The American Sugar Refining Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 30, 1948

76 N.L.R.B. 1009 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of TILE AMERICAN SUGAR REFINING COMPANY, EMPLOYER
and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF FIREMEN AND OILERS, POWER-
HOUSE EMPLOYEES, OPERATORS AND MAINTENANCE MEN, LOCAL 3,
A. F. OF L., PETITIONER
Case No. 1-B-3873.Decided March 30, 1948
Air. Rufus C. Folsom, of Boston, Mass., for the Employer.
Mr. Hyman H. Borax, of Boston, Mass., for the Petitioner.
Messrs. Emerson F. Moseley and Milton J. Whalen, of Boston, Mass.,
and Mr. Meyer Stern, of New York City, for the Intervenor.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Boston,
Massachusetts, on December 11, 1947, before Leo J. Halloran, hearing
officer.' The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.2
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
The American Sugar Refining Company, a New Jersey corporation,
is engaged in the business of refining sugar. It operates a refinery in
Boston, Massachusetts, which is the only plant of the Employer in-
volved in the instant case. During 1946, it used at its Boston refinery
raw sugar worth more than $10,000,000, all of which was received from
points outside the State. The value of the output of this refinery
exceeded $10,000,000, about 33 percent of which was shipped to points
outside the State.
I Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a
three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board Members [Houston, Reynolds, and
Gray)
, The hearing officer properly excluded inquiry by the Intervenor into the showing of
interest submitted by the Petitioner Matter of Mascot Stove Co , 75 N L R. B. 427; and
Matter of Southern Ada.ance Bag and Paper Co , 75 N L. R B. 614.
70 N. L. R. B, No. 146.
1009
1010 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
United Packinghouse `Yorkers of America, herein called the Inter-
venor, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial
Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refused 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.
The Intervenor contends that the instant proceeding is barred by an
outstanding contract between the Intervenor and Employer. This
contract was not executed, however, until August 21, 1947, more than a
month after the filing of the instant petition. Accordingly, we find
that the current contract does not prevent a determination of
representatives.3
We find that 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.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT; T[IE DETERMINATION OF REPRESE NTATIVES
The Petitioner seeks a unit consisting of all shift firemen, shift water
tenders, and coal passers employed in the boilerhouse of the Employer's
Boston, Massachusetts, plant.4
The water tenders and firemen, but not the coal passers, are re-
quired to possess licenses issued by the State Department of Safety.
The water tender acts as lead man for the group. He exercises general
supervision over the work of the others, assisting them when necessary.
He reports to the chief engineer in the powerhouse. On the night
shift, when the chief engineer is absent, the water tender assumes
the responsibility of the chief engineer with respect to the operations
'The Intervenor urges that on Jul3 18 , 1947 , when the instant petition was filed, there
was in effect an interim contract extending an earlier agreement between the Intervenor
and the Employer However, the mtei im contract, having expired on August 21, 1947, can-
not either alone or in conjunction with the current contract , be pleaded as a bar to the
instant proceeding Matter of Norcal Packing Company, 76 N L R B 254
4 This is the unit requested in the petition as amended at the hearing on oral notion by
the Petitioner.
THE AMERICAN SUGAR REFINING COMPANY 1011
of the boilerroom. The water tender is responsible at all times for
maintaining those operations at the level expected by the chief en-
gineer. We are, accordingly, satisfied and find that he has authority
"responsibly to direst" the other employees in the boilerroom within
the meaning of Section 2 (11) of the amended Act, and, so, shall
exclude him from the unit as a supervisor.
The fireman operates the boilers under the guidance of the water
tender, and sees that the fires and steam pressures in the boilers are
properly maintained. The coal passer operates an overhead crane
which takes coal from a storage bin and feeds it to the boilers.
The boilerhouse is in a building separate from the main plant.
There is no interchange of personnel between it and the main plant,
nor is there any contact between the boilerhouse group and the other
employees. There is an established line of advancement from coal
passer to fireman to water tender.
The Intervenor opposes severance of the boilerhouse group on the
ground that they have been part of a plant-wide unit established in
1937,5 and recognized by the Employer since that time in collective
bargaining contracts .6 The Employer takes a neutral position on
this question.
We have frequently held that employees in manufacturing or proces-
sing industries with duties similar to those performed by the em-
ployees here involved may be severed from an existing plant-wide
unit.'
Under all these circumstances, we believe that the firemen and coal
passers may, if they so desire, constitute a separate unit. However,
we shall make no unit determination pending the outcome of the elec-
tion directed hereinafter. If, in this election, the employees select
the Petitioner, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to
constitute a separate unit. We shall not place the Intervenor's name
on the ballot, inasmuch as it has not complied with Section 9 (f) and
(h) of the amended Act.
8 On June 30, 1937, the Sugar Refinery Workers, Industrial Union No 4, C I O , won a
consent election among the production and maintenance employees in the refinery here
involved . Case No. 1-R-52 Contracts for those employees have been negotiated by this
union up to the present time , first, under the name given above in this note, subsequently,
under the name of Sugar Refinery Workers' Local Industrial Union, No 1072, C I. 0., and
currently under the name of Sugar and Allied Products Division, Local Union 1072, United
Packinghouse Workers of America, C I 0
8 The Intervenor also objected to the unit on the ground that it excluded employees
elsewhere in the plant who belonged to the same "crafts" as the boilerhouse group. How-
ever, the only evidence supporting this objection consisted of testimony that there were
"hoisters" in th.1 raw sugar shed, 250 feet from the boilerhouse , who, like the "coal pass-
ers," operated cr nes There is no interchange between the "coal passers" and the "hoist-
ers " Under the circumstances , we find no merit in the Intervenor ' s objection.
7 Matter of E. W. Bliss Company , 76 N. L. R. B. 475, and cases there cited, and
Mattel of G eneral Motors Corporatioa , 74 N. L It. B 18
781902-48-vol 76-65
1012 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The election will be directed among all shift firemen and coal passers
in the boilerhouse at the Employer's Boston, Massachusetts, plant.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining with The American Sugar Refining
Company, Boston, Massachusetts, an election by secret ballot shall be
conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from
the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the
Regional Director for the First Region, and subject to Sections 203.61
and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula-
tions-Series 5, among the employees in the voting group described
in Section IV, 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 em-
ployees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine
whether or not they desire to be represented by International Brother-
hood of Firemen and Oilers, Powerhouse Employees, Operators and
Maintenance Men, Local 3, A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective
bargaining.