Parsons Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 22, 1949

86 N.L.R.B. 74 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter Of PARSONS CORPORATION ,' EMPLOYER WWI INTERNA-
TIONAL UNION , UNITED AUTOMOBILE , AIRCRAFT & AGRICULTURAL
IM['LEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO), PETITIONER
Case No. 7-RC-565.-Decided September 22, 1949
DECISION
AND
ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed, a. hearing was held before Harry N.
Casselman, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed 2
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
'this case to athree-man panel [Herzog, Reynolds, and Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case,3 the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of "the
National Labor Relations Act.
- 2. The labor organization involved claims to represelit employees of
the Employer.
3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act, for the following '
reasons:
The Employer presently operates two plants in Traverse City,
Michigan, called the 12th Street plant and the Bay Street plant. It
also operates a plant in Detroit, Michigan. Only the 12th Street plant
is involved in this proceeding... This plant was erected in 1942 and
immediately began manufacturing bombs for the armed services. With
the termination of the war the plant ceased these operations, and in
' The Employer' s name appears as amended at the hearing.
2 The Employer 's motion to dismiss the petition is granted for the reasons stated in
.paragraph 3, in/re. .
s After the hearing had been closed the Employer filed a motion , to, correct , errors
in the transcript of testimony . The Petitioner objected in' part . As to those corrections
to which the Petitioner does not object , the Employer 's motion is hereby granted and the
record is hereby amended to conform to the motion. As any changes in the remaining
portions of the record sought to be corrected would not affect our decision herein, we
find it unnecessary to rule as to them.
86 N. L. R. B., No. 17.
74
PARSONS CORPORATION' 75
1946 converted to the manufacture of metal kitchen units consisting
of a sink, oven, stove, and refrigerator.4 The Bay Street plant pro-
duces helicopter rotor blades and does engineering- work for the air-
craft industry as well as engineering and production work on bomb
fins. The Detroit plant produces automotive parts which are sold to
the automotive industry. -
Before 1948 these plants were operated at various times by separate
corporations whose stock was commonly owned. In 1948, because
of financial difficulties, the several corporations were merged by the
formation of the Parsons Corporation, the instant Employer, and its
business was operated under the surveillance of a creditors' committee.
During the latter part of 1948 and until June 1949 efforts were made
to improve the financial status of the 12th Street plant, but losses never-
theless continued. The Employer, in June 1949, thereupon recom-
mended to the creditors' committee that it terminate operations and
dispose of the 12th Street plant.
At the time of the hearing on August 5, 1949, the working comple-
ment at this plant had been reduced to 16 employees from a total of
143 employees who were on the pay roll in May 1949. The plant
manager, sales manager, sales promotion manager, purchasing agent,
and chief accountant had been discharged, and the telephone com-
pany had been instructed to remove the telephones. Purchases of
materials have been discontinued and there is no further production
of kitchen units. The employees still remaining are engaged in clean-
ing up the plant in anticipation of its disposal, except that 5 toolroom
employees are making dies for the Employer's Detroit plant. Nego-
tiations are currently in progress for the sale of the entire plant and
its equipment, including patents and dies, and the Employer expected
to consummate a sale within 90 days from the hearing. If a sale can-
not be made, the Employer intends to integrate the plant with the
operations of the Bay Street plant. In this event the Employer will
endeavor to rehire as many of its former employees as are qualified
for the different types of work in which the plant will then be en-
gaged. Under no circumstances does the Employer intend to resume
n nufacture of kitchen units.
As the termination of all production at the 12th Street plant ap-
pears imminent, with no likelihood of resumption, we believe that na
useful purpose will be served by proceeding with a present determina-
* This plant also manufactured metal stampings for the Employer 's other plants and
for at least one other company. For the past 2 years these stamplings represented about
2 percent of the gross sales of the plant.
76 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tion of representatives. Accordingly, we shall grant the Employer's
motion and shall dismiss the petition .,5
ORDER
Upon the basis of the foregoing-findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders
that the petition filed herein be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
R Matter of Mastick, Inc., 82 N. L. R. B. 927 ; Matter of Sparton Teleoptic Company,
81 N. L. R. B. 1228 ; Matter of Lamar-Rankin Company , 81 N. L. R. B. 222.