The Champion Machine & Forging Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 24, 1943

51 N.L.R.B. 705 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of THE CHAMPION MACHINE & FORGING Co. and INTER-
NATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF BLACKSMITHS, DROP FORGERS AND
HELPERS (AFL)
Case -No. R-5493 .-Decided July 24,1943
Messrs. J. F. Connelly and Herbert W. Foster , Jr., of Cleveland,
Ohio, for the ' Company.
Mr. if. TV. Patterson , of Cleveland , Ohio, for the Blacksmiths.
Maurice Sugar, Esq., by Air. N. L. Smokier, of Detroit, Mich., and
Mr. Charles 8. Rigby , of Cleveland , Ohio, for the UAW-CIO.
Miss Muriel J. Levor, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
SrATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon amended petition duly filed by International Brotherhood of
Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers and Helpers (AFL), herein called the
Blacksmiths, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen
concerning the representation of employees of the Champion Machine
& Forging Co., Cleveland, Ohio, herein called The Company, the
National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice before Max W. Johnstone, Trial Examiner. Said
hearing was held at Cleveland, Ohio, on June 4, 1943. The Company,
the Blacksmiths, and International Union, United Automobile, Air-
craft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Local 217
(CIO), herein called the UAW-CIO, appeared,' participated, and
were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine 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. All parties were afforded
opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
International Die Sinkers Conference nas served with notice of hearing and appeared.
IIowever, finding its interests not involved , it did not participate in the hearing.
51 N. L. R; B., No. 117.
705
706 DECISIONS OF NA'T'IONAL LABOR RE'LA'TIONS BOARD
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Champion Machine & Forging Co., an Ohio corporation, with
its principal office and place of business at Cleveland, Ohio, is engaged
in the business of manufacturing drop forgings. The "new forge
shop," a recent-addition to the Company's plant,. was constructed by
the Defense Plant Corporation in whom title remains. Raw ina-
terlals consisting principally, of steel, coal, and oil, amounting to
about $400,000 in value, are purchased by the Company annually, of
which approximately 20 percent is shipped from points outside the
State of Ohio. The Company manufactures annually drop forgings
of a value in excess of $2,000,000, of which approximately 90 percent is-
shipped to points outside the State of Ohio.
The Company concedes that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers and
Helpers is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation
of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company
International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural
Implement Workers of America, Local 217, is a labor organization
affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to
membership employees of the Company.
III. THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Blacksmiths claims as appropriate a unit composed of "all
hammermen, helpers, shear crew, blacksmiths, upsetter operators,
trimmer setters, intensifier operators and charging machine operators,
industrial truck drivers, and crane operators working in the forge
shop proper, but excluding all other employees." The UAW-CIO
contends that the petition should be dismissed on the grounds that
the proposed unit is neither craft nor departmental, and that the
Blacksmiths has bargained with the Company in the past on an
industrial basis. The Company's position is neutral.
The Company's entire plant is devoted to drop forging operations.
There are two forge departments, which, together with the cold trim
shop, comprise the entire plant. The other departments named in the
record, are the maintenance department, the boiler house, and the
office. ^ There is testimony to the effect that the entire plant is a
THE CHAMPION MACHINE & FORGING CO. 707
forging shop, no evidence was adduced to the contrary, and it clearly
appears that all operations are highly integrated.
The hammermen and some of the other categories of employees
requested by the Blacksmiths require considerable skill. However,
the skill required for the highest positions requested does not appear
to be substantially greater than that necessary for the more highly
skilled excluded categories. The work done by many of the em-
ployees requested is performed in conjunction with several categories
of employees, hereinafter described, excluded from the proposed
unit. On the other hand, numerous employees desired by the Black-
smiths, such as industrial truck drivers and crane operators, do not
perform forging operations proper although they work in the forge
shop. Their work differs not at all from that of employees in the
same classification who work outside the forge shop and whom the
Blacksmiths proposes to exclude.
As stated above, these are several categories of employees whom
the Blacksmiths desires to exclude that work in close conjunction
with the groups sought to be included thus, heat treater operators
perform the next operation after the forging leaves the trimming
press. Approximately 85 percent of the drop forgings at present are
placed in a second set of furnaces and subjected to "heat treatment."
In addition, the heat treaters do some "striking" on drop forge
hammers, which is a forging operation. Hot inspectors follow while
the hammermen are working and check the forgings with gauges for
visible defects. Cold inspectors use air grinders to remove defects.
They are employed in the inspection and shipping department, which
is located in the forge shop. Sand blasters, although they perform
the function usually associated with that designation, also work in
the forge shop.
The Blacksmiths formerly had contractual relations with the Com-
pany which,expired on March 16, 1942. The unit which it thus
represented included, in addition to the categories here requested, hot
inspectors, heat treaters, cold inspectors, shipping room employees,
cold trimmers (a closely allied operation which is performed in a shop
adjolning the forge shop) and grinders. On June 9, 1942, the Com-
pany and the UAW-CIO entered into a contract as a result of
a consent election to which the Blacksmiths was a party. The consent
election agreement unit included the various categories of employees
who work in the forge shops whose function is described above and
whom the Blacksmiths now desires to exclude.
Although we have frequently held that units which were neither
craft nor industrial are appropriate, in those cases the units requested
were clearly defined and identifiable groups that could, on functional
or other bases, logically and reasonably be segregated from other
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708 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
employees for the purposes of collective bargaining. Here the pro-
posed unit is clearly arbitrary since it does not coincide with a craft
or a department but arbitrarily excludes employees performing oper-
ations in conjunction with those included and because, although not
a department-wide unit, it includes employees performing the same
function as others who are excluded. Nor are the considerations
which impel us to direct elections in units coincident with the extent
of organization present in the instant case, since a necessary require-
ment in such cases is that the requested unit conform to other criteria
of appropriateness. In addition, as hereinbefore described; the
Blacksmiths has previously bargained with the Company for a more
extensive unit and no reason appears from the record now before us
why employees formerly included in the unit should now be excluded.
We shall, accordingly, dismiss the petition in the instant proceeding.
IV. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Since, as found in Section III above, the bargaining unit sought
to be established by the petitioner is inappropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining, we find that no question has arisen concerning
the representation of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and the entire record
in the case, the Board hereby orders that the petition for investiga-
tion and certification of representatives of The Champion Machine
& Forging Co., Cleveland, Ohio, filed by International Brotherhood
of Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers and Helpers (AFL) be, and it hereby is,
dismissed.
I