Revere Copper and Brass, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 30, 1955

111 N.L.R.B. 1241 (N.L.R.B. 1955)

REVERE COPPER AND BRASS, INCORPORATED 1241
tioner for the unit described above, which the Board, under such
circumstances, finds to be appropriate for purposes of collective bar-
gaining. In the event a majority vote for the Intervenor, the Board
finds that they may continue to be represented as part of the existing
unit, and the Regional Director will issue a certification of results of
election to such effect.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
REVERE COPPER AND BRAss , INCORPORATED and INTERNATIONAL Asso-
CIATION OF MACHINISTS , DISTRICT 12, AFL, PETITIONER . Cage No.
5-RC-1539. March 30, 1955
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 Louis S. Wallerstein, hear-
ing 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 finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims 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. From an existing plantwide unit of production and maintenance
employees at the Employer's aluminum, copper, and brass products
plant, known as the Wicomico plant, at Baltimore, Maryland, the
Petitioner seeks to sever a unit of all die room employees, machine
shop employees, and blacksmith and welder shop employees, including
group leaders, but excluding office and clerical employees, technical
employees, all other production employees, pipe shop and electrical
shop employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. In the
alternative, the Petitioner seeks 2 separate units, consisting of die
room employees and of machine shop and blacksmith and welder shop
employees, respectively. The Employer and District 50, United Mine
Workers of America, the Intervenor, contend that the plantwide unit
is alone appropriate, on the ground that (a) Board policy precludes
severance at the Wicomico plant because of its alleged status as a basic
aluminum plant, and (b) the unit or units sought are inappropriate
for the purposes of severance.
111 NLRB No. 202.
1242 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
(a) The "basic aluminum" issue
This proceeding involves the Employer's Wicomico plant, which is
a part of its Baltimore division. The Baltimore division buys pig
aluminum and melts and casts it with other metals into ingots of var-
ious aluminum alloys which are used in the operations of the division.
The Wicomico plant is engaged in casting, rolling, and the production
of tubing and extruded shapes. Of the total plant operations, 60 per-
cent is devoted to aluminum production and 40 percent to copper pro-
duction. The Wicomico plant operates on a round-the-clock basis.
The products of this plant include aluminum sheet, strip, coiled sheets,
tubing, and extruded shapes and are sold to customers in the electrical,
refrigeration, aircraft, automotive, and rail industries. The uses for
tubing include fuel and hydraulic lines for airplanes and coils' for
condensers in refrigeration and air-conditioning units. In such cases,
the customer specifies the alloy content, the diameter, and the gauge
of the tubing. The extruded shapes are frequently used in the manu-
facture of electrical products and take the form of small component
parts for electric motors and commutators. The shapes are produced
to suit the needs of individual customers and are rarely applicable to
the requirements of more than one customer. The relative amounts
of the individual items manufactured at the Wicomico plant is undis-
closed.
Since 1945 employees at the Wicomico plant have been represented
in a production and maintenance unit for which the Intervenor has
been the certified and contractual representative. There has never
been any bargaining on a craft or departmental basis.
In support of its position, the Employer cites The Permanente
Metals Corporation, 89 NLRB 804, in which the Board applied the
National Tube doctrine,' denying craft or departmental severance on
an industry basis. The plants in question were engaged in "basic"
aluminum production of a highly integrated character. The processes
included the production of aluminum from alumina grains by means
of electrolytic action and the operation of a rolling mill, including the
melting of pig aluminum, its mixture with alloys, and its casting into
ingots. The Board accordingly applied the National Tube doctrine
to the "basic aluminum" industry.
However, in a later case, Reynolds Metals Company, 93 NLRB 721,
the Board found that unlike the operations in Permanente Metals,
supra, the operations in Reynolds Metals were not "an essential link
in the flow of production leading from the initial step of ore conver-
sion to the end in the rolling mill," finding that the reclamation process
employed was "merely ancillary to a manufacturing process which in
turn is not clearly encompassed by the basic industry operations."
1 National Tube Company, 76 NLRB 1191.
REVERE COPPER AND BRASS, INCORPORATED 1243
Again, in Aluminum Company of America, 96 NLRB 781, the Board
granted severance at a plant manufacturing aluminum die castings on
specific orders from numerous individual customers, notwithstanding a
20-year bargaining history on a broader basis. The Board in that
case granted severance because there was "no inseparable integration
of the craft functions of the die room employees with the production
processes," and because the plant was "obviously a manufacturing
plant, the operations of which are not a part of the basic reduction
and rolling mill phases of the aluminum industry," within the meaning
of the Permanente decision.
