United States Postal Service

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 26, 1972

200 N.L.R.B. 1143 (N.L.R.B. 1972)

U S POSTAL SERVICE 1143
United States Postal Service (Eastern Area Supply
Center, Western Area Supply Center , Mail Bag
Depositories and Repair Centers, and Mail Equip-
ment Shops) and American Postal Workers Union,
AFL-CIO, National Post Office Mail Handlers,
Watchmen , Messengers, and Group Leaders,
Division of Laborers ' International Union of North
America, AFL-CIO, and Local 174, International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers,
AFL-CIO, Joint Petitioners
United States Postal Service (Mail Equipment Shops)
and National Alliance of Postal and Federal Em-
ployees,) Petitioner Cases 22-RC-5127(P),
22-RC-5129(P), and 22-RC-5136(P)
December 26, 1972
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF
ELECTIONS
BY MEMBERS FANNING, KENNEDY, AND
PENELLO
Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9(c) of
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, and
Section 1203 of the Postal Reorganization Act of
1970,2 a hearing was held before Hearing Officer
Gerald Kobell 3 Following the hearing and pursuant
to Section 102 67 of the National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations (Series 8), as amended,
and by direction of the Regional Director for Region
22, this proceeding was transferred to the National
Labor Relations Board for decision Thereafter,
briefs were filed with the Board by the Joint
Petitioners, the Alliance, and the Employer
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel
The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Hearing
Officer made at the hearing and finds that they are
free from prejudicial error They are hereby affirmed
Upon the entire record in this proceeding, the
Board finds
1 The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 directs
the Board to exercise jurisdiction over the operations
of the Employer
2 We find that the Joint Petitioners and the
1 Hereinafter referred to as the Alliance
2 39USC Sec 101 etseq
3 The Metropolitan Area Bargaining Council of New York was
permitted to intervene at the hearing
4 The Metropolitan Area Bargaining Council of New York contends that
the petitions filed in Cases 2-RC-15673(P) and 2-RC-15675(P) cover
certain of the employees who are being sought here namely the employees
at the Employer s Somerville and Edgewater New Jersey facilities We find
no merit in the Council s position that these New York petitions bar us from
determining, in this proceeding the representation rights of the employees
Alliance are labor organizations seeking to represent
certain employees of the Employer
3 A question affecting commerce exists concern-
ing the representation of certain employees of the
Employer within the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) and
2(6) and (7) of the Act 4
4 The Joint Petitioners seek an election among
all employees, including office clericals, employed at
the Employer's Area Supply Centers, Mail Bag
Depositories and Repair Centers, and Mail Equip-
ment Shops The Employer would exclude all office
clerical employees, but it is otherwise in agreement
with the scope of the unit as described by the Joint
Petitioners The Alliance takes the position that the
overall unit should include the employees in the Mail
Bag Depositories and Repair Centers and the Mail
Equipment Shops, but exclude all employees at the
Area Supply Centers and all office clerical employ-
ees In the alternative, the Alliance, as Petitioner in
Case 22-RC-5136(P), seeks a separate election
among the employees in the Mail Equipment Shops
All of the facilities mentioned are administratively
a part of the Employer's Supply Management with
headquarters in Washington, D C 5 The division is
headed by Manager Michael Matzko The Employer
maintains two Area Supply Centers One, the Eastern
Area Supply Center, is located in Somerville, New
Jersey, and is under the immediate supervision of
Manager Edward Kushner The other, the Western
Area Supply Center, is located in Topeka, Kansas,
and it is under the immediate supervision of
Manager Donald Taylor The Area Supply Centers
may be described as warehouse and distribution
centers which provide all types of supplies and
equipment to the various postmasters throughout the
United States and to certain large mailing customers
The Mail Bag Depositories also perform a warehous-
ing and distribution function In order to handle the
flow of mail from the East to the West, the Employer
maintains Mail Bag Depositories at 14 locations in
the United States where mail bags are "recaptured"
and processed At such a location, the mail bags are
received, examined, stored, and eventually shipped
to locations where there is a present shortage At five
of these Mail Bag Depositories, the Employer
maintains repair centers where damaged mail bags
at the Somerville and Edgewater facilities As the record clearly shows the
employees sought here are engaged purely in support type services and as
such they are separate and distinct from the operational type employees
sought in the New York petitions Accordingly, we find that the petitions
currently pending before the Board in Cases 2-RC-15673(P) and
