Tin Processing Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 2, 1948

78 N.L.R.B. 96 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of TIN PROCESSING CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and INTER-
NATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL No. 527,
A. F. L., PETITIONER
In the Matter of TIN PROCESSING CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and UNITED
ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF THE PLUMBING
AND PIPEFITTING INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA,
LOCAL No. 195, A. F. L., PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 16-R-3418 and 16-R-2425, respectively.Decided July
2,191.8
Mr. W. N. Arnold, Jr., of Houston, Tex., and Mr. S. P. Lowe, of
Galveston, Tex., for the Employer.
Mr. J. W. Null, of Fort Worth, Tex., and Messrs. St. John Croft
and B. A. Gritta, of Galveston, Tex., for the IBEW.
Mr. A. L. Stout, of Houston, Tex., for the Pipe Fitters.
Mr. Al. L. Crystal, of Houston, Tex., for the Intervenor.
Mr. Robert Oliver, of Dallas, Tex., for the Oil Workers.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon separate petitions duly filed, a consolidated hearing in these
cases was held at Galveston, Texas, on March 1, 1948, before Elmer
P. Davis, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Tin Processing Corporation, a Delaware corporation, is engaged
in the refining of tin on behalf of the Reconstruction Finance Corpora-
3 Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the
Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-man panel consisting
of the undersigned Board Members [ Houston , BIuidock , and Gray].
78 N. L. R. B., No. 17.
96
TIN PROCESSING CORPORATION 97
'tion at the latter's plant in Texas City, Texas. All the ore which is,
processed at this plant comes from foreign countries. The Employer's
annual sales of processed ore exceed $1,000,000 of which over 75.
percent represents shipments to points outside the State of Texas.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce.
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The Petitioner in Case No. 16-R-2418, herein called the IBEW, is a
labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
The Petitioner in Case No. 16-R-2425, herein called the Pipe Fitters,
is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
Tin Smelter Workers Union No. 23198, herein called the Intervenor,
is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer and the Intervenor have been in collective bargaining
relationship since 1942. In that year the Intervenor was recognized
as the bargaining representative of the Employer's production and
maintenance employees as the result of a consent election conducted
under Board auspices. At the time of the first contract , the Employer
did not have any electricians or pipe fitters in its employ. Subse-
quently such employees were added, and in succeeding contracts the
unit was enlarged accordingly. The last contract between the parties
was executed on August 6, 1947, at about 9 p. in., to be effective on
August 7 at 8 a. m. Because the petition of the IBEW herein was
pending at the time, the contract specifically excluded electricians from
its coverage . However, no such provision was made for the exclusion
of the pipe fitters, although the Pipe Fitters had, on August 6 at about
noon, communicated to the Employer by telephone its claim to repre-
sent these employees . This communication was followed by a letter
dated August 6 requesting recognition, which the Employer received
on August 7, and by a petition filed on August 7.
The Employer and the Intervenor concede that the 1947 contract
does not bar an election in the electricians ' unit. They do, however,
contend that the Pipe Fitters' claim was untimely filed and that the
current contract bars an election among the pipe fitters. We find no
merit in this contention . Because the Employer was apprised of the
Pipe Fitters' claim before the execution of the contract and because
98 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the Pipe Fitters' petition was filed on the day following the notice
of the claim, the contract executed in the interval between the claim
and the petition cannot, under well-established principles of the Board,
bar an election among the pipe fitters.2
We find that questions affecting commerce exist concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
Iv. THE APPROPRIATE UNITS; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The IBEW seeks a unit of journeymen electricians, their appren-
tices and helpers in the electrical department. The Pipe Fitters re-
quests a unit of journeymen pipe fitters, their apprentices and helpers
in the pipe-fitting department. The Employer and the Intervenor
contend that, in view of the past history of collective bargaining at
,this plant, the existing unit of production and maintenance employees,
including the employees sought by the IBEW and the Pipe Fitters, is
the only appropriate unit. The Employer and the Intervenor contend
further that, should the Board determine that the unit sought by the
IBEW is appropriate, instrument men should be included in this unit.
The IBETTT's Unit
The requested employees in the electrical department consist of
journeymen electricians, apprentices, helpers, and the leadman. They
are housed in a section of a maintenance building apart from the in-
strument men and machinists who are also housed in the same building.
The electricians, as well as the leadman who has no supervisory au-
thority within the Act's meaning, are engaged exclusively in work
relating to electrical repair and maintenance throughout the plant.
The helpers and apprentices in this department work only with the
electricians. Helpers may be upgraded to apprentices, and apprentices
may be upgraded to electricians upon becoming qualified. Although
electricians are required, at times, to work with instrument men,
machinists, pipe fitters, welders, and other crafts in the plant, they
do not interchange functions with any of the other groups.
The Pipe Fitters' Unit
The pipe-fitting department is located in a building which houses
the tool crib, maintenance superintendent's office, welding department,
mechanical department, and air compressor. The pipe-fitting depart-
ment, under the supervision of a separate foreman, includes a leadman,
2 Matter of E. L. Bruce Company, 74 N. L . R B. 1354 , Matter of Mac's Equtipntent Co ,
72 N. L . It. B. 583; and Matter of General Electric X-Ray Corporation, 67 N. L . It. B. 997.
TIN PROCESSING CORPORATION 99
-journeymen pipe fitters, apprentices, and helpers. It is the function
of the pipe fitters in the plant to maintain pipes and conduit vents and
to make replacement of such worn-out equipment throughout the plant.