The issue here is whether or not the Wicomico plant operations are
so basic and integrated as to warrant an application of the "basic
aluminum" doctrine. In our opinion, the evidence shows that the
Wicomico plant operations more closely resemble the operations in
the Reynolds and Alv ninum cases rather than those in the Permanente
Metals case. We note that the aluminum in the Wicomico plant is
fabricated, for the most part, to meet either the specifications of the
Employer's own manufactured products or the requirements of its
customers. Moreover, the record does not support a finding that there
is, at this plant, an inseparable integration of the craft functions of
the employees in the unit or units sought by the Petitioner with the
production processes. While there is evidence of round-the-clock
operations, the record shows that they are due to the desire for maxi-
mum production due to intense competition; it does not appear that
this is comparable to the continuity of operations characteristic of the
basic aluminum industry which is due to the nature of the process
itself, i. e., the result of basic heating, chemical, or electrolytic
processes. Furthermore, only 60 percent of the Wicomico plant
operations is devoted to aluminum; the balance of 40 percent is de-
voted to copper production.
Under these circumstances, we conclude that the Employer's opera-
tions at the Wicomico plant do not fall within the "basic aluminum"
industry. Accordingly, we conclude that severance on a craft or de-
partmental basis may not be denied on this ground.
(b) The severance issue
The die room is situated in a small building adjacent to, and sepa-
rated by a doorway from, the copper mill. It is physically separate
from the machine shop and the blacksmith and welder shop, both of
which are in another building, and is under separate immediate
supervision.
The 54 employees in the die room include 2 group leaders, 6 tool
and die makers, 2 template makers, 22 machine or bench operators,
5 die finishers, 7 simple machine tool operators, 1 apprentice, 3 heat
1244 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
treaters, 1 chrome plate leader, 2 chrome plate operators, 1 tool crib
attendant, 1 sweeper, and 1 buda operator.
The die room employees are principally engaged in the fabrication,
repair, and replacement of aluminum extrusion and drawing dies;
they also work to a lesser extent on copper dies. The tool- and die-
makers perform all operations connected with the fabrication of the
dies required for the Employer's operations, including their layout,
turning, milling, and filing. The template makers initiate the die-
making process by tracing the outline of the blueprint, received from
the engineering department, on a metal template. The template
serves as the master design for making the die. Die making opera-
tions include milling, drilling, cutting, filing and finishing, heat treat-
ing, and chrome plating. The tool- and die-makers use hand tools,
including micrometers, gauges, and drills, valued at about $300; the
Employer supplies the more expensive hand tools and machine tools.
The machine and bench operators perform repetitive operations on
the dies.
There is a 3-year apprenticeship program for the job of tool- and
die-maker which consists of the time spent in the various die-room
operations, and its completion entitles an employee to a certificate to
the effect that he qualifies as a tool- and die-maker at the Employer's
plant. Although progression to the job of tool- and die-maker is only
through enrollment in the apprenticeship program, employees in the
lower classifications generally progress to the next higher classifica-
tions. The apprenticeship program is available to employees outside
the die room. The Employer has hired no outside tool- and die-mak-
ers or template makers since 1946. Prior to that time, it hired a few
outside persons with die-making experience, for which they were
given credit.
Both the machine shop and the blacksmith and welder shop are
under the same immediate supervision. They are located in a build-
ing separate from the die room. They are in the same general work
area and are separated only by a screen erected to block off welding
flash from adjacent areas.
The machine shop has a total complement of 44 employees, includ-
ing 2 group leaders, 12 machinists, 17 maintenance machinists or mill-
wrights, 2 machinists' helpers, 2 auto mechanics, 3 extruder pumpmen,
1 oiler and beltman, 2 saw grinders, 1 tool crib attendant, 1 sweeper,
and 1 apprentice.
The blacksmith and welder shop has a complement of 5 employees,
including a lead burner, 3 welders, and a blacksmith.
