R. L. Polk & Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 14, 1959

123 N.L.R.B. 1171 (N.L.R.B. 1959)

R. L. POLK & COMPANY 1171
not have sufficient impact on interstate commerce to warrant our
assertion of jurisdiction at this time. Since we find that it will not
presently effectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction, we
shall dismiss the instant petition.
[The Board dismissed the petition.]
MEMBER RODGERS took no part in the consideration of the above.
Decision and Order.
R. L. Polk & Company and Office Employees International Union,.
AFL-CIO , Petitioner. Case No. 9-RC-3561. May 14, 1959
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 Clifford L. Hardy , hearing
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-
member panel [Members Rodgers , Bean, and Fanning].
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 organization involved claims to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. The Employer, relying upon Section 9(c) (3) of the Act, urges
that the Board should dismiss the petition herein which was filed
less than 12 months after the Board, on February 3, 1959 , certified the
results of an election held October 20, 1957,' contending that it is
entitled to a 1-year "cooling off" period from the date of the final
Board determination of the previous election . We have previously
held, contrary to the contention of the Employer , that the 12-month
limitation period of Section 9 ( c) (3) begins to run from the date of
balloting in the preceding election , rather than from the date of
certification? Accordingly, we find no merit in the Employer's posi-
tion and deny its motion to dismiss.
We find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of certain employees of the Employer , within the
meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks to represent a plantwide unit at the Em-
ployer's plant , located at 400 Pike Street , Cincinnati , Ohio. The.
' R. L. Polk and Company, 118 NLRB 1454, in which,the Union was not successful.
z Kolcast Industries , Inc., 117 NLRB 418; Mallinckrodt Chemical Works , 84 NLRB 291.
12.9 NLRB No. 1.99.
1172 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
majority of the employees within the proposed unit perform the
varied clerical operations necessary to the compilation and publish-
ing of the national automobile owners' list, produced by the Em-
ployer. Although there is no disagreement as to the appropriateness
of this unit, the Employer, contrary to the contention of the Peti-
tioner, would exclude the systems and procedures analysts, pro-
grammers, tabulating technicians, tabulating setup men and console
operators, asserting that the analysts are managerial employees and
that the other disputed classifications are, among other things, tech-
nical employees. There is no history of bargaining in the Pike Street
plant.
The Employer is engaged in the business of direct mail advertising,
sales and market analyses, compilation of mailing lists, and publish-
ing of city directories, maintaining its principal office in Detroit,
Michigan, and branches in various cities. At the Cincinnati plant in-
volved herein, the Employer maintains a motor list division and a
motor statistical division, which compile statistical lists, some of
which are supplied to other branches of the Employer, and the re-
mainder is sold to other corporations. The work of the disputed
employees, whose classifications are new and were not in existence at
the time of the prior Board proceeding, is directly related to the
functions of those two divisions. We shall now consider the question
of their unit placement.
Systems and procedures analysts : These employees are responsi-
ble for establishing and effectuating various types of clerical systems
in the area of the motor list division where the manually operated
machines are located. They formerly held positions of department
heads but were recently advanced to their present classification.
They primarily are engaged in planning and perform no production
work. The analysts report directly to either the production manager
or to the manager of the motor list division, and are assigned secre-
taries to handle their clerical work. Their rate of pay exceeds that
of the other employees in the unit, and their other employee benefits
likewise are different. As the systems and procedures analysts appear
to be closely allied with management, we find that they lack a suf-
ficient community of interest with the other employees and shall ex-
clude them.
Programmers: The primary duties of these employees consist of
research, design, development, and analysis of various systems of
data processing utilizing electronic equipment. Their work is prin-
cipally conceptual in character requiring the exercise of independent
judgment. The Employer requires that these employees have a col-
lege education or its equivalent, and before they are hired, they must
R. L. POLK & COMPANY 1173
successfully pass Employer tests relating to aspects of chemistry,
physics, electricity, and mathematics. Once employed, they receive
additional specialized training at IBM schools. As it is clear that
the programmers' work requires a high degree of technical knowl-
edge and skill, we find that they are technical employees,3 and as one
party objects to their inclusion in the unit, we shall adhere to Board
policy and exclude them.'