.Apprentices and helpers may be upgraded to journeymen pipe fitters
by passing an examination given in the event of a vacancy and upon
being approved for the job. The leadinan has no supervisory powers
within the meaning of the Act.
It is clear from the foregoing that both the electricians and the pipe
fitters sought herein comprise well-defined craft groupings having a
long history of collective bargaining on a craft basis. Furthermore,
we have heretofore found that electricians 3 and pipe fitters 4 may func-
tion as separate units for bargaining purposes. The sole questions,
therefore, are whether the bargaining history at this plant precludes
any grouping less than plant-wide and whether the instrument men
may be grouped with the electricians.
With reference to the bargaining history, the record shows, as al-
ready noted, that the Intervenor's representation of the electricians
and pipe fitters as part of the plant-wide unit began sometime after
the 1942 consent election. The question of separate representation of
the electricians and the pipe fitters was not raised at that time be-
cause no employees in these categories were then in the plant. In view
of the foregoing, we are persuaded that the circumstance of several
years of representation of these employees as part of the more compre-
hensive unit is not sufficient to deny them the opportunity of deciding
at the present time whether they desire to continue to be represented
as part of the production and maintenance unit or whether they de-
sire to bargain as separate units. We will, therefore, not make any
final unit determinations until we have first ascertained the desires
of the employees involved. If in the elections hereinafter directed, the
electricians and the pipe fitters select the IBEW and the Pipe Fitters,
respectively, each group of employees will be taken to have indicated
its desire to constitute a separate unit. However, by the selection of
the intervenor, the voting group involved will be taken to have in-
dicated its desire to remain a part of the production and maintenance
unit now represented by the Intervenor.
There remains for consideration the disposition to be made of the
instrument men. The Employer and the Intervenor would include
the three instrument men and their two helpers in the same unit with
the electricians because they are housed in the same building and work
together on electrical instruments. However, the instrument depart-
3 Mattel of Turbine Pnginecring Company, 73 N L R B 163 1
4 Matter of B F Goodrich Chemical Company ((aeon Plant), 75 N. L R B. 1142; Matter
of 1Ld - Continent Petroleum Corporation , 65 N L R B 109
100 DECISIONS .OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ment is located in an area separated from the rest of the building by
walls, and at no time do the electricians enter the instrument depart-
ment. Although instrument men and the electricians do work together
on certain instruments in the plant proper, the work of each group
.on these instruments differs. The instrument men repair and maintain
only those electrical instruments carrying 32 volts or less and per-
form mechanical rather than electrical repairs. The electricians, on
the other hand, are responsible for all electrical equipment of high
voltage and for electrical repairs on low voltage instruments. Under
these circumstances, including the diverse character of their work, we
are of the opinion that the instrument men lack sufficient community
of interest with the electricians to be grouped with them for bargain-
ing purposes.5
Accordingly, we shall direct that the questions concerning repre-
sentation which exist be resolved by separate elections by secret ballot
among employees at the Texas City, Texas, plant of the Employer
within the voting groups described below :
1. All employees in the electrical department including journey-
men electricians, apprentices, helpers, and the leadmen, but excluding
clerical employees and supervisors.
2. All employees in the pipe-fitting department including journey-
men pipe fitters, apprentices, helpers, and the leadmen, but excluding
clerical employees and supervisors.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS 6
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purpose of collective bargaining with Tin Processing Corporation,
Texas City, Texas, elections 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 Sixteenth Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of
5 Matter of Mat/ucson Alkali Works (Inc ), 67 N L R B 716 ; Matter of The B F
Goode ich Rubber Company, 55 N L It B 338
The record shows that, on July 25, 1947. the Employer, the International Association of
Machinists, and the Intervenor entered into a consent election agreement for a unit cover-
ing machinists and the instrument men bete involved The agreement provided, however,
that the Employer's joinder is entirely without prejudice to the right to oppose and contest
any future petitions and to take positions inconsistent herewith as to such future petitions."
The Intervenor won this election (Case No 16-R-2328 )
a After the close of the hearing, the Oil Workers International Union, a labor organization
affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, moved to intervene herein for the
purpose of having its name placed on the ballots in the elections hereinafter directed
Inasmuch as we are administratively satisfied as to the Oil workers' interest in both
voting groups, we shall grant its motion and shall place its name on the ballots in the
elections
Any participant in the elections herein directed may, upon its prompt request to, and
approval thereof by, the Regional Director, have its name removed from the ballot.
TIN PROCESSING CORPORATION 101
National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5,
among the employees in the voting groups described 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, but excluding those employees who have since
quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein-
stated prior to the date of the elections, and also excluding employees
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine :
(1) Whether the employees in voting group 1 desire to be repre-
sented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local
No. 527, A. F. L., Tin Smelter Workers' Union No. 23198, A. F. L.,
or by Oil Workers International Union, CIO, for the purposes of
collective bargaining;
(2) Whether the employees in voting group 2 desire to be repre-
sented by United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the
Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada,
Local No. 195, A. F. L., Tin Smelter Workers' Union No. 23198,
A. F. L., or by Oil Workers International Union, CIO, for the purposes
of collective bargaining.
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