Portland General Electric Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 6, 1954

110 N.L.R.B. 267 (N.L.R.B. 1954)

PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY 267
PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, PETITIONER and AUTOMOTIVE,
GARAGE & SERVICE STATION EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 255, OF INTERNA-
TIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN
AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL. Case No. 36-ISM-109. October
6,1954
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly filed under 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, a hearing was held before R. J. Wiener, hearing officer.
The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from
prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board funds :
1. The Employer is an electric utility engaged in furnishing power
to the city of Portland and vicinity. During 1953, it purchased elec-
tric power in excess of $5,000,000 in value from the Northwest Power
Pool, a multistate interlocking grid of public and private electric
utilities in the States of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and
Utah. Purchases other than electric power were also in excess of
$5,000,000, and of that amount over $1,000,000 worth originated out-
side the State of Oregon. During the same period, Employer's sales
exceeded $27,000,000. We find the Employer is engaged in com-
merce within the meaning of the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved herein claim to represent
certain employees of the Employer.
3. A 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. At the hearing, Auto-
motive Garage & Service Station Employees, Local 255 of The Inter-
national Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and
Helpers of America, AFL, hereafter called the Teamsters, moved to
dismiss the proceedings herein urging that as the petition states that
the Teamsters is the recognized or certified bargaining agent, there is
no question concerning representation. The Teamsters further con-
tends that this proceeding should be in the nature of a decertification
petition. The record clearly shows that the Employer questions the
majority status of the Teamsters which claims to represent the
,employees involved. We deny the motion to dismiss.
4. The Employer seeks by its petition to merge six garage attendants
heretofore represented by the Teamsters into a larger bargaining unit
represented by Local 125, International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, AFL, hereafter referred to as the Electricians, urging that
the unit claimed by the Teamsters is inappropriate, and that these
employees are properly a part of the larger unit. As an alternate
position, the Employer asks that the Board determine whether a
110 NLRB No. 33.
268 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
majority of the six employees desires the Teamsters as exclusive bar-
gaining representative.
The bargaining history of the six garage attendants as well as of-
other employees at the Employer 's operations begins in 1917. In that
year the Employer and the Electricians entered into contractual rela-
tions covering all employees including garage employees . About 11
years later, the contract between the parties failed to include the
garage employees . At that time , a witness testified , the garage
mechanics joined Local 63, International Association of Machinists.
The garage attendants remained unorganized until 1935 . In 1935,
the mechanics were taken into Local 1005, IAM, and the garage attend-
ants were also taken in as helpers, as that was the only classification
under which the IAM could include them. In late 1935, or early 1936,
Local 255 of the Teamsters was formed and the IAM turned the garage
attendants over to it . From that time until 1952, a joint contract was
negotiated by the IAM and the Teamsters . The Employer offered
testimony that all parties understood that the IAM represented the
mechanics and the Teamsters represented the garage attendants. In
1952, the Teamsters insisted upon a separate contract for the garage
attendants. The IAM representative was present at this hearing, but
stated that he did not wish to intervene.
The Employer's supervisory hierarchy begins with the vice presi-
dent who is in charge of operations and labor relations . Under him
is a general superintendent and his assistant superintendent , the latter
having, it appears, supervision of Employer 's operations within the•
city of Portland with a general division manager having supervision
of all outside divisions and reporting to the vice president. The
Employer's operating divisions are composed of many departments
consisting of steam plants , line crews , transformer room employees,
garage employees , etc. In addition to the operating divisions are the
following departments in the Employer 's organizational structure :
electrical maintenance and construction , customer service department,
sales department , correspondence bureau, the treasury department, the
auditing department , and the public relations department.
The overall employment of the Employer is approximately 1,600;
of this number approximately 1,380 are in the operations division.
There are 470 unrepresented salaried employees , of whom 207 are
representatives of management . The remaining employees belong to
various unions : Building Service Employees , International Union of
Operating Engineers , International Association of Machinists, and
the Electricians . The Electricians represents by far the largest
group-806 employees , including garage attendants outside Portland.
At the Market Street garage in Portland are 17 employees : 10 auto
mechanics represented by the IAM,1 office employee represented by the
Electricians , and the 6 garage attendants in issue here . The garage
GERBER PLASTIC COMPANY 269
superintendent has only these 17 employees under his supervision.
The Employer offered evidence to show that there have been many
transfers from the garage attendant classification to other classifica-
tions represented by the Electricians and the IAM. Job openings in
classifications under the Electricians are posted in the Market Street
garage. The wage scale of the garage attendants here in issue and of
those under the Electricians is the same. Garage attendants are un-
skilled employees, washing, lubricating, and greasing the Employer's
automobiles.
In view of all the facts in this case, the Board finds that the
Employer's Portland, Oregon, garage attendants may appropriately
be a part of the unit represented by the Electricians,' or may consti-
tute a separate unit represented by the Teamsters.
However, we shall make no final unit determination at this time,
but shall first ascertain the desires of the garage attendants as ex-
pressed in the election hereinafter directed. If a majority of the
employees concerned herein vote for the Electricians, they will be
taken to have indicated their desire to become a part of the larger
unit now represented by the Electricians, and the Regional Director
is instructed to issue a certification of results of election to that effect.
On the other hand, if a majority of the employees vote for the Team-
sters, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute
a separate appropriate unit and the Regional Director is instructed to
issue a certification of representatives to the Teamsters for a unit of
garage attendants at the Employer's Portland, Oregon, garage which
the Board under such circumstances finds to be appropriate for the
purpose of collective bargaining.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
MEMBER MURDOCK took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
'If the Electricians does not desire to appear on the ballot for the election directed
herein, it may, upon its prompt request to and approval thereof by the Regional Director,
have its name removed from the ballot.
GERBER PLASTIC COMPANY and UNITED GAS, COKE & CHEMICAL
WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER . Case No. 14-RC-20487.
October 6, 1954
Supplemental Decision and Certification of Results of Election
0
Pursuant to a Decision and Direction of Election issued by the
Board on April 22, 1954,' an election by secret ballot was conducted
on May 7, 1954, under the supervision of the Regional Director for
1 Gerber Plastic Company , 108 NLRB 403.
110 NLRB No. 32.