United Sates Gypsum Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 24, 1948

79 N.L.R.B. 48 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

I'll + . ,(1 y ' i
in the Matter Of UNITED STATES GYPSUM COMPANY, EMPLOYER and
INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER
Case No. 15-RC-37.-Decided August 24,1948
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held on April 30, 1948,
before a hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. 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 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.*
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 organizations named below claim to represent 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 S::ction 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks a unit composed of all production and main-
tenance employees, including firemen, but excluding watchmen, office
* Chairman Herzog and Members Murdock and Gray
'At the hearing , United Cement , Lime and Gypsum Workers , A. F. of L, herein called
the United , appeared and participated as an intervenor No formal motion to intervene
was made Although no objection was raised to its appearance at the hearing , the Employer
asserts in its brief that, in the absence of such formal motion , the appearance of the United
was improper , and that the United's request that its affiliated local , known as Local Union
No. 96, be placed on the ballot should be denied. Because Local No. 96 of the United had a
current contractual interest in this proceeding, the United was entitled to intervene.
Matter of Anaeriaan Chain ct Cable Co , Inc , 77 N. L. R. B. 850. We shall, therefore,
treat the appearance and participation of the United as in the nature of a motion to
intervene , and hereby approve its intervention.
Although Local Union No 96 has not complied with the filing requirements of the Act, the
record discloses that , on the date of the hearing , it was in the process of effecting compli-
ance We will, therefore , place Local Union No . 96 on the Ballot , but subject to the
conditions set forth in footnote 5, an/ra.
79 N. L. R. B., No. 8.
48
UNITED STATES GYPSUM COMPANY 49
clerks, and all supervisors as defined in the Act. The parties are in
general agreement as to the composition of the unit with the excep-
tion of the job classifications noted below, which the Employer would
exclude and the Petitioner include.
Storeroom Clerks: There are two employees in this category, the
head storeroom clerk and assistant storeroom clerk. They purchase
supplies and repair parts, and keep the necessary inventory records.
As their duties are essentially clerical, we shall exclude them from the
unit.
Testers: There are five testers or quality-control employees. They
work in a laboratory which is set apart from the rest of the plant and
are under the separate supervision of the quality supervisor. They,
perform the usual functions of such employees, making tests of the
Employer's products and of products of competitors. In accordance
with our previous decisions as to similar employees in other plants of
the Employer, we shall exclude the testers from the unit.2
The Employer would exclude as supervisors the following job classi-
fications: head boiler operator, fabricating leader, working foreman
in the fabricating department, warehousemen in the fabricating and
shipping department, head saw filer, quality leaders in the pressboard
department, and unloading supervisor in the yard. The Petitioner
would include these classifications in the unit. The record discloses
that, with the exception of the classification of working foreman, per-
sons in the classifications listed above exercise authority to recommend
the discharge, hiring, or promotion of employees. The working fore-
man appears to have such authority when the shift foreman is absent
from the plant, which occurs only when the shift foreman is on vaca-
tion or ill. On such occasions, the working foreman assumes the duties
and authority of the shift foreman. We have held that the occasional
and sporadic exercise of supervisory powers is not sufficient basis on
which to exclude an employee from a unit.3 We find that the head
boiler operator, fabricating leader, warehouseman in the fabricating
and shipping department, head saw filer, quality leader in the press-
board department, and unloading supervisor in the yard are super-
visors and should therefore be excluded from the unit. We find, how-
ever, that the working foreman in the fabricating department is not
a supervisor within the meaning of the Act, but is a production
employee. We shall include him in the unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees,4 including
firemen, but excluding watchmen, office clericals, storeroom clerks,
2 Matter of United States Gypsum Co , 72 N L R B 863; 66 N L. R. B. 619; 65
N L. R B 1427, 65 N. L R B 575
3 Matter of Cole Instrument Co, 75 N. L. R B 348
The working foreman in the fabricating department is included in this category
50 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
testers, the head boiler operator, the fabricating leader, the warehouse-
man in the fabricating and shipping department, the head saw filer,
the quality leader in the pressboard department, the unloading super-,
visor in the yard, and all other supervisors as defined in the Act, con-
stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining,
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION 5
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than
30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Fifteenth Region, and subject
to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules
and Regulations-Series 5, among the employees in the unit found
appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed
during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this
Direction of Election, including employees who did 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 dis-
charged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the
date of the election, and also excluding employees on strike who are
not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether they desire to be
represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by International
Woodworkers of America, CIO, or by United Cement, Lime and
Gypsum Workers, A. F. of L., Local Union No. 96, or by neither.
a Inclusion of Local Union No. 96 on the ballot, and its participation in the election,
although hereby directed, are made contingent upon its full compliance, within 10 days from
the date of this Decision and Direction of Election, with the provisions of Section 9 (f)
and (h) of the Act.