Sheffield Bronze Paint Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 17, 1948

80 N.L.R.B. 341 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of SHEFFIELD BRONZE PAINT CORPORATION, EMPLOYER
and UNITED GAS, COKE AND CHEMICAL WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO,
PETITIONER
Case No. 8-RC-190.-Decided November 17, 1948
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before a hearing officer
of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer's rulings
made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.'
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board
Members. *
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organization named below claims to represent employ-
ees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act 2
4. The parties agree that a unit of all production and maintenance
employees, excluding office and clerical employees, guards, profes-
sional employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act, is appropriate.
However, the Employer would include the chief maintenance man and
a "sub-foreman" in the shipping department, whereas the Petitioner
would exclude them as supervisors.
The chief maintenance man is assisted by one maintenance em-
ployee, and is responsible for the repair of all plant machinery. The
'Because the record and briefs , in our opinion , adequately present the issues and the
positions of the parties , the Employer 's request for oral argument and for permission to
file a further brief in reply to the brief of the Petitioner is hereby denied.
* Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Murdock.
2 At the hearing and in its brief, the Employer moved to dismiss the petition on the
ground that it did not allege , and the evidence did not indicate, that, before the petition was
filed, the Petitioner had requested recognition by the Employer and such recognition had
been refused . However, as the Employer refused at the hearing to recognize the Petitioner,
we find that a question concerning representation exists which can best be resolved by
means of an election , and the Employer 's motion to dismiss is accordingly hereby denied.
Matter of Advance Pattern Company, 80 N. L. R. B . 29. (On reconsideration )
Member Murdock considers himself bound by the decision made by the majority in the
case cited and will therefore join in this and future cases without noting a dissent.
80 N. L. R. B., No. 75.
341
342 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
shipping department subforeman, assisted by four shipping and three
receiving employees, is responsible for maintaining the proper flow
of shipments. There was testimony at the hearing that the chief
maintenance man can recommend the dismissal of his assistant, and
that the shipping department subforeman may make similar recom-
mendations as to employees in his department. Like acknowledged
supervisors of the Employer, the maintenance chief and the subfore-
man are paid on a salary basis, earn approximately 50 percent more
than do the rank-and-file production and maintenance employees, and
receive vacations as a matter of right. Rank-and-file employees, on the
other hand, are paid on an hourly basis, and are granted vacations only
at the discretion of the Employer after long service and if the Em-
ployer considers their work records satisfactory. We are of the opin-
ion that the chief maintenance man and the subforeman of the ship-
ping department are supervisors within the meaning of the Act. We
shall, therefore, exclude them from the unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Em-
ployer, at its Cleveland, Ohio, plant, excluding office and clerical
employees, guards, professional employees, the chief maintenance
man, the subforeman of the shipping department and all other super-
visors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for pur-
poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b)
of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than
30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was
heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among
the employees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4,
above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including employees
who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or
on vacation or temporarily laid off, 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, and also exclud-
ing employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to deter-
mine whether or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of
collective bargaining, by United Gas, Coke and Chemical Workers of
America, CIO.