Revere Copper and Brass, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 7, 1941

30 N.L.R.B. 964 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of REVERE COPPER AND BRASS, INCORPORATED and
CHICAGO DIE SINKERS, LOCAL No. 100, AFFILIATED WITH THE INTER-
NATIONAL DIE SINKERS CONFERENCE
Case No. B-2338.-Decided April 7, 1941
Jurisdiction : copper, brass, and alloy products manufacturing industry.
Practice and Procedure : petition dismissed where no appropriate unit within the
scope of the petition.
Pope & Ballard, by Mr. Lee C. Shaw, Mr. Henry E. Seyfarth and
Mr. Charles Preston, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company.
Mr. J. G. Meine'r, of Cleveland, Ohio, for the Die Sinkers.
Mr. Joseph M. Jacobs, of Chicago, Ill., for the U. A. W. A.-
A. F. L.
Miss Ann Landy, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On November 19, 1940, Chicago Die Sinkers, Local No. 100, affil-
iated with the International Die Sinkers Conference, herein called
the Die Sinkers, filed with the Regional Director for- the Thirteenth
Region (Chicago, Illinois) a petition alleging that a question affect-
ing commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees
of Revere Copper and Brass, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois, herein
called the Company; and requesting an investigation and certification
of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On February
7, 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- and authorized the Re-
gional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hear-
ing upon due notice.
OnI February 10, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of
hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the
Die Sinkers, and United Automobile Workers' of America, Local
477, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called
-30 N. L. R. B., No. 13T.
964
L
REVERE COPPER & BRAN, IN C. 965
the U. A. W. A.-A. F. L., a labor organization claiming to represent
employees directly affected by the investigation. On February 14,
1941, the Regional Director ordered a continuance, on motion of
the Die Sinkers. Pursuant to the notice and the order of continu-
ance , a hearing was held on February 19, 1941, at Chicago, Illinois,
before Robert R. Rissman , the Trial Examiner duly designated by
the Chief Trial Examiner . The Company and the U. A. W. A.-
A. F. L. were represented by counsel, the Die Sinkers by a representa-
tive; all participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard,
to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence
'bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. At the commence-
ment of the hearing, at the end of the Die Sinkers' case, and again
at the end of the hearing, counsel for the U. A. W. A.-A. F. L. moved
to dismiss-the petition on the ground that the unit requested by
the Die Sinkers;is,not appropriate. The Trial Examiner reserved
ruling on this motion. The motion is hereby granted for the reasons
stated in Section III below. During the course of the hearing the
Trial Examiner made several 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 March 4, 1941, the U. A. W. A.-A. F. L. filed a memorandum
and motion which the Board has duly considered. At the request
of the Company and pursuant to notice served on all parties, a hear-
ing was held before the Board in Washington, D. C., on March 11,
1941, for the purpose of oral argument. The Company and the
U. A. W. A.-A. F. L. appeared by counsel, and the Die Sinkers by
a representative; all participated in the argument.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the follovbing :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Revere Copper and Brass, Incorporated, is a Maryland corporation
with its principal office in New York City. The Company is en-
gaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of copper, brass, and
alloy sheets, rolls, rods, wires, bars, shapes, tubes, and forgings, in
its plants located in the cities of Detroit, Michigan; Baltimore, Mary-
land; Taunton, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; and- Rome, New
York. The present proceeding concerns only the Chicago plant
where the Company employs approximately 1,000 employees. For
the year ending December 31, 1940, the Company purchased approxi-
mately 30,090,000 pounds of copper, zinc, nickel, and other raw ma-
terials and supplies for its Chicago plant, obtaining approximately
80 per cent of such materials from States other than Illinois. During
the same period the Chicago plant manufactured products valued at
966 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
approximately $5,000,000 and shipped approximately 60 per cent of
such products to States other than Illinois.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Chicago Die Sinkers, Local No.,100, is a labor organization affili-
ated with the International Die Sinkers Conference. It admits to
membership die sinkers and trimmer die makers employed by the
Company. ,
United Automobile Workers of America, Local 477, is a labor
organization affiliated with the American, Federation of Labor. It
admits to membership production employees of the Company.
III. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Die Sinkers urge that the die sinkers and trimmer die makers
employed by the Company constitute a unit appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining. The U. A. W. A.-A. F. L. and
the Company dispute the appropriateness of such unit.
The die sinkers and trimmer die makers work in the tool and die
department, use some of the same machines as the tool and die makers
use, are supervised by the same foreman but by different assistant
• foremen. The work of the die sinkers and trimmer die makers is
not interchangeable with that of the tool and die makers. There are
40 employees in the tool and die department, 6 of whom are classified
as die sinkers and 4 as trimmer die makers.
The Die Sinkers organized the die sinkers and trimmer die makers
in the spring of 1937. On June 15, 1937, a consent election was con-
ducted, among all production employees of the Company. The Die
Sinkers were not on the ballot nor did they protest the omission of
their organization either before or after the election. The only die
sinker called to testify, who was one of the charter members of the
Die Sinkers, stated at the hearing that he cast a ballot at the election.
In the election a majority of the employees selected the U. A. W. A.-
'A. F. L.1 over an independent union as their collective bargaining
representative. A month later the Company granted exclusive recog-
nition to the U. A. W. A.-A. F. L. in a written contract. The con-
tract has been renewed with modifications every year since then.
The U. A. W. A.-A. F. L. has been bargaining for the tool and die
department, including the die sinkers and the trimmer die makers,
since 1937; the U. A. W. A.-A. F. L. steward for the department
obtained a special increase for all employees in the department as
late as August 1940.
The first attempt of the Die Sinkers to bargain with the Company
on behalf of their members occurred in the fall of 1938, more,than
1 Up to December 1938 the Local herein called the U A W A -A F L iAasta'` 8llated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
REVERE COPPER & BRAN, INC. 967
a year after the first exclusive bargaining contract was granted to
the U. A. W. A.-A. F. L. The Company refused to bargain with the
Die Sinkers on the ground that the U. A. W. A.-A. F. L. was the
exclusive bargaining agent for all its production employees. The
Die Sinkers thereupon petitioned the Board for certification. How-
ever, inasmuch as at that time the Die Sinkers and the U. A. W. A.-
A. F. L. were both affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
the Board's Regional Director advised the Die Sinkers to withdraw
their petition and the case was closed accordingly. In October
1940 the Die Sinkers disaffiliated from the International Association
of Machinists and set up the International Die Sinkers Conference.
Thereafter they again requested recognition from the Company.
This request was denied and the Die Sinkers filed the petition in the
present representation case.
In view of all the circumstances, including the history of col-
lective bargaining between the Comapny and the U. A. W. A.-
A. F. L. on a plant-wide basis for over 3 years and the failure of
the Die Sinkers to seek to bargain with the Company for more than
a year after the Company had recognized the U. A. W. A.-A. F. L.,-we
believe that the unit urged by the Die Sinkers is inappropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining, and we so find.
IV. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Since as stated in Section III above, the bargaining unit sought to
be established by the petition is not appropriate, we find that no
question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the
Company in an appropriate bargaining unit.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case; the Board makes the following : ,
CONCLUSION OF LAW
No question concerning representation of employees of Revere Cop-
per and Brass, Incorporated , Chicago, Illinois, in a unit which is
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining has arisen with-
in the meaning of Section ,9 (c) of the National Labor Relations
Act.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and conclusion of law,
the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the petition
for investigation and certification of representatives filed by Chicago
Die Sinkers, Local No. 100, affiliated with the International Die
Sinkers Conference, be, and it^hereby is, dismissed.'