Stauffer Chemical Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 25, 1954

108 N.L.R.B. 1037 (N.L.R.B. 1954)

STAUFFER CHEMICAL COMPANY 1037
rate appropriate unit, if the employees so desire, despite the
history of collective bargaining on a broader basis.5 We will,
however, exclude the heat treater, the tool and cutter grinder,
and the tool-crib attendant from the unit, as they are not crafts -
men and are not in direct line of progression in the craft.6
Accordingly, we shall direct an election among all of the
tool- and die-makers and modelmakers employed by the Em-
ployer at its Central Plant, in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
excluding the heat treater, the tool and cutter grinder, the tool-
crib attendant , supervisors , and all other employees.
If a majority vote for the Petitioner, they will be taken to
have indicated their desire to constitute a separate unit, which
the Board finds, under the circumstances , to be appropriate
for purposes of collective bargaining , and the Regional Director
is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the
Petitioner for such unit. If a majority vote for the Intervenor,
they will be taken to have indicated their desire to remain a
part of the existing appropriate plantwide unit, and the Regional
Director is instructed to issue a certification of results of
election to that effect.
[ Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
5But for the fact that he consider himself bound by the Board's decision in American
Potash & Chemical Corporation, 107 NLRB 1418, Member Peterson would not sever these
employees in view of their inclusion for 17 years in the broader unit, and the absence of any
facts showing the need for their severance.
6American Potash & Chemical Corporation, 107 NLRB 1418; General Electric Company,
101 NLRB 1341.
STAUFFER CHEMICAL COMPANY and LODGE 681, DISTRICT
27, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, AFL i
and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF FIREMEN &
OILERS, AFL2 and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
FIREMEN & OILERS, LOCAL #320, AFL and PIPE FITTERS
LOCAL UNION NO. 522, UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOUR-
NEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF THE PLUMBING AND
PIPE FITTING INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES AND
CANADA, AFL, 3 Petitioners . Cases Nos . 9-RC-2147, 9-RC-
2158 , 9-RC-2182, and 9-RC-2164. May 25, 1954
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, hearings were held before Thomas M.
Sheeran, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at
iIlerein called IAM.
tHerein called Oilers.
3Herein called Pipe Fitters.
108 NLRB No. 145
1 038 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the hearings are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case,4 the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning
of the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent
certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation 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 Oilers seeks a unit of powerhouse employees and a
separate unit of production employees, including the stores
clerk, shipping clerk, janitor, and laborers. The Pipe Fitters
seeks a unit of pipefitters and helpers. The IAM seeks a unit
of maintenance employees. The Employer contends that,
because of the integrated nature of its operations, only a plant-
wide unit is appropriate. The Oilers stated at the hearing that
it desired to be on the ballot if the Board finds that a production
and maintenance unit is the only unit appropriate for collective- •
bargaining purposes.
The Employer's manufacturing process at its Louisville, Ken-
tucky, plant, the only plant involved in this proceeding, involves
the chlorination of hydro-carbine. The Employer's initial
operations began about February 1, 1954, with an expected
normal total complement of approximately 39 production and
maintenance employees. There is no history of collective-
bargaining at this plant.
Production unit: The Employer employs 3 chlorine operators,
4 process operators , and 9 operator helpers who work in 2
separately located buildings. These employees are separately
supervised, normally perform only production duties, and are
not interchanged with maintenance employees, except during
infrequent shutdowns, when the production employees perform
helpers' duties in assisting the maintenance employees. In
the absence of a bargaining history on a broader basis, we
find that the production employees constitute a unit appropriate
for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of
Section 9 (b) of the Act.5
The Oilers would also include in this unit the stores clerk,
shipping clerk, janitor, and laborers. The stores clerk receives,
dispenses , and keeps records of stocks of material for main-
tenance and production. The shipping clerk works in the ware-
house, filling customers ' orders and keeping records thereof
for filing in the main office. We find that the duties of both of
these employees are primarily of a plant-clerical nature.
Accordingly, we shall include them in the unit.
4A separate hearing was held in Cases Nos. 9-RC-2147, 9-RC-2158, and 9-RC-2164,
on January 3, 1954, and another separate hearing was held in Case No. 9-RC-2182 on March
5, 1954. The records of these two hearings are hereby consolidated for the purposes of this
Decision and Direction of Elections.
5 Wrought Iron Range Company. 75 NLRB 400 at 402.
STAUFFER CHEMICAL COMPANY 1039
The janitor and four laborers are assignedto the maintenance
department and are under the supervision of its foreman.
The janitor performs only janitorial duties in all areas of the
plant. The laborers unload coal into the boiler room, clean
up the plant , transfer some raw materials from storage to
production areas, and assist the shipping clerk in loading
products for shipment . In view of the aforesaid circumstances,
we find that these employees are more closely allied with
the maintenance employees than with the production employees.
We shall, therefore, exclude them from the production unit.
Powerhouse unit : The Employer employs 5 powerhouse
employees who work in a separately located building. Four
of these employees were experienced boiler operators when
hired. The other employee, who is inexperienced , spends 1
day each week operating the boilers as a relief operator and
the remainder of the week treating water, unloading coal,
and assisting in the powerhouse. These 5 employees perform
only powerhouse duties and are supervised by the plant
engineer , who also supervises all of the maintenance em-
ployees. One maintenance employee occasionally assists the
powerhouse employees but generally there has been no inter-
change between the powerhouse employees and the other main-
tenance and production employees . In these circumstances, we
find that the powerhouse employees may constitute a separate
appropriate unit , if they so desire.6
Pipefitters ' unit : The Employer employs three pipefitters.
These employees were hired on the basis of their prior training
and experience . They work throughout the plant and perform
some of their work in conjunction with other craftsmen but
spend approximately 100 percent of their time performing
pipefitting duties. There has been no interchange between
these employees and the production or other maintenance
employees. They are supervised by the plant engineer. In
these circumstances , we find that the pipefitters constitute
an identifiable , homeogeneous , craft group. Accordingly, the
pipefitters may, if they so desire, constitute a separate
appropriate unit.
Maintenance unit : The petition filed by the IAM sought
a multicraft unit of maintenance employees which included
some, but not all of the employees in the maintenance de-
partment . At the hearing , the IAM amended its petition to
include all of the maintenance employees . However , later in
the hearing , the IAM stated that it did not desire to appear
on the ballot of the powerhouse and pipefitter units if those
units were found appropriate by the Board. Apart from the
powerhouse and pipefitter groups described above, the re-
maining employees in the maintenance department consist of
1 electrician , 1 welder, 1 millwright, 1 instrument mechanic,
1 mechanic' s helper , 2 maintenance helpers, 1 janitor, and 4
6American Potash & Chemical Corporation , 107 NLRB 1418.
1040 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
laborers . All maintenance employees , including powerhouse
employees and pipefitter employees , are supervised by the
maintenance department foreman, and , although they work
throughout the plant , they exercise skills different from those
of the production employees , and are not interchanged with
the production employees.
In the absence of any bargaining history on a broader basis,
all of the employees of a maintenance department may con-
stitute an appropriate unit.? The IAM, however, has stated
that it does not desire to be placed on the ballots for the
powerhouse and pipefitter units, which we have herein found
may be separately appropriate , but desires to be placed on the
ballot for only the remaining maintenance employees enu-
merated above . This latter group is one for which we normally
would not direct an election as it does not, under the particular
facts of this case , presently constitute an appropriate unit,
residual or otherwise . Accordingly , if a majority of the
powerhouse employees and the pipefitters in both voting
groups vote for separate representation , the remaining main-
tenance employees sought by IAM will then constitute an
appropriate residual maintenance unit . If, however , the power-
house employees or the pipefitters , or both groups, vote
against separate representation , the employees in the group
or groups so voting must be included in the voting group of
maintenance employees.
