Reliance Regulator Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 28, 1941

32 N.L.R.B. 157 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of RELIANCE REGULATOR CORPORATION and METAL TRADES
COUNCIL OF Los ANGELES AND VICINITY
Case No. R4500.-Decided May 28, 1941
Jurisdiction : gray iron castings manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : re-
fusal to accord union recognition until it is certified by the Board ; labor
organization which did not appear at hearing accorded place on ballot with
permission to withdraw its name upon request where report of Regional
Director showed that it represents a substantial number of employees ; election
necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance
employees, including working foremen but excluding clerical employees and
supervisory officials.
Mr. Richard A. Perkins, for the Board.
M. A. C. Thompson, of Alhambra, Calif., for the Company.
Mr. James G. Russell, of Los Angeles, Calif., for the Council and
the I. A. M.
Mr. Robert Black and Mr. E. A. Bird, of Los Angeles, Calif., for
Local No. 374.
Mr. Frederic B. Parkes, 2nd, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On February 7, 1941, Metal Trades Council of Los Angeles and
Vicinity, herein called the Council, filed with the Regional Director
for the Twenty-first Region (Los Angeles, California) a petition
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning
the representation of employees of Reliance Regulator Corporation,
Alhambra, California, herein called the Company, and requesting
an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Sec-
tion 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein
called the Act. On April 18, 1941, the National Labor Relations
Board herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of
the Act, and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation
32 N. L. R. B., No. 34.
157
158 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide
for an appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On April 18, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the Council,
International Association of Machinists, Lodge 311, A. F. L., a mem-
ber of the Council and herein called the I. A. M., International Mold-
ers and Foundry Workers of North America, Local 374, AFL,
also a member of the Council and herein called Local 374, and United
Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America, Local 1421,
C. I. 0., herein called Local 1421, a labor organization claiming to
represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant
to notice, a hearing was held on April 28, 1941, at Los Angeles, Cal-
ifornia, before Thomas H. Kennedy, the Trial Examiner duly desig-
nated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Board, the Company, the
Council, the I. A. M., and Local 374 were represented by counsel or
official representatives and participated in the hearing. Full oppor-
tunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to
introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties.
Local 1421 did not appear at the hearing. During the course of the
hearing the Trial Examiner made various rulings on motions and on
objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed
the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors
were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. On May 7, 1941,
the parties entered into a stipulation for correction of the record,
which is hereby made a part of the record.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BnSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Reliance Regulator Corporation, a California corporation and a
subsidiary of the American Meter Company, is engaged in the manu-
facture of gas regulators and gray iron castings at Alhambra, Cali-
fornia. During the year 1940, it purchased between $150,000 and
$200,000 worth of raw materials consisting chiefly of pig iron, coke,
leather, and sand, nearly all of which were shipped to it from points
outside the State of California. During the same period its total
sales were valued at approximately $650,000, of which 20 per cent
were shipped to points outside the State of California. The Company
employs between 190 and 215 persons.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED.
Metal Trades Council of Los Angeles and Vicinity is a labor organi-
zation affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called
RELIANCE REGULATOR CORPORATION 159
the A. F. of L. It is composed of A. F. of L. unions having juris-
diction over employees in the metal trades industry in Los Angeles
and vicinity. Included among its affiliates are International Associa-
tion of Machinists, A. F. L., Lodge 311 and International Molders
and Foundry Workers Union, Local No. 374, both of which are labor
organizations affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, ad-
mitting employees of the Company to membership.
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, Local
1421 is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial
Organizations, admitting employees of the Company to membership.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Council requested the Company to recognize it as the exclusive
bargaining representative for the Company's production and main-
tenance employees. The Company refused to grant such recognition
until the Council had been certified by the Board. A statement of
the Regional Director, introduced in evidence at the hearing, shows
that both the Council and Local 1421 represent a substantial number
of employees in the unit found below to be appropriate.'
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation
of employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the, several States and
tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Council contends that all production and maintenance em-
ployees, including working foremen, but excluding clerical employees
and supervisory officials who have the power to hire and discharge,
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing. The Company would exclude working foremen as well as the
other employees whom the Council desires to exclude.
