794, is a labor organ-
ization admitting to membership employees of the Company.
Independent Marine & Machinists Union, Local No. 2, is a labor
organization admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On November 25, 1944, the AFL filed its petition herein.
On November 17, 1943, the Company and the Independent entered
into a 1-year collective bargaining agreement, effective as of October
111943, which provided, in part, as follows :
This Agreement shall become effective on the first day of Octo-
ber, 1943, and remain in full force and effect until the 30th day
of September, 1944, and thereafter from year to year unless within
thirty (30) days prior to the date of the expiration in any year,
that is to say, September 30th, either party gives notice, in writ-
ing, of desired changes in or termination of this Agreement.
In the event that a notice is given by either party of desire for
changes, this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect for
such reasonable length of time as may be required for the nego-
tiation of the new Agreement between the parties hereto.-
On August 23, 1944, the Independent, by its president, addressed a
letter to the Company stating : "This is to let you know that Local'
No. 2 wishes to terminate present contract Oct. 1, 1944." By letter
dated September 28,1944, the Company replied, ". . . as no new agree-
ment has been presented for negotiation as of this date, it is the desire
of the Company to continue the existing agreement in effect until a
new agreement is finally concluded and signed." In answer, the Inde-
pendent sent a letter to the Company dated September 29, 1944, which
' Subsequent to the execution of the November 17, 1943 agreement, the Company and the
Independent entered into several supplemental agreements , the last of which was dated
November 3, 1944. In none of the supplemental agreements was the duration clause
extended or amended.
GALE PRODUCTS 727
read : "In regard- to our contract which would terminate October 1,
1944, Local No. 2 wishes the present agreement to run until such time
as management and Local No. 2 sign a new agreement." On January
18, 1945, subsequent to the issuance of the Notice of Hearing in this
proceeding, the Company and the Independent entered into a new
collective bargaining agreement.
It is clear that the Independent's letter of August 23, 1944, fore-
stalled the operation of the automatic renewal clause in the November
17, 1943, agreement. Thus, by its terms, the agreement continued
after September 30, 1944, "for such reasonable length of time as
[might] be required for the negotiation of the new Agreement between
the parties . . ." The letters of September 28 and 29, 1944, merely
confirmed the fact that the agreement was to be in effect for this in-
definite period of time. Inasmuch as the agreement had been in
operation for 1 year and was thereafter transformed into a contract
of indefinite duration, it cannot constitute a bar to a present determi-
nation of representatives.2 Furthermore, the agreement of January
18, 1945, does not preclude a current determination of representatives
for it was executed during the pendency of the instant proceeding, of
which the Company had due notice.3
A statement of a Field Examiner, introduced into evidence at the
hearing, indicates that the AFL represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.4
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The AFL seeks a unit of all the Company's production and mainte-
nance employees, including janitors, matrons, time clerks, truck driver,
and shipping and warehouse employees, but excluding guards, watch-
men, stock clerks, stock chasers, student apprentices, office clerical em-
,ployees, leadmen, foremen, assistant superintendents, superintendents,
and all other supervisory employees. The Independent agrees that
the unit sought is appropriate, but contends that the truck driver
should be excluded. The Company takes no affirmative position with
respect to the appropriate unit.
2 See Matter of Ball Brothers Company, 54 N. L. R. B. 1512.
8 See Matter of General Electric Company, 48 N. L. R. B. 1044.
4 The Field Examiner reported that the AFL presented 236 authorization cards, of
which 218 bore apparently genuine original signatures of persons appearing on the Com-
pany's pay roll for the period ending December 4, 1944, which contained the names of 613
persons within the alleged appropriate unit. He further reported that the Independent
submitted a certified list which contained the names of 482 persons within the alleged
appropriate unit.
728 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The truck driver operates a truck and makes deliveries to and from
the plant. In addition, in his spare time, he assists in the shipping
department and does odd jobs in and about the plant. We shall include
him.
As noted above, the AFL and the Independent seek to include time
clerks. These employees, however, perform functions associated with
the work of timekeepers, a category we generally exclude from units
of production and maintenance employees. Moreover, both labor
organizations would exclude other plant clericals such as stock clerks
and stock chasers. We shall exclude the time clerks.'
We find that all the Company's production and maintenance em-
ployees, including janitors, matrons, truck driver, and shipping and
warehouse employees, but excluding guards, watchmen, stock clerks,
stock chasers, time clerks, student apprentices, office clerical em-
ployees, leadmen, foremen, assistant superintendents, superintendents,
and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote,
discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of em-
ployees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of
Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. TIIE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election
herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the
Direction.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Gale Products,
a Division of Outboard Marine and Manufacturing Company, Gales-
burg, Illinois, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted.as early
as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this
Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director
for the Thirteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the
See Matter of Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Corporation , 57 N. L. it. B. 1178.
GALE PRODUCTS 729
National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sections
10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees in
the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed
during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this
Direction, including employees who did not work during the said pay-
roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid
off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States
who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding any who
have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired
or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether
they desire to be represented by American Federation of Labor, Local
No. 23794, or by Independent Marine & Machinists Union, Local No. 2,
for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.