Ulrich Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 15, 1960

127 N.L.R.B. 239 (N.L.R.B. 1960)

ULRICH MANUFACTURING COMPANY 239
and has thereby engaged in unfair labor practices violative of Section 8(a)(1) of
the Act.
6. The aforesaid unfair labor practices affect commerce within the meaning of
Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
[Recommendations omitted from publication.]
APPENDIX A
Kenneth Best Marion Hooper Ralph L. Miller
George A. Clayton E. C. Jones Ralph Ramsier
Victor Couch John Kladar Ralph Schoeneweis
J. D. Evans J. A. Lankford George Stimac
Floyd Friedline Jack Lavite Charley Towey
Samuel R . Guarino Fred G. March
Ulrich Manufacturing Company and International Association
of Machinists, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case No. 13-RC-6899.
April 15, 1960
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before William D. Boetticher, hear-
ing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member
panel [Chairman Leedom and Members Bean and Fanning].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9(c) (1) and Section 2(6) and (i) of the Act.
4. The Employer is engaged in the manufacture of pumps, earth
moving components, construction components, hydraulic equipment,
and other products. It operates in two separate locations, an office
building and the plant. The parties are in general agreement that
the production and maintenance unit requested by the Petitioner is
appropriate. They also agree that all employees located at the office
building should be excluded as clerical employees.' They disagree,
however, with respect to certain classifications which the Petitioner
would include and the Employer would exclude.
1 The parties further stipulated that the tool designer , the senior methods engineer,
draftsmen , and the secretary to the plant manager should be excluded.
127 NLRB No. 29.
240 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Inventory control clerk: This employee works in the plant building
in an office partitioned off from the main production area. Although
he reports to the accounting department and the comptroller in the
main office, he is, for disciplinary purposes, under the supervision of
the plant manager. He is hourly paid.2 He assists in the preparation
of purchase requisitions and checks inventories necessary to determine
requisitions. Although he spends most of his time at his desk he
also goes into the plant to count items on hand. We find that he is a
plant clerical employee and include him in the unit.'
Standards cost clerk: This employee also reports to the comptroller,
but is under the supervision of the plant manager. He obtains infor-
mation from the methods department as to time data necessary to
determine production costs for price purposes. He works in the plant.
The information he obtains does not concern labor relation matters
and is therefore not confidential. We find that he is a plant clerical
employee and include him in the unit.4
Junior methods engineer: He is a management trainee who estab-
lishes routings and standard process data under the supervision of the
senior methods engineer. He studies jobs, sets time standards, and de-
termines why set time standards are not met. He issues directions to
production employees as to feeds, speeds, and setups for their ma-
chines. As the work involves specialized skills and requires the use
of independent judgment, we find that he is a technical employee and
exclude him from the unit.5
Inspectors: These individuals, two in number, inspect the finished
product under the direction of the lead inspector to see that it meets
certain specifications. They are hourly paid and receive the same
employee benefits as production workers. They have no authority to
hire, discharge, or effectively recommend such action. We find they
are not supervisors and include them in the unit.'
Line or leadmen: This group consists of the tool crib, pumps,
assembly, lathers, mills, saw and torch-cut, and welding linemen, the
maintenance leadman, the lead stockman, and the lead inspector.
These individuals perform primarily manual work. As they are more
experienced than the other employees, they advise and instruct the
latter in the performance of their duties. They are presently leading
one or two employees. This number may go up to as much as 15 if
the plant reaches its full complement. The linemen and leadmen have
neither authority to hire, discharge, or discipline employees, nor
authority to effectively recommend such action. We find they are not
'His immediate supervisor is the head of the inventory control and shipping depart-
ments who is excluded from the unit in agreement with a stipulation of the parties.
Wm R. Whittaker Co , Ltd., 117 NLRB 339, 343.
4 Swift & Company, 119 NLRB 1556, 1569
5Armour and Co., 119 NLRB 623, 626; Litton Industries of Maryland, Incorporated,
125 NLRB 722.
6 Mayfair Industries , Incorporated, 126 NLRB 223.
BURKE GOLF EQUIPMENT CORPORATION 241
supervisors within the meaning of the Act and include them in the
unit'
Dispatcher: This employee determines the flow of goods within the
plant pursuant to the production schedule set by the production
manager. He transmits instructions as to the priority of work and
sees to it that all necessary parts are available at the proper time
for assembly. He also does some actual handling of materials. We
find that he is a plant clerical employee and include him in the unit.'
Senior time-study engineer: As there is no incumbent in this posi-'
tion, we shall not make a determination at the present time.9
We find that the following employees of the Employer constitute a
unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act:
All production and maintenance employees at the Employer's
Roanoke, Illinois, plant, including the inventory control clerk,
standards-cost clerk, inspectors, dispatcher, the linemen of tool crib,
pumps, assembly, lathers, mills, saw and torch cut, and welding line-
men, the maintenance leadman, the lead stockman, and the lead inspec-
tor, but excluding officer clerical employees, professional employees,
the junior methods engineer, guards, and supervisors as defined in the
Act.
5. The Employer contends that its employee complement, will sea-
sonably increase in April 1960, and at that time reach a peak of 150 to
1-60 employees in the unit. There are presently 90 to 100 employees
in most of the classifications. Inasmuch as the current season will
have begun and peak seasonal employment will have been reached
within our usual time for holding elections, we shall direct an immedi-
ate election in this case.19
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
4 Mayfair Industries , Incorporated, supra.
8 Fairbanks, Morse & Company , 117 NLRB 1449, 1452 ( scheduler).
9 Hamilton Watch Company, 118 NLRB 591, 592, footnote 4.
10 Central Can Vicente, Inc., 117 NLRB 397, 399.
Burke Golf Equipment Corporation and Textile Workers Union
of America, AFL-CIO. Case No. 8-CA-1817. April 18, 1960
DECISION AND ORDER
On August 18, 1959, Trial Examiner James T. Rasbury issued his
Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding finding that the
Respondent had not engaged in the unfair labor practices alleged in
the complaint and recommending that the complaint be dismissed in
127 NLRB No. 32.
560940-61-vol. 127-17