Spandsco Oil and Royalty Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 23, 1950

88 N.L.R.B. 1406 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter Of SPANDSCO OIL AND ROYALTY COMPANY, EMPLOYER and
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS , LOCAL 707, A. F.
L.,1 PETITIONER
Case No. 16RC-414.-Decided March 23,1950
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly. filed, a hearing was held on October 18, 1949,
before Charles Y. Latimer, hearing officer. On December 21, 1949, the
Board remanded the case to the Regional Director for the Sixteenth
Region for further hearing.2 The reopened hearing was held on
January 27,1950, before James R. Webster, hearing officer. The hear-
ing officers' rulings made at both hearings are free from prejudicial
error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board I finds :
1.., The business of the Employer :
The Employer, a Texas corporation with its principal office in Dallas,
Texas, is engaged in the business of producing crude oil from wells
which it operates under lease in various parts of Texas. During the
first 7 months of 1949, the wells leased by the Employer in Powell,
Texas, the only operation involved herein, produced 14,581 barrels of
oil worth approximately $29,000. During 1949, all the leases operated
1 Originally the International Union was designated as the Petitioner. At the reopened
hearing, the International Union moved to amend the petition to substitute its Local 707
as the Petitioner. The Employer objected on the ground that there was no showing that
Local 707 has sufficient interest among its employees . The hearing officer referred the
motion to the Board . As the showing of interest is a matter for administration determina-
tion, the Employer ' s objection is overruled . Lion Oil Company, 76 NLRB 565 . Local 707
generally represents members of the International Union in the Dallas, Texas , area, where
the Employer 's operation herein involved is located ; and, as the International Union
has indicated a desire to have the Local 707 represent the Employer ' s employees we find
that Local 707 is the real party in interest herein. Accordingly , we hereby grant the
motion to substitute Local 707 for the International Union as the Petitioner . The Colson
Corporation, 70 NLRB 1235.
2 The Employer contends that the Board was without power to reopen the hearing. It
is clear, however , that the Board may do so whenever necessary to obtain further evidence.
See Sec. 203 . 60 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations.
2 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 -member panel
[ Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Murdock].
88 NLRB No. 235.
1406
SPANDSCO OIL AND ROYALTY COMPANY 1407
by the Employer produced a total of 24,462.46 barrels of oil. All
the oil produced by the.Employer is purchased at the leases by Humble
Oil and Refining Company, which pipes this oil in a common stream
with oil from other leases to Mexia, Texas, where all the oil so piped
is sold to Stanolind Purchasing Company. Stanolind then- pipes all
this oil to its refineries in Whiting, Indiana. Under these circum-
stances, we find, contrary to the contention of the Employer, that the
Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act .4
2. The labor organization involved claims 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.
4. The appropriate unit :
The parties agree that a unit consisting of all the operating and
maintenance employees at the Employer's Powell, Texas, operation,
excluding guards, professional employees, clerical employees; and su-
pervisors, is appropriate.
The Employer contends that G. W. Ward should be excluded as a
supervisor, whereas the Petitioner claims that he is an operating em-
ployee. The Employer has a five-man crew, in addition to Ward,
stationed at its Powell operation, which is located about 50 miles from
the Employer's office. Ward is the Employer's representative on the
location, makes daily reports to the Employer, and is provided for that
purpose with a telephone by the Employer. Ward receives a monthly
salary, whereas the other five crew members are hourly paid.. His
salary is considerably in excess of the average earnings of the five
other crew members. Ward's time card designates him as' a fore-
man. The superintendent of another company, under a loan agree-
ment with the Employer, visits the Powell operation about twice a
week, and generally instructs Ward concerning the steps necessary to
maintain production. Except for these visits, Ward is responsible to
the Employer for the maintenance of production. He assigns work
to the five other members of the crew, authorizes overtime when neces-
sary, and is empowered to make purchases worth several hundred dol-
lars if, in his opinion, such purchases are necessary. He also acts as
timekeeper, and countersigns the time cards of the five other crew
members. It appears that, for the major part of each week, Ward
responsibly directs the work of the five other members of the crew,
and that, while so engaged, he has occasion to exercise independent
judgment. We find therefore that he is a supervisor within the.mean-
4 James C. Ellis d/b/a James C. Ellis (Oil Production), 72 NLRB 474.
1408 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ing of the Act,5 although he cannot hire and discharge employees, and
his power effectively to recommend such action was not established
by the record.
Accordingly, we find that the appropriate unit consists of all the
operating and maintenance employees at the Employer's Powell, Texas,
operation, excluding guards, professional employees, clerical employ-
ees, and supervisors.6
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses 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 supervision 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, among the employees in the unit found
appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed dur-
ing the payroll period immediately preceding the date of this Direc-
tion of Election, including employees who did not work during said
payroll 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 excluding employees on strike who are
not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether or not they desire
to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by Interna-
tional Union of Operating Engineers, Lbcal 707, A. F. L.
a Section 2 (11).
s The category of "supervisors" includes G . W. Ward.