The Globe Brick Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 6, 1943

51 N.L.R.B. 1096 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

J
In the Matter of THE GLOBE BRICK COMPANY and UNITED BRICK &.
CLAY WORKERS OF AMERICA, A. F. L., LOCAL 895
Case No. R-5657.Decided August 6, 1943
Mr. Clyde A. Armstrong, of Pittsburgh, Pa., for the Company.
Mr. William T. Bailey, of Laurel Gardens, Pa., and Mr. Frank
Kasten, of Chicago, Ill., for the A. F. of L.
Mr. Wallace E. Royster, of counsel to the Board.,
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by United Brick & Clay Workers of
America, A. F. L., Local 895, herein called the A. F. of L., alleging
that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of The Globe Brick Company, Newell, West
Virginia, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations
Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before
Henry Shore, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chester,
West Virginia, on July 9, 1943. The Company and the A. F. of L.
appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be
heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evi-
dence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at
the hearing, are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
The Trial Examiner reserved ruling on the admissibility of Company's
exhibits, 1, 2, 3, and 4. For reasons appearing in Section IV, following,
the exhibits are received. All partieswere afforded opportunity to file
briefs with the Board. In its brief, the Company moved to dismiss the
petition on the ground that the petitioner has failed to make a sub-
stantial showing of membership in an appropriate unit. For reasons
appearing in Sections III and IV, following, the motion is denied.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the follov,wing :
51 N. L. R. B., No. 175.
1096
THE GLOBE BRICK COMPANY
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
1097
The Globe Brick Company is a West Virginia corporation, engaged
near Newell, West Virginia, in the mining of clay and the manufacture
of fire clay ladle brick. During the past 12 months, the Company used
raw materials, in the process of manufacture, of approximately
$170,000 in value, of which about 30 percent was shipped to the Com-
pany from points outside West Virginia. During the same period,
the Company sold finished products valued at $1,172,218.63, of which
approximately 94 percent was shipped from the plant to points outside
West Virginia'.
The Company concedes, for the purpose of this proceeding, that
it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor
Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
United Brick & Clay Workers of America, A. F. L., Local 895, is
a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
It was stipulated at the hearing that the A. F. of L. requested
recognition of the Company as the exclusive collective bargaining
representative of the employees working in the Company's clay mine
and that the Company refused to accord such recognition without
certification by the Board.
A statement of the Regional Director, introduced into evidence at
the hearing, indicates that the A. F. of L. 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 A. F. of L. requests a unit of employees working in the clay
mine excluding supervisory, office, and clerical employees. The Com-
pany `opposes any unit not including plant as well as mine employees.
The mine is located on a hill approximately, 1,500 feet from the
brick plant. Clay from the mine is carried by chute to a crusher
1 The Regional Director stated that the A. F. of L. submitted 20 authorization cards,
all bearing apparently' genuine, original signatures . Seventeen cards were dated in March
1943 and 3 were undated . Nineteen cards bore names of persons whose names appear on
the Company's pay roll of June 14, 1943. The pay roll lists the names of 48 employees
in the appropriate unit.
1098 DECISION'S OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and thence by conveyor belt to the plant for manufacture into brick:
Operation of the plant depends upon the receipt of clay from the
mine , and operation of the mine depends upon a demand for clay
from the plant . Obviously the entire operation of mining "d
manufacturing is complementary and well integrated . However,
the plant may operate by using clay trucked to the plant from an-
other mine and the plant was so supplied for a short period recently.
Conversely the clay from the mine may be sold and transported for
use in another plant . In this aspect the mine and the plant are
functional units not necessarily dependent one upon the other. The
employees at the mine are under separate supervision from those at
the plant and in recognition of the hazards attending their work
receive higher wages. There is no practice of transferring employees
between the plant and mine and the skills of the employees in the
mine are dissimilar to those possessed , by employees in the plant.,
The A. F. of L . has not succeeded in organizing the plant employees
and hence requests 'a unit coinciding with the extent of effective
organization . The A. F. of L . does not assert that under other cir-
cumstances the plant and mine unit would be inappropriate and agrees
that in the industry the employees in plant and mine are frequently
represented in one bargaining unit.
The Company asserts that the employees of its several competitors
are organized in each case as one unit and that to permit separate
organizaion here would subject the Company to disadvantages not
suffered by others in the industry . No evidence was offered in sup-
port of this assertion and the statement itself is not probative . During
the hearing , the Company called employees from the plant as wit-
nesses who testified that plant employees opposed a separate, unit
for mine employees . The Company also offered ' in' evidence, as ex-
hibits 1, 2, 3, and 4 , petitions purportedly signed by substantially all
the plant employees . The petitions contain the following recitation :
We employees of the Globe Brick Co. plant hereby petition the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board to allow us to vote with the mine
employees on the question of union representation the same as every
similar industry in this region has done.
Clearly the petitions above are a request in opposition to the
request contained in the A. F. of L. petition but they do not, alterna-
tively, request an investigation of representatives for all employees
in the plant and mine unit . In fact none of the witnesses through
whom the petitions were introduced expressed . a desire'to designate
a collective bargaining representative .2 The petitions in question,
in the light of the testimony of signatory employees , appear to ex-
2 Cf. Matter of Tabardrey Manufacturing Company , 51 N. L. R. B. 246.
THE GLOBE BRICK COMPANY 1099
press a desire on the part, of the plant--empioyees-that no 'bargain-
ing representative be designated. Thus the petitions lend weight to
the contention of the A. F. of L. that the mine workers, among whom
alone organization has been effective, constitute an appropriate unit.
We shall not require the employees in the mine presently to forego
the benefits of collective bargaining until the employees in both plant
and mine are organized, when, as here, there is no immediate pros-
pect of such over-all organization. Accordingly, we shall find that
a unit, coinciding with the extent of effective organization, confined
to the employees working in the mine is appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining.
The A. F. L. opposes the inclusion of the following mine employees
on the ground that they possess supervisory authority.
Walter Jones works at the scales and records the weight of clay in
each car. His record is a check on the automatic weight recording
device attached to the scale. He receives the same'hourly rate as a
trackman.
Frank Joszczak is a timberman. He inspects the working places in
the mine each morning and determines what timbering should be done
in the interest of safety. If he finds a working place to be unsafe,
he directs the miners to another working place until the necessary
measures are taken to avoid a "fall." He works along with his as-
sistants and receives the same rate of pay as a driller.
Lawrence Kidder works with three others on the night shift. He
and the others dump and weigh clay, remove explosives, from the mine,
and fill storage batteries. He is looked upon as leader in this night
group. He is hourly paid and receives the same rate as a motorman.
None of the above has authority to hire, promote, discharge, dis-
cipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees or ef-
fectively recommend such action. We find them not to be supervisory-
employees and, accordingly, shall include them in the unit.
We find that all employees of the Company working in the mine near
Newell, West Virginia, including the three named above, drillers,
tampers, motormen, clay loaders, laborers, trackmen, and timbermen,
but excluding the superintendent, plant and office employees, and all
persons having authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or
otherwise effect changes in the status of employees or effectively recom-
mend such action, 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 means of an election by secret ballot among
the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the
1100 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of
Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in
the Direction.3
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 Relations
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 Globe Brick
Company, Newell, West Virginia, 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 Sixth 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 such 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 Brick & Clay Workers of
America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, Local 895,
for the purposes of collective bargaining.
CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
3 The A. F. of-L requests that it appear on the ballot as in the Direction