110 N.L.R.B. 624 (N.L.R.B. 1954)

Pressed Steel Car Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsOct 28, 1954

110 N.L.R.B. 624 (N.L.R.B. 1954)

624 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The Petitioner insists that the operation of the forklift truck properly belongs to the laborers' unit which it represents.3 We do not pass on that question. However, as the pellet machine operator who drives the forklift truck spends the majority of his time perform- ing work functions clearly within the historical operators' unit, we find that he is excluded from the certified unit of laborers.4 [The Board granted the Employer's request for clarification of the unit and accordingly excluded the pellet machine operator from the appropriate unit.] 30n April 27, 1954, the Petitioner filed 8 (a) (5) charges against the Employer in Case No. 14-CA-1189 for unilaterally assigning the forklift truck job to a pellet machine operator. The Regional Director, on May 19, 1954, dismissed the charges on the ground that the Employer had a right to assign the work to this employee 4 See Eastern Iron & Metal Company, 106 NLRB 1261 AXELSON MANUFACTURING CO., DIVISION OF PRESSED STEEL CAR COM- PANY, INC. and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, DIS- TRICT LODGE No. 94, AFL, PETITIONER . Case No. 21-RC-3686. October 28,1954 Decision and Direction of Election Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Arthur Hailey, 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 fords : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. United Steelworkers of America, CIO, moved to intervene on the basis of a showing of interest. The Petitioner opposed the inter- vention on the grounds that the International was fronting for Local Union No. 5042, a noncomplying local union. The local union has a charter and temporary officers, and has held meetings. Moreover, in a recent bulletin the local referred to itself as "functioning." We find that the local is sufficiently in the picture as a labor organization to require that it comply with Sections 9 (f), (g), and (h) of the Act. Accordingly, the Intervenor's appearance on this ballot shall be con- ditioned upon its local achieving compliance within 2 weeks after the issuance of the Decision and Direction of Election.' 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. I Franklin Tanning Company, 104 NLRB 192 , at 194. 110 NLRB No. 92. AXELSON MANUFACTURING CO. 625 4. The parties generally agree that a production and maintenance unit at the Employer's Montebello and Vernon, California, plants is appropriate 2 However, the parties do not agree as to the inclusion of certain categories of employees. The Petitioner and the Intervenor request the inclusion of the pattern storage man, the expediters, the toolroom clerk, the liaison inspectors, and the liaison quality control men. The Employer would exclude these employees. We shall con- sider each of the classifications separately. Pattern storage man: The Board in a previous decision 3 involving the Employer ruled that the pattern storage man should be excluded from the production and maintenance unit upon the grounds that his interests lay with the plant clerical employees, excluded by agreement of the parties from the unit. As the parties are agreed that the same plant clericals should be excluded from the unit in the instant proceed- ing, and as the duties and interests of the pattern storage man do not appear to have changed in the interim, we find no reason for departing from our prior decision in this respect; accordingly, the pattern storage man is excluded from the unit. Expediters: The Employer employs 9 expediters at its 2 plants. These expediters are internal expediters whose duties include follow- ing up of production schedules, compiling order worksheets, following the progress of orders through the plant recording progress of produc- tion items, and seeing that "hot" items are given preference in produc- tion. They spend a substantial portion of their time at clerical work in offices located in the plant area. Since the duties and interests of the expediters lie primarily with the plant clerical employees who are excluded by agreement from the unit, the expediters will also be excluded from the unit. Toolroom clerk: The toolroom clerk is the only clerical employee in the toolroom and spends nearly all of his time in clerical work. We conclude that the toolroom clerk is a plant clerical. We shall, there- fore, exclude him from the unit. Liaison inspector: The main function of the two liaison inspectors i3 to be available to the final inspectors when the latter are unable to make decisions as to the suitability of parts. Unlike the other inspec- tors, the liaison inspectors have direct contact with the engineering de- partment, and take orders from the chief engineer. However, the liai- son inspectors and the inspectors who are included in the unit by agree- ment have the same supervisor who is the chief inspector. Like the other inspectors, the liaison inspectors are hourly rated and are cov- ered by the same job evaluation plan. The interests of these employees 2 The stipulated unit includes , among others , gauge inspectors , gauge inspector repair- men, and quality controlmen ; excluded, among other categories , are various classifica- tions of plant clericals 3 Axeison Manufacturing Co , Division of Pressed Steel Car Company, Inc , 21-RC-2834 (not reported in painted volumes of Board Decisions and Orders). 338207-55-vol. 110-41 626 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD appear to be mainly with the included inspectors. Accordingly, we shall include the liaison inspectors in the unit. Liaison quality control men : The relationship between the liaison quality control men and the quality control men is analogous to that between the liaison inspectors and the inspectors included by stipula- tion of the parties. When the quality control men are in doubt as to the suitability of a particular part, the liaison quality control men are called upon to make the decision. Since the interests of the liaison quality control men are closely related to those of the other quality con- trol men who are included in the unit by.stipulation of the parties, we shall include them'in the unit. Upon the entire record in this case, we find that the following em- ployees of the Employer at its Montebello and Vernon, California, plants constitute .a unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bar- ,gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act:4 All production and maintenance employees including shipping men, -truckdrivers, gauge inspectors, gauge inspector repairmen, receiving clerk, quality control men, all janitors (except those employed exclu- sively in the Vernon office), liaison inspectors, and liaison quality con- trol men, but excluding the timekeeper, shipping room clerical em- ployees, clerk typist-machine shop, chemist, material review inspec- tor-aircraft, instructors, stock record clerk-raw and finished inven- tory clerk, production control clerk, production planner, ozalid clerk, toolcrib clerk, inspection clerk, stock scheduler, metallurgist, statistical clerk, statistical record clerk, field serviceman (properly called assem- bly field serviceman), stock record clerk, pattern storage man, ex- pediters, toolroom clerk, office employees (except the janitor employed exclusively at the Montebello plant), clerical employees, guards, watch- men, professional employees, leadmen (working as well as nonwork- ing), dispatchers, and all other supervisors as defined in the Act. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] 4 Apart from the five disputed categories considered above, the inclusions and exclu- sions listed below are covered by a stipulation of the parties. IRA GROB, INC. and LOCAL 31, FOOD, DISTRICT 65, RETAIL, WHOLESALE AND DEPARTMENT STORE UNION, CIO, PETITIONER. Case No. 2-RC-6842. October 28, 1954 Decision and Direction of Elections Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Arthur Younger, hearing offi- cer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. 110 NLRB No. 94.