Remington-Rand, Inc.Download PDFNational Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsMay 4, 194456 N.L.R.B. 251 (N.L.R.B. 1944) Copy Citation In the Matter Of REMINGTON-RAND, INC., SANGAMON ORDNANCE PLANT and LOCAL 193, INTERNAT1ONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORK- ERS,-A. F. OF L. In the Matter Of REMINGTON-RAND , INC., SANGAMON ORDNANCE PLANT and UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL 16 , A. F. of L. Cases Nos. 13-R-2 74 and 13 R-2300, respectively .-Decided May 4, 1944 Messrs. V. E. Logan and C. S. Miller, of Illiopolis , Ill., for the Company. Messrs: A. F . Wright and Thomas Wilman, of Springfield , Ill., for the I . B. E. W. ' Mr. Harold F. Oheesman , of Alton , Ill., and Mr. J. Earl Welch, of Springfield , Ill., for the Carpenters. " Mrs. Platomia P. Kaldes, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petitions duly filed by Local 193, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, A. F. of L., herein called the I. B. E. W., and United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 16, A. F. of L., herein called the Carpenters, each alleging that a ques- tion affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Remington-Rand, Inc., Sangamon Ordnance Plant, Illi- opolis, Illinois, herein called the Company, the National Labor Rela- tions Board consolidated the cases and provided for an appropriate hearing upowdue notice before Jack G:,Evans, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Springfield, Illinois, on March 13, 1944. The Company, the I. B. E. W., and the Carpenters appeared and partici- pated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to ex- amine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. 'During the course of the hearing, the Company moved to dismiss the petitions on the ground that the Board lacks jurisdic- 56 N: L. R. B., No. 51. 251 252 - DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD tion. The motion was referred to the Board. For the reasons here- inafter set forth, the motion is denied. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded an 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 The Company is a Delaware corporation which, in addition to op- erating 10 or 12 plants it privately owns, operates 2 plants owned by the United States Government. One of the latter group, the Sanga- mon Ordnance Plant, located at Illiopolis, Illinois, is involved in this proceeding. At the Sangamon Ordnance Plant, the Company is engaged in as- sembling and loading various types of ammunition owned by the United States Government. The annual output of\ ammunition as- sembled and loaded by the Company is estimated to have a value of between $300,000,000 and $400,000,000. Almost all of this annual output is transported to points outside the State of Illinois. In the course of its operation of the Sangamon Ordnance Plant, the Company purchases approximately $1,000,000 of shipping boxes an- nually, more than 50 percent of which is transported to the Sanga- mon Ordnance Plant from points outside the State of Illinois., Despite the Company's contention to the contrary, we find that it 'is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act.' H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Local 193, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, af- filiated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organiza- tion admitting to membership employees of the Company. United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 16, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor or- ganization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to either the I. B. E. W. or the Carpenters as the exclusive bargaining representative of employees in the unit which each alleges to be appropriate. ^ These shipping boxes are part of the maintenance, materials which, unlike the com- ponent parts of the ammunition shipped directly to the Company by the Government, are ordered by the Company. The orders for such maintenance materials are, however, subject to Government acceptance. 2 See N. L. R. B. V. Fatinblett, 306 U. S. 601; Matter of United States Cartridge Coin- pany, 42 N. L. R. B. 191, 193. 1 REMINGTON-RAND, INC. ' 253 A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicates that the I. B. E. W. and the Carpenters each Represents a substantial number of employees in the units hereinafter found appropriate.3 We find that questions affecting commerce have 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 UNITS A. Case No. 13-R-2274 The I. B. E. W. seeks a unit composed of all electricians, electricians' helpers and apprentices employed on inside and outside maintenance work, including electricians employed on refrigeration and the sub- foremen of all such electricians, but excluding all other employees. The electricians, electricians' helpers and the apprentices engaged in inside and outside maintenance work are employed in the Elec- trical Section of the Plant Maintenance Division 4 The electricians employed on refrigeration work are part of the Stationary Utility Section of the Plant Maintenance Division. They are all highly skilled employees who comprise a well defined and well established craft. - The Company agrees that these employees constitute an appropriate bargaining unit; although it would exclude subfor`emen because it deems them to be supervisors. The record indicates that subforemen perform the customary duties of the job classifications to which they are assigned, and in addition, oversee the work of employees in the section, relay the orders of the general foremen with respect to the work, and direct the performance of the work. They have no author- ity to hire, discharge, promote, discipline, effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action. While they, re- ceive 10 cents an hour more than do the electricians, their interests, skills, and working conditions are similar to those, of electricians. I 3 The Field Examiner repotted that the I B. E. W. submitted 55 authorization cards all ,of which bore apparently genuine original signatures , that the names of all persons appear- ing on the cards were listed on the'Company 's pay roll of January 29,- 1944 ; that the said pay roll contained the names of 55 employees in the unit requested by the I . B E. W ; and that the cards were all dated in January and February 1944. - The Field Examiner also reported that the Carpenters submitted 54 authorization cards, all of which bore apparently genuine original signatures ; that the names of all persons appearing on the cards were contained in the aforesaid pay roll; that the said pay roll contained the names of 114 employees in the unit requested by the Carpenters, and that the cards were all dated in January and February 1944. 4 The Sangamon Ordnance Plant is divided into a number of major divisions , namely, Personnel, Accounting, Production, Production Engineering, Quality Control, Plant,Pro- tection, and Plant Maintenance . Each division is, in turn , divided into departments, sec- tions, and subsections . The Plant Maintenance Division 's, several sections or departments conform substantially to the usual craft lines. 254 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD We shall, accordingly, include them in the unit, hereinafter found appropriate. We-find that all electricians, electricians' helpers and apprentices em- ployed on inside and outside maintenance work, including electricians employed on refrigeration, and the subforemen of electricians, engaged in the Electrical and Stationary Utility Sections'of the •Plant,Main- .tenance Division of the Company's Sangamon Ordnance Plant,' but excluding all supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of em- ployees, or effectively recommend such action, and all other employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. B., Case No. 13-R-300 The Carpenters seeks a unit composed of all carpenters, carpenter helpers, millwrights, millwright helpers (if any), millwright- welders .("if any), dunnage workers who operate woodworking machinery or use other carpenters' tools, including subforemen of all these employees, but excluding all other employees. The carpenters and carpenter helpers, approximately 46 in num- ber, are employed in theWoodworker Section of the Plant Mainte- nance Division.6 They all,perform work requiring a high degree of skill and all are members of a well established craft. About 10 'or 12 of the carpenters work,in the woodworker slop and operate power saws,'joiners, planers, and other similar machines. They do general maintenance work such as saw filing and tool sharpening. The other 35 employees, 29 of whom are carpenters and 6 of whom are carpenter helpers, work outside the shop and perform various maintenance tasks throughout the plant, erect forms for construction, and do other Simi-' lar, jobs. Occasionally the carpenters in the woodworker shop are assigned to carpenter ivbrk outside the shop. Carpenters receive $1.30 per hour, and carpenter helpers, 90 cents per hour. The Company agrees that carpenters and carpenter helpers consti- tute an appropriate unit. It contends, however, that the skills, interest, and working conditions of millwrights are dissimilar to those of- the carpenters and that it "would seem more proper' to include millwrights in a bargaining unit with other employees located in the same department as 'millwrights. It further contends that. the dun- nage men perform work which requires no particular skill, that they 5Theie did not, appear to be any employees employed as "millwright helpers" or "mill- wright welders" at the time of the hearing. • However, since the Company has such job classifications, the Union desired that they be included in the unit with the-words "if any-" added to the description. 6 There are eight painters and two truck drivers also employed in the section. None of the parties desires their inclusion in the unit. REMINGTON-RAND, INC. 255 work in a separate division of the plant than do carpenters and mill- wrights, that there is no evidence that any of the dunnage men sought to be represented by the Carpenters, and that they should conse- quently be excluded from the unit. In,addition, it asserts that the subforemen of all employees here involved are supervisory employees and should, in any event, be excluded. - The millwrights, approximately 41 in number, are employed in,the General Maintenance Section 7 of the Plant Maintenance Division. Like the carpenters who work outside the woodworker shop, the mill- wrights do not work permanently in one location, but work through- out the plant. They are. engaged generally in moving, setting, inc stalling, and repairing all classes of machinery including the machin- ery in the woodworker shop. In the performance of their tasks, they assemble and -erect rigs, both metal and wood with which heavy machinery is moved, and make cribs and blocks for such lifting; they use hand tools such as hammers, wrenches, crowbars, bevels, hacksaws, and chisels, many of which are the same type as those tools used by carpenters. They receive $1.25 per hour. Although millwrights are assigned to work in the same section as machinists, plumbers, steamfitters, sheet-metal workers, and welders, the record establishes' that there is no interchange of functions between the various types of employees in this section, that the skill of mill- wrights is separate and distinct from that of the other employees in the same section, and that, unlike the millwrights,, the other em- ployees in the General Maintenance Section generally work in a permanent location." The record, moreover, establishes that the mill- wrights seek to be represented by the carpenters,9 and that the Car- penters has jurisdiction over millwrights in the geographical area in which the Sangamon plant is located. There is no showing that any labor organization other than the Carpenters seeks to represent the millwrights. Under the circumstances, we are of the opinion that the millwrights should be included in the unit. There are six subforemen of carpenters and five subforemen of mill- wrights. One of the subforemen of the millwrights has duties which differ substantially from those of the other subforemen here in ques- tion; and, for the sake of clarity we shall refer, to him herein as the "principal subforeman of millwrights." The subforemen of carpen- ters and millwrights hay; e duties in all respects similar to those of the 7 This section is broken down into many subsections of millwrights , maintenance ma- chunsts, plumbers, steanifitters, sheet-metal