Phillips Petroleum Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 24, 1943

54 N.L.R.B. 51 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of PHILLIPS PETROLEUM COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL
UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCAL 351
Case No. 16-R-719.Decided December 24 , 1943
Mr. M. W. Eddleman, of Bartlesville, Okla., for the Company.
Mr. Harry Cochran, of Borger, Tex., for the Union.
Miss Frances Lopinsky, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by International Union of Operating
Engineers, Local 351, herein called the Union, alleging that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of Phillips Petroleum Company, Borger, Texas, herein called
the Company, the National Labor Relations Board consolidated the
petition herein with another petition filed by the Union covering
other employees of the Company 1 and provided for an appropriate
hearing upon due notice before Robert F. Proctor, Trial Examiner.
Said hearing was held at Amarillo, Texas, on November 9, 1943. The
Company and the Union appeared, participated, and were afforded
full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross- examine witnesses,
and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. At the conclusion
of- the hearing, the Company moved the dismissal of the petition,
alleging that the Board lacks jurisdiction in this matter. For rea-
sons hereinafter giver, the motion is denied. The Trial Examiner's
rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs
with the Board. A motion made by the parties to sever the instant
case from Case No. 16-R-732 is hereby granted.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
i Case No. 16-R-732 , 54 N. L. R. B. 86.
54 N. L R. B., No. 10.
51
52 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Phillips Petroleum Company, a Delaware corporation, maintains
its principal office at Bartlesville, Oklahoma, with branch plants and
offices located in various States. This proceeding concerns only the
Company's "Plains Plant" located at or near Borger, Texas, wherein
butane is processed to produce butadiene which is an essential element
in the manufacture of synthetic rubber. The only raw material used
in the Plains Plant is butane which is purchased and obtained, from the
Company's Borger Treater Plant which is located near the Plains
Plant. All of the butadiene produced by the Company is sold to the
Goodrich Tire and Rubber Company which operates a synthetic rubber
plant adjacent to the Plains Plant. The value of butane used by the
Company is estimated to be $1,801,800 annually. The average annual
value of the butadiene produced at capacity operations is estimated
to be $11,000,000. The Company has been in operation since July 16,
1943, and from that time to the time of the hearing used repair parts
of a value of approximately $50,000, and supplies essential to the
operation of the plant of a value of approximately $350,000, of which
about 25 percent has been purchased from places outside of the State
of Texas.. The Borger Treater Plant obtains 5 percent of the gasoline
used in the manufacture of butane from the Company's wells in New
Mexico, and the balance from the Company's wells in Texas.
The Company denies that its operations affect commerce. The
Company's raw materials are purchased and its product is sold within
the State of its location; however a portion of its supplies and repair
parts come to it front outside the State of Texas, and part of the butane
used by the Company has its origin in New Mexico. Moreover,
although the record contains no specific data with respect to the ulti-
mate destination of the rubber produced by the Goodrich Tire and
Rubber Company from the butadiene furnished by the Company,
we take notice of the fact that the Goodrich Company's operations
are at least nation-wide in scope and that the manufacture of synthetic
rubber is essential for war purposes. We further note that the Plains
Plant is merely a division of the Company which is admittedly engaged
in interstate commerce.2 We find that the operations of the Company
at its Plains Plant affect commerce within the meaning of the National
Labor Relations Act.3
2 See Matter of Phillips Petroleum Company , 54 N L R B 86.
3 N L. R B v. Eainblatt, 306 U S 601 ; Matter of Spandsco Oil and Royalty Company,
42 N L R B 042
PHILLIPS PETROLEUM COMPANY - 53 .
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 351, is a labor
organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admit-
ting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company refused to recognize the Union as the exclusive bar-
gaining representative of its employees because it doubted the appro-
priateness of the unit requested by the Union. A statement of the
Field Examiner, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicates
that the Union represents a substantial number of the employees of
the Company in the appropriate unit.4
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of the employees of the Company, within'the mean-
ing of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Company and the Union agree that the appropriate unit should
consist of all the employees of the Phillips Petroleum Corporation's
synthetic rubber plant at Borger, Texas, except janitors, supervisors,
administrative, clerical, and technical employees, and the plant-pro-
tection force. They further agree to the exclusion of certain employees
of the plant whose work renders them ineligible for' membership in
the Union.' The Company's agreement to the exclusion of these per-
sons was based upon the dissimilarity of the work of these persons to
that of the employees included in the unit. The Union would further
exclude all graduate engineers employed by the Company in whatever
capacity. The graduate engineers whom the Union would exclude are
employed not in a professional capacity, but as ordinary skilled work-
men. The Union insists that these employees have been promised
rapid promotion to technical positions. However the record indicates
no support for the Union's position in this respect. The Company
contended that it makes no distinction between graduate engineers
and other employees, and as this contention was borne out by the rec-
ord, we perceive no reason for excluding graduate engineers as such
from the unit.
We find that all employees of the Phillips Petroleum Corporation's
synthetic rubber plant at Borger, Texas, but excluding janitors, ad-
A The Field Examiner reported that the Union submitted 92 authorization cards, all of
which bear apparently genuine original signatures , 81 of which correspond with names of
persons whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of August 31, 1943, which con-
tained the names of 233 pemsons in the appropi late unit
s These employees are telephone operator , cook , draftsmen , general duty nurses , laundress,
librarian , messengers, PBX operator , PBX iehef operator , warehouseman and buyer , junior
design draftsman , and associate design draftsman
• 54 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ministrative, clerical, and technical employees, plant-protection em-
ployees, and all 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 .6
V. THE 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 Elec-
tion 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 Relations Act,
and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Phillips Petro-
leum Company, Borger, Texas, an election by secret ballot shall be con-
ducted 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 Sixteenth Region, acting in this matter as
agent for the 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
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
those employees 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 or not they desire to be represented by Interna-
tional Union of Operating Engineers, Local 351, affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing.
MR. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
6 The parties agreed that this unit excludes the shift foreman whose work is supervisory,
and includes the catalyst operators who we find are not supervisory employees.