Savannah Electric and Power Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 7, 1942

38 N.L.R.B. 47 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter of SAVANNAH ELECTRIC AND POWER Co. and INTER-
NATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS
Case No. R-3254.Decided January 7, 1942
Jurisdiction : electric utility and transportation 'industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: dis-
pute as to appropriate unit ; refusal to accord recognition to either of two
rival representatives until one or the other is certified by the Board ; election
necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : employees of the power plant, and
in the installation, line. mechanical and track departments, including working
foreman, but excluding supervisory and clerical employees, and watchmen ;
employees in the transportation department excluded, notwithstanding the
desire of the Company and a rival union for their inclusion, where their work
is different from that of employees in the other operating departments, and
in view of the fact that they are not eligible to membership in the petitioning
union, but are eligible to membership in, ` and are being organized by, an
affiliated union ; employees in the non-operating departments excluded where
their interests and problems are different from those of employees engaged
in manual work.
Mr. Edmund M. Preston, of Richmond, Va., and Mr. E. H. Abra-
ham and Mr. John J. Bouhan, of Savannah, Ga., for the Company.
Mr. T. H. Payne, of Birmingham, Ala., and Mr. C. C. Carroll, of
Savannah, Ga., for the I. B. E. W.
Mr. Gilbert E. Johnson, of Savannah, Ga., for the Independent.
Mr. Marvin C. Wahl, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On September 6, 1941, International "Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, herein called the I.,B.,E. W., filed with the Regional Direc-
tor for the Tenth Region (Atlanta, Georgia)„a petition alleging that
a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representa-
tion of employees of Savannah Electric and Power Co., Savannah,,
Georgia, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation
38 N. L. R. B., No. 13.
47
48 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act.
On September 24, 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 Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On October 4, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the I.; B. E. W.,_
and The Independent Organization of Employees `of the Savannah.
Electric and Power Co., Inc., herein called the Independent, a labor
organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the
investigation. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on November,
3, 4, and, 5, 1941, at Savannah, Georgia, before John C. McBee, the
Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The
Company and the Independent were represented by counsel and the
I. B. E. W. by its representative ; 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.
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 November 24, 1941,zthe Company and'tle Independent
each filed a brief which the Board has considered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Savannah Electric and Power Co., a Georgia corporation, is engaged
in the production, distribution, and sale of electricity and in the op,-
eration of a street-railway and motor-bus transportation system in
Savannah, Georgia, and neighboring localities. The Company uses
fuel oil to operate the steam turbines which produce electrical energy.
During the year 1940, the Company purchased from a concern located
in the State 'of Georgia' 273,823.94 -barrels of oil at'a cost in excess of
$275,000. This oil was obtained by the concern which sold it to the'
Company from sources outside the State of Georgia. In 1940, 'various,
national concerns 'and agencies of' the United States- Government'
purchased 4,471,836 kilowatt hours, or 5.36 per cent of, all the kilowatt.
hours which the Company produced for sale. -
1 These included the American Telephone and Telegraph Co , Atlantic Coast Line, Atlantic
Greyhound Lines, Eastern Air Lines, Postal Telegraph Cable Co , Railway Express Agency,
Seaboard Air Line Railroad , Western Union, and the United States Department of Com-
merce, Customs House, and Post Office.
SAVANNAH ELECTRIC AND POWER CO.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
49
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is a labor organi-
zation affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to
membership employees of the Company.
The Independent Organization of Employees of the Savannah Elec-
trical and Power Co., Inc., is a labor organization admitting to
membership employees of the Company.
M. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On or about September 4,1941, the I. B. E. W. and the Independent,
respectively, claimed to represent a majority of the Company's em-
ployees in a separate unit, which each alleged to be appropriate. The
Company refused to recognize either the I. B. E. W. or the Independent
as the collective bargaining agent for its employees unless certified
by the Board. The Trial Examiner made a statement upon the record
which shows that both the I. B. E. W. and the Independent represent
a substantial number of employees in the unit claimed by each to be
appropriate.2
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 Company is organized into an operating section and a non-
operating section, the former consisting of the power plant and the
installation, line, transportation, mechanical, and track departments,
and the latter consisting of the accounting, engineering, claims, pur-
z This statement indicates that the I . B. E W. submitted 91 membership application
cards and 6 dues receipts covering employees in the departments which the I. B E. W.
contends comprise the appropriate unit. All tha signatures appeared to be genuine and
corresponded to the names of persons appearing on the Company's October 15, 1941, pay
roll The Independent submitted 256 membership application cards, all of which bore
signatures which appeared to be genuine . All the names on the cards corresponded to
persons who were employed in the departments which the Independent claims constitute
the appropriate unit. There are approximately 167 employees within the unit claimed by
the I. B. E. W. and 399 employees within the unit claimed by the Independent.
438861-42-vol. 38-5
50 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
chasing, and sales departments. The I. B. E. W. contends that all
employees of the power plant, and the installation, line, mechanical,
and track departments of the Company, including working foremen,
but excluding supervisory and clerical employees, constitute an ap-
propriate unit. The Independent and the Company contend that the
appropriate unit should include all the Company's employees,
excluding only supervisory employees.3
Concerning the work of the departments which the I. B. E. W.
would include, the record indicates that the power plant is engaged
in the production of electrical energy which is used for lighting and
power purposes; that the installation department is engaged in the
installation of meters and the construction, maintenance, and opera-
tion of the underground lines for the street railway and electric system;
that the line department constructs, maintains, and operates the Com-
pany's overhead lines, substations, and transformers; that the mechani-
cal department maintains and repairs the buses, streetcars, and all of
the Company's automotive equipment; and that the track department
is engaged primarily in the maintenance of the street railway tracks
and in the upkeep of the substation grounds.
The transportation department, which the I. B. E. W. seeks to
exclude, is comprised of bus and streetcar operators, inspectors, dis-
patchers, and clerks. These employees are engaged in operating the
Company's street-railway and motor-bus transportation system. They
wear a standard uniform not worn by any other employees of the
Company. While employees in the other operating departments re-
ceive 2 weeks' vacation, the transportation employees receive only 1
week's vacation.4 There is no showing of any interchange of em-
ployees between the transportation department and any of the other
operating departments.
The I. B. E. W. does not have jurisdiction over employees in the
transportation department of the Company. The jurisdiction over
bus and streetcar operators is reserved to another affiliate of the
American Federation of Labor, namely, the Amalgamated Associ-
ation of Street, Electric Railway, and Motor Coach Employees of
America, which, the record discloses, has commenced organizational
activities in the Company's transportation department. On the other
hand, the I. B. E. W. has organized employees in all departments
3 The Independent and the Company would include within an appropriate unit not only
the employees within the departments which the I. B. E. W. requests , but also employees
in the transportation department , clerical employees in the operating section, and em-
ployees in the accounting, engineering , claims, purchasing , and sales departments.
4 It appears that when employees in the other operating departments received an increase
in vacation from 1 week to 2, the transportation employees were given an increase in their
hourly rate instead of the additional week ' s vacation
SAVANI\NAII ELECTRIC AND POWER CO. 51
I
which it seeks to combine into an appropriate unit and the work of
the employees in these departments is substantially different from
the work of the bus drivers and streetcar operators. There is no his-
tory of collective bargaining at the plant either on the basis of the
unit sought by the I. B.'E. W. or a unit which includes the transpor-
tation department. Under all the circumstances, we find that em-
ployees in the transportation department should not be combined in
the same unit with the employees in the power plant and the in-
stallation, line, mechanical, and track departments.
Nor do we believe that the employees in the non-operating depart-
ments should be included within the unit sought by the I. B. E. W.
The work of these employees is mainly office and clerical6 Their
interests and problems are entirely different from those of the em.
ployees engaged in manual work, and there is no history of collective
bargaining on the basis of a unit which combines them with the em-
ployees of the other departments.? We find, therefore, that these
employees should be excluded from the unit.
The parties were unable to agree with respect to the following
employees :
Watchmen in power plant. The Company desires to include these
employees, while the I. B. E. W. wishes to exclude them. The In-
dependent does not take any position on the question. It appears
that there are four watchmen in the power plant all of whom are
deputized by the sheriff of the county wherein the Company is located,
but paid by and under the direction of the Company. They are
stationed at various places throughout the power plant and are
charged with preventing unauthorized persons from gaining access
to the plant. They are armed and have authority to make arrests
on the Company's premises. We find that their duties and interests
differ materially from those in the unit sought by the I. B. E. W. and
we shall, therefore, exclude them from the appropriate unit.
6 We do not consider an alleged agreement between the Company and the Savannah
Electric Beneficial Association as part of the previous bargaining history, that organiza-
tion having been disestablished by the Company after the I. B. E. W. had filed charges of
unfair labor practices.
9 The non-operating departments include accounting , engineering , claims, purchasing,
and sales departments . The duties of the accounting department consist of accounting,
bookkeeping, credits and collections , issuing supplies , and meter reading and handling the
pay rolls, taxes and insurance of the Company . Employees of the engineering department
supervise all the engineering and construction work of the Company . The claims depart-
ment has one employee , a claims agent , who investigates all claims against the Company
and who frequently acts as the Company's personnel director . The purchasing depart-
ment is in charge of all purchases of materials and supplies for the Company. Employees
of the sales department consist of salesmen , home economists , a lighting specialist, home-
lighting supervisor , power-sales engineer , and complaint investigator . All the employees
of the non -operating departments are salaried , while those of the operating departments
receive an hourly rate.
7Cf. The Ohio Public Service Company and International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, A P. L., etc., 36 N. L R B 1269
52 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Assistant efciency engineer in power plant. The Independent seeks
to include this employee but the I. B. E. W. desires to exclude him
on the ground that he supervises the technical operations of the power
plant. The Company takes no position on the issue. It appears
that he is a student engineer in training and aids the efficiency engi-
neer, his superior, (whom the Independent agrees to exclude as a
supervisory employee) in the maintenance and efficient and economi-
cal operation of the plant. His duties involve the treatment of boiler
feed water, fuel-oil tests, flue-gas analyses, testing and checking instru-
ments, keeping records, and instructing employees on the most satis-
factory method of operating the machinery and using the equipment.
He is a salaried employee. We shall exclude him from the appropriate
unit."
Pole-crew foremen in line department. The I. B. E. W. contends
that these employees should be included as working foremen, but the
Independent and the Company desire to exclude them as supervisory
employees. Each pole-crew foreman is in charge of a crew of four
laborers which handles, sets, and replaces poles,used for the distribu-
tion of electricity and street-railway lines. The pole-crew foremen
spend a substantial portion of their time in operating a truck and pole
derrick. They also climb the poles and fix the cables in preparation
for lifting. We shall include them within the appropriate unit.
District representative and helper at Guyton. It appears that the
Company maintains a district representative and helper at Guyton,
Georgia. The Independent wishes to include them within the appro-
priate unit. The I. B. E. W. desires to exclude them. The Company
seeks to include the district representative but takes no position as
to his helper. The district representative does not have an office
but keeps whatever equipment he needs at his home. He makes reports
to the Company, installs and reads meters, disconnects and repairs
service lines and appliances, installs transformers, investigates com-
plaints, collects and records the collections, and acts generally as
trouble shooter. He is a salaried employee. His helper, whom he
directs, is also a salaried employee and reads meters, makes collections,
and assists the district representative whenever required. We find
that the district representative represents and is closely identified
with the Company. We shall, accordingly, exclude him from the
appropriate unit.9 We shall, however, include the district repre-
sentative's helper in the appropriate unit.10
9 See The Ohio Public Service Company and International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, A F L., etc., 36 N L. R. B. 1269
9 Ct, Iowa Southern Utilities Company and Utility Workers Organizing Committee Local
109, (C. I. 0.), 15 N. L. R. B., 580
10 See Gulf Public Service Company and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local 790, 18 N. L. R. B., 562.
SAVANNAH ELECTRIC AND POWER CO. 53
Clerks in operating departments. The Independent and the Com-
pany desire to include the clerks in the operating departments, while
the I. B. E. W. seeks their exclusion. The record indicates that the
greater portion of the time of these employees is spent in clerical
duties. We shall exclude them from the appropriate unit for the
same reasons which governed our exclusion of the employees of the
non-operating departments.
We find that all employees of the power plant and the installation,
line, mechanical,-and track departments of the Company, including
working foremen and the district representative's helper at Guyton,
but excluding watchmen in the power plant, supervisory and clerical
employees and the district representative at Guyton, constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that such
unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their
right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise
will effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. Although
the Independent did not state any preference as to the date on which
eligibility to vote should be determined, the Company and the
I. B. E. W. requested that in the event of an election, a current pay roll
be used. In accordance with our usual practice, we shall direct that
those eligible to vote in the election shall be the employees within the
appropriate unit who were employed by the Company during the pay-,
roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elec-
tion, subject to the limitations and additions 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 Savannah Electric and Power Co., Savannah,
Georgia, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and
(7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. All employees of the power plant and the installation, line,
mechanical, and track departments of the Company, including working
foremen, and the district representative's helper at Guyton, but exclud-
ing watchmen in the power plant, supervisory and clerical employees
and the district representative at Guyton, constitute a unit appropriate
for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Sec-
tion 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
54 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
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, 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 bargaining
with Savannah Electric and Power Co., Savannah, Georgia, an elec-
tion 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 Tenth
Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela-
tions Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and
Regulations, among all employees of the power plant and the installa-
tion, line, mechanical, and track departments of the Company who
were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the
date of this Direction of Election, including working foremen, the
district representative's helper at Guyton, and employees who did not
work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation
or in the active military service or training of the United States, or
temporarily laid off, but excluding watchmen in the power plant, super-
visory and clerical employees, the district representative at Guyton,
and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to
determine whether they desire to be represented by International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, affiliated with the American Fed-
eration of Labor, or by The Independent Organization of Employees
of the Savannah Electric and Power Co., Inc., for the purposes of
collective bargaining, or by neither.