The Firestone Tire and Rubber Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 30, 1947

73 N.L.R.B. 691 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter of THE FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY, EM-
PR•and. UNITED RUBBER, CORK, LINOLEUM AND PLASTIC WORKERS
OF AMERICA, LOCAL UNION #310, CIO, PETITIONER
Case No. 18-B-1754.-Decided April 30,1947
Messrs . John S. Howland, Dwight B. Eib, and E. L. Brown, of Des
Moines, Iowa, fQr the Employer.
Messrs . Floyd Robinson and George Burdon, of Rock Island, Ill.,
and Mr. James Caffrey, of Des Moines, Iowa, for the Petitioner.
Mr. Samuel G. Hamilton, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Des
Moines, Iowa, on January 23, 1947, before Clarence A. Meter, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from
prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. In its brief filed subsequent
to the hearing the Employer moved to dismiss the petition, contending
that the Petitioner has not demonstrated a sufficient showing of interest
to warrant the direction of an election. For reasons stated in the
O. D. Jennings case, we find no merit in this contention.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, an Ohio corporation, is
engaged in the manufacture of tires at its Des Moines, Iowa, plant.
During the calendar year 1946, in excess of $100,000 worth of raw
materials were shipped to this plant from points outside the State of
Iowa. During the same period, finished products worth more than
$100,000 were shipped to points outside the State.
-The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
' Matter of C. D. Jenntnge t Company, 68 N. L . R. B. 516.
73 N. L. R. B., No. 132.
691
692 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner 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 refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the Peti-
tioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner seeks a unit composed of all office clerical employees,
scheduling department employees, general foremen's office clerks,
laboratory department technicians, and development department tech-
nicians, excluding supervisory employees. The Employer opposes the
unit in that it claims that (1) the unit includes technical and clerical
employees; (2) the unit includes scheduling department and certain
other alleged managerial employees; (3) the unit includes a number
of alleged confidential personnel; and (4) the unit includes a number
of alleged supervisory employees.
Technical employees
Laboratory department technicians: 2 The four laboratory depart-
ment technicians or quality control men are under the supervision of
an assistant chemist 3 Three of them work a large part of their time
in the laboratory, although their work occasionally requires their pres-
ence in the factory. They work the same shifts as production em-
ployees, which are different from regular office hours. They make phy-
sical tests of milled stocks in the factory and finished product. Since
it appears that these employees have few, if any, interests in common
with office clerical employees, we shall exclude them from the unit.
. Development department technicians : 4 The laboratory and develop =
mentoffice is located in a wing of the plant opposite that which houses
the main office. The three development department technicians ap-
parently have no contact with the general office personnel. They per-
form no clerical work. Two of these employees are college graduates.
One of them works in the laboratory and development office developing
s The names of the laboratory department technicians are not set forth in the record.
s Smith.
• Jackson , Snyder , and McGinnis.
THE FIRESTONE TIRE AND 'RUBBER ` COMPANY 693
tire specifications. The other` tivo spend 'most' of 'their ti' me in the
factory proper. All work under the supervision of the' head of the
development'department, or tire developinent en';ineer,'on' problems
pertaining to tire specifications. ' Silice,theirduties, qualifications, and
interests are different from those of office clerical employees, we shall
exclude, them from the unit.
