Unity Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 14, 1947

74 N.L.R.B. 1047 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter Of UNITY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, EMPLOYER and
METAL POLISHERS, BUFFERS, PLATERS AND HELPERS INTERNATIONAL
UNION, LOCAL #6, A. F. L., PETITIONER
Case No. 13-R-4334.-Decided August 14, 1947
Tenney, Sherman, Rogers & Guthrie, by Mr. George E. Howell, of
Chicago, Ill., for the Employer.
Mr. H. R. McDermott, of Chicago, Ill., for the Petitioner.
Meyers, Meyers & Rothstein, by Mr. Irving Meyers, of Chicago,
Ill., for the Intervenor.
Mr. John J. Gallione, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed,' hearing in this case was held at Chicago,
Illinois, on June 11, 1947, before Herman J. DeKoven, hearing officer.
The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from preju-
dicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record of the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Unity Manufacturing Company, an Illinois corporation, with its
principal offices and place of business at Chicago, Illinois, is engaged
in the manufacture of spot lights and other types of automotive lamps.
During the past year, the Employer purchased materials, valued at
more than $100,000, approximately 50 percent of which came from
points outside the State of Illinois. During the same period, the
Employer manufactured products, valued at more than $100,000, ap-
proximately 50 percent of which was shipped to points outside the
State of Illinois.
I The petition and other papers were amended at the hearing to show the correct name
of the Employer.
74 N. L. R B., No. 178.
1047
1048 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARIS
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
Amalgamated Local, $453, U. A. W., herein called the Intervenor,
is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial
Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
Ill. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner, as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the Peti-
tioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner and the Intervenor contend that all polishers ; buffers,
and mechanics 2 in the polishing -buffing department , and all platers
and plater helpers in the plating department at the Employer 's plant,
excluding foremen, assistant foremen, and all other supervisory em-
ployees, constitute an appropriate unit. Subject to its contention
that only a plant-wide unit of production and maintenance employees
is appropriate ,3 the Employer raises no objection to the composition
of the proposed unit.
All polishing and plating operations at the Employer 's plant are
performed in the two above-mentioned departments , and no other
operations are performed therein. Each of these departments has its
own foreman , who has no jurisdiction over employees in other depart-
ments. The jobs of the employees in question require more skill and
are more highly rated than those of other production and maintenance
employees at the plant 4 Although the Employer is sometimes obliged
to hire men without the requisite skill, new employees for these depart-
ments are trained on the job until the necessary skill is acquired. There
s These mechanics operate automatic buffing machines.
a Production and maintenance employees at the Employer's plant are not organized and
no labor organization presently claims to represent them
4 Polishers and buffers receive about 30 percent higher pay than other production and
maintenance employees.
UNITY MANUFACTURING COMPANY 1049
is seldom any transfer of personnel between these two departments and
other departments. The employees sought herein comprise a well-
recognized craft group, which, as the Board has frequently held, may
constitute a separate appropriate unit.'
In 1940 and 1941, the Employer recognized the Petitioner as the
exclusive bargaining representative of its polishers and buffers, and
had an oral agreement covering their wages, hours, and other condi-
tions of employment. Subsequently, in January 1942, they entered
into a written agreement covering polishers, buffers, platers, plater
helpers, and the mechanics in the polishing-buffing department, who
comprise the unit presently sought by the Petitioner. On or about
March 31, 1942, with the advent of war the Employer began war
production operations, and the positions covered in the Petitioner's
unit were abolished. The Employer's war operations terminated
about October 1945, at which time peacetime operations, substantially
the same as those conducted prior to March 31, 1942, were resumed.
In view of the foregoing facts, and inasmuch as the employees sought
herein constitute a well-established craft group, we find that the pro-
posed unit is appropriate for bargaining purposes.
We find that all polishers, buffers, and mechanics in the polishing-
buffing department and platers and plater helpers in the plating
department at the Employer's plant, excluding foremen, assistant
foremen, and all other supervisory employees, constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION 11
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Unity Manufacturing Com-
pany, Chicago, Illinois, 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 Thirteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for
the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Sections 203.55
and 203.56, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula-
tions-Series 4, among the employees in the unit found appropriate
in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period
'Matter of Dazeg Corporation , 73 N. L. R. B. 788 ; Matter of Swartzbaugh Mfg Co.,
73 N. L R B. 538 ; Matter of Balcrank, Inc., 66 N. L. R . B. 600; Matter of The Scott h
Fetzer Co., 66 N L. R. B. 469.
9 Any participant in the election herein may, upon its prompt request to , and approval
thereof by , the Regional Director, have its name removed from the ballot.
1050 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
immediately preceding the date of this Direction. including employees
who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill -
or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the
armed forces of the United States who present themselves 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 Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers, and Helpers Inter-
national Union, Local #6, A. F. of L., or by Amalgamated Local
X453, U. A. W., C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective bargaining, or
by neither.