Smith and Wesson

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 14, 1948

77 N.L.R.B. 1145 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of SMITH AND WESSON, EMPLOYER and METAL POLISHERS,
BUFFERS, PLATERS AND HELPERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION,, A. F. of L„
PETITIONER
Case No. 1-RC-85.-Decided June 14,1948
Mr. Vernon Stoneman, of Boston, Mass., for the Employer.
Mr. Dennis T. Oates, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mr. William Malone',
of-Holyoke, Mass., for the Petitioner.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Spring-
field, Massachusetts, on March 1, 1948, before Robert - E. Greene,
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 1 makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Smith and Wesson is a Massachusetts corporation, engaged at
Springfield, Massachusetts, in the manufacture of, firearms. It re-
ceives approximately 65 percent of its raw materials' from outside the
State, and ships more than 85 percent of its finished products outside
the State. Its total sales for the past 6 months were in excess of
$500,000 in value.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engagedlin commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer,
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the, Board has delegated its
powers in connection with this case to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board
Members ( Houston , Murdock , and Gray).
77 N. L R B., No. 182
1145
1146 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
III. THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner seeks a unit consisting of all the metal polishers,
buffers, platers; and helpers at the Employer's plant. The Employer
'asserts that a plant-wide unit including the employees sought by the
'Petitioner is appropriate.
'The'approximately 65 employees whom the Petitioner seeks to rep-
resent are engaged,in -polishing the frames and• barrels of firearms.
Brush finishing, which constitutes 95 percent of this work, is broken
down into 13 steps. The employees doing brush work perform only 1
of these steps: The Employer hires untrained workers, and trains
them to perform 1 of these operations. The trainees are paid on a day
rate for 1 week, after which they are-considered proficient enough to
be put on a piece-rate basis. 'They reach complete proficiency within
a few weeks. Unless, they are able to make their piece-work base
rate within 3 months, they are not retained on the job. The employees
resist being shifted from one type of polishing job to another as it
reduces their piece-rate earnings. A training course in polishing in-
stituted by the Employer proved to be a failure for that reason.
About four or five employees of.the group sought by the Petitioner
are able 'to put a bright finish on the guns. This is a highly skilled
operation, and only 5 percent of the Employer's products are finished
in that way. These employees work in the same room tinder the same
supervision as those engaged in brush finishing.
Other finishing operations, however, such as the plating and buffing
of nickel guns, is performed by employees who work in a different
room under different supervision.
Smaller parts, such as the trigger and hammer, are polished by four
or five girls in the service department, who are classified by the Eni-
ployer as unskilled workers. They work in a different room under
different supervision. Although their work is of the same general
character as that done by the employees in the proposed unit, the
Petitioner does not seek to represent them.
The operations of the Employer are highly integrated. The em-
ployees sought by the Petitioner perform one step in the finishing
process, and employees not included in the proposed unit perform other
steps in the same process. The employees in the proposed unit work
ender the same working conditions as the employees in the rest of the
t plant; and are part of the same pay classification. There is interchange
between the polishing and other departments. In view of the facts
outlined above, we find that the employees sought herein are not a
SMITH AND WESSON 1147
skilled craft group,2 and do not on any other basis constitute a separate
appropriate bargaining unit.3 We shall, therefore , dismiss the petition
herein.
Inasmuch as we have held that :the bargaining unit sought to be
established by the Petitioner is inappropriate for collective bargaining
purposes , we find that no question exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer , within the meaning of Section 9
( c) (1) of the Act, as amended.
ORDER
Upon the basis ' of the above findings of fact and the entire record
in the case , the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that
the petition for investigation and certification of representatives of
employees of Smith and Wesson, Springfield , Massachusetts , filed by
Metal Polishers , Buffers, Platers and Helpers' International Union,
A. F. of L., be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
2 Matter of Dover Appliance Company, 76 N. L. R B. 1131 ; Matter of George J. Mayer
,Company, 77 N. L R B 425.
3 United Electrical , Radio and Machine Workers of America , CIO, was certified by the
Board in 1941 and 1945 as the exclusive bargaining agent of all the production employees
of the-Employer , and represented all of them, including those sought by the Petitioner, in
negotiating several contracts with the Employer . This union , however, does not at present
have a contract with the Employer.