Alleged managerial employees
Sc'h.eduling "department employees: 5-'There are three or-four em=
ployees in the" scheduling department. They' 'work' out 'of a 'wing
in the main office ' building and divide their time between office and
factory. It is the duty of these employees to-breakdown the monthly
sales requirements into daily requirements, to `keep records of all
material in the plant, to make daily production reports, and to sched-
ule all material through, the plant. The Employer contends that
scheduling department employees function as supervisory, as well
as "managerial employees, in view of the fact that certain employees
working in the factory, who have not been transferred to the schedul-
ing department, are' allegedly under' their supervision, and for the
further reason that production schedules 'are mandatory upon the
foremen. 'However, there is no evidence that they have authority
to discipline or reprimand employees. In the event ' that produc-
tion schedules are not met; and the matter is not finally adjusted
with the department manager, such failure is Called ,to the attention
of the production manager or the head of the industrial relations
department. We do not regard thefun'ction of scheduling material
through the plant as supervisory or'as an essential function of man-
agement. Moreover, it appears that' these employees ,have 'certain
interests in common with'the office -clerical employees.`' Accordingly,
we shall include the scheduling department 'employees in ;the office
clerical unit hereinafter found appropr'iate.° ,
Head'of the 'recreation department: The recreation department
is a part of the personnel or industrial 'relations department under
the direct supervision of the director of 'industrial 'relations. It is
newly established with'only one employee. The head of the recre'a-'
Pion'department is engaged in'ar'ranging for athletic and social events
for employees of- the plant. While his, discretion and activities with
respect to these matters is limited by' the broad policies of the' Em-
ployer with respect thereto, his duties necessarily involve the appli-
5 The names of these employees- are not set forth in the record.. I •
9 The Employer further contends that the duties of these employees are purely technical
in nature, performed in conjunction with factory proddction , and that they otherwise have
Insufficient community of interest with the office clerical employees ' to warrant their inclu-
sion in the unit . We find no merit in these contentions, - • '
* Miller.
694 _ DECISIONS , OF -NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
cation of personnel policies of the Employer in their broader aspects.
Since his interests are not sufficiently akin to , those of the office-
per-sonnel , we shall exclude him., _
Confidential employees
Secretary to the office manager : 8 Under the general supervision
of the comptroller the office manager formulates and effectuates labor
relations policies with respect to salaried 'personnel . His secretary
keeps and has access to employment records and confidential labor
relations matters - with respect to such employees ., Accordingly, we
shall exclude the secretary to the, office manager from the unit herein-
after found appropriate. -
Secretary in the laboratory and development departments: 0 This
employee acts as secretary to both the chief chemist and the assistant
head of the development department . Apparently these supervisory
employees do not exercise managerial functions in the field of labor
relations. The secretary in the laboratory and development depart-
ments handles correspondence and,has access to confidential'specifica-
tions, recommendations , and formulae. However, ,there is no show-
ing that these specifications , recommendations , and formulae are
concerned with labor relations matters. In these circumstances,, we
shall include this employee , in'the office clerical unit hereinafter found
appropriate 10
General foremen's office clerks::" There are two general foremeir's
office clerks. The general production - foreman or manager- of the
general preparation department has under his. jurisdiction `15O produc-
tion employees and 12 supervisors . His private office is jointly oc-
cupied by a clerk who audits time cards, keeps,a record of number of
hours ,worked and attendance of general preparation department em-
ployees,, And files reprimand, slips and employment records with re-
spect to these employees . Although his primary function, appears
to be the auditing of time cards received each morning from pro-
duction, employees ' in the general , preparation department ,, it also
appears that this, clerk is usually present-when grievances and-other
labor, relations ; matters -are discussed ,, that he has access to employ-
ment records at all,times , and that he is consulted with respect to the
interpretation of the contract under 'which, production and, mainte-
nance employees operate. Substantially the salve relationship exists
',Vacant at the time of the hearing.
Mrs Warner.
10 Matter of Briggs Manufacturing Company, 63 N. L. R. B. 860. The Employer further
contends that this employee should be excluded from , the unit for the reason that she is .
employed in departments entirely, separate from the general offices and has no common
interest with other office employees . We find ♦ no,merit in this contention ." „ , • , , , •
11 Bentall and Blake , clerks to R: T. Kinley, General Production, Foreman, and -A. C.
Wheeler , General Maintenance Foreman, respectively.
