Revere Copper and Brass Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 25, 1944

58 N.L.R.B. 1319 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of REVERE COPPER AND BRASS INCORPORATED, MAGNESIUM-
ALUMINUM DIVISION, "HALm'HORPE EXTRUSION PLANT and INTERNA-
TIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCALS 272 AND 272A,
A. F. L.
Case No. 5-R-1614.-Decided October 25, 1914
Mr. E. G. Skavdahl, of Rome, N. Y., Mr. A. N. Aird, of Baltimore,'
Md., and Mr. W. S. Prentiss, of Halethorpe, Md., for the Company
Mr. Albert Weisbold, of Philadelphia, Pa., and Mr. William A.
Deaton, of Baltimore, Md., for the Operating Engineers.
Messrs. Joseph A. Norton and Russell H. Minnick, of Baltimore,
Md., for the Brass Workers. I
Mr. Thomas A. Ricci, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by International Union of Operating
Engineers, Locals 272 and 272A, A. F. L., herein called the Operating
Engineers, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen
concerning the representation of employees of Revere Copper and
Brass Incorporated, Magnesium-Aluminum Division, Halethorpe Ex-
trusion Plant, Baltimore, Maryland, herein called the Company, the
National LaborRelations Board provided for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice before Sidney J. Barban, Trial Examiner. Said
hearing was held at Baltimore, Maryland,, on September, 15, 1944.
The Company,' the Operating Engineers, and the Interstate Copper
and Brass Workers Union, Local 16, herein called the Brass Workers,
appeared and participated.2 All parties were afforded full opportu-
nity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to intro-
duce evidence bearing ^ on the issues. 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. -
' At the hearing the Company 's name was amended to read as set forth above.
2 Interstate Copper and Brass Workers Union, the Brass Workers' parent organization,
was permitted to intervene at the hearing only for the purpose of assisting in the conduct
of the hearing.
58 N L . R. B., No. 238. $
1319
1320 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Revere Copper and Brass Incorporated, is a. Maryland corporation
engaged in the processing and manufacturing of nickel, brass, and
copper alloys and in connection with its operations maintains and-
operates plants in various States of the United States. This pro-
ceeding solely concerns certain- of ,the Company's employees at its
Halethorpe, Maryland plant. During the period from March 1944
to_August 31, 1944, the Company purchased raw materials valued at
approximately $740,000 for use at its Halethorpe plant, 90 percent of
which was shipped from points outside the State of Maryland.
During the same period this plant manufactured finished products
valued at approximately $430,000, 80 percent of which was shipped to
points outside the State of Maryland.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Union of Operating Engineers , Locals 272 - and 272A,
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and Interstate
Copper and- Brass Workers Union, Local 16, are labor organizations
admitting to membership employees of The Company. -
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
In a letter dated June 9, 1944, the Operating Engineers- advised the
Company that it represented a majority'of the employees in-the power-
house of the Company's Halethorpe plant, and requested a conference
for the purpose of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.
On June 16, 1944, the Company's personnel manager replied, advising
the Operating Engineers that the Brass Workers had been-recognized
as the sole bargaining representative for -all hourly rated employees
at the Company's Halethorpe plant-, including - the powerhouse
employees.3
A statement of -a Board agent, introduced- into evidence at the
hearing, indicates that the Operating Engineers represents a substan-
tial number of employees in the alleged appropriate unit.4
3 Although both the Company and the Brass workers stated at the hearing that they
did not raise their agreement , executed on June 15, 1944, as a bar to this proceeding, the
Brass workers, in its brief , claims the agreement constitutes a bar We find no merit-in
this contention , since the contract was made after the Operating Engineers had notified
the Company of-its claim to representation
4 The Field Examiner reported that the Operating Engineers submitted five authorization
cards and that there are seven employees in the alleged appropriate unit. -
The Brass workers relies on its contract as evidence of its interest in this proceeding
REVERE COPPER AND BRASS INCORPORATED- 1321
- We find that a question affecting commerce has 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 UNIT ; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Operating Engineers contends that all firemen and coal passers
employed in the powerhouse of the Company's Halethorpe plant con-
stitute an appropriate unit for collective bargaining purposes. The
Company and the Brass Workers contend that all hourly rated em-
ployees at the Halethorpe plant, except managerial and confidential
employees, form an appropriate unit,5 and that a unit limited 'to em-
ployees of the powerhouse is inappropriate.
The Halethorpe plant began operations in March 1944. It is housed
in a single structure, and the powerhouse is located in a corner of the
building, partitioned off from the rest of the plant by a cinder block
wall. In the powerhouse, the Company employs four firemen and four
coal passers. The firemen operate and maintain two stoker fired
boilers, used to heat the plant and to furnish hot water for showers,
and they regulate an air compressor which furnishes air pressure for
various operations throughout the plant. The coal passers remove
ashes and keep the hoppers filled with coal. Although the firemen
are licensed by the State of Maryland, the Company does not require
licenses as a condition of their employment. There appears to be
little occasion for employees other than the powerhouse employees to
enter the powerhouse. The firemen and coal passers, together with all
other employees, are accorded the same treatment by the Company with
respect to wage increases, overtime payment, vacation, and insurance.
The Company groups the powerhouse employees together with all
maintenance employees under a single supervisor. There has been
some interchange of employees between the powerhouse and the
remainder of the plant.
The foregoing facts clearly indicate that the powerhouse employees
comprise a functionally coherent and homogeneous group, and 'may,
therefore, constitute a separate collective bargaining units On the
other hand, inasmuch as the work of the powerhouse employees in the
Halethorpe plant is integrated with that of other maintenance em-
ployees, and their interests are apparently similar to those of the
average production and maintenance worker, they may also form a
part of the same unit as the other hourly rated employees now rep-
resented by the Brass Workers. Under these circumstances, we shall
defer our determination of the appropriate unit. Such determination
6 This is the same unit covered by the June 15 , 1944 , collective bargaining agreement
between the Compan} and the Brass Woilcers.
Matter of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, 55 N L R B 1251.
1322 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
will depend , in part, upon the result of the election which we herein-
after direct.
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by secret ballot among all firemen and coal
passers employed in the powerhouse of the Company's Halethorpe
plant, excluding all supervisory employees with authority to hire,
promote , discharge , discipline , or otherwise effect such action, who
were employed during the payroll period immediately- preceding the
date of the Direction of Election herein; subject to thelimitations and
additions set forth in the Direction . In the- event these ,eynployees
select the Operating Engineers as their collective bargaining repre-
sentative, they thereby will have indicated their desire to form a
separate bargaining unit. On the other hand, if they select the
Brass Workers as their collective bargaining representative they there-
by will have indicated their desire to be represented as part of the
plant-wide unit covered by the existing contract.
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 Relations
Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3 as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain represent-
atives for the purposes of 'collective bargaining with Revere Copper
and Brass Incorporated , Magnesium-Aluminum Division , Halethorpe
Extrusion plant, Baltimore , Maryland, 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 Fifth 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 Regula-
tions, among the employees in the group described in Section IV,
above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
-preceding the date of this Direction , including employees who did not
work during 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 election , to determine whether they desire to be represented by
International Union of Operating Engineers , Locals 212 and 272A,
A. F. L., or by Interstate Copper and Brass Workers Union, Local 16,
for the purposes of collective bargaining , or by neither.
T,