Sturgis Foundry Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 21, 1949

85 N.L.R.B. 309 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of STLTRGIS FOUNDRY CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and
INTERNATIONAL MOLDERS AND FOUNDRY WORKERS UNION OF NORTH
AMERICA, A. F. L., LocAL 388, PETITIONER
Ca.se No. 7-RC-526.-Decided July 2.1, 1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Francis E.
Burger, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
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 [Members Houston, Reynolds, and
Murdock].
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 organization named below claims to represent 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 parties agree that all the Employer's employees, including
the core makers, molders, maintenance employees, and laborers, but
excluding the office and clerical employees, the watchman-janitor,
the foremen and all other supervisors, constitute an appropriate unit.
There is disagreement with respect to the unit placement of the pat-
tern maker, the Employer contending that he should be excluded, and
the Petitioner urging his inclusion.
The pattern maker is an hourly paid worker assigned to the pattern
shop which is separately housed. He is primarily engaged in gating,
rigging, and repairing patterns and in connection with these duties he
works with maintenance men and molders. He also devotes about 10
' This employee devotes the majority of his time to watchman's duties and the balance
of his time to janitor work.
85 N. L. R. B., No. 60.
309
310 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
to 15 percent of his time to pattern making; In the future, the pattern
maker may be called upon to spend more time making patterns if the
Employer is able to purchase the equipment necessary for the perform-
ance of these functions. The Employer contends that the pattern
maker should not be included in a unit with other employees, because
he, unlike the other workers, is a craftsman. The Board has on numer-
ous occasions included craftsmen, in units composed of production and
maintenance workers, where, as here, no union is seeking to represent
them on a separate basis.- Furthermore, were the pattern maker in
the instant case excluded from the unit, he could not by himself consti-
tute an appropriate unit with the result that he would-be left entirely
without an opportunity for representation." In view of these circum-
stances, we shall include the pattern maker. '
We find that all the Employer's employees, including the core
makers, molders, maintenance employees, laborers, and the pattern
maker, but excluding the office and clerical employees, the watclvnan-
janitor, the foremen, and all other supervisors constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of
Section 9 (b) of the Act.
5. The Employer contends that an election at the present time would
be premature because it is still in the process of setting up its plant. It
appears that the Employer began its operation in January 1949, with
23 employees, and thereafter with expanding business it increased its
personnel with the result that there were 53 employees on its pay roll
at the time of the hearing. The Employer contemplates further
expansion of its business and a complement of between 80 to 100
employees. However, this goal will not be attained unless more orders
for the Employer's products are forthcoming. As it is uncertain when
the Employer will obtain such orders, if at all, we do not believe that
the Employer's current employees, who constitute a substantial and
representative group, should be deprived of their rights at the present
time to bargain collectively with the Employer as provided in the Act .4
Accordingly we shall order an immediate election.
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
2 Matter of Air Metals , Inc., 83 N. L. R. B. 945; Matter of Lynchburg Transit Com-
pany, 79 N. L. R. B. 546.
3 Matter of W. & J. Sloane, 82 N. L . R. B. 924; Matter of American Tube Works, Inc.,
.82 N. L. R. B. 80.
4 Matter of Textron, Incorporated, 72 N. L. R. B. 341.
STURGIS FOUNDRY CORPORATION 311
days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was
heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of the National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees
described in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed during
the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction,
including employees who did not work during said pay-roll 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 repre-
sented by International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North
America, A. F. L., Local 388, for the purposes of collective bargaining.