workers, and welders For example, machinists Nzork in a machine shop and welders in a welding shop, although very infrequently a welder may be assigned to work along with a crew of mill- wrights 9 Of the cards submitted by the Carpenters 'to the Board's Field Examiner, 31 were for millwrights and 3 for millwright subforemen There are approximately 36 nullwrights and 5 subforemen of millwrights ( including the."principal subfoceman of millwrights") 1 1 256 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD subforemen of electricians. While they_receive 10 cents per,hour more than do the employees whose work they oversee, the record establishes that their interests, skills, and working conditions are similar to those of the employees under them and that they have no authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, effect changes in the status of employees, of effectively recommend such action. Accordingly, we shall include the subforemen ofecarpenters and millwrights in the unit. We agree with the Company's contention that the "principal sub- foreman of millwrights" is a supervisory employee within the meaning of our customary definition. . He does no manual work himself but oversees the work of the other four subforemen of millwrights, and has authority effectively to recommend the hiring or firing of millwrights. Accordingly, we shall exclude him from the unit. We also agree with'the Company that the dunnage men here involved do not belong in a unit of carpenters and millwrights. While the latter perform work requiring a-distinct skill and their interests and working conditions are, to a large extent, similar, the same cannot be said of the dunnage men whom the Carpenters would include in the unit. Dunnage men work in a department of the Production Division, and, unlike the carpenters and millwrights,-perform no maintenance work. They are engaged generally in preparing and installing` in freight cars dunnage required to brace finished ammunition and pre- vent it from being damaged in transit' by jostling. The work they perform requires no prior training or particular skill. Moreover, the dunnage men whom the Carpenters would include ,in the unit comprise only a part of all the workers engaged in dunnage work. In addition, there is no showing that any of the dunnage men seek to be represented by the Carpenters.10 'From the foregoing facts we conclude that dun- nage men should be excluded from the unit hereinafter found appropriate. We find that all carpenters, carpenter helpers, millwrights, mill- wright helpers (if any), millwright welders (if any), and subforemen of such employees, engaged in the Woodworker Section and General Maintenance Section of the Plant Maintenance Division of the Com- pany's Sangamon Ordnance Plant, excluding dunnage men, the "prin- cipal subforeman of millwrights," and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, and all other employees, constitute an appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Sec- I tion 9 (b) of the Act. 10 Of the cards submitted by the Carpenters to the Board's Field Examiner, none was signed by dunnage nien 0 I REMINGTON-RAND, INC. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES 257 The I. B. E. W. requests that the pay roll to be used in determining eligibility to vote be dated March 1 or 15, and the Carpenters desires a pay roll dated March 1. Since neither party submitted any persua- sive evidence which would warrant departure from our customary rule, we shall adhere to our usual eligibility date. We.shall direct that the questions concerning representation which have arisen be resolved by separate elections by secret ballot among the employees in the appropriate units who -were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elections herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS 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 Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, it is hereby _ DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain represent- atives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Remington-Rand, Inc., Sangamon Ordnace•Plant, Illiopolis, Illinois, separate elections 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 direc- tion and supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth 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 Regulations, among the employees in the following units who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the 'date of this Direction, including employees who did not, work during the 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 those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or 'reinstated prior to the date of the elections : 1. All electricians, electricians' helpers and apprentices employed on inside and outside maintenance work, including electricians' em ployed on refrigeration, and the subforemen of electricians, engaged- in the Electrical and Stationary Utility Sections. of the Plant Main- tenance Division of the Company's Sangamon Ordnance Plant, but excluding all supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote,. discharge, discipline, 'or otherwise effect changes in the status of 5187T84-45-vo1 56-18 L 258 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD' employees, or effectively 'recommend such action, and all other em- ployees, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Local 193, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, affiliated with the A. F.' of L., for, the purposes of collective bargaining.' 2. All carpenters, carpenter helpers, millwrights, millwright helpers (if any), millwright welders (if any), and-subforemen of such employees, engaged, in the Woodworker Section and General Maintenance Section of the Plant Maintenance Division of the Com- pany's Sangamon Ordnance Plarit, excluding dunnage men, the "principal subforemen of milhvrights," and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively rec- ommend such action, and all other employees, to determine whether 'or not they desire to be represented by United Brotherhood of Car- penters and Joiners of America, Local16, affiliated with the A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective bargaining. ' 0 Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation