The Boardman Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 11, 1943

50 N.L.R.B. 405 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

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In the Matter of THE BOARDMAN Co. and UNITED STEELWORKERS OF
AMERICA, LOCAL No. 2561, C. I. O.
Case No. R-5413.-Decided June 11, 1943
Mr. Edward Spiers, of Oklahoma City, Okla, for the Company.
Mr.-Jo" H. Curry, of Oklahoma City, Okla.,- for the Union.
Mr. Joseph E. Gubbins, of Counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by United Steelworkers of America, Local
No. 2561, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called the Union, alleging
that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of The Boardman Co., Oklahoma City, Okla-
homa, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board
provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before H. Carnie
Russell, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, on May 24, 1943. The Company and the Union appeared,
participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to ex=
amine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing
on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are
free-from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record-in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Boardman Co., a Delaware corporation, is'licensed to do business
in the State of Oklahoma, and has its principal office and only plant
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Company is engaged in the manu-
facture and production of Special equipment used in the construction of
defense industries, as well as in the sale and service of construction
equipment, such as crawler type tractors, graders or dirt moving
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DECISIONS OF NATIONAL, LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
scrapers, power units, pumps, hoists, find engines. During the year
1942 the Company purchased' raw materials amounting to approxi-
mately $532,000 in value, approximately 95 percent of which was
shipped to the Company's plant from ' points outside the State' of
Oklahoma. During the same period the Company's sales amounted
to approximately $921,000, approximately 13 percent of which was
shipped to points outside the State 'of Oklahoma. We find that the
,Company, contrary to its contention, is engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
United Steelworkers of America, Local No. 2561, affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admit-
ting to membership employees of.the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
In March 1943, the Company and the Union held several conferences
,with respect to bargaining negotiations, the result of which was that
the Company refused to recognize the Union as the exclusive collective
bargaining representative of the employees- unless and until it is
certified by the Board.
A statement of a Field Examiner, introduced in evidence at the
hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.'
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the
representation of employees of the Company,, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Company contends that a unit comprised of all employees,
exclusive of the Company's officials, would be appropriate, whereas the
Union requests a unit comprised of all production and maintenance
employees, excluding office, clerical, technical, and supervisory
employees.
Inasmuch as the work of office and clerical employees is substan-
tially different from that of the production and maintenance em-
ployees we shall, in accordance with our customary practice, exclude
office and clerical employees from the unit.
, The Field Examiner reported that the Union had submitted 55 authorization cards, all
oft which bear apparently genuine signatures, and 35 of which bear the names of persons
whose names are on the Company's pay roll as of April 20, 1943; there are approximately
88 employees in the appropriate'unit The cards were dated as follows • 10 in 1941 ; 1• in
February 1942, 25 in 1943 ;,and 19 undated The Union's representative also submitted
2 cards to the Trial Examiner , 1 of which bears the name of a.person listed on the Com-
pany's pay roll of April 20, 1943
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THE BOARDMAN CO. 407
It appears that the technical and supervisory personnel which the
Union desires to exclude is comprised of six department managers. and
five foremen, all of whom have supervisory authority. Since their
work is clearly of a supervisory nature, we shall exclude all depart-
ment managers and foremen from the unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Com-
pany's Oklahoma City Plant, excluding office, clerical, technical, and
supervisory employees, constitute a unit appropriate for-the purposes
of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date, of the Direction of Election
herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the
Direction:
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations
Act,,and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with The Boardman
Co., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 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 Sixteenth Region, acting in this matter as
agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article
III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees
in the unit'found appropriate 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, and
including employees in the armed forces of the United States Who
present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have
since quit, or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not
they desire to be represented by United Steelworkers of America,
Local No. 2561, affiliated with the C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective
bargaining. J