In the circumstances of this case , we shall at this time
direct elections in the following voting groups:
(1) All production employees , including the stores clerk
and shipping clerk, but excluding office clerical employees,
guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act, and all other
employees.
(2) All powerhouse employees , excluding supervisors as
defined in the Act, and all other employees.
(3) All pipefitters and helpers , excluding all other employees
and supervisors as defined in the Act.
(4) All maintenance department employees , including the
janitor and laborers , and excluding pipefitters , powerhouse
employees , supervisors as defined in the Act , and all other
employees.
We have found that the employees of voting group (4)
constitute an appropriate residual maintenance unit only if the
employees of both voting groups ( 2) and ( 3) vote for separate
representation . If, however , the employees in either voting
group ( 2) or (3 ), or both, vote against separate representation,
the employees of the group or groups so voting must be in-
cluded in any appropriate unit of maintenance employees.
Therefore , we shall provide that if a majority of the em-
ployees in voting group (2) or (3 ) select the labor organization
seeking to represent them separately , those employees will
T Schering Corporation, 107 NLRB 1540.
CONSOLIDATED WESTERN STEEL CORPORATION, ET AL. 1041
be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate
bargaining unit and the Regional Director conducting the
election is instructed to issue a certification of representatives
to the labor organization seeking and selected by the em-
ployees in each group for such unit, which the Board, in such
circumstances , finds to be appropriate for purposes of
collective bargaining. On the other hand, if a majority of the
employees in either voting group (2) or (3), or both, do not
vote for the labor organization which is seeking to represent
them in a separate unit, the employees in such group or groups
will be included in the maintenance unit and their votes
pooled with those of voting group (4),' and the Regional Di-
rector conducting the election is instructed to issue a cer-
tification of representatives to the labor organization selected
by a majority of the employees in the pooled group, which the
Board, in such circumstances, finds to be a unit appropriate
for purposes of collective bargaining.'
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.]
8If the votes are pooled, they are to be tallied in the following manner: The votes for the
Union seeking the separate unit shall be counted as valid votes, but neither for nor against
the union seeking to represent the more comprehensive unit; all other votes are to be
accorded their face value, whether for representation by the union seeking the comprehensive
group or for no union.
9 In view of the Board's decision to pool under circumstances described above, the ballots
of voting groups (2) and (3) with those of voting group (4), we shall accord the IAM a place
on the ballots for voting groups (2) and (3). The IAM may, however, if it so desires, have its
name withdrawn from the ballots in voting groups (2) and (3) upon notice to that effect
given to the Regional Director, in writing, within ten (10) days from the date of the Direction
of Elections herein.
CONSOLIDATED WESTERN STEEL CORPORATION, ET AL.'
and DISTRICT LODGE NO. 31 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIA-
TION OF MACHINISTS, AFL, and INTERNATIONAL ASSO-
CIATION OF MACHINISTS, AFL. Cases Nos. 39-CB-19,
39-CB-20, 39-CB-24, 39-CB-26, 39-CB-30, 39-CA-202,
39-CA-205, 39-CA-206, 39-CA-207, and 39-CA-225. May
26, 1954
DECISION AND ORDER
On August 25, 1953, Trial Examiner C. W. Wittemore issued
his Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceedings,
finding that the Respondents had engaged in and were engaging
'Consolidated Western Steel Corporation, TheLummusCompany, StoneS, Webster Engineer-
ing Corporation, M. W. Kellogg Company, Graver Tank and Mfg. Co., Inc., Local Unions
Nos. 610, 753, and 2007, United Brotherhood of Joiners of America, AFL, District Council
of Carpenters for the Sabine Area, and United Brotherhood of carpenters and Joiners of
America, AFL. .
108 NLRB No. 136.
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