Pressed Steel Car Co, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 9, 1944

56 N.L.R.B. 393 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter Of PRESSED STEEL CAR COMPANY, INCORPORATED, ARMOR
TANK DIVISION and UNITED CONSTRUCTION WORKERS, AFFILIATED
WITH UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA
Case No. 13-R-0090.Decided May 9, 1944
Messrs. James C. Brown and A. J. Kuhn, of Chicago, Ill., for' the
Company.
Messrs. Frank Barnhart and Walter M. Brock, of Hammond, Ill.,
and Messrs. H. C. Howell, William Andersen and Edwin A. Bresnahan,
of Chicago, Ill., for UCW-UMW.
Meyers & Meyers, by Mr. Ben Meyers, of Chicago, Ill., for UAW.
Mr. Joseph E. Cub bins, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
y STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by United Construction Workers, affiliated
with United Mine Workers of America, herein called the UCW-UMW,
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of Pressed Steel Car Company, Incorpo-
rated, Armor Tank Division, Chicago, Illinois, herein called the
Company,' the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appro-
priate hearing upon due notice before Francis X. Helgesen, Trial
Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chicago, Illinois, on March 31
and April 1, 1944. The Company, the UCW-UMW, and International
Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement
Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. O., herein called the
UAW, 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 hearing, the Trial Examiner
reserved ruling upon the motion of the UAW to dismiss the petition
on the ground that the UCW-UMW did not show that it represented
a sufficiently substantial number of employees in the alleged appro-
priate unit to raise a question concerning representation. For reasons
I The name of the Company appears herein as amended at the hearing.
56 N. L. R. B., No. 78.
393
I
394 , DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
hereinafter stated, the motion is hereby 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.
Upon the entire record in the case; the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS, OF THE COMPANY
Pressed Steel Car Company, Incorporated, is a Pennsylvania cor-
poration with its principal office located at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
authorized to transact business in the State of Illinois. Armor Tank
Division, the sole operation of the Company involved herein, is located
at Hegewisch, Illinois, and is engaged in the manufacture of tanks and
other war materials. During the year 1943, the Company purchased
for use at its Armor Tank Division raw materials of a value in excess
of $1,000,000, of which approximately 75 percent was purchased from
sources outside the State of Illinois. During the same period, net sales
of the Comptiny at the Armor Tank Division were in excess of $1,000,-
000, of which 90 percent represented the value of products shipped to
points outside the State of Illinois.
The Company concedes that, with respect to its operations at the
Armor Tank Division, it is engaged in commerce within the meaning
of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS-INVOLVED
United Construction Workers, is a labor organization affiliated with
the United Mine-Workers of America, admitting to membership'em-
ployees of the Company.
International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural
Implement Workers of America, is a labor organization affiliated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations,, admitting to- membership
employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION '
On January 19, 1944; the UCW-UMW notified the Company by
letter that it represented many of the Company's employees and that
it planned to file with the Board a petition for an investigation and
certification of representatives. The Company failed to reply to the
letter. The Company takes the position that at the time it could not
recognize the UCW-UMW as the bargaining representative of its
employees because of a contract it had with the UAW covering the
employees sought to be represented by the UCW-UMW.
PRESSED STEEL CAR COMPANY, INCORPORATED 395
The contract was an exclusive recognition agreement dated June 24,
1943, effective for a period of 1 year from March 1, 1943, subject to
automatic renewal in the event that neither party gave notice of a
desire to terminate or modify it 30 days prior to its expiration date. It
also contained a maintenance of membership provision. Timely notice
having been given by the UAW to the Company, the contract expired
by its terms on March 1,'1944. Neither the Company nor the UAW
contends that the contract is a bar to the present proceeding. However,
the UAW urges that the showing of representation made by the UCW-
UMW 2 is not sufficient to raise a question concerning representation
,of the Company's employees.
Despite the UAW's position, we are of the opinion and find.that the
-UCW-UMW has made a sufficient showing of representation of em-
ployees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate, particularly in
view of the maintenance of membership clause in the recent contract
between the Company and the UAW .3
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
In its petition the UCW-UMW requested. a ,'unit comprised of all
Armor Tank Division production and maintenance employees, not on
a salaried basis, including hourly paid subforemen, and excluding office
and clerical employees, guards, and supervisory employees.4 At the
hearing,-the' UCW-UMW was apprised of the fact that the Com-
pany employs about 40 assistant foremen, some hourly paid, and others
compensated on a salaried basis. The UCW-UMW then indicated
that it -desired to include the hourly paid assistant foremen. The
Company and the UAW agree that the unit set forth in the petition
is appropriate, but they contend that hourly paid assistant foremen
should not be included for the reason that they are supervisory em-
ployees.
The record shows that a number of, employees, who are leaders,
are designated as subforemen on the Company's pay roll for the sole
purpose of permitting them to enjoy certain insurance benefits. The
2A combination of reports made by the Field Examiner and the , Trial Examiner shows
that the UCW-UMW submitted 951 authorization cards bearing names of persons whose
names appear on the Company 's pay roll of January 23, 1944 The cards are dated as fol-
lows : 132 in 1943; 395 in 1944; and 424 undated. There are approximately 3,142 em-
ployees in the unit alleged by the UCW -UMW to be appropriate.
F 2 The UAW did not produce any evidence of representation but relied upon its contract
as evidence of its interest in tile . proceeding . See Matter of Sayler Finishing Plants, Ino.,
49 N. L. R. B. 532.
This is substantially the same unit found to be appropriate by the Board in a prior
proceeding ( 46 N L . R. B. 262 ) involving the same parties.
396 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
record further shows that these leaders do not fall within our usual
definition of supervisory employees. Since the parties have agreed
to include these employees, we shall place them within the unit.
With regard to the assistant foremen, the undisputed testimony of
the Company's superintendent of labor relations reveals that they
perform no duties involving manual work, that they have from 3 to 30
employees under their supervision, that they can discipline such
employees; and that their recommendations with respect to these em-
ployees are sufficiently effective to cause changes in their working sta-
tus. We find that" all assistant foremen, salaried and hourly paid,
are supervisory employees, and as such, we shall exclude them from
the unit. We shall also exclude delivery chauffeurs, inasmuch as all
parties agreed to the exclusion of such employees.
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Com-
pany at its Armor Tank Division, not on a salaried basis, including
hourly .paid subforemen or leaders, but excluding office and clerical
employees, guards, delivery chauffeurs, hourly paid and salaried as-
sistant foremen, and all other supervisory employees who have author-
ity to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes
in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, con-
stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining,
within the meaning of, Section 9 (b) of the Act. -
1
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 payroll
period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election
herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direc-
tion.5
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 Rela-
tions 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 Pressed Steel Car
Company, Incorporated,, Armor Tank Division. Chicago, Illinois,
an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but
5 The UCW-UMW requested that it be-designated upon the ballot as "Local 237, U. C W',
affiliated with the U. M W. of A.," and the UAW requested that it be designated upon the
ballot as "Local 166, UAWCIO." Both requests are hereby granted
PRESSED 'STEEL CAR COMPANY,' INCORPORATED 397
not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under
the direction and supervision of the , Regional Director for the Thir-
teenth 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 Re' lations, 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 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 repre-
sented by Local 237, U. C.• W., affiliated with U. Al. W. of A., or by
Local 166 , UAW-CIO, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or
by neither. - -