Tabulating technicians: These employees are responsible for plan-
ning specific production processes and translating them into proper
mechanical procedures so as to produce a desired result. They must
not only be familiar with the operation of various types of IBM
equipment and have a working knowledge of the Employer's overall
operation, but also must be able to wire control panels. Their work
is not of a routine repetitive nature but rather one requiring the
exercise of independent judgment. They are required to have edu-
cational backgrounds and IBM training comparable to those of the
programmers. Accordingly, we find that the tabulating technicians
are technical employees, and shall exclude them.'
Tabulating setup men: These employees perform substantially the
same functions as the tabulating technicians. Although they do not
have the broad knowledge, and high degree of skill and training of
the tabulating technicians, they are considered by the Employer as
apprentices who will eventually progress to the latter classification.
Because of the technical nature of their employment and their close
working relationship with the tabulating technicians, we find that
the tabulating setup men likewise are technical employees and accord-
ingly exclude them from the unit.6
Console operators: The duties of these employees are to set up and
operate the electronic computer and handle all data that passes
through it. They are expected to perform routine changes in the
wiring of the computer. The console operators, together with
programmers, tabulating technicians, and tabulating setup men form
a homogeneous group known as the data processing employees. The
method of compensation and employee benefits of this group differ
in varying degrees from those of the regular production employees.
Employees within this group, as contrasted with the production
employees, plan the manner in which the plant work is to be accom-
plished rather than actually perform the work themselves. Although
3 Cf. Ethyl Corporation, 118 NLRB 1369.
s Westinghouse Electric Corporation , 118 NLRB 1043, 1047.
5 Kearney & Trecker Corporation , 121 NLRB 817.
6 Cf. Waldorf Instrument Company, 122 NLRB 803, where junior draftsmen , because
of 'their similar educational backgrounds and close working relationships with the more
experienced draftsmen , and their eventual progression to draftsmen positions, were
excluded as technical employees.
1174 DECISIONS OF, NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
there is an insufficient basis in the record justifying a finding that
the console operators are technical employees, it is clear that their
interests and working conditions are more closely allied with those
of the other classifications within the data processing group heretofore
excluded than with those of the production employees. We there-
fore shall exclude the console operators.'
Accordingly, we find that the following employees constitute a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act:
All employees at the Employer's 400 Pike Street, Cincinnati, Ohio,
plant, excluding systems and procedures analysts, programmers,
tabulating technicians, tabulating setup men, console operators, home
workers, general office employees, professional and confidential em-
ployees, guards, and all supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
7In the alternative , the Petitioner requests that an election be directed in a separate
unit composed of the employees within the data processing group, in the event they are
excluded from the unit primarily requested . As the Petitioner has obtained no showing
of interest among these employees , we, apart from other considerations , deny its alternate
request. As the tabulating technician and the tabulating setup man assigned to the motor
list division perform the same duties as the employees within the data processing group
excluded as technical employees , we also find that they are not entitled to separate
representation apart from the data processing group employees.
John Liber & Company and The Liber Association (Independ-
ent), Petitioner . Case No. 8-RC-3366. May 14, 1959
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 John Kollar, hearing of-
ficer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from
prejudicial error and are hereby a.ffirlned.'
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-member
.panel [Chairman Leedom and Members Bean and Fanning].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
1 General Truck Drivers Local Union , Local No . 92, herein called the Intervenor, con-
tends that the hearing officer erred in refusing to allow it to elicit evidence that the
Petitioner was Employer -dominated . As it is well established that a contention alleging
domination of a labor organization by an employer is not properly litigable in a repre-
sentation proceeding , the hearing officer's ruling is affirmed. Bi -States Company, 117
NLRB 86.
123 NLRB No. 144.