The Pure Oil Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 22, 1944

55 N.L.R.B. 1455 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of THE PURE OIL COMPANY ( SMITH'S BLUFF REFINERY)
and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS , LODGE No. 395
Case No. 16-R--808.-Decided April 03 , 1944
Mr. C. E. Bryson, of Houston, Tex., and Messrs. J. S. Allen and I. L.
Hostetler, of Nederland, Tex., for the Company.
Mr. Earl H. Spencer, of Nederland, Tex., and Mr. H. McDonald, of
Vidor, Tex., for the I. A. M.
Mr. L. L. Crane, of Port Neches, Tex., and Mr. W. J. Ti onabley, of
Port Arthur, Tex., for the C. I. O.
Miss Frances Lopinsky, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by International Association of Ma-
chinists, Lodge No. 395, herein called the IAM, alleging that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of The Pure Oil Company (Smith's Bluff Refinery), Neder-
land, Texas; herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations
Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before
Glenn L. Moller, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Beau-
mont, Texas, on March 4, 1944. The Company, the IAM, and Oil
Workers International Union, Local No. 228, CIO, herein called the
CIO, appeared and participated. All parties were afforded full op-
portunity 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 an opportunity to file briefs
with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Pure Oil Company is an Ohio corporation with its principal
office in Chicago , Illinois . It is engaged in producing , refining, trans-
55N L . R. B, No 267.
1455
1456 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
porting, and selling petroleum and petroleum products within the
States of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Michigan,
Illinois, Ohio, and Kansas, and operates refineries in Michigan, Ohio,
West Virginia, and Texas. The Company's refinery at Nederland,
Texas, known as Smith's Bluff Refinery, is the.only operation of the
Company involved herein. The through-put capacity of the Smith's
Bluff Refinery is approximately 50,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Approximately 25 percent of the crude oil processed there is shipped to
the refinery from the State of Louisiana and more than 50 percent of
the finished products of said refinery is shipped from it to points out-
side the State of Texas.
We find that the operations of the Company affect commerce within
the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Association of Machiliists, Lodge No. 395, affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
Oil Workers International Union, Local No. 228, affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admit-
ting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION; THE ALLEGED
APPROPRIATE UNIT
The refinery operations of the Company are divided into an Oper-
ating Division and a Maintenance Division. About the year 1938,
the Company, because of the varied needs of the craft departments
in the Maintenance Division, discontinued its practice of employing
persons as helpers in specific craft departments and created a Fool of
"maintenance helpers." These helpers were to be available to and
capable of working in any of the craft departments.
On November 14, 1939, the CIO, the JAM, and the Company en-
tered into a consent election agreement pursuant to which the pro-
duction and maintenance employees of the Company were given an
opportunity to vote for or against the CIO as their exclusive bargain-
ing representative. In a separate election the machinists, handy men,
and service men in the Mechanical Department were afforded an op-
portunity to vote for the CIO, the IAM, or neither as their exclusive
collective bargaining representative. As a result of the elections, the
IAM was recognized as the bargaining representative of the machinists
and the CIO was recognized as the bargaining representative of all
other employees in the plant, including all craftsmen in the mnainte-
nance department except machinists, and including the maintenance
helpers.
THE PURE OIL COMPANY 1457
In the operation of the pool, although maintenance helpers are sub-
ject to being assigned to work with any craft in the refinery , certain
of them tend to spend the major portion of their time in one depart-
ment. There are four such helpers who spend as much as 90 percent
of their time working with the machinists. The IAM contends that
they are, therefore, more properly a part of the machinists' unit repre-
sented by the IAM than of the residual unit represented by the CIO,
and it requests that the Board find that machinists, handy men, serv-
ice men, and machinists helpers in the Company's Mechanical Depart-
ment constitute an appropriate unit. However, the IAM does not
seek an election covering the entire group but desires to have any elec-
tion which the Board might order confined to the four maintenance
helpers who spend the major portion of their time as machinists'
helpers to determine whether or not they desire to be included in the
machinists' unit for the purposes of collective bargaining. The CIO
maintains that because of the upgrading system of the Company,
whereby any maintenance helper may qualify to fill a vacancy in
any maintenance department irrespective of the department in which
he does most of his work,' the granting of the IAM's request would
be prejudicial to the rights of all other maintenance helpers and would
be contrary to the history of bargaining as established and adhered to
since 1939. The Company asserts that it has no preference in the
matter except that it wants to be able in any case to continue freely
to shift maintenance helpers around as they are needed.
The machinists generally require more helpers than do other crafts-
nien. For long periods of time, other helpers in addition to the 4
presently in dispute spend the major portion of their time as ma-
chinists' helpers. It is contemplated that in the near future the
number of helpers at all times spending the major portion of their time
with the machinists will increase from 4 to 10. It is, therefore, evi-
dent that the number of persons affected by the proposed change is
not constant and the matter would continually need readjustment.
In view of the interchangeability of maintenance helpers and the long
history of bargaining instituted by the consent election agreement in
1 For the purpose of increasing the number of skilled workmen in its employ , the Company
has instituted a training program whereby a certain number of "trainees" are assigned to
each craft department . These trainees are maintenance helpers who have evidenced an
interest in a certain craft and to whom the craftsmen in that department give particular
attention. In accordance with its contract with the CIO, the Company' s upgrading system
provides for the posting of vacancies in all departments . Laborers in the Company's
employ may apply for positions in the maintenance helper pool ; only maintenance helpers
may apply for vacancies in the "trainee " class. Trainees , if qualified , have first preference
in the filling of vacancies in the department in which they have trained, but if the trainee in
the department is not qualified , a maintenance helper qualified by ability and seniority may
have the position. A trainee may also qualify to fill a position in a department other
than the one in which he was training , but in applying for such a position , he has a status
no higher than other maintenance helpers
5 i 8129-44-vol 55-93
1458 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
which the IAM participated, whereby, with the acquiescence of the
IAM the maintenance helpers have been included in the residual unit,
we find that the employees affected by the petition may not appro-
priately be added to the machinists' unit. We further find that no
question concerning the representation of employees of the Company
in an appropriate bargaining unit has arisen within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) of the Act. Accordingly, we shall dismiss the petition.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and the entire
record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders
that the petition for investigation and certification of representatives
of employees of The Pure Oil Company (Smith' s Bluff Refinery),
Nederland, Texas, filed by International Association of Machinists,
Lodge No. 395, be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Order.