I The Council filed with the Regional Director 49 I A M authorization cards and 83 dues
payments cards, of Local No 374 , dated between January and Febiuary 1941 The Re-
gional Director found the signatures of all 132 cards to be genuine , 130 being the names of
persons on the Company 's pay roll of January 6, 1941. There are approximately 205
employees within the unit found below to be appropriate.
Local No. 1421 filed 91 application cards, dated between June 1940 and March 1941, with
the Regional Director who found the signatures of 90 to be genuine, 68 being the names of
persons on the Company's pay roll of January 6, 1941.
160 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Company's operations are divided between the foundry depart-
ment and the machine-shop department. Local 374 has organized
the employees in the foundry department and the I. A. M. has or-
ganized the machine-shop workers. There is no jurisdictional con-
flict between the two unions and both agree that the Council shall
be the collective bargaining representative for the employees in negoti-
ations with the Company.
The Company claims that working foremen should be excluded
from the appropriate unit for the reason that they have the power
to recommend the discharge of employees. The Council, however,
desires their inclusion. It appears that they work along side the
employees under their supervision and that their recommendations to
discharge must be ratified by foremen. We shall include them in
the unit.'
We find that all production and maintenance employees, including
working foremen but excluding clerical employees and supervisory
officials who have the power to hire and discharge, constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that said
unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of
their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and other-
wise effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Council desires to be certified on the basis of evidence intro-
duced at the hearing.3 We are of the opinion, however, that the
question which has arisen concerning representation can best be re-
solved by, and we shall accordingly direct, an election by secret ballot.
At the hearing the Council requested that if the Board ordered an
election, the designation of Local No. 1421 be omitted from the ballot
on the ground that by reason of default at the hearing, Local No. 1421
has automatically excluded itself from any place on the ballot. The
report of the Regional Director ,4 however, showed that Local No.
1421 represents a substantial number of the employees of the Com-
pany. We shall direct that Local No. 1421 be designated on the
ballot, but we shall permit Local No. 1421 to withdraw from the
2 See Matter of Willys Overland Motors, Inc. and International Union, United Automobile
Workers of America, Local No. 12, 9 N. L . R. B 924; Matter of Kawneer Company and
],coal 92, United Automobile Workers of America , 22 N. L. R B. 995.
2 At the hearing , both the I. A. M. and Local 374 presented all their membership cards.
A list of the names of the members in each union was made and introduced into evidence.
The I A. M. produced 79 cards at the hearing , but the list introduced in evidence totaled
only 67 names, of which 60 were on the Company 's pay roll of March 6, 1941 . Local 374
presented 123 cards at the hearing ; the list introduced in evidence contained 123 names, of
which 101 were on the Company's pay roll of March 6, 1941, introduced in evidence.
4 See footnote 1, supra.
RELIANCE REGULATOR CORPORATION 161
ballot upon filing a request with the Regional Director within five
(5) days after the date of this Decision and Direction of Election.
In the event that the Board ordered an election, the Company and
the Council requested that the pay roll of March 6, 1941, introduced
into evidence at the hearing, be used for the purposes of determining
eligibility to vote. We find no reason, however, to depart from our
usual practice. Accordingly, we shall direct that the employees of
the Company eligible to vote in the election shall be those in the
appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period im-
mediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, sub-
ject to such limitations and additions as are set forth in the Direction.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAw
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Reliance Regulator Corporation, Alhambra,
California, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6)
and (7) of the Act.
2. All production and maintenance employees of the Company,
including working foremen but excluding clerical employees and su-
pervisory officials who have the power to hire and discharge, con-
stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining,
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
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 Rela-
tions Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of
National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2,
as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing with Reliance Regulator Corporation, Alhambra, California; an
election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but
not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under
the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Twenty-
first Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor
Relations Board; and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules
and Regulations, among all production and maintenance employees
of the Company, who were employed during the pay-roll period im-
mediately preceding the date of this Direction, including working
foremen and employees who did not work during such pay-roll period
162 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
because they were ill or on vacation or in the active military service
or training of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but exclud-
ing clerical employees and supervisory officials who have the power to
hire and discharge, and employees who have since quit or been dis-
charged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented
for the purposes of collective bargaining, by Metal Trades Council
of Los Angeles and Vicinity, affiliated with the American Federation
of Labor, or by United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers
of America, Local 1421, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial
Organizations, or by neither.