The Gemex Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 5, 1958

120 N.L.R.B. 46 (N.L.R.B. 1958)

46 DECISIONS OF, NATIONAL LABOR_ RELATIONS BOARD
The Gemex Corporation and International Jewelry Workers
Union , AFL-CIO, Local 50, Petitioner*
The Gemex Corporation and District #47, International Asso-
ciation of Machinists , AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Cases Nos. ;?2-RC-
101 and 22-RC-112. March 5, 1958
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a consolidated hearing
was held before Herman Gelband, 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
these cases to a three-member panel [Chairman Leedom and Members
Bean and Fanning].
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The Employer would not stipulate that either of the Petitioners
is a labor organization within the meaning of the Act. It contends
further that International Jewelry Workers Union, AFL-CIO,
Local 50, herein called Jewelry Workers, should not be permitted to
represent the employees it seeks because of allegations by the AFL-
CIO that the Jewelry Workers was.exploiting certain workers and
violating the AFL-CIO code of ethics. However, we do not deem
these matters relevant to the issues here presented as it appears they
concern internal affairs of labor organizations and the Board has held
that it will not concern itself with such matters.' The record discloses
that both Petitioners exist for the purpose of dealing with employers
on behalf of their employees concerning such matters as wages,
grievances, hours, and other conditions of employment. Accordingly,
we find that they are labor organizations within the meaning of the
Act. These labor organizations claim to represent certain employees
of the Employer.
*On April 2, 1958, the Board ordered that the request of Local 50 to withdraw its peti-
tion in Case No 22-RC-101 be granted with prejudice to its filing a new petition for a
period of 6 months from the date of this order, unless good cause is shown why the
Board should entertain a new petition filed prior to the expiration of such period The
Regional Directoi approved the request of Local 50 for permission to withdraw from the
ballot in Case No 22-RC-112
i The heat ing officer referred to the Board motions by the Employer to dismiss the peti-
tions because of alleged violations be the Petitioner in Case No 22-RC-101, of the
AFL-CIO' code of ethics, and because the unit sought in Case No. 22-RC-112 is in-
appropriate For the reasons indicated hereinafter these motions are denied
2 See Imperial Reed of Rattan Furniture Co, 117 NLRB 495 and cases cited therein
120 NLRB No. 8.
THE GEMEX CORPORATION 47
. 3. Questions affecting commerce exist 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. In Case No. 22-RC-101, the Jewelry Workers seeks an election
in a unit of all production and maintenance employees excluding tool
and die employees. In Case No. 22-RC-112, Local #47, International
Association of Machinists, AFL-CIO, herein called Machinists,
requests a separate election among all employees in the toolroom. The
Employer contends that an overall production and maintenance unit
including the toolroom employees is the only appropriate unit. It is
clear that the overall production and maintenance unit is appropriate
for collective bargaining. We shall, therefore, consider whether a
separate unit of toolroom employees is also appropriate. There is no
history of collective bargaining at this plant.
The Employer is engaged at its plant in Union, New Jersey, in the
manufacture of metal and leather watch bracelets and attachments.
All operations are housed in a 1-story building with no dividers or
partitions between the various departments except that the toolroom,
located in 1 area of the plant, has a partial partition erected primarily
to prevent work and dust from flying into the adjacent departments.
There are located in the toolroom the machines usually found in
a toolroom such as lathes, milling machines, drill presses, shapers,
grinders, heating furnaces, and related equipment. Employed in the
toolrooni are approximately 30 toolmakers, 2 apprentices, 1 heat
treater, 1 steel engraver, 1 mechanic, and 1 tool crib attendant. The
tool makers work at individual benches and furnish their own precision
tools such as micrometers, squares, and calipers. They set up their
work from sketches, drawings, and samples and work to close to]-
erances. The apprentices are serving an 8,000-hour or 4-year period
to qualify as journeyman toolmakers. The heat treater is responsible
for hardening the tool steels after they have been fabricated. The
steel 'engraver makes hubs and forcers and sinks the dies. The at-
tendant for the tool crib, which is located in the toolroom and is
maintained principally for use of the toolroom employees, keeps tools
in order, gives them out as needed, and performs some machine work.
The record does not disclose what specific duties are performed by
the machinist but he has been employed in the toolroom for over 10
years. The employees in the toolroom do not interchange with other
employees and are under the immediate supervision of two toolroom
foremen who occupy an office in the toolroom area and supervise no
other employees. In view of the foregoing, we find that the toolroom
employees constitute a functionally distinct and homogeneous depart-
48 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
mental group of employees of the type the Board customarily finds
appropriate 3
There are other employees in the plant who have classifications sim-
ilar to those in the toolroom and who on occasion use the machines
in the toolroom.4 However, they are employed in other departments
under separate supervision and do not affect the appropriateness of
the toolroom unit sought.' Accordingly, we shall make no final unit
determination at this time, but shall direct that separate elections be
held in the following voting groups at the Employer's Union, New
Jersey, plant :
(a) All toolroom employees including toolmakers, apprentices, heat
treaters, steel engravers, mechanics, and tool crib attendants, but
excluding all other employees and supervisors as defined in the Act.
(b) All production and maintenance employees, excluding all tool-
room employees, office clerical and professional employees, salesmen,
watchmen and guards, foremen, foreladies, executives, and super-
visors as defined in the Act.
If a majority of the employees in voting group (a) select the
Machinists, that group will be taken to have indicated its desire to
constitute a separate bargaining unit, which the Board, under those
circumstances, finds to be appropriate for purposes of collective bar-
gaining, and the Regional Director conducting the elections is hereby
instructed to issue a certification of representatives to such union
for such unit. In that event, if a majority of employees in voting
group (b) select the Jewelry Workers, then the Regional Director is
instructed to issue a certification of representatives to that union
for a unit of such employees, which the Board under the circumstances
finds to be appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining.
However, if a majority of the employees in voting group (a) do
not vote for the Machinists, such group will be appropriately included
in the same unit with the employees in voting group (b) and their
votes will be pooled with those in that voting groups If a majority
of employees in the pooled group select the Jewelry Workers, the
Regional Director is instructed to issue a certification of representa-
tives to that union for such unit, which under such circumstances the
Board finds to be appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.]
3 Union Steam Pump Company , 118 NLRB 689; Warner Electric Brake & Clutch Com-
pany, 111 NLRB 268; John Deere Planter Works of Deere & Company, 707 NLRB 1497
6 These include 4 toolmakers in the production department , 3 toolmakers in the in-
dustrial department , and 2 machinists in the maintenance department.
5 Kennard Corporation , 114 NLRB 150; Spaulding Fibre Co, Inc., 111 NLRB 237, 239.
e If the votes are pooled, they are to be tallied in the following manner : The votes for
the Machinists shall be counted as valid votes, but neither for nor against the union
seeking the production and maintenance employees ; all other votes are to be accorded their
face value , whether for representation by a union or for no union.