Underwood Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 10, 1954

107 N.L.R.B. 1132 (N.L.R.B. 1954)

1 132 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
WE WILL NOT include in our collective-bargaining contracts with Permanente Steam-
ship Corporation , or with any other employer , any provisions which require such em-
ployer to give preference in employment to members of National Union of Marine Cooks
& Stewards , except as authorized in Section 8 (a) (3) of the Act.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner restrain or coerce employees of Per-
manente Steamship Corporation , its successors or assigns , or any other employer, in
the exercise of their rights to engage in, or to refrain from engaging in, any or all of
the concerted activities guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act
NATIONAL UNION OF MARINE COOKS & STEWARDS,
Labor Organization.
Dated ............ By .............................................. ...............................
(Representative ) (Title)
This notice must remain posted for sixty (60) days - from the date hereof , and must not be
altered, defaced , or covered by any other material.
UNDERWOOD CORPORATION and INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, AFL, Petitioner. Case No.
2-RC-6296. February 10, 1954
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 Samuel
Korenblatt, 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 this case, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning
of the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent cer-
tain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists 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.
4. The Employer is engaged in the manufacture and assembly
of adding machines, accounting machines, printing calculators,
and writing machines. Its employees have heretofore been un-
represented for purposes of collective bargaining, The Peti-
tioner requests an election among all production and mainte-
nance employees at the Employer's plants A, B, and C, located
at 575 Broad Street, 480 Bunnell Street, and 190 Gilbert Street,
Bridgeport, Connecticut, excluding factory and office clerical
employees, professional employees, watchmen, guards, and
supervisors as defined in the Act. The Employer and the Inter-
venor, International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers, CIO (IUE-CIO), agree with the Petitioner on the
general description of the unit. The parties agreed also to
exclude time clerks, payroll clerks, and assistant foremen.
The parties were in dispute, however, as to the unit placement
107 NLRB No. 240.
UNDERWOOD CORPORATION 1133
of the following classifications , the Employer contending that
they should be excluded while the Petitioner and the Intervenor
sought their inclusion:
Janitors clean factory areas, wash windows, sweep and rake
the grounds , dispose of trash, and clean and restock the rest-
rooms. As they appear to be maintenance employees, and as
no persuasive reason was advanced for excluding the janitors,
we shall include them in the unit.'
Firemen, who are licensed , operate and repair boilers, air
compressors , pumps, and emergency generators ; clean, test,
and repair fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems; and clean
fire boxes and wind tunnels. There is no evidence that these
employees act as guards or watchmen . We shall include them
in the unit. 8
Firemen-watchmen are employed where automatic fire
equipment is used. Some , but not all , are licensed . In addition
to their duties as firemen , these employees act as plant-pro-
tection employees 50 percent of their time . They make rounds
in the same manner as do the plant guards, report employees
for infractions of plant rules , and check employees in and out
of the plant gate. As these employees are engaged part of their
time in performing guard duties , we shall exclude them from
the unit.3
Watch - engineer , a licensed fireman, performs all the duties
of a fireman . In addition he responsibly directs the work of the
firemen, and transfers them at his own volition . Although there
is no evidence that the watch - engineer performs anyplant-pro-
tection duties, as contended by the Employer , we find that he is
a supervisor , as defined in the Act, and we shall therefore
exclude him from the unit.4
Setup men and group leaders . Although the evidence is some-
what conflicting, the record shows that these individuals, whose
duties and responsibilities are similar , are responsible for the
work of their crews of from 3 to 10 men. They are located in
the production and assembly departments . Some of them do
physical work alongside their men part of the time, while others
do no production work . All of them assign and direct the work
of their crews , set up production machines and make trial runs,
are responsible for the quality of the product and the cleanli-
ness of their area, and enforce safety regulations. On the fore-
going facts and on the record as a whole , we find that the setup
men and group leaders in these plants are supervisors, and we
shall therefore exclude them from the unit. 5
Production control clerks , stock clerks , and weighers. Pro-
duction control clerks are also called stock chasers or expe-
1C. D. Beck & Company , Inc., 96 NLRB 1130.
2 id.
3 Walterboro Manufacturing Corporation , 106 NLRB 1383.
4Shipowners ' Association of the Pacific Coast, 100 NLRB 1250.
5 Id.
337593 0 - 53 - 73
1134 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
diters. Working from assigned lists of parts, they expedite
parts through the manufacturing divisions to fill assembly
requirements. They watch finishing dates on orders, follow
parts through the manufacturing process, and contact necessary
personnel so as to maintain production balance. If necessary,
they handle urgent changes by personally moving parts through
production to assembly and completing paper work for the
stockroom. They make suggestions to correct recurring delays
and shortages. The major part of their work is on the factory
floor, where they have their own headquarters.
Stock clerks receive finished parts into the stockroom, and
store them in bins and racks. They fill requisitions, pack
orders, and deliver them to assembly. They maintain stock
records and assist in inventory work.
Weighers perform duties similar to those of counters in other
factories. They receive parts made by the operators, place them
on scales, and weigh them for quantity count. They record the
count on the route card for stock records and on the operator's
job ticket for piecework pay. They do some trucking to and
from the scales.
These three groups of employees are hourly paid, use the
same facilities as do the production employees, and there is
some interchange between them and the production employees.
These are classifications which the Board frequently includes
in a production and maintenance unit as plant clericals. How-
ever, in this case the parties have agreed that factory and
office clerical employees shall be excluded. In accordance
with this agreement, we shall exclude the production control
clerks, stock clerks, and weighers.
Instructors are not at present employed by the Employer.
When the need for them arises, the Employer selects employees
or group leaders to train new employees in the methods and
operations of the Employer and to teach old employees new
procedures. The Employer' s witnesses testified that when
assigned to this duty, the instructors exercise "authority as of
an assistant foreman," and effectively recommend change of
status of trainees. We find that when employees are designated
to serve as instructors, they are during thatperiod supervisors
within the meaning of the Act and should then be excluded from
the unit. 6
Employees engaged in defense work. There are 115 employees
who manufacture and assemble airborne navigation and fire-
control instruments and precision gear trains on a subcontract
basis for the United States Government. They wear special
badges, and their work area is physically separated from the
rest of the plant. They are under separate immediate super-
vision, but their manager reports directly to the regular factory
works manager. While their wage rates are higher than those
of other comparable employees, it is not claimed that they are
skilled craftsmen. Most of these defense employees were trans-
6 Phillips-Jones Corporation, 96 NLRB 153.
UNDERWOOD CORPORATION 1135
ferred from other departments , and some have returned to
them. New employees hired for this work were hired through
the regular personnel office . They appear on the same pay-
roll, and use the same facilities as the employees in the unit.
Under all the circumstances , we find that these defense workers
have mutual interests with the Employer 's regular employees
as to wages , hours , and conditions of employment, and we
shall therefore include them in the unit.'
We find that all production and maintenance employees at the
Employer's plants A, B, and C, located at 575 Broad Street,
480 Bunnell Street , and 190 Gilbert Street, Bridgeport , Connect-
icut , including janitors , firemen , and employees engaged in
defense work , but excluding time clerks, payroll clerks, pro-
duction control clerks, stock clerks, weighers , factory clerical
employees, office clerical employees , professional employees,
firemen-watchmen , watchmen, guards , watch-engineers, as-
sistant foremen , setup men, group leaders, instructors, and
supervisors as.defined in the Act, constitute aunit appropriate
for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of
Section 9 (b) of the Act.
5. The Petitioner and the Intervenor contend that approxi-
mately 600 employees who have been laid off since the spring
of 1953 are eligible to vote in the election . The Employer con-
tends that these employees have been permanently laid off and
are therefore not eligible to vote.
Employer officials testified that the layoffs, which have
taken place over a period of about 8 months, were caused'by
a surplus inventory , B and that if any of the laid - off employees
are recalled , it will not be for about a year. Although a few of
the laid-off employees have already been recalled , they pos-
sessed special skills needed by the Employer. As it does not
appear that these laid-off employees have a substantial
expectancy of obtaining employment with the Employer in the
reasonably near future , we find that they are not eligible to
participate in the election.'
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
7Specialty Manufacturing Company, Inc., 107 NLRB 80.
Bone of the Petitioner 's witnesses testified that the Employer' s personnel manager told
him that the layoffs were not permanent but were a ruse , and that the Employer would decide
after the election which laid-off employees to recall. Upon the entire record we credit the
testimony of the Employer' s officials as to the nature of the layoffs.
9J. V. Reed R Company, 105 NLRB 721.