Southern California Gas Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 11, 1947

74 N.L.R.B. 48 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY , EMPLOYER
and SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING ASSOCIA-
TION, GAS UTILITY ENGINFERS AFFILIATE, UNIT NO. 1, PETITIONER
Case No. 21-R-3573.-Decided June 11, 1947
Mr. R. R. Blackburn, of Los Angeles, Calif., for the Employer.
Mr. Perry Bertram, of Los Angeles, Calif., for the Petitioner.
Mr. Leland R. Watterman, of Los Angeles, Calif., for the Utility
Workers.
Mr. Harry W. Clayton, Jr., of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
, Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Los An-
geles, California, on March 11, 1947, before Eugene M. Purver, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from
prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. At the hearing the Em-
ployer moved to dismiss the petition on the grounds that it is not en-
gaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. The hearing
officer referred this motion to the Board. For reasons stated herein-
after the motion is hereby denied.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Southern California Gas Company is a California corporation with
its principal offices and place of business located at Los Angeles,
California. It is engaged primarily in the business of purchasing,
transporting, selling, and distributing natural gas for light, heat, and
power purposes in the central and southern portions of the State of
California. It is also engaged to a moderate extent in manufacturing,
transporting, selling, and distributing manufactured gas. As an
incident to its principal business, the Employer sells gas appliances
74 N. L R B., No. 13.
48
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY 49
at retail. The chief raw material used by the Employer in its opera-
tions is natural gas, all of which is purchased within the State of
California. In addition, it purchases other raw material, including
pipe, meters, regulators , and similar items. Of these materials,
amounts in the value of approximately $1,000,000 annually are pur-
chased outside the State of California. Omitting the value of the
natural gas purchased by the Employer, this figure constitutes approxi-
mately one-third of the total value of all other raw materials pur-
chased by the Employer. All products sold by the Employer are sold
within the State of California. The Employer supplies gas to major
industrial firms in southern California, and to a number of instrumen-
talities engaged in interstate commerce. The Eniployer is operating
its plant in conjunction with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
for the purpose of making butadiene fractions used in the manu-
facture of synthetic rubber.,
We find, contrary to its contention, that the Employer is engaged
in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations
Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS IN VOLVEn
The Petitioner is an unaffiliated labor organization, claiming to
represent employees of the Employer.
Utility Workers Union of America, herein called Utility Workers,
is a labor organization affiliated with the Congiess of Industrial Or-
ganizations, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.2
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 Eniployer, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
There is a preseiitly existing bargaining unit of "all technical
and engineering employees" at the Employer's Central Division con-
' These jurisdictional facts , stipulated by the parties in the present case, have been
found by the Board in earlier proceedings . The parties stipulated that the record in Matte
of Southern California Gas Company , 10 N L R B. 1123 , should be incorporated into the
record in this case For other cases in which the Board has previously asserted jurisdic-
tion over the operations of the Southern Cahfo,inn Gas Company, see 31 N L. R B 461,
35 N. L . R. B 263, 40 N L. R. B 256, 41 N L R B 668 , 44 N L R. B . 1395, 47 N L
R. B 690, 65 N 1, it B :i43, and 71 N. L R B 979
2 The Utility Workers appeared at the hearing for the sole purpose of protecting its inter-
est in the bargaining units established throughout the entire system of the Employei
50 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
sisting of : air conditioning engineers A, air conditioning engineers B,
construction detailers, designers, draftsmen, engineering assistant A,
engineering assistant B, estimating engineers, industrial gas engineers
A, industrial gas engineers B, junior engineers, laboratory assistants,
laboratory foremen, laboratory technicians, lead draftsmen, office
engineers A, office engineers B, process engineers, research assistants,
senior draftsmen, service engineers, and technical assistants.3
The Petitioner seeks to include within the above-described unit the
following employees in the sales department of the Central Division :
sales representative-architect; sales representative-builder and con-
tractor; sales representative-commercial; sales representative-hotel
and restaurant A ; sales representative-hotel and restaurant B, special
sales representative; and home planning advisor. In its petition, the
Petitioner alternatively requested that these employees be established
as a separate appropriate unit.
In the sales department of the Central Division there are some em-
ployees represented by. the Petitioner and some by the Utility Work-
ers.' The remainder of the employees in the department are engaged
in duties that involve sales contact work designed to encourage the use
of gas and gas appliances but not entailing engineering analysis
comparable to distinctively engineering types of jobs.
Assuming, however, that the functions of the employees sought to
be included may be deemed sufficiently technical to warrant their in-
clusion in the existing unlt,5 there are other employees in the Sales
Department, who perform similar and allied duties and functions
whom the Petitioner does not seek to represent. As indicated above,
the jobs of employees not presently represented by a collective bargain-
ing agent involve sales contact Work. There is no clear 1 ine of dis-
tinction between the duties and technical background of some of the
employees presently petitioned for and those within the salve depart-
ment not requested. Generally, these employees get in touch with
customers, "promote full and proper use of gas," and provide data
concerning the installation of gas service and the use of gas appliances.
For example, according to the Employer's job descriptions,, the sales
representative-new construction, a classification not sought by the
' Found to be appropriate in Matter of Southern California Gas Company, 65 N L R B
543. Some minor changes in the unit caused by classification revisions, but not basically
altering the certified bargaining unit, have been made by agreement of the parties. The
Employer's operations are divided into six divisions, of which the Central Division is one
4 Those employees in the Sales Department presently represented by the Petitioner are
the air conditioning engineers, draftsmen, industrial gas engineers, and office engineer.
The Utility workers iepiesents the clerks, special clerks, and stenographers.
Although the Board in Matte, of Southern California Gas Company, 41 N L. R. B 668.
Included salesmen in the Kern Division in a unit of "all employees" it excluded industrial
sales engineers and junior engineers as technical employees
6 Company Exhibit No. 5.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY 51
Petitioner , and the sales representative-builders and contractors, a
classification which is requested by the Petitioner, both get in touch
with customers and prospective customers , "promote the full and
proper use of gas appliances," "explain the advantages of gas ap-
pliances" "provide data ," and "make arrangements concerning in-
stallation ." Likewise , the quantity sales representative ( not requested
by the Petitioner) and the sales representative-conmmercial (sought by
the Petitioner ) get in touch with customers, advise them on their equip-
ment needs , and "assist ( s) the customer in . . . any matter or serv-
ice involving the Company." Further, the sales representative-main
extension , a classification not sought by the Petitioner, advises other
sales representatives on problems involving main extensions , gets in
touch with customers with other sales representatives, explains ad-
vantages of gas appliances, and provides data concerning such ap-
pliances. Thus, the proposed enlargement of the existing unit would
lead, to the inclusion of certain classifications in the Sales Department
and leave unrepresented other sales employees having similar duties,
and functions. This would be equally true if the employees petitioned
for were established as a separate appropriate unit. Accordingly, we
are of the opinion that both of the alternative unit requests of the
Petitioner are inappropriate . We shall, therefore , dismiss the petition.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition for investigation and certifica-
tion of a representative of the employees of Southern California
Gas Company of Los Angeles, California, filed herein by the Southern
California Professional Engineering Association , Gas Utility Engi-
neers Affiliate , Unit No. 1, be , and it hereby is, dismissed.
CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Order.