Universal Metal Products Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 5, 1960

128 N.L.R.B. 442 (N.L.R.B. 1960)

442 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD I
respect to backpay shall terminate 5 days after November 19, 1958 , the date on, which
its letter of November 17, 1958 , was delivered to Respondent Company.3
On the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, and upon the entire record in the
case , ,l make the following:
CONCLUSIONS OF LAw
1. Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America, AFL-CIO,
Local 563, is a labor organization within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the Act.
2. State Packing Company is an employer within the meaning of Section 2(2) of
the Act.
3. By discriminating in regard to the hire and tenure of employment of Lawrence
Mitchell, State Packing Company has engaged in unfair labor practices within the
meaning of Section 8(a) (3) of the Act.
4. By interfering with , restraining , and coercing employees in the exercise of the
rights guaranteed by Section 7 of the Act, State Packing Company has engaged in
unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8(a)(1) of the Act.
5. By causing State Packing Company to discriminate in regard to the hire and
tenure of employment of Lawrence Mitchell in violation of Section 8(a),(3) of the
Act, Respondent Union has engaged in unfair labor practices within the meaning of
Section 8 (b).(2) of the Act.
6. By restraining and coercing employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed
by Section 7 of the Act, Respondent Union has engaged in unfair labor practices
within the meaning of Section 8 (b) (1) (A) of the Act.
7. The aforesaid unfair labor practices are unfair labor practices affecting com-
merce within the meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
[Recommendations omitted from publication.]
8 Respondent 'Company having thereby been notified of the withdrawal of objections to
Mitchell 's employment ; the latter apparently having avoided delivery of a copy of the
Union 's letter ; and the latter having been present in the hearing room when Respondent
Union stated on the record that the letter was sent to Mitchell to notify him that the
Union had no objections to his employment by Respondent Company, it will not be
recommended that another letter of this nature be served by Respondent Union on
Respondent Company and Mitchell.
Universal Metal Products Corporation i and International
Drivers & Helpers Union, Local 610, affiliated with Inter-
national Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs , Warehouse-
men & Helpers of America 2 and Stove Mounters International
Union of North America, AFL-CIO 3 and Local 2, Inter-
national Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO,' Petitioners.
Cases Nos. 14-RC-3746,14-RC-3751, and 14-RC-3762. August 5,
1960
DECISION, ORDER, AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9(c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before
Walter A. Werner, hearing officer, on February 12, 1960, and before
1 The name of the Employer appears as amended at the hearing.
2 Referred to herein as the Teamsters.
s Referred to herein as the Stove Mounters . By order of the Regional Director on
January 15 , 1960 , this case was consolidated with Case No. 14 -RC-3746.
4 Referred to herein as the Operating Engineers . By order . of the Regional Director on
January 29 , 1960, this case was consolidated with Cases Nos. 14-RC-3746 and 14-RC-
3751 , heretofore consolidated on January 15, 1960.
128 NLRB No. 55.
I
UNIVERSAL METAL PRODUCTS CORPORATION 443
Daniel F. Gruender, hearing officer, on March 4, 11, and 14, 1960. The
hearing officers' rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial
error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this proceeding to a three-
member panel [Chairman Leedom and Members Rodgers and
Jenkins].
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees of the -Employer.'
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning representation
of certain employees of the Employer within the meaning of Sections
9(c) (1) and 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate units: With the exception of the placement of
the powerhouse employees, the parties are in agreement that the unit
should be comprised of all production and maintenance employees and
shipping, receiving, and research employees, excluding office clerical
employees, guards, Watchmen, professional employees, and super-
visors as defined in the Act.' However, the parties disagree as to
the scope of the unit . The Teamsters and the Stove Mounters seek
to represent the production and maintenance employees presently em-
ployed at the Employer's plant at 5661 Natural Bridge Avenue, St.
Louis, Missouri. The Operating Engineers seeks to represent only
the powerhouse employees employed at the Natural Bridge plant.
The Employer, contrary to the position of all the Petitioners, con-
tends that only a multiplant unit is appropriate, or, in the alternative,
that any election that may be directed herein should be postponed
until After August 1, 1960. In support of its position, the Employer
asserts that by August 1960 the transfer of all its production and
maintenance employees now located at 2947 Delmar Street, St. Louis,
Missouri , to the National Bridge plant will be completed. The Ma-
chinists, one of the Intervenors, in agreement with the Employer,
contends that a unit including the production and maintenance em-
ployees of both the Natural Bridge and the Delmar Street plants is
s District No. 9, International Association of Machinists , AFL-CIO, Local No. 1, Inter-
national Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO ; Local 13, Metal Polishers , Buffers,
Platers & Helpers ; and Local 980, Furniture Finishers & Painters , AFL-CIO ( herein
called Intervenors ), presently represent the employees employed at the Employer 's Delmar
Street operation on a joint basis Although each of these unions intervened and was
represented separately at the hearing , they intervened on the basis of their current joint
contract with the Employer covering the Delmar Street employees.
