Southern California Gas Co.Download PDFNational Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsOct 26, 195196 N.L.R.B. 1070 (N.L.R.B. 1951) Copy Citation 1070 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY and UTILITY WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, LOCAL 132, CIO, PETITIONER .SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY and SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION, GAS UTILITY UNIT No. 1, NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS , PETITIONER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY and SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION, GAS UTILITY UNIT No. 1, NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS , PETITIONER ,SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS CO. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY DIVISION and SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIION OF ARCHITECTS , ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS , PETITIONER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS CO. SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY DIVISION and SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS, PETITIONER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS CO. SOUTHERN DIVISION and SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION,' NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS, PETITIONER .SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS CO. NORTHERN DIVISION and SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS, PETITIONER . Cases Nos. 21-RC-1714, 21-RC-1807, 21-RC-1851, 21-110-1853, 21-RC-1854, 21-RC-1855, and 21-RC- 1856. October- 26, 1951 Decision , Order, and Direction of Elections Upon separate petitions duly filed, a consolidated hearing was held in, the above cases, in part before Jerome Smith, hearing officer, and in part before Harry G. Carlson, hearing officer. The hearing officers' rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.' 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- member panel [Members Houston, Reynolds, and Styles]. 1 The Utility Workers Union of America, and its Local 132, CIO, are hereinafter called the Utility Workers, and the Southern California Professional Engineering Association, and its local , Gas Utility Unit No. 1, both are hereinafter called the Association. 96 NLRB No 162. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY 1071 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 organizations involved claim to represent certain em- ployees 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 Employer is a public utility engaged in the sale and distri- bution of gas in southern California. Its operations are divided into nine administrative and geographical divisions, namely : Central Northern, Eastern, Southern, San Fernando Valley, San Joaquin, Kern, Newhold, and Imperial. Bargaining began at these operations in 1939 when Local 132 of Utility Workers was certified as the collective bargaining representa- tive of all production workers in the Central Division.3 Then followed Board certifications of various locals of the Utility Workers until the Utility Workers represented virtually all employees of Northern, Eastern, Southern, San Fernando Valley, San Joaquin, and Kern. In 1946 the Association was certified as the collective bargaining rep- resentative of certain technical and engineering employees in the Cen- tral Division. The employees of the Newhold and Imperial Divisions are not, however, included in any of the collective bargaining units. The Employer and the Utility Workers' locals currently have a single collective bargaining agreement with wage rates set out separately for the employees in each of the various divisions in which such locals have been certified. The Association and the Employer have a col- lective bargaining agreement for certain technical and engineering employees of the Central Division. The Association asserts, in its second amended petition in CaseNo. 21-RC-1807,'and the Utility Workers agrees, that a system-wide unit comprised of sales, technical, and professional employees is appro- priate. The Employer agrees to the composition of the units, but objects to the scope of the unit; it argues that the history of bargaining has developed entirely upon a division basis and, although in past proceedings it favored a system-wide unit, it has now adjusted its management and operational program to such divisional type bar- gaining. It further contends that the creation of system-wide units will raise 'new problems and burden it with additional administrative duties. It has been the policy of the, Board under similar circumstances, in the public utility field, to favor the larger unit over the smaller 2 The parties do not urge any contractual bar to a present determination of represent- atives 3 Southern California Gas Company, 10 NLRB 1123 , 11 NLRB 1032. 1072 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD unit,4 and to regard the system-wide unit as the optimum unit for collective bargaining. 'This is particularly true where, as here, the Employer and the Utility Workers have negotiated a single contract covering substantially all employees in seven of the Employer's nine divisions. Such a contract indicates that bargaining has already advanced beyond the divisional level. Furthermore, the Employer offered no evidence showing how a system-wide unit will burden it with additional administrative duties, and necessitate a change in its operational program. Accordingly, we find that no obstacle exists to bargaining for the employees herein on a system-wide basis, as sought by the Association and the Utility Workers.5 On the basis of the entire record in this case, and in accordance with the agreement of the parties as to the composition of the units, we find that all professional, technical, and sales employees 6 in the Em-, ployer's operations, excluding all other employees, guards, and super- visors within the meaning of the Act, may constitute a unit appro- priate for collective bargaining purposes within the meaning of Sec- tion 9 (b) of the Act. The Board is, however, prohibited by Section 9 (b) (1) of the Act from including professional employees in a unit with employees who are not professional unless a majority of the professional employees vote for inclusion in such a unit. Accordingly, we must ascertain the desires of the professional employees as to inclusion in a unit with nonprofessional employees. The Association and the Utility Workers appear willing to represent the professional employees separately. We shall therefore direct separate elections in the following voting groups : (a) All technical and sales employees in the Employer's oper- ations including those in job classifications appearing on Appendix A attached hereto, excluding all other employees, professional em- ployees, guards, and supervisors within the meaning of the Act ; and (b) all professional employees in the Employer's operations, includ- ing those in job classifications appearing on Appendix B attached hereto, but excluding all other employees, guards, and supervisors within the meaning of the Act. The employees in the nonprofessional voting group (a) will be polled as to"which, if either, of the competing unions they wish to represent them. 4 Elizabethtown Consolidated Gas Company, 93 NLRB 1270; California-Pacific Utilities Company, 93 NLRB 474 ; Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 87 NLRB 257 ; Niagara Hudson Power Corporation, 79 NLRB 1115 5 We shall therefore grant the Utility Workers' motion to withdraw its petition in Case No. 21-RC-1714 for a- unit of sales employees in the Central Division , and the motion of the Association to withdraw its petitions in Cases Nos . 