2-RC-1 5675(P) in no way affect the instant proceeding
5 Also a part of the Supply Management Division are the Label Punting
Centers the Logistic Management Information Center and the Stamped
Envelope Agency All the parties agree that these particular facilities should
be excluded from the unit
1144 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
can be patched and sewn and otherwise repaired
prior to reshipment 6 Each Mail Bag Depository has
a manager who is responsible for the facility's day-
to-day operations However, the Mail Bag Deposito-
ries are also under the direct supervision of the Area
Supply Manager in whose territory the facility is
located 7 The Mail Equipment Shops are all located
in Washington, D C, and have as their function the
manufacture of mail bags and various types of locks
and keys used throughout the postal system The
Mail Equipment Shops ship these items to the
individual postmaster, on request The Mail Equip-
ment Shops are headed by Manager George Critzer
and he in turn reports directly to Supply Manage-
ment Division headquarters
In determining the scope of the appropriate unit or
units, we think it proper to first consider the
relationship between the Mail Bag Depositories and
the Area Supply Centers However, at the outset, it
should be noted that all employees of the Employer
work under a single wage scale and share common
employee benefits Also, there is no bargaining
history covering the Mail Bag Depositories and Area
Supply Centers on the broad basis sought by the
parties here 8
As we have previously indicated, the Mail Bag
Depositories and Area Supply Centers are adminis-
tratively linked in the sense that they are both
included in the Employer's Supply Management
Division However, no party claims that the appro-
priate unit herein should be coextensive with the
Supply Management Division and, in fact, the
parties have stipulated to the exclusion of certain
operations which fall under the administrative
operations of this division Therefore, no significance
can be attached to the mere fact that the Mail Bag
Depositories and Area Supply Centers have been
linked together for administrative purposes by the
Employer 9 Rather, we think it necessary that this
relationship be examined from the standpoint of
actual function and control
From a functional standpoint, the operations of the
Mail Bag Depositories and the Area Supply Centers
appear very similar In essence, both are engaged in
the warehousing and distribution of supplies 10 While
it is true that the Area Supply Centers are involved in
the handling and distribution of many different
items, whereas the Mail Bag Depositories supply
only mail bags, this in no way detracts from the fact
6 Unless otherwise indicated the designation Mail Bag Depositories will
also include the Repair Centers
7 The Area Supply Managers Kushner and Taylor, are described by the
Employer as wearing two hats in that they are responsible for the operations
of their respective Area Supply Centers and they are also required to
oversee the operations of the Mail Bag Depositories within their territorial
jurisdiction
8 All the bargaining history has been on a single facility basis
that their respective functions are the same Further
evidence of their functional likeness can be seen
from examining the nature of the work performed at
the two types of installation Although in many
instances there may be different job classifications
used, the nature of the work being performed at the
Mail Bag Depositories is similar to, and in some
cases identical with, that being performed at the Area
Supply Centers
From the standpoint of organizational control, the
record evidence shows that the managers of the
individual Mail Bag Depositories exercise a certain
degree of autonomy in the day-to-day operations of
their facilities For example, these managers have the
authority to hire employees for nonsupervisory
positions, discharge employees, subject to the con-
tract appeals procedures,li and authorize the work-
ing of overtime on a limited basis On the other hand,
however, the Employer's supply operation is national
in scope and requires close overall control The real
decision-making function is carried on at division
headquarters in Washington, D C, and personnel
from headquarters are regularly in touch with the
various installations However, all requests and
proposals of the managers of the Mail Bag Deposito-
ries are usually channeled through the managers of
the Area Supply Centers Likewise, all sizable
expenses, such as for equipment, repairs, additional
personnel, and services, must be approved by the
managers of the Area Supply Centers The same is
true of any overtime which is being performed on a
regular basis The managers of the Area Supply
Centers estimate that from 40 to 50 percent of their
time is devoted to overseeing the operations of the
Mail Bag Depositories and this includes daily
contact by themselves and their staff with the
individual Mail Bag Depositories The managers of
the Area Supply Centers are charged with the
responsibility of improving the operations at each of
the Mail Bag Depositories and, in some instances,
this calls for the exercise of their authority to transfer
budgeted funds from one Mail Bag Depository to
another as well as to require an increase or reduction
in the number of personnel With respect to labor
relations matters, the chief personnel officers as-
signed to the managers of the Area Supply Centers
are in constant contact with the different Mail Bag
Depositories within their territorial jurisdiction and
the chief personnel officer or one of his subordinates
9 For the same reasons , we attach no significance to the fact that for a 2-
year period (1969-71) the Mail Bag Depositories were under the Employer s
Bureau of Operations
10 Although mail bag repair work is performed at certain of the Mail Bag
Depositories where Repair Centers are located, we view this repair
operation as incidental to the warehousing and distribution function
lr The manager s action is final only if the employee elects not to appeal
the decision
U S POSTAL SERVICE 1145
acts on whatever labor relations or personnel
problems might arise In exercising their duties, the
chief personnel officers are immediately responsible
to the manager of the Area Supply Center to which
they are assigned
Other factors to which we assign weight in making
a unit determination are the frequency of inter-
change among employees of the various facilities and
any history of bargaining which may be relevant to
the issues before us As to the former, it is clear that
the Employer has no specific policy involving the
transfer of employees from one location to another
Any transfers which have occurred appear to have
been at the request of the particular employee or a
result of the closing of a facility Inasmuch as these
transfers were at the convenience of the employee
rather than the Employer, we conclude that the
Employer's operations do not seem to require the
interchange or transfer of personnel from one facility
to another and, therefore, this factor does not
support the contention that the broader overall unit
is appropriate With respect to bargaining history, we
indicated earlier that there is no bargaining history
coextensive with a unit of all Mail Bag Depositories
or one which also included the Area Supply Centers
What the record does show is that, pursuant to
Executive Order 10988, the facilities involved here
have been and are being represented by the various
labor organizations who are petitioners in this
proceeding 12 However, all such representation has
been and is on a single facility basis Here, of course,
no party is urging that representation should be on a
single facility basis and accordingly, the existing
bargaining history is of no assistance in determining
whether a separate unit of all Mail Bag Depositories
can be appropriate or whether such a unit must also
include the Area Supply Centers
After a careful review of the foregoing, we
conclude that the weight of the evidence favors a
finding that the appropriate unit should group
together both the Mail Bag Depositories and the
Area Supply Centers While some factors such as the
absence of a relevant bargaining history and the lack
of any significant interchange might favor a different
result, they are, in our judgment, overcome by the
other relevant evidence In particular, we refer to the
similarity in function and purpose of the two types of
installation, the operational integration of both, and
the close supervision and control exercised over the
12 Although there are contracts in existence no party is raising contract
bar as an issue
13 After the close of the hearing the Employer by letter notified the
Board that it was in the process of consolidating and eliminating certain
installations covered by the instant petitions No specifics were given and
obviously, the Board has given no weight to this information in reaching its
unit findings herein
14 Actually the Mail Equipment Shops are four different operations or
Mail Bag Depositories by managers of the Area
Supply Centers, even to the point of exercising
control over the labor relations function According-
ly, we conclude that the appropriate unit should
include both the Mail Bag Depositories and the Area
Supply Centers 13
We turn now to a consideration as to whether the
Mail Equipment Shops should be included in the
overall unit with the Mail Bag Depositories and Area
Supply Centers, as requested by the Joint Petitioners
and the Employer, or represented separately, as
requested by the Alliance in its petition in Case
22-RC-5136(P) As indicated, the Mail Equipment
Shops are located in Washington, D C,14 and are
under the direction of Manager George Critzer The
Mail Equipment Shops manufacture mail bags and
different types of locks and keys and distribute these
items on request to postmasters throughout the
nation They also ship supplies of new mail bags to
the Mail Bag Depositories and provide the Repair
Centers with the materials used in the repair of mail
bags The Mail Equipment Shops are production
oriented and work under production schedules
established at Supply Management Division head-
quarters They function as an autonomous entity in
the sense that they require no outside support or
services 15 There is no interchange of employees
between the Mail Equipment Shops and the Mail
Bag Depositories 16 All labor relations matters are