6 At the hearing, the Teamsters and the Stove Mounters amended their respective unit
requests to exclude the powerhouse employees sought by the Operating Engineers
444 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
appropriate. The Metal Polishers desire to represent only those em-
ployees at the Delmar Street plant heretofore represented by them
under the joint contract. The other Intervenors take no unit position.
The record shows that prior to February 8, 1960, the S. G. Adams
Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Universal Match 'Co., oper-
ated the Delmar Street plant. In early February 1960, Universal
Match Co. acquired all the stock of the Wrought Iron Range Company
which at that time operated the Natural Bridge plant. Thereafter,
on February 8, 1960, the S. G. Adams Company was merged with
the Wrought Iron Range Company and the latter's name was there-
after changed to Universal Metal Products Corporation, the Em-
ployer herein, who has since operated both plants.
After the merger, the Employer recognized and bargained with the
Intervenors insofar as the employees at the Delmar Street plant were
concerned. However, the contract covering the Delmar 'Street plant
expired on April 10, 1960, and has not been renewed, pending a deci-
sion herein. The employees at the Natural Bridge plant have never
been represented by any labor organization.
Subsequent to the merger all operations at both the Natural Bridge
and Delmar Street plants were brought under common management
located at the Natural Bridge plant. Prior to the completion of the
hearing, all the office and administrative employees located at the
Delmar Street plant were transferred to the Natural Bridge plant,
where all administrative matters-including all recordkeeping, pur-
chasing, financial controls, planning, sales, cost estimating, and engi-
neeringare now handled on a centralized basis. In addition, al-
though each plant is under separate immediate supervision, a vice
president in charge of manufacturing has full responsibility for oper-
ations at both plants. Timecards, payroll periods, hours of work,
lunch hours, and rest periods have been standardized between the two
plants. Moreover, the work and skills involved in each plant are
essentially the same?
The Board has held that where, following a merger or consolida-
tion of separate corporate entities, the operation of the enterprises
becomes integrated under centralized managerial control and central-
ized control of labor relations, the resulting enterprise is comparable
to a new operation 8 Upon the entire record, and in view of the ad-
7 The testimony also reveals that the Employer 's present plans call for the complete
transfer of all the production employees and operations from the Delmar Street plant to
the Natural Bridge plant The Employer anticipated that this consolidation will be
completed by August 1, 1900 . Although the actual moving of men and equipment had
not started at the time of the hearing , the record shows that extensive inventories and
surveys have been made and that the Delmar Street plant has been listed with realtors
for sale
8 Hooker Electrochemical Company , 116 NLRB 1393, 1395.
UNIVERSAL METAL PRODUCTS CORPORATION 445
ministrative integration of the Employer's manufacturing plants
under unified control, the centralized control of labor relations, the
uniformity of skills and working conditions, and particularly the
eminent consolidation of the two plants into one, we find that a single
bargaining unit including the employees of both plants is appropriate.'
The Operating Engineers seeks a unit limited to the powerhouse
'employees. The Employer, in opposition to the Operating Engineers'
position, contends that as its scheduled integration calls for the elimi-
nation of the powerhouse employees, a unit limited to the powerhouse
employees would be inappropriate at this time. At the hearing, the
Employer's witness testified that the Employer intends to purchase all
its electrical energy from outside sources, convert the high pressure
boilers, heretofore used to generate power, into low pressure self-
operating boilers for heating purposes only, and convert the power-
house area into additional production space, assigning the powerhouse
employees to production -work. Since the hearing, we have been ad-
ministratively advised that the Employer has discontinued the use of
all steam for processing operations in the plant; steam is now being
used only to provide lights. In addition, the local power company is
building a substation which is 50 percent complete and the boilers in
the Employer's powerplant are expected to be turned off in 2 weeks.
In these circumstances we are of the opinion that no useful purpose
would be served by processing the petition in Case No. 14-RC-3762,
as too short a time remains for the operation of the powerhouse as a
power generating unit. We shall, therefore, dismiss the petition in
Case No. 14-RC-3762 and include the present powerhouse employees
in the production and maintenance unit. See Replogle Globes, Inc.,
107 NLRB 1,52.
Accordingly, we find that the following employees employed at the
Employer's plants located at 5661 Natural Bridge Avenue and 2947
Delmar Street, St. Louis, Missouri, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9(b) of the Act:
All production and maintenance employees, including machine shop
'employees and shipping, receiving, and research employees, excluding
office clerical employees, guards, watchmen, professional employees,
and supervisors as defined in the Act.
[The Board dismissed the petition in Case No. 14-RC-3M2.]
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
9 Pacific Isle Mining Company , 118 NLRB 740.