21-RC-1851, 1853, 1854, 1855 , and 1856 in which it sought units of professional , technical , and sales employees of xarious divisions of this Employer. The hearing officer properly permitted the Utility Workers to intervene in Case No. 21-RC-1807. 6It would appear from the record that it is necessary for most sales employees to possess a considerable amount of technical knowledge to carry on their duties. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY 1073 The employees in the professional voting group " (b) will be asked two questions on their ballot : (1) Do you desire the professional em- ployees to be included with the sales and technical employees in a unit composed of all sales, technical, and professional employees in the Employer's operations, for the purposes of collective bargaining? (2) Do you desire to be represented for the purposes of collective bar- gaining by the Utility Workers, the Association, or by neither? If a majority of the professional employees in voting group (b) vote "Yes" to the first question, indicating their wish to be included in a unit with the nonprofessional employees, they will be so included. Their votes on the second question will then be counted together with the votes of the nonprofessional voting group (a) to decide the rep- resentative for the professional, technical, and sales unit. If, on the other hand, a majority of the professional employees in voting group (b) vote against inclusion, they will not be included with the non- professional employees. Their votes on the second question will then be separately counted to decide which union , if either, they want to represent them in a separate professional unit. Our unit determination is based, in part, then, upon the results of the election among the professional employees. However, we now make the following findings in regard to the appropriate unit : 1. 1f a majority of the professional employees vote for inclusion with the nonprofessional sales and technical employees, we find that all professional, technical, and sales employees in the Employer's operations including employees with job classifications appearing on Appendix A and Appendix B attached hereto, excluding all other employees, guards, and supervisors within the meaning of the Act, will constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar- gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. 2. If a majority of the professional employees do not vote for in- clusion in the unit with the technical and sales employees, we find that the following two groups of employees will constitute separate units appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean- ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act: I Job classifications stipulated as professional are : Air-conditioning engineer A, air- conditioning engineer B, construction detailer , designer , engineering assistant A, en- gineering assistant B, field engineering representative , home planning advisor, home service representative A, home service representative B, industrial gas engineer A, indus- trial gas engineer B, industrial serviceman , junior engineer, lead designer , municipal im- provement analyst, office engineer B, research assistant , sales representative -architect, senior draftsman , service engineer , special representative -Central Division, staff engineering assistant , technical assistant , service technician-Imperial Division. The partes agree that such employees ' work is predominantly intellectual in character rather than manual . They exercise independent judgment , and their work cannot be standardized in relation to a given period of time. It further appears that the Employer requires that candidates for any of these positions have a college degree in one of the sciences or in architecture , or the equivalent thereof in knowledge and experience. 1074 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD (a) All technical and sales 'employees including employees with job classifications appearing in Appendix A attached hereto, excluding all other employees, professional employees, guards, and supervisors within the meaning of the Act. (b) All professional employees including employees with job classi- fications appearing in Appendix B attached hereto, excluding all other employees, technical and sales employees, guards, and super- visors within the meaning of the Act. Order - IT IS HEREBY o DERED that the requests of Utility Workers Union of America, Local 132, CIO, and the Southern California Professional Engineering Association, Gas Utility Unit No. 1, National Profes- sional Association of Architects; Engineers and ' Scientists to with- draw their respective petitions for investigation and certification of representatives in Cases Nos. 21-RC-1714, 1851, 1853, 1854, 1855, and 1856 be, and hereby are, granted, and that the said cases be, and hereby are, closed. [Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this volume.] Appendix A Air-conditioning serviceman Draftsman Draftsman A Engineering aid Laboratory assistant Laboratory technician Appliance counselor 'Dealer representatives Draftsman-checker ,Quantity sales representative Sales representative, builder and contractor Sales representative, commercial Sales representative, hotel and restaurant A Sales representative, hotel and restaurant B Sales representative, new construction Special representative SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY 10715, Appendix B Air-conditioning engineer A Air-conditioning engineer B Construction detailer Designer Engineering assistant A Engineering assistant B Field engineering representative Home planning advisor Home service representative A Home service representative B Industrial gas engineer A Industrial gas engineer B Industrial serviceman Junior engineer Lead designer Municipal improvement analyst Office engineer B Research assistant Sales representative- architect Senior draftsman Service engineer Special representative, Central Division Staff engineering assistant Technical assistant Service technician, Imperial Division FORD MOTOR COMPANY, AIRCRAFT ENGINE DIVISION and PIPE FITTERS' ASSOCIATION, LOCAL 597, OF THE UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEY- MEN AND APPRENTICES OF TIIE PLUMBING AND PIPE FITTING INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, A. F. L., PETITIONER . FORD MOTOR COMPANY, AIRCRAFT ENGINE DIVISION and LOCAL 134, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, A. F. L., PETITIONER FORD MOTOR COMPANY, AIRCRAFT ENGINE DIVISION and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT & AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER FORD MOTOR COMPANY, AIRCRAFT ENGINE DIVISION and CHICAGO DIE SINKERS' LODGE No. 100 OF THE INTERNATIONAL DIE SINKERS' CON- FERENCE, PETITIONER FORD MOTOR COMPANY, AIRCRAFT ENGINE DIVISION and AIRPLANE, AIR- PLANE PARTS, SUPPLIES, ACCESSORIES, AUTO TRANSPORT, TOWING, Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation