The Rust Engineering Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 10, 1972

195 N.L.R.B. 815 (N.L.R.B. 1972)

ERIE MARINE DIV., RUST CO. 815
Erie Marine Division, The Rust Engineering Com-
pany ' and International Association of Bridge,
Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers, Shop-
men's Local Union No . 642, AFL-CIO, Petitioner
and International Brotherhood of Electrical Work-
ers, Local Union 56 , AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Cases
6-RC-5492 and 6-RC-5808
March 10, 1972
DECISION, ORDER, AND DIRECTION OF
ELECTION
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS FANNING
AND JENKINS
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9(c)
of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a
consolidated hearing was held before Michael A. Tay-
lor, Hearing Officer. Following the hearing and pursu-
ant to the National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations and Statements of Procedure, Series 8, as
amended, by direction of the Regional Director for
Region 6, these cases were transferred to the Board for
decision. A brief was filed by the Employer.'
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au-
thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officer's rulings
made at the hearing and finds that they are free from
prejudicial error. They are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board
finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the Act, and it will effectuate the policies
of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to repre-
sent certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer within
the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) and 2(6) and (7) of the
Act.
4. International Association of Bridge, Structural
and Ornamental Iron Workers, Shopmen's Local
Union No. 642, AFL-CIO, herein called the Iron
Workers, Petitioner in Case 6-RC-5492, filed a peti-
tion seeking a unit of all production and maintenance
employees excluding "[a]11 probationary employees,
office clerical employees and guards, professional em-
ployees and supervisors as defined in the Act." Interna-
' The name of the Employer appears in the caption as amended at the
hearing.
' International Brotherhood of Boilermakers , Iron Shipbuilders, Black-
smiths , Forgers and Helpers , AFL-CIO, and Industrial Union of Marine
and Shipbuilding Workers of America , AFL-CIO , intervened in this pro-
ceeding based on a showing of interest.
tional Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union
56, AFL-CIO, herein called Electricians, filed its peti-
tion in Case 6-RC-5808 seeking a unit of "all electri-
cians , including electronic specialists , maintenance
electricians[,] installation electricians working at Erie
Marine."' The Employer takes the position that the
only appropriate unit is the production and mainte-
nance unit including the probationary employees.
The Employer makes unit bodies for giant ore carri-
ers by what it terms the modular system of shipbuilding
at its shipyard in Erie, Pennsylvania. Steel plate is re-
ceived at an unloading area called the plate yard and
is processed in production line fashion. The steel plate,
including shapes, angles , and H or I beams , is trans-
ported by electrical cranes or conveyors through a
wheelabrator to the fab shop. There it is taken off the
conveyor by cranes and moved to burning machines
where it is fabricated, shaped, and welded. The plates
then go to an assembly building where they are welded
together and eventually turned so that two units or
modules can be joined together. As each unit comes
out, it is fitted and welded to another module, and
eventually the bow and stern are joined to each end of
the joined modules in the west slip area . The marine
vessel is then ready for final outfitting, when electrical,
mechanical, unloading and pipe systems are installed
and testing takes place. All employees doing any of the
phases of the work are classified by the Employer as
"mechanics."
Within the general office area is an office referred to
as the "Electrical Office" under the supervision of Tony
Bostaph, the supervisor of power systems. Bostaph's
section is also referred to as department 22. While most
of the employees in department 22 exercise electrical
skills, they do not do so exclusively. For instance, at the
present time, the department contains only 12 men out
of the 36 or so employed in that department when
electrical work is at its peak. When work in the section
declines, the employees are transferred to other depart-
ments where they do welding, fitting, maintenance, and
general labor.
The electrical workers in department 22 usually
work on a ship while it is in the west slip. They pull
steel to support cables, install cableways, install junc-
tion boxes, weld supports for the junction boxes, put
prescribed penetrations into the boxes, and install any
components that are required in sections that are not
installed by a subcontractor. They hook up the cable,
test the systems, and adjust the systems to make them
perform their jobs. Some modules require the same
type job while, on others, there may be some difference
in equipment. While the electrical mechanics are work-
' At one point in the record, the Electricians maintains that there is a
separate electrical department known as department 22 which is entitled to
separate representation.
195 NLRB No. 147
816 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ing on board ship, they are working alongside other
mechanics who are welding, fitting, painting, and in-
stalling machinery and piping. Occasionally, the elec-
trical workers can be found in the fab shop, drilling or
tapping junction boxes, or putting some components
like lighting fixtures together.
Electrical mechanics are also found in department
25, under the supervision of Jerry Rohan who is in
charge of the mechanical systems. The function of de-
partment 25 is to maintain buildings, grounds, equip-
ment, and cranes and to perform snow removal and
janitor work. Employees do anything from electrical
wiring, welding, and fitting to mechanical, electronic,
bricklaying, and carpentry work. The electrical work of
department 25 includes testing electrical circuity, doing
electrical repairs and preventive maintenance on ma-
chines, and replacing light bulbs and defective wire
receptacles, as well as installing new machines. Depart-
ment 25 has a small maintenance area where employees
keep their tools and where parts are kept, but the
maintenance mechanics perform their functions all
over the plant and grounds.
No license or degree is required and there is no ap-
prenticeship training for employees in either depart-
ment 22 or department 25. However, the Employer
does provide courses in electronics, basic electricity,
and blueprint reading at the Erie Technical School
which may be voluntarily attended by employees from
any department.
The Employer has no classifications other than be-
ginner, operating, and advanced "mechanic," and there
is plantwide seniority. All employees enjoy identical
benefits.
We turn first to the Electricians request for a sepa-
rate unit of electricians. Whether the unit sought is all
electrical mechanics or just those confined to depart-
ment 22 is not clear from the petition or the record. In
any event, we find that neither unit is appropriate for
the following reasons.
The electrical mechanics perform diverse functions.
Some are engaged in both maintaining electrical power
supply in the production process and electrical servic-
ing and maintenance of production machinery and
plant facilities. Others are engaged in the installation of
electrical systems on the giant ore carriers. The first
group works throughout the production areas and the
second group is limited generally to work in the marine
vessel while it is in the wet dock. Both groups work in
close conjunction with production and other mainte-
nance employees. At times when work is low, the in-
stallation electricians particularly perform a substantial
amount of nonelectrical work. There is no apprentice-
ship program for either group. The training and back-
ground of both groups of electrical mechanics do not
qualify them as skilled craftsmen and they exercise only
limited skills in the electrical field. Furthermore, the
electrical mechanics in department 22 do not constitute
a distinct and homogeneous departmental group. They
are often assigned to work in other departments, in-
cluding the maintenance department, where they exer-
cise nonelectrical duties. They share a close relation-
ship with other employees, as evidenced by their
common duties, working conditions, and benefits. Ac-
cordingly, finding as we do that neither a unit of all
electrical mechanics nor a unit limited to electricians in
department 22 is appropriate, we shall dismiss the peti-
tion filed by the Electricians in Case 6-RC-5808.
The Iron Workers, the Employer, and the Interven-
ors contend that an overall production and mainte-
nance unit including electrical mechanics is appropri-
ate. We agree. The Iron Workers, however, contends
that the probationary employees should be excluded.
Employees are hired on a 90-day probationary basis.
After the first 30 days, probationary employees receive
all the benefits of regular employees. About 50 percent
of the probationary employees do not last out their
probationary terms, but the majority of that 50 percent
resign of their own accord. Probationary employees are
terminated only for the same reasons that regular em-
ployees are terminated.
We find that probationary employees share the same
working conditions as regular employees. They receive
the same pay, work under, the same conditions, and
share the same benefits after 30 days. Their interests are
identical to those of the regular employees and, pursu-
ant to our usual practice, we shall include them in the
unit.'
The Sheffield Corporation, 123 NLRB 1454, 1457-58; National Torch
Tip Company, 107 NLRB 1271
ERIE MARINE DIV ., RUST CO.
We find that the following employees of the Em-
ployer constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9(b) of the Act.
All production and maintenance employees of the
Employer employed at its Erie, Pennsylvania,
place of business , including probationary em-
ployees, but excluding all office clerical employees,
guards, professional employees , and supervisors as
defined in the Act.
Electricians states it does not wish to participate in an election in an
overall production and maintenance unit , and we shall therefore not accord
Electricians a place on the ballot
ORDER
817
It is hereby ordered that the petition filed in Case
6-RC-5808 be, and it hereby is, dismissed.'
[Direction of Election6 omitted from publication.]
6 In order to assure that all eligible voters may have the opportunity to
be informed of the issues in the exercise of their statutory right to vote, all
parties to the election should have access to a list of voters and their ad-
dresses which may be used to communicate with them . Excelsior Underwear
Inc., 156 NLRB 1236; NLR .B. v. Wyman-Gordon Co., 394 US 759.
Accordingly , it is hereby directed that an election eligibility list, containing
the names and addresses of all the eligible voters , must be filed by the
Employer with the Regional Director for Region 6 within 7 days of the date
of this Decision and Direction of Election The Regional Director shall
make the list available to all parties to the election . No extension of time
to file this list shall be granted by the Regional Director except in extraordi-
nary circumstances Failure to comply with this requirement shall be
grounds for setting aside the election whenever proper objections are filed