Warner-Lambert Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 29, 1990

298 N.L.R.B. 993 (N.L.R.B. 1990)

WARNER-LAMBERT CO. 993
Warner-Lambert Company and Local 3, Internation-
al Brotherhood of Firemen & Oilers, AFL-CIO,
Petitioner . Case 1-RC-19206
June 29, 1990
DECISION ON REVIEW AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
BY CHAIRMAN STEPHENS AND MEMBERS
CRACRAFT AND DEVANEY
On March 29, 1989, the Regional Director for
Region 1 of the National Labor Relations Board
issued a Decision and Order in this proceeding. In
her decision, the Regional Director concluded,
among other things, that a self-determination elec-
tion to permit the packaging machine mechanics to
vote on inclusion with the currently represented
machine and repair employees was not appropri-
ate.' In this regard, the Regional Director found
that those two groups of employees could not con-
stitute a separate appropriate bargaining unit be-
cause the petitioned-for employees share a commu-
nity of interest with the Employer's production
employees, who are unrepresented.
Thereafter, in accord with Section 102.67 of the
Board's Rules and Regulations, the Petitioner filed
a timely request for review of the Regional Direc-
tor's decision. The Petitioner contended, inter alia,
that the packaging machine mechanics constitute
an appropriate unit with the maintenance and
repair employees, (1) because of the differences be-
tween the packaging machine mechanics and the
production employees, and (2) because the mechan-
ics and the maintenance and repair employees to-
gether ''constitute the engineering department, pos-
sess a high grade of skills, are more highly paid
than production employees, and are not seasonally
laid off.2 The Employer filed an opposition to the
request for review. On August 25, 1989, the Board
granted the Petitioner's request for review solely
with respect to the issue whether a self-determina-
tion election for packaging machine mechanics
should be held.
The National Labor Relations Board has delegat-
ed its authority in this proceeding to a three-
member panel.
The Board has reviewed the entire record in this
case, including the briefs on review filed by the Pe-
titioner and the Employer, and makes the follow-
ing findings.
i The Regional Director also concluded that a unit limited to packag-
ing machine mechanics was inappropriate. The Board denied the Peti-
tioner's request for review with respect to this finding
2 The Petitioner also contended that the packaging machine mechanics
constitute a separate appropriate unit
The Employer manufactures candy products at
its Cambridge, Massachusetts facility. In February
1988, the Employer purchased the facility from
National Biscuit Company (NABISCO). The Peti-
tioner has represented the maintenance and repair
employees at this facility since 1983 and has repre-
sented the "sanitors" in a separate unit since Febru-
ary 1989. The remaining employees at the facility
are unrepresented. There are about 250 hourly paid
employees, including 210 production employees, 15
packaging machine mechanics, and 15 maintenance
and repair employees.
The Employer's facility is a six-floor building
with candy production lines on the top four floors.
Plant operations on each of the production floors
are essentially the same. Candy production is a
continuous process. Candy is cooked, cooled, and
formed. The candy arrives, usually by conveyor
belt, in the packaging area. Each product has its
own line of packaging machines. Production em-
ployees feed the candy into the packaging machine
and handle the wrapping and packaging process.
The packaging machine mechanics are usually
stationed near a packaging line. They are responsi-
ble for ensuring that the' packaging machines keep
running and that the continuous production process
is not interrupted. Packaging machine mechanics
usually remain in the area of the packaging ma-
chines to clear jams or to perform repairs on the
machinery as necessary. While-packaging machine
mechanics are working on a machine that is down,
production continues. Spare machines, if available
on a given production line, are used to package the
product while the packaging machine mechanic
performs repairs. If no spare machine is available,
the candy is produced and stacked while the pack-
aging machine mechanic completes repairs. Pack-
aging machine mechanics usually have no duties in
other areas of the facility while they are assigned
to a particular line.
Of the 15 packaging machine mechanics, all but
2 to 4 are assigned to a particular line. Although a
packaging machine mechanic may switch between
lines occasionally, or even on a given day, such
mechanics generally remain in one location for the
duration of a shift and may stay with that line for
weeks or months at a time. Those pack aging ma-
chine mechanics not assigned to particular lines are
assigned instead to special project work on packag-
ing machines . Packaging machine mechanics are
also involved in preventive maintenance programs
on the packaging machines when time permits.
Packaging machine mechanics are not required
to have any particular educational background.
About half of the current packaging machine me-
chanics were hired from the ranks of the produc-
298 NLRB No. 150
-994 DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tion employees and half from outside. When they
do not have a packaging mechanic background,
they receive on-the-job training for a period of be-
tween 6 and 8 months.
There are three classifications of packaging ma-
chine mechanics: A, B, and C, with A being the
highest rank. Some packaging machine mechanics
only learn how to service some of the Employer's
packaging machines. To reach the A classification,
a packaging machine mechanic is expected to be
able to service most or all of the packaging ma-
chines. Over half the current packaging machine
mechanics are in the "A" classification. Packaging
machine mechanics sometimes fabricate the parts
necessary for machine repair. They have their own
shop. One packaging machine mechanic testified
that he sometimes uses the maintenance and repair
employees' shop, and maintenance and repair em-
ployees sometimes use the packaging machine me-
chanics' shop. Production employees do not repair
packaging machines, although they may assist
packaging machine mechanics in the performance
of their duties by turning the machines on and off.
The packaging machine mechanics have been told
they cannot do production work; however, some
have, on occasion, helped production workers who
have fallen behind.
The currently represented maintenance and
repair employees keep the Employer's facility and
equipment operating. That bargaining unit includes
an electrician, a sheet metal mechanic, a
machinist/millwright, a painter, and three levels of
mechanics. Some of these positions require a li-
cense. These employees are assigned tasks in vari-
ous locations throughout the facility. They perform
electrical work on the Employer's packaging ma-
chines, but do not otherwise repair or maintain the
packaging machines. They repair some conveyor
belts and other machines involved in production
working in the vicinity of the processing employ-
ees. They also maintain general building equipment.
Both the packaging machine mechanics and the
maintenance and repair employees operate under a
work order system, whereby assignments other
than packaging machine mechanics' line assign-
ments are distributed.
The packaging machine mechanics and the main-
tenance and repair employees are both included in
the Employer's engineering department, which is
headed by a plant engineering manager. Each
group has its own immediate supervisor, who re-
ports to the plant engineering manager. On the
second shift, after the packaging machine mechan-
ics' supervisor leaves, the packaging machine me-
chanics may, on occasion, receive instructions or
priorities from a production supervisor. If a pack-
aging machine mechanic on the second shift has a
problem or question, he will call his supervisor or
lead person at home for direction. The engineering
department manager prepares an overall budget for
the entire department, but the two groups are sepa-
rately budgeted by him.
Production employees have become both pack-
aging machine mechanics and maintenance and
repair employees. At least one packaging machine
mechanic has become a maintenance and repair
employee.
The Employer shuts down production in the
summer, during which time it lays off production
employees. However, neither the packaging ma-
chine mechanics nor the maintenance and repair
employees are laid off. Some packaging machine
mechanics work during this period on packaging
machines rather than take vacation. A majority of
maintenance and repair employees work during the
shutdown.
Production employees earn between $7-$8 an
hour. Packaging machine mechanics earn in excess
of $11 an hour and maintenance and repair employ-
ees earn in excess of $12 an hour. Production em-
ployees and packaging machine mechanics receive
a percentage annual wage increase at the same time
each year. The organized employees and packaging
machine mechanics formerly received an annual
bonus, but those bonuses were recently converted
to hourly rates and applied to the wages of the two
groups. Production employees and packaging ma-
chine mechanics have the same benefits package,
and these benefits are different from those in the
collective-bargaining agreement applicable to the
organized maintenance and repair employees. The
packaging machine mechanics and the maintenance
and repair employees are eligible for tuition reim-
bursement from the Employer.
Packaging machine mechanics are scheduled to
begin work between 6 and 6:45 a.m. and at 1 or 3
p.m., prior to the time packaging employees are
scheduled, to set up the packaging machines. Pack-
aging machine mechanics are scheduled for breaks
and lunch with the production crews, but may be
unable to take breaks when scheduled because of
repair needs.
Packaging machine mechanics and maintenance
and repair employees wear blue uniforms, while
production employees wear white uniforms. Pack-
aging machine mechanics and production employ-
ees share a timeclock and locker facilities, while
maintenance and repair employees have a separate
timeclock and locker facilities.
In two other candy factories in the Greater
Boston area, one of which closed in 1984, packag-
ing machine mechanics have been included in bar-
WARNER-LAMBERT CO. 995
gaining units with skilled building and utility em-
ployees.
The Regional Director determined that the pack-
aging machine mechanics are an integral part of
the Employer's production process because they
report to work before production employees to set
up machines; most are assigned to one line per shift
and remain for long periods on that line even when
the machines are running; they are not required to
have special training when hired; not all are trained
to work on all lines; and they share common facili-
ties with the production employees and receive
similar benefits. She therefore found a unit limited
to packaging machine mechanics inappropriate.3
Citing Beecham Inc., 251 NLRB 731, 732 (1980),
the Regional Director further found that since the
packaging machine mechanics' work is an integral
part of the work of the production employees, a
unit of packaging machine mechanics and the cur-
rently represented maintenance and repair employ-
ees would not be a unit of a distinct and homoge-
neous group of employees with interests separate
from those of other employees such as to constitute
an appropriate unit. The Regional Director there-
fore concluded, citing Lone Star Producing Co., 85
NLRB 1137 (1949), that it would not effectuate the
purposes of the Act to permit the packaging ma-
chine mechanics to vote for inclusion with the
maintenance and repair employees.'