The employees in both shops are primarily engaged in the inspec-
tion, adjustment, repair, and maintenance of the Employer's pro-
duction equipment. The 12 machinists appear to perform the same
type of maintenance work as the maintenance machinists or mill-
REVERE COPPER AND BRASS, INCORPORATED 1245
wrights. They are somewhat more skilled and are capable of machin-
ing replacement parts; the maintenance machinists or millwrights can
machine the simpler replacement parts. The machinists receive the
same rate of pay as the welder and the blacksmith and 5 cents an hour
more than the maintenance machinists. The leadburner, who also
welds, receives 22 cents an hour more than the machinists. The main-
tenance machinists or millwrights receive the same pay as the auto
mechanics. The machinists use essentially the same personal tools and
machine tools as the tool- and die-makers. The maintenance ma-
chinists or millwrights perform repetitive operations. Seniority is
on a plantwide basis. There is some interchange between the machine
shop and the blacksmith and welder shop employees.
Of the 44 employees in the machine shop and the blacksmith and
welder shop, the only ones who appear to merit consideration as skilled
craftsmen are the 12 machinists in the machine shop. The record
shows that they exercise nonrepetitive skills of the type found suffi-
cient for craft severance by the Board 2 and have a 3-year apprentice-
ship program. However, the other 32 employees in the 2 shops are
either semiskilled or nonskilled and therefore fail to qualify as crafts-
men for severance purposes.
The machine shop and blacksmith and welder shop are both under
the same immediate supervision and occupy the same general area,
separated only by a welding screen. A substantial part of the work
of the employees in the machine shop and the blacksmith and welder
shop is done in mill areas inspecting, adjusting, and repairing mill
equipment and subject to local mill supervision. However, these em-
ployees remain at all times under their own immediate supervision.
In view of the lack of homogeneity between the die room employees
and the machine shop and blacksmith and welder shop employees, as
shown by their separate immediate supervision, their lack of inter-
change, their different work sites, and the different type of work they
perform, we find inappropriate the single unit of all these employees
initially requested by the Petitioner.'
On the other hand, it is clear that the die room employees and the
machine shop and blacksmith and welder shop 4 employees compose
functionally distinct and separate departmental groups and, further,
that the Petitioner is a labor organization which historically and tra-
ditionally represents such departmental units and the interests of the
various types of employees therein.' Under these circumstances, and
2 See Campbell Soup Company, 109 NLRB 588
3R D Werner Co ,Inc., 110 NLRB 1049
4 It is clear from the record that the machine shop and the blacksmith and welder shop
are together under the same immediate supervision, occupy the same general area sepa-
rated only by a screen executed for safety reasons, and that there is interchange among
these employees. Accoidingly, we find that these shops may together constitute an appro-
priate depai tmental unit for severance purposes
5 General Textile Mills, Inc, 109 NLRB 263; R. D Werner Co , Inc., supra.
1246 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
contrary to the contentions of the Employer and the Intervenor, we
'find that all die room employees and all machine shop and blacksmith
and welder shop employees, respectively, may constitute two separate
appropriate units, if they so desire.
Accordingly, we shall direct that elections be held in the following
voting groups of employees of the Employer at its Wicomico plant :
(a) All die room employees, including group leaders, but exclud-
ing all other employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act.
(b) All machine shop and blacksmith and welder shop employees,
including group leaders, but excluding all other employees and super-
visors as defined in the Act.
If a majority of the employees in either of the voting groups above
vote for the Petitioner, they will be taken to have indicated their desire
to constitute a separate appropriate unit, and the Regional Director is
hereby instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the Peti-
tioner for such unit, which the Board, under such circumstances, finds
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. In the event
the Petitioner fails to secure a majority of the employees in either unit,
the Board finds the existing unit to be appropriate with respect to
them, and the Regional Director will issue a certification of results
of election to such effect.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.]
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY and FRANK PELC, PETITIONER. Case No.
3-RC-1475. March 30,1955
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 W. Irving, hear-
ing 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 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.2
' International Union of Electrical , Radio and Machine Workers , Local No. 320, CIO,
herein called the IUE, intervened by virtue of its claim of contract covering the employees
here involved International Association of Machinists , herein called the IAM, inter-
vened upon a showing of interest
2 The IUE asserts its contract covering the Employer 's employees in the Syracuse area
as a bar to this proceeding For reasons appearing in the discussion of the appropriate
unit, infra, we find that this contract is not a bar.
111 NLRB No. 172.