handled by Mr Critzer, the manager of the Mail
Equipment Shops Finally, the collective-bargaining
history establishes that the Mail Equipment Shops
have been represented as a separate bargaining unit
since 1964
In view of the foregoing, we find that there is no
overriding community of interest between employees
of the Mail Equipment Shops and those employed in
the Mail Bag Depositories and Area Supply Centers
The record also establishes that the Mail Equipment
Shops are a separate entity both as to function and
operation Accordingly, we conclude that the Mail
Equipment Shops constitute a separate appropriate
unit for purposes of collective bargaining
Other issues remain concerning the composition of
the units we have found appropriate and the unit
placement of certain individuals They are as
follows
1 The tool-and-die shop employees The Joint
Petitioners and the Employer would include the tool-
shops consolidated into one The four different shops are identified in the
record as the bag shop the press shop the tool and die shop and the lock
and key shop
15 Matzko, the head of the Supply Management Division testified that
the Mail Equipment Shops were self-sustaining having their own manage-
ment and staff available to carry out their function
16 Presumably this is also the case with respect to the Area Supply
Centers
1146 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and-die shop employees in the unit of Mail Equip-
ment Shop employees The Alliance would exclude
them The tool-and-die shop is one of the four shops
which make up the Mail Equipment Shops There are
approximately 16 employees in thejob classifications
of tool-and-die makers, machinists, maintenance
mechanic machinist, and machinist helper who are
employed in the tool-and-die shop They are sepa-
rately supervised and work in a location separate and
apart from that of other employees of the Mail
Equipment Shops The tool-and-die shop employees
are considered to be highly skilled craftsmen and,
from at least 1967, they have been separately
represented by Local 174, International Association
of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO,17
one of the Joint Petitioners in this proceeding
Although the Employer and the Joint Petitioners do
not contest the right of these employees to be
represented on a separate basis, they contend that
the tool-and-die shop employees should be included
in the unit with other Mail Equipment Shop
employees in this instance because no labor orgam-
zation is seeking to represent these employees in a
separate unit In ourjudgment, this argument ignores
the fact that the tool-and-die shop employees are
currently being represented on a separate basis by the
IAM and would likely continue to be represented on
this basis if the Joint Petitioners are successful in
winning representation rights in the unit of Mail
Equipment Shop employees In view of these
circumstances, we conclude that the tool-and-die
shop employees should be excluded from the unit of
Mail Equipment Shop employees and thereby be
permitted to continue their representation on a
separate basis
2 Office clerical employees The Joint Petitioners
would include office clericals as a class in the units
found appropriate The Employer and the Alliance
would exclude them The bargaining history is mixed
with respect to the unit placement of such individu-
als Office clericals have been traditionally excluded
from the units in existence at the Mail Equipment
Shops and Area Supply Centers, but they have been
traditionally included in units at the Mail Bag
Depositories Aside from this mixed history of
representation, there was no evidence adduced at the
hearing to show any special community of interest
between office clericals and the employees included
in the appropriate units Accordingly, we shall follow
our established practice and exclude the office
clericals from these units which are essentially
composed of production and maintenance employ-
ees 18
3 James Quinn, Barbara Bullock, and Marie
Jensen All three are classified as office clerks and
they work in the office section of the warehouse at
the Mail Bag Depository at Edgewater, New Jersey
Quinn, who formerly worked in the warehouse,
maintains stock level record cards for incoming and
outgoing mail bags and material used in connection
with repair operations He also assembles figures for
a daily inventory report and writes reports on mail
found in equipment thought to be empty in addition
to the performance of what might be described as
routine clerical functions Bullock assembles pro-
duction figures and prepares a unit/hour production
report She also extracts the production data from
daily reports, prepares biweekly reports, and other-
wise performs routine clerical work Jensen receives
calls from employees reporting their inability to
appear on time and makes appropriate notations on
employee leave records She also pulls timecards
from the rack, posts hours worked, and prepares the
daily absentee record The parties have not clearly
expressed their respective positions as to whether
these individuals are plant or office clericals Howev-
er, on the basis of the foregoing, we conclude that
Quinn, Bullock, and Jensen are plant clericals and
