Tungsten Contact Manufacturing Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 18, 1971

189 N.L.R.B. 22 (N.L.R.B. 1971)

22 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Tungsten Contact Manufacturing Company , Incorpo-
rated and United Electrical , Radio and Machine
Workers of America , Petitioner . Case 22-RC-4734
March 18, 1971
DECISION ON REVIEW
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS
FANNING AND JENKINS
On September 30, 1970, the Regional Director for
Region 22 issued a Decision and Director of Election
in the above-entitled proceeding in which he found
appropriate a unit of all production and maintenance
employees, including lead employees, of the Employ-
er's Randolph Township, New Jersey, plant. There-
after, in accordance with Section 102.67 of the
National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula-
tions, Series 8, as amended, the Employer filed a
timely request for review of the Regional Director's
Decision, contending that a unit limited to the
Randolph plant is inappropriate, that the only
appropriate unit for the employees involved must
include its North Bergen, New Jersey, plant Lund that
the petition therefore should be dismissed.
On October 26, 1970, the National Labor Relations
Board by telegraphic order granted the request for
review and stayed the election pending decision on
review.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
powers in connection with this case to a three-member
panel.
The Board has reviewed the entire record in this
case with respect to the issues under review and makes
the following findings: The Petitioner requested a unit
of production and maintenance employees at the
Employer's Randolph plant. As above indicated the
Employer contends that the only appropriate unit
must encompass production and maintenance em-
ployees at both its Randolph and North Bergen
plants, approximately 35 miles apart. We agree.
The Employer, a closely held corporation incorpo-
rated in 1930, is engaged in the manufacturing of
automobile electrical replacement parts Its Randolph
plant was opened in early 1969, and certain opera-
tions formerly performed at its North Bergen plant
and all operations at the Employer's now defunct
Secaucus, New Jersey, plant' were transfered there.
i In Case 22-RC-4734, the Regional Director found a unit consisting of
employees at the Employer 's Secaucus plant to be inappropriate There
were 18 employees at Secaucus , located 3-5 miles from North Bergen
which had a complement of 259 employees The Secaucus plant performed
only packaging and shipping functions, resulting from an overflow at the
North Bergen plant One plant manager was in charge of both locations
Reporting to him was a traffic manager , responsible for packaging and
The Employer avers that ultimately its entire opera-
tion will be located at Randolph, but has offered no
definitive timetable for the transfer. At present, there
are approximately 121 production and maintenance
employees and 55 salaried employees at North
Bergen , and approximately 162 production and
maintenance employees and 12 salaried employees at
Randolph.
The products manufactured by the Employer are
contact points, automotive condensers, rotors, distrib-
utor caps, ignition coils, positive crankcase ventilation
valves, and temperature sending units. The contact
points account for approximately 40-50 percent of the
Employer's business. Regarding this product, the
purchase of components, the manufacture of parts,
and the subassembly operations take place at North
Bergen only. Final assembly, packaging, and shipping
functions are performed both at North Bergen and
Randolph. Generally, the same products are proc-
essed for shipment from both North Bergen and
Randolph. Most of the employee classifications at
North Bergen also exist at Randolph, and these
employees perform identical functions, use the same
skills, and are compensated in the same manner.
Operations of the two plants are integrated with
respect to executive, managerial, and engineering
activities. All administrative functions are performed
at North Bergen, where the corporate offices are
located. Such activities include payroll, billing,
purchasing, order processing, computer operation,
credit checking, inventory control, drafting, engineer-
ing, filing, sales, and mailing operations.
The plant manager at Randolph reports to the vice
president for manufacturing who is also directly
responsible for operations at the North Bergen plant.
The record does not reveal the actual duties and
responsibilities of the Randolph plant manager,
except that he is responsible for the day-to-day
conduct of the plant. The Randolph plant manager
admittedly has no authority with respect to at least 40
employees, who constitute the quality control and
shipping and packaging departments. These depart-
ments are separately supervised by a quality manager
and a shipping and packaging manager, both of
whom divide their time between the two plants and
report to the vice president for manufacturing.
A single personnel manager, who reports to the
Employer's president, is responsible for personnel
matters at both plants. He testified that labor-man-
agement relations policy was identical at both plants
shipping at both locations, who had one assistant at each plant Transfer
was minimal and the Employer had a plan to consolidate the operation
within 6 months The Regional Director rejected the request of the
petitioner (not the Petitioner herein) for the Secaucus plant unit, basing his
decision on lack of substantial local autonomy, centralized control, and
close geographic proximity The Board denied the petitioner's request for
review
189 NLRB No. 4
TUNGSTEN CONTACT MFG. CO, INC 23
and that recruitment was centrally organized. Wage
scales and benefits, such as health and life insurance,
holidays, vacations, and bonuses, are identical for
employees at both plants. The personnel manager,
who has offices in both plants, is responsible for
hiring. He interviews applicants and has, on occasion,
hired employees interviewed at Randolph for employ-
ment at North Bergen. Grievances for all employees
are handled by the personnel manager, who conducts
his own investigation and makes a decision, although
group leaders will first make a recommendation.
Overtime policy is identical at both plants. Overtime
is scheduled by the corporate officers in North Bergen
and implemented by the personnel manager. The
Employer maintains one seniority list.2
The procedure for determining merit increases is as
follows. Production cards filled out by employees are
reviewed by supervisors to determine which individu-
als are performing above the rate for which they are
being paid. Lists of suggestions for increases are then
compiled and submitted jointly to the personnel
manager for review and discussion. Thereafter, the list
is submitted to the corporate offices at North Bergen
for final review
Of the approximately 40 transfers of personnel since
the Randolph facility commenced operations, ap-
proximately 15 were transfers of nonsupervisory
employees between the two plants. The remainder
involved supervisors, and we note that more than 60
percent of the supervisory staff at Randolph, includ-
Ing the plant manager, transferred from North Bergen.
The majority of the transfers involved moves from
North Bergen to Randolph and were necessitated by
the staffing requirements of the newly opened plant.
There are also approximately five employees who
interchange occasionally on a temporary basis.
Upon the foregoing, we conclude that a unit limited
to the Randolph plant is inappropriate and that the
appropriate unit must be broadened to include
production and maintenance employees at the North
Bergen plant. In so concluding, we rely especially on
the facts that both plants are engaged in the
manufacture of the same products; that there is one
personnel manager over both plants who administers
a common labor policy and who is responsible for all
personnel related matters, including grievances and
implementing the overtime policy; that approximate-
ly 25 percent of the Randolph employee complement
is not under the authority of the Randolph plant
manager; and that the operations of the two plants are
highly integrated.3 Accordingly, we shall remand the
case to the Regional Director in order that he may
conduct an election pursuant to his Decision and
Direction of Election, as modified herein, subject to
his ascertaining that the Petitioner has an adequate
showing of interest among the employees in the
appropriate unit.4 Further, the eligibility date for the
election shall be that immediately preceding the date
of issuance.5
2 The Employer states that the employees have not been informed of the
seniority practices , as there has been no need to apply any seniority rules
i See The Kendall Company, 181 NLRB No 177, Cf The Black &
Decker Manufacturing Conipam, 147 NLRB 825, where hiring was done at
each plant despite a single personnel department
+ The Petitioner, at the hearing , expressed a willingness to proceed to an
election should the Board find the two-plant unit to be the only
appropriate bargaining unit If the Petitioner does not now desire to
participate in an election in the unit we find appropriate herein , we shall
permit it to withdraw its petition without prejudice upon written notice to
the Regional Director within 10 days from the date of this Decision
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
addresses which may be used to communicate with them Excelsior
Underwear Inc, 156 NLRB 1236, N L R B v Wyman -Gordon Co, 394 U S
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 22 within 7 days of
the date of this Decision on Review 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 extraordinary
circumstances Failure to comply with this requirement shall be grounds
for setting aside the election whenever proper objections are filed