THE FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY 695
between the general foreman of the maintenance departrrient and .his
clerical assistant. Although tlre'heiid of the industrial relations de-
partment is'ch'irged generally with the handling of labor relations
negotiations and the formulation of labor relations policy within, the
plant, the general production and maintenance foremen apparently
possess substantial managerial functions with respect to labor rela-
tions policies' within' their own departments. Under these circum-
stances, eve' find that the'two general foremen's clerks 'are confidential
employees within the meaning bf the Boa'rd's customary definition 12
Timekeeping anal-'paij'roll departnnent`employees: 13 The are, 10
employees in this department. They extend and,check'as to accuracy
of rates of pay, time cards received in the pay-roll department 'each
day.' They'determine 'deductions to-be made, make up the pay roll
and prepare the actual checks. They also compute amounts of vaca-
tion pay, make up a separate pay roll`and prepare and distribute vaca-
tion piiy'checks' to' employees. • Because' these employees have access
to the -pay-roll records of the Employer and are charged with the ad-
ministrative responsibility of 'checking pay-roll earnings -acid com-
puting 'vacation 'pay' of individual employees, the Employer contends
that they 'should; be excluded from the unit: Although they are un-
der-t'ie' supervision of the-comptroller, who apparently exercises
managerial functions in the field of labor relations, it does not appear
that pay-roll employees have knowledge of such'matters. Knowledge
of payroll information is- insufficient in and of itself to bring an em-
ployee within the meaning of the Board's definition of a confidential
employee., In these circumstances,,'we 'shall' include the Timekeeping
and Payroll Deptirtnient,employees in the e-oflice clerical unit herein-
after found appropriate.''
Gr'aup insurance employees: l' Group insurance matters concern'
life-insurance, weekly benefits, hospitalization, and surgery. Weekly
benefits and life insurance are based- on the earnings of each indi-
vidual, which in turn are dependent on the physical status of each
employee as reflected in his presence in, or absence from, the plant.
The group insurance employee keeps insurance records based -on' the
earnings of each employee covered. He also has access to the, com=
plete employment record of each employee in the files of the personnel
department, which includes records of all physical examinations. He
investigates, approves, and disapproves insurance claims independ-
ently of direct supervision. Although he is under the general super-
vision of the comptroller, who apparently exercises managerial func-
tions in the field of labor relations, it does not appear that their rela-
12 Matter of Cities Service Refining Corporation , 70 N. L. R: B. 1051.
13 The names of these employees are not set forth in the record.
" Matter o f Worcester Gas Light Company, 63 N. L. R. B. 740.
" Dubois. .
696 DECISIONS -,OF. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tionship'concerns confidential -labor relations matters. . However, be-
cause his.interests are, not sufficiently . akin to those of the office clerical
employees included , in 'the unit hereinafter found appropriate, we
shall exclude him."
Supervisory employees
The 8 supervisory employees in dispute are in charge of, or during
the absence of 'the department head assume, charge; of, various ofces
and departments of the Employer. Each -has, from 1 to 10 subordi-
nate employees. None of these supervisors can hire or discharge any
employee. All; however, have the authority to recommend changes
,in. the status of their subordinates. It appears. that such.-recom-
mendations are given substantial weight. In these circumstances, we
are of the opinion that these employees, all possess sufficient authority
to be classed as supervisory within the meaning of the Board's usual
definition. We shall, therefore, exclude the heads of the scheduling,l7
order,18 cost accounting,1° and receiving and stores departments '20 the
assistant heads of the vouchers,21 factory accounting,22 and cost ac-
counting 23, departments, and the assistant purchasing agent 24
In addition to prior exclusions, we shall,-in conformity with the'
agreement of the parties, exclude from the unit established herein, the
purchasing agent,25 the comptroller,26 the heads of the timekeeping,27
vouchers ,2e factory accounting 2?_ R. F. C. accounting,S° and industrial
relations 31 departments, the assistant heads of the industrial rela-
tions 32' and development 33 departments, the chief chemist" and as-
sistant chemists 35 in the laboratory, the secretaries to the head of the
industrial relations department,30 the, secretaries, to the plant man-
ager,97 the production manager,- the plant engineer,3s the purchasing
Matter of Ford, Motor
' 37 Jewel.
18 Wilson.
>° Strauss. -
2°LaVia.
21 Moore.
'3° Bioermn:
23 Anderson.
94 Bingaman.-
'2° Howlett.
Z° Fred C.,Jackson. .
?'! Brockway.
28 Harrell.
29 Paul Shoemaker.
80 Schrey.
81 Dwight B. Eib.
92 Woods.
83 L. W. Dickinson.
84 P. W. Libby.'
Company
88 Vest , Smith , and Chase.
95 Friederichsen and Carvour.'
ea Daub.
38 Conlan.
89 Hamilton.
( Chicago Branch), 66 N. L . R. B. 1317. 1324.
-THE FIRESTONE TIRE . AND- RUBBER ,COMPANY -., 697
agent and , traffic , manager'40 and the comptroller '41-the time-study
methods employees'42 the "rotating stenographer," 43 and the switch-
board-interplant teletype operator.44 . - Y
In addition to prior inclusions, we shall, -in conformity with the
agreement .of the parties, include in the office clerical unit-the-three
general clerks in the shipping office and receiving department 46
- Accordingly, we find that all office clerical employees_ of the Des
Moines, Iowa, plant of the, Employer, including the secretary' in the
laboratory and development departments; scheduling, department
employees; timekeeping and pay-roll department- employees; : and
general clerks in the shipping office, and receiving department; but
excluding laboratory department and development department tech-
nicians; the chief chemist and assistant chemists in the laboratory;
general foremen's office clerks; the head of the recreation departments;
the group insurance employee; the switchboard-interplant teletype
operator; the secretaries to the head of the industrial relations depart-
ment; the secretaries to the plant manager,,the production- manager,
the plant engineer, the purchasing agent and traffic manager, the comp-
troller, and the office manager; the "rotating stenographer"; the time--
study methods employee; the purchasing agent; the.assistant purchas-
ing =agent; • the comptroller; the head's,of the timekeeping, vouchers,,
orders, factory accounting, cost accounting, receiving and stores, R.
F. C. accounting, industrial relations, recreation, and scheduling de-
partments; the assistant heads of the vouchers, factory accounting,
cost accounting, development, and industrial relations departments;
and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote;
discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of eni-
ployees, or effectively- recommend such action, constitute a unit ap-
propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean-
ing-of'Section 9 (b) of-the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining with The Firestone Tire and Rubber
'0 Clark.
41 Thielking.
41 Schaller.
's Powers.
*+ At the time of the hearing , the Employer employed both a switchboard and an interplant
teletype operator . Both were part-time employees . The Petitioner apparently desired to
include the switchboard operator and exclude the interplant teletype operator. The
Employer contended that both should be excluded as confidential employees . However, the
Employer indicated that it would combine both positions , and the Petitioner, in effect,
agreed to the exclusion of the classification of switchboard -interplant teletype operator.
In its brief filed after the hearing , the Employer states that the two positions have in fact
been combined.
The names of these clerks are not set forth in the record.
r
698 DECISIONS dF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Company, DesMoines , Iowa, an election by secret ballot shall be con-
ducted 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 Eighteenth Region , acting in this matter
as agent for the National Labor Relations Board , and subject to Sec-
tions 203.55 and 203.56 , of National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations-Series 4, among the employees in the unit found appro-
priate 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 em-
ployees in the armed forces of the United States who present them-
selves in person at the polls, 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 , to determine whether or
not they desire to be represented by United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum
and. Plastic Workers of America , Local Union #310, CIO, for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining.
CHAIRMAN IIERZOO took no part in the consideration of the . above
Decision and Direction of Election.