We do not agree with the Regional Director's
conclusion regarding the holding of a self-determi-
nation election for packaging machine mechanics
to decide whether they wish to be included in the
unit with the maintenance and repair employees. A
self-determination election is the proper method by
which a union may add unrepresented employees
to the contractual unit. In this regard, it is neces-
sary to determine the extent to which the employ-
ees to be included share a community of interest
with unit employees, as well as whether the em-
ployees to be added constitute an identifiable, dis-
tinct segment so as to constitute an appropriate
voting group. Capital Cities Broadcasting Corp., 194
NLRB 1063 (1972). That packaging machine me-
chanics do not constitute a separate appropriate
unit does not mean that they could not, in the
proper circumstances, be added to the maintenance
and repair unit as opposed to the unit of produc-
tion employees.
The cases relied on by the Regional Director do
not hold to the contrary. For example, the issue in
Peterson/Puritan, Inc., 240 NTLRB 1051 (1979), was
whether line mechanics constituted a separate ap-
propriate unit. In finding that such a unit was not
appropriate because the line mechanics worked
close to production workers and performed duties
that were an integral part of the production proc-
ess, the Board, in Peterson, specifically noted that it
was not deciding whether the line mechanics
shared a community of interest with production
workers greater than that shared with other main-
tenance employees. Id. at 1051 fn. 3.
The record in the present case shows that the
packaging machine mechanics share a closer com-
munity of interest with the maintenance and repair
employees than with production employees. Al-
though the packaging machine mechanics have sep-
arate immediate supervision from the maintenance
and repair employees, as they do from the produc-
tion employees, the Employer has placed the pack-
aging machine mechanics and the maintenance and
repair employees in one department under the same
general supervisor.
The skills of the two groups are more closely
comparable than those of the packaging machine
mechanics and the production employees. Packag-
ing machine mechanics hired by the Employer
either have a packaging mechanic background or
undergo 6 to 8 months training on the job. Produc-
tion employees who become mechanics undergo
this training. Packaging machine mechanics repair
and maintain packaging machinery. Some even fab-
ricate parts for repairs. Maintenance and repair em-
ployees also repair and maintain machinery that is
used in the production process, including electrical
repairs for the packaging machines. Although,
unlike the mechanics, some of the maintenance and
repair employees are licensed, some are not. Fur-
ther, packaging machine mechanics sometimes use
the maintenance and repair employees' shop, and
the maintenance and repair employees sometimes
use the packaging machine mechanics' shop. Pro-
duction employees do no maintenance or repair of
machinery.
The wage rates of the packaging machine me-
chanics also show their jobs to be more compara-
ble to those of the maintenance and repair employ-
ees than to those of the production employees.
Packaging machine mechanics' hourly wages start
at $11 an hour and those of maintenance and repair
employees at $12 an hour, both substantially higher
than the $7- to $8-an-hour range of the production
employees. Further, both the packaging machine
mechanics and the maintenance and repair employ-
ees, unlike the production employees, had their
annual bonuses converted to an increase in hourly
wages. Because of the substantial difference in
wages between packaging machine mechanics and
production workers, we do not place great weight
' The Board denied the Petitioner's request for review of this finding on the fact that both, like all of the Employer's un-
996 DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
represented hourly employees, have the same bene-
fits.
We also view as significant that neither the pack-
aging machine mechanics nor the maintenance and
repair employees are laid off after peak season, as
are the production workers. Some packaging ma-
chine mechanics and the majority of the mainte-
nance and repair workers continue performing
maintenance work during the shutdown period. We
note that the mechanics often continue on the job
to repair machines when the production employees
go on break or to lunch. Though perhaps of lesser
importance, we also note that the packaging ma-
chine mechanics are distinguishable from the pro-
duction workers on the line by their different col-
ored uniforms, and that these uniforms are the
same color as those of the maintenance and repair
employees.
Although a substantial number of current pack-
aging machine mechanics have transferred from
production, there do not appear to be any transfers
from packaging machine mechanic to production.
Further, there has been at least one transfer from
packaging machine mechanic to maintenance and
repair. Additionally, the evidence also shows that
there is no permitted interchange of function on
the job between production workers and mechan-
ics. To the extent that mechanics help production
employees who have fallen behind, they are violat-
ing company rules.
Based on the foregoing, we find that the packag-
ing machine mechanics share a sufficient communi-
ty of interest with the maintenance and repair em-
ployees to warrant their inclusion in the same
unit .4 Accordingly, we reverse the Regional Direc-
tor and direct a self-determination election for the
mechanics to decide whether they wish to be rep-
resented in the maintenance and repair employees'
unit.
[Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
' In Beecham Products, above , the Board found that the petitioned-for
unit of maintenance employees , including machine mechanics , machine
service employees, and building maintenance employees , was inappropri-
ate on the grounds that the machine maintenance mechanics and machine
service employees had a closer community of interest with production
employees than with building maintenance mechanics , and that their
work was an integral part of the production process. We find that Bee-
cham is distinguishable In Beecham, the employer chose to place the ma-
chine mechanics and service employees in the same department as the
production employees , while putting the building mechanics in a separate
department The machine mechanics were supervised by production de-
partment supervisors Machine mechanics' duties included assisