United Engineering and Foundry Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 16, 1946

68 N.L.R.B. 10 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter Of UNITED ENGINEERING AND FOUNDRY COMPANY and
INTERNATIONAL MOLDERS & FOUNDRY WORKERS UNION OF NORTH
AMERICA, LOCAL No 398, A. F. of L.
Case No. 6-R-1322.-Decided May 16, 1946
Mr R C. Douthitt, of Pittsburgh, Pa., for the Company.
Mr. Joseph A Padway, by Mr. Robert A. Wilson, of Washington,
D. C., for the Molders.
Mr. John J. Brownlee, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Mr John Grajciar, of
Sharon, Pa, for the Steelworkers.
Mr. Elmer P. Freischlan, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon an amended petition duly filed by International Molders & Foun-
dry Workers Union of North America, Local No. 398, A. F. of L., herein
called the Molders, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen
concerning the representation of employees of United Engineering and
Foundry Company, New Castle, Pennsylvania, herein called the Com-
pany, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate
hearing upon due notice before Joseph Lepie, Trial Examiner. The hear-
ing was held at New Castle, Pennsylvania, on March 19, 1946. The Com-
pany, the Molders, and United Steelworkers of America, C. I. 0., herein
called the Steelworkers, appeared and participated. All parties were af-
forded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine wit-
nesses , and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. At the hearing,
the Steelworkers moved. to dismiss the petition on the ground that an
existing contract is a bar to a present determination of representatives.
The motion was referred to the Board. For reasons stated hereinafter, the
motion is hereby denied. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hear-
ing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties
were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
68 N. L. R. B., No. 3.
10
UNITED ENGINEERING AND FOUNDRY COMPANY
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
11
United Engineering and Foundry Company is a Pennsylvania corpora-
tion having plants in Youngstown and Canton, Ohio, and Vandergrift,
Pittsburgh, and New Castle, Pennsylvania. At its New Castle plant,
which is alone involved herein, the Company is engaged in the manu-
facture of rolling mill equipment, forging presses, extrusion presses, and
auxiliary rolling mill equipment for rolling mills. During the year 1945,
the Company purchased for use at the New Castle plant raw materials
and supplies valued in excess of $500,000, over 50 percent of which repre-
sented shipments to the New Castle plant from points outside the Com-
monwealth of Pennsylvania. During the same period, the Company manu-
factured products at the New Castle plant amounting in value to over
$500,000, more than 50 percent of which represented shipments to points
outside the Commonwealth.
The Company admits, and we find, that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Molders & Foundry Workers Union of North America,
Local No. 398, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federa-
tion of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company.
United Steelworkers of America is a labor organization affiliated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership em-
ployees of the Company.
III THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
By letter dated November 30, 1945, the Molders advised the Company
that it represented a majority of its production and maintenance employ-
ees in the foundry at the New Castle plant, and requested recognition and
the commencement of collective bargaining. The Company replied by let-
ter dated December 5, 1945, that it was obligated to recognize the Steel-
workers as collective bargaining representative as the result of a previous
certification by the Board. On December 5, 1945, the Molders filed its
petition with the Board. The Steelworkers asserts that a collective bar-
gaining contract with the Company, effective as of January 26, 1945, is a
bar to this proceeding.
12 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Following certification by the Board on August 24, 1944,' the Steel-
workers and the Company entered into a collective bargaining contract
covering employees in the foundry division for a term of 1 year, from
January 26, 1945, renewable automatically from year to year thereafter
unless written notice of a desire to terminate the agreement was served
by either party at least thirty (30) days before the expiration of any
annual period. No notice of termination was served by either party within
the time provided therefor. However, as stated above, the Molders filed
its petition with the Board more than 30 days prior to January 26, 1946,
the terminal date of the first contract year. Under accepted principles,
therefore, the contract cannot operate as a bar.2
The Steelworkers contends, however, that because of the delays inci-
dent to reconversion, only a small number of the normal complement of
men were employed in the foundry during several months of the contract
year, and that it has not had an adequate opportunity as the result thereof
to demonstrate to the employees its effectiveness as a bargaining agent.8
Accordingly, it requests that the principle enunciated in the Allis-
Chalmers case4 be extended to the present situation so that it may have a
reasonable time to demonstrate its bargaining strength in the reconverted
plant of the Company.
We find the contention to be without merit. The Allis-Chalmers case
stands for the principle that a newly recognized or certified representative
is entitled to a reasonable opportunity to obtain for the employees the
benefits of exclusive representation, and when a delay in obtaining such
benefits is caused by resort to the orderly processes of governmental agen-
cies, the Board will not proceed with a new determination of representa-
tives. In the instant case, there was no resort to any governmental agency.
Furthermore, the Steelworkers has enjoyed the benefits of a collective
bargaining contract for a full contract term.5 To hold the agreement
herein to be a bar would operate to deny the right of the employees to
select a collective bargaining representative of their own choice for a
period beyond the contract term, although the agreement cannot be inter-
preted as guaranteeing to the Steelworkers the representation of a normal
complement of employees during the contract period. Under the circum-
stances, we find that the Allis-Chalmers doctrine is inapplicable and that
I The certification resulted from an election directed by the Board in Matter of United Engi-
neering and Foundry Company, 57 N. L R. B 1208
Y See Matter of Marine Basin Company, 65 N. L. R. B 970, and cases cited therein.
8 Employment in the unit covered by the contract has fluctuated as follows:
1944-August, 429; September, 377; October, 388, November, 351, December, 367.
1945-January, 372, February, 394, March, 392, April, 399, May, 347 ; June, 125, July, 12;
August, 12; September, 38, October, 89; November, 141; December, 180.
1946-January, 261, February, 282, March, 307
Matter of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Companp, 50 N L R. B 306.
5 See Matter of International Harvester Company-Canton Works, 66 N. L. R. B. 527; Matter
of Me,rimac Mills Company, 63 N L R. B. 781.
UNITED ENGINEERING AND FOUNDRY COMPANY 13
the January 26, 1945, agreement between the Steelworkers and the Com-
pany is not a bar.
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hearing,
indicates that the Molders represents a substantial number of employees
in the unit hereinafter found appropriate."
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the
representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning of Sec-
tion 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
We find, substantially in accordance with the agreement of the parties,
that all production and maintenance employees of the foundry division of
the Company's New Castle plant, including carpenters, outside laborers
and weighmasters, but excluding clerical employees, laboratory employ-
ees, pattern shop employees, policemen, guards, cafeteria employees, in-
spectors, expeditors, timekeepers, executive and salaried employees, fore-
men, gang leaders, and all other supervisory employees with authority to
hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the
status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act 7
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has
arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among employees in the
appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period imme-
diately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to
the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction.8
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,
The Field Examiner reported that the Molders submitted 164 cards, all of winch bore the
names of employees listed on the Company 's pay roll. There are approximately 280 employees
in the appropriate unit.
The Steelworkers relies on its contract of January 26, 1945, with the Company, to establish
its interest in this proceeding.
I This unit is substantially the same as that previously found appropriate by the Board in
Matter of United Engineering and Foundry Company, supra.
$ At the hearing, the Steelworkers moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that there
was pending before the Board an appeal from the Regional Director's refusal to issue com-
plaints against the Company involving alleged unfair labor practices. The motion was referred
to the Board . On April 9, 1946 , the Board sustained the action of the Regional Director, in
Cues Nos . 6-C-908 and 6-C-914. The motion is consequently denied
14 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representatives
for the purposes of collective bargaining with United Engineering and
Foundry Company, New Castle, Pennsylvania, an election 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 Sixth Region, acting in this matter as
agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III,
Sections 1,0 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among employees in
the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed dur-
ing the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction,
including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period be-
cause they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including
employees in the armed forces of the United States who present them-
selves in person at the polls, but excluding those employees who have
since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or
reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether they
desire to be represented by International Molders & Foundry Workers
Union of North America, Local No. 398, A. F. of L., or by United Steel-
workers of America, C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective bargaining,
or by neither.
CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.