Scully Jones and Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 28, 1944

58 N.L.R.B. 611 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Mattel' Of SCULLY..TONES AND COMPANY and UNITED ELECTRICAL,
RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL 1114, C. I. O.
Case No. 13-R-."548.-Decided September ?8,1944
Mr. John Harr ngton, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company.
Messrs. Louis Torre and Gordon A. Col2vell, of Chicago, Ill., for the
Union.
Mr. Thomas A. Ricci, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by United Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers of America, Local 1114, C. I. 0., herein called the Union,
alleging that a question affecting commerce -had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of Scully, Jones and Company, Chicago,
Illinois, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations
Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before
Robert T. Drake, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chicago,
Illinois, on August 24, 1944. The Company and the Union appeared
and participated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be
heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evi-
dence 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.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Scully, Jones and Company, an Illinois corporation, has its principal
place of business at Chicago, Illinois, where it is engaged in the manu-
facture and sale of standard and special production tools. The value
-of all materials received by the Company during the past year was in
` 58 N L. R. B, No. 121.
614
612 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
excess of $50,000. The principal raw material used is steel, more than
75 percent of which is shipped to the Company from points outside
the State of Illinois. The value of the products manufactured annu-
ally by the Company is in excess of $100,000, of which approximately
75 percent is shipped to points outside the State of Illinois.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
United Electrical, Radio and. Machine Workers of America, Local
1114, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a
labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Com-
pany.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as
the exclusive bargaining representative of certain of its employees
until the Union has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the
hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate)
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. TIIE APPROPRIA1 E UNIT
The Union seeks a unit of all production and maintenance em-
ployees of the Company, including key men, plant clerks, janitors,
sweepers, inspectors, the watchman and the fireman, but excluding
the employees of the engineering department, the truck driver,,and
all clerical and supervisory employees. The Company generally agrees
that such a unit would be appropriate, but, with regard to the em-
ployee classifications set forth below, takes the position that the Board
should determine whether these may properly be included in the unit.
Key men: There are eight key men who work in the plant with the
other production employees. They are more experienced workmen,
who have, as one of them stated at the hearing, "the ability to tackle
the job and finish it without assistance of the foreman." They spend
90 percent of their time doing regular production work and occa-
sionally watch over some other worker when the foreman is at a
meeting. They have no authority to make effective recommendations
'The Field Examiner repotted that the Union submitted 211 authorization cards, and
that theme are 326 employ ees in the unit petitioned for.
SCULLY, JONES AND COMPANY 613
affecting the status of any employees. We shall include the key men in
the unit.z
Plant Clerks: There are eight plant clerks who work in the plant
with the production employees. The record does not clearly set forth
their duties, but they are paid on an hourly basis, have the same con-
ditions of work as production employees and are under the super-
vision of the official in charge of the production department. We
shall include them in the unit.3
The watchman: This employee does not wear a uniform, carries no
arms and is neither militarized nor deputized. We shall include him
in the unit.4
Engineering Department employees: In this department there are,
for the most part, technical workers. They occupy a separate part
of the plant, use no production machines, and have an annual vacation
plan different from that of the production employees. We shall ex-
clude them from the unit .-5
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the
Company, including key men, plant clerks, janitors, sweepers, inspec-
tors, the watchman and the fireman, but excluding the employees of
the engineering department, the truck driver, clerical employees, and
all supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge,
discipline, or otherwise effect changes' in the status of employees, or
effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9
(b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elec-
tion herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the
Direction.
The Company contends that part-time employees who have full-
time jobs elsewhere should not be allowed to cast ballots. Since the
record shows that all part-time employees of the Company, regardless
of whether or not-they work full time elsewhere, have the same general
2 Key men,attend foremen ' s meetings , but the record does not reveal the subject matter
discussed at such meetings The Company points to the fact that in Matter of Goodman
Manufactv,ing Company , No 13-R-2498 , 58 N L R B 531, the Union sought to
exclude key men having similar duties Nevertheless , in that case, we included the key
men concerned
8 bfatter of Scrvei, Inc . 58 N L R B. 5
4 MaVer of Automatic Instrument Company , 54 N L R R 472
5 The engineering department is composed of designers , checkers , draftsmen , tool engi-
neers and file clerks whose clerical work is associated with the functions of the department.
614 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
conditions of employment as the Company's full-tune employees, we
shall permit all, with the exception of the group hereinafter discussed,
to participate in the choice of a collective bargaining representative.'
There are a number of high school students who work during the
summer and are expected to return to school in September. The
Union contends that they should participate in the election and the
Company that they should not. Were gard those students who intend
to return.to school as having only a temporary employee status and find
that they do not have a sufficient interest in the selection of a repre-
sentative for collective bargaining purposes to be eligible to vote.'
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 Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Scully, Jones and
Company, Chicago, Illinois, an election by secret ballot shall be con`
ducted 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 Thirteenth 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 Regulations, among the
employees in the unit found appropriate 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
the.said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or tenm-
porarlly laid off, -and Including employees in the armed forces of the
United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but ex-
cluding 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 or not they desire to be represented by
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, Local
1114, affiliated with the Congress- of Industrial Organizations, for the.
purposes of collective bargaining.
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