Puerto Rico Cement Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 10, 1951

97 N.L.R.B. 382 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

382 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
discharge. Clearly they are supervisors within the meaning of the
Act, and we shall exclude them from the voting group.
We direct that the questions concerning representation which have
arisen be resolved by separate elections by secret ballot among the
employees in the following voting groups :
1. All machinists, machinist apprentices, machinist helpers, and
the tool keepers employed by the Employer at its Charleston, South
Carolina, shipyard, excluding quartermen and leadmen, all other
supervisors, and all other employees.
2. All remaining production and maintenance employees of the Em-
ployer at its Charleston, South Carolina, shipyard, including perma-
nent and temporary laborers 4 and the material control men who are
engaged in manual labor but excluding the material control men who
are engaged in clerical work,5 watchmen, guards, and supervisors as
defined in the Act.
If the employees in group 1 select a bargaining representative dif-
ferent from that selected by the employees in group 2, the Board finds
that they constitute a separate appropriate unit; and if, in these cir-
cumstances, the employees in group 2 also select a bargaining agent,
the Board finds that the employees in group 2 also constitute an ap-
propriate unit. If the employees in the two groups select the same
bargaining agent, the Board finds that together they constitute an ap-
propriate unit. The Regional Director conducting the elections di-
rected herein is instructed to issue a certification of representatives
to the union or unions in the unit or units which may result from the
election. If either group selects no bargaining agent, the Regional
Director shall issue a certificate of results of election to such effect.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]
4 Permanent and temporary laborers do the same sort of work, the former at 10 cents
an hour more pay In addition permanent laborers generally work at the same assign-
ment, but temporary laborers have their work assigned each day. Both classifications work
together and temporary laborers become permanent as they acquire more skill.
5 Excluded because of the clerical character of their work are inside material control
men who spend 85 percent of their time at clerical tasks, of whom the record indicates
there are three or four, and the outside material control man, who spends 75 percent of
his time at such tasks.
PUERTO RICO CEMENT CORPORATION and UNION DE TRABAJADORES DE
LA INDUSTRIA DEL CEMENTO DE PUERTO Rico ( IND.), PETITIONER.
Case No. 24-RC--18.December 10,1951
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 Philip Licari, hearing
97 NLRB No. 66.
PUERTO RICO CEMENT CORPORATION 383
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from
prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-mem-
ber panel [Members Houston, Reynolds, and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees 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.'
4. The appropriate unit :
We find, in accord with substantial agreement of the parties,2
that all production and maintenance employees at the Employer's
operations in Barrio Sabana; Guaynabo, P. R., excluding office and
clerical employees, professional employees, laboratory employees,
guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
5. The Petitioner contends, contrary to the Intervenor, that workers
designated by the Employer as temporary employees are ineligible
to vote.
There are about 165 permanent employees and 100 to 110 temporary
employees at the Employer's plant. The temporary employees do not
share in the benefits granted in the contract between the Employer
and the Petitioner, wear different colored badges, are listed sepa-
rately on the payroll, and are generally told the expected duration of
their employment at the time of hire. However, they perform the
' At the hearing , the Petitioner moved to withdraw its petition on the grounds that (1)
it was misled by its then attorney as to the necessity for filing the petition ; and (2) its
existing contract with the Employer , which extends to December 31, 1952, is a bar. As
to (1), the Intervenor , Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Industria del Cemento , has estab-
lished its right to intervene by an adequate showing of interest and opposes the Petitioner's
motion to withdraw . Under these circumstances , the Petitioner 's alleged misapprehension
does not warrant the Board ' s permitting the withdrawal of the petition . Cf. Frank
Foundries Corporation, 92 NLRB 1754 ; Monticello Charm Tred Mills, Incorporated, 80
NLRB 379. With respect to ( 2), the Petitioner itself raised the question concerning
representation by filing the instant petition and, therefore , apart from otper considerations,
its contract covering the employees involved cannot serve as a bar. Western Equipment
Company, 96 NLRB 1211 . Accordingly , the Petitioner 's motion to withdraw its petition
is hereby denied. However , either participant in the election hereinafter directed may,
upon its prompt request to , and approval thereof by , the Regional Director, have its name
removed from the ballot.
2 The parties are in disagreement as to whether certain individuals classified as tem-
porary employees should be included in the unit . However, our unit finding is based upon
functionally related occupational categories and all employees working at jobs within the
unit . are necessarily included and entitled to representation irrespective of the tenure of
their employment The separate issue of the voting eligibility of such employees will be
discussed in paragraph numbered 5, infra.
384 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
same type of functions and have the same hours of work and super-
vision as the permanent employees. They also are paid wages com-
parable to those received by some of the permanent employees and,
like the permanent employees, are given a Christmas bonus each year 3
The record further shows that most of the temporary employees
currently employed, on a date approximately 2 months before the
hearing had worked for the Employer intermittently during the last
4 years; 4 that, within this period, they were employed for periods
up to 22 months and had been recalled for work as many as 10 times ;
and that the current employment of many of these temporary em-
ployees had extended for 8 months or more. Moreover, the Employer's
general administrator testified that an attempt is made first to recall
employees who have previously worked for the Employer and that,
when vacancies occur or new jobs are created in the permanent classifi-
cation, preference in filling these jobs is given to the temporary
employees.
Under all the circumstances, we find that the temporary employees
have a substantial interest in the employment conditions at the
Employer's plant and are, therefore, eligible to vote.5
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
8 The permanent employees receive a bonus guaranteed by contract while the tem-
porary employees receive an amount decided by special action of the Employer 's board of
directors.
4 Some temporary employees had worked for the Employer intermittently for over 12
years.
5 The Welch Grape Juice Company, 96 NLRB 214. Cf. Taunton Pearl Works , 89 NLRB
1382.
THE OCALA STAR BANNER and INTERNATIONAL PRINTING PRESSMEN &
ASSISTANTS ' UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER.
Case No. 10-RC-1365. December 10, 1951
Order Directing Regional Director to Open and Count
Challenged Ballot
Pursuant to a Decision and Direction of Election' of the Board,
an election by secret ballot was conducted on August 17, 1951, under
the direction of the Regional Director for the Region in which this
case was heard, among the employees of the Employer in the unit
found to be appropriate. At the close of the election, the parties were
furnished a tally of ballots. The tally showed that there were three
ballots cast, of which one was for the Petitioner and two were chal-
lenged by the Employer. As the challenged ballots were sufficient to
195 NLRB 569.
97 NLRB No. 57.