should be included in the unit
4 C E Tolson She is employed in the classifica-
tion of office clerk at the Mail Equipment Shops
Tolson works in an office located in the bag shop
which in turn is located in the production area Her
duties involve the keeping of production records and
checking on material in process Again, the parties
have not made their respective positions clear as to
whether this individual is a plant or office clerical
employee However, on the basis of the foregoing, we
find that Tolson is a plant clerical employee and
should be included in the unit
5 The requisition clerks and inventory control
clerks These individuals are employed at the Area
Supply Centers and are located in a building separate
from the warehouse operation The requisition clerks
edit incoming orders and make notations thereon for
the guidance of the order filling employees They are
in frequent telephone contact with the warehouse
The inventory control clerks maintain stock record
cards for all items stored in the warehouse They also
work on the preparation of quarterly inventory
forms The Employer and the Joint Petitioners would
include the requisition clerks and inventory control
clerks in the unit as plant clericals The Alliance has
not taken a position on these individuals On the
basis of the foregoing, we find that the requisition
11 Hereafter referred to as the IAM the Joint Petitioners have neither petitioned for nor sought such a unit and
18 Although at the hearing the Joint Petitioners indicated a willingness to we will not direct them to proceed to an election in such a unit under these
go to an election in a separate unit of office clericals if the Board so ordered , circumstances
U S POSTAL SERVICE 1147
clerks and inventory control clerks are plant clericals
and we include them in the unit
6 The ADP clerks These individuals are em-
ployed at the Area Supply Centers and work
alongside the requisition and inventory control
clerks, discussed above The ADP clerks post
inventory information on tape for transmittal to the
Logistics Management Information Center where a
perpetual inventory is maintained The Employer
and the Joint Petitioners would include these
employees in the unit as plant clericals The Alliance
did not take a position with respect to these
individuals On the basis of the foregoing and our
determination with respect to the requisition clerks
and inventory control clerks, we find that the ADP
clerks are plant clericals and include them in the
unit
7 Doris Nixon She is employed in the pressure
sensitive label section of the Eastern Area Supply
Center Nixon receives requisitions and performs
routine clerical work As part of her duties, Nixon
also fills orders for the pressure sensitive labels
manufactured in her department and, on occasion,
she has performed the actual shipping work The
Employer would include Nixon in the unit as a plant
clerical The Joint Petitioners consider Nixon to be
an office clerical employee, but they apparently
would include her in the unit on the basis of their
position that office clerical employees should be
included in the unit The Alliance took no position
On the basis of the foregoing, we find that Nixon is a
plant clerical employee and we include her in the
unit
8 Other disputed categories and individuals The
parties are apparently also in disagreement over the
unit placement of the following individuals the
personnel assistant (Woolridge) at the Mail Bag
Facility in Edgewater, New Jersey, Alice Smith,
Joanne Diggs, Harold Schwartz, Nellie Powell, and
Ann Carter, all of whom are employed at the Mail
Equipment Shops, Ester Turrentine, Rosemarie
Monzione, Phyllis Rose, Dorothy Kubian, and the
procurement and supply assistants, all of whom are
employed at the Area Supply Centers
We find that the record evidence is inadequate for
us to make a determination with respect to the unit
placement of these individuals Accordingly, we shall
permit these individuals to vote subject to challenge
and, if need be, we shall determine their status in a
subsequent proceeding
On the basis of the foregoing, we find that the
following units are appropriate for purposes of
collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9(b) of the Act
1 Unit A
All employees at the Employer's Mail Bag
Depositories and Repair Centers and Area
Supply Centers, including all plant clerical em-
ployees, but excluding all office clerical employ-
ees, professional employees, confidential employ-
ees, guards, managerial employees, and supervi-
sors as defined in the National Labor Relations
Act, as amended, and the Postal Reorganization
Act of 1970
2 Unit B
All employees at the Employer's Mail Equipment
Shops in Washington, D C, including all plant
clerical employees, but excluding the tool-and-die
shop employees, the engineering technicians and
draftsmen,19 office clerical employees, profession-
al employees, confidential employees, guards,
managerial employees, and supervisors as defined
in the National Labor Relations Act, as amended,
and the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970
[Direction of Elections and Excelsior footnote
omitted from publication ]
19 In accordance with a stipulation by the parties