Scott & Williams, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 13, 1947

74 N.L.R.B. 1020 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter of SCOTT & WILLIAMS, INCORPORATED, EMPLOYER and
INTERNATIONAL MOLDERS & FOUNDRY WORKERS UNION OF NORTH
AMERICA, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER
Case No.1-R-3769.Decided August 13,1947
Mr. Henry V. Atherton, of Boston, Mass., for the Employer.
Mr. Lewis C. Lynds, of Boston, Mass., for the Petitioner.
Mr. Stanley Segal, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
Upon a petition duly filed, the National Labor Relations Board on
June 27,1947, conducted a prehearing election among the employees of
the Employer in the alleged appropriate unit to determine whether
or not they desired to be represented by the Petitioner for the purposes
of collective bargaining.
At the close of the election, a Tally of Ballots was furnished the
parties. The Tally shows that there were approximately 60 eligible
voters, of 'whom 49 voted for the Petitioner, 3 voted against the Peti-
tioner, and 3 voted under challenge.
Thereafter a hearing was held at Boston, Massachusetts, on July 11,
1947, before Leo J. Halloran, hearing officer. The hearing officer's
rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Scott & Williams, Incorporated, is a Massachusetts corporation,
operating three plants in Laconia, New Hampshire, where it is
engaged in the manufacture of finished assemblies and hosiery knit-
ting machinery. It also operates a foundry in West Concord, Massa-
chusetts, where it manufactures castings for its plants in Laconia,
74 N. L. R. B., No. 170
1020
SCOTT & WILLIAMS, INCORPORATED 1021
New Hampshire. Only the operations at West Concord, Massachu-
setts, are involved in this proceeding. Practically all of the raw
materials used for the operations in the West Concord, Massachusetts,
plant are purchased within the Commonwealth. The Employer annu-
ally ships castings from its foundry in West Concord, Massachusetts, to
its plants in Laconia, New Hampshire, valued in excess of $50,000.
The Employer annually purchases raw materials, including the cast-
ings from its West Concord foundry, for its plants in Laconia, New
Hampshire, valued in excess of $500,000, of which approximately
60 percent is purchased from outside the State of New Hampshire.
It annually sells finished products from its plants in Laconia, New
Hampshire, valued in excess of $1,000,000, of which approximately
60 percent is shipped out of the State.
We find that the Employer is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the Amer-
ican Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the
Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the
Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.-
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner seeks a unit of all production and maintenance em-
ployees of the Employer's foundry in West Concord, Massachusetts,
including watchmen, but excluding office and clerical employees,
executives, and all supervisory employees. The Employer is in sub-
stantial agreement with the proposed unit, but would' exclude watch-
men from the unit.
The Employer employs three watchmen .1 Those employees work
on three shifts that operate from 4 p. m. to 1 a. m.; from 7 p. in. to
4 a. m. ; and from 10 p. m. to 7 a. m. The watchmen guard the plant
1 The three watchmen voted at the prehearing election and their ballots were challenged
by the Employer.
1022 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
against fire, theft, destruction of finished products and trespassers.
They enforce the Employer's rules for the protection of the safety
of persons on the plant premises. Although the watchmen perform
other duties, such as cutting and preparing molders and sanders for
use the following day, taking castings to the cleaning room, and fir-
ing the boilers during the winter months, we are of the opinion that
they are primarily employed as plant protection employees. We
shall exclude them from the unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the
Employer's foundry in West Concord, Massachusetts, excluding office
and clerical employees, watchmen, executives, and all other super-
visory employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESEN TATIVES
Inasmuch as we have excluded watchmen from the appropriate
unit, we hereby sustain the challenge to their ballots. The results of
the election held before the hearing thus show that the Petitioner has
secured a majority of the valid votes cast. Accordingly, we shall
certify the Petitioner as the collective bargaining representative of
the employees in the appropriate unit.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that International Molders & Foundry
Workers Union of North America, A. F. of L., has been designated
and selected by a majority of the employees in the unit described in
Section IV, above, as their representative for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining and that pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, the said
organization is the exclusive representative of all such employees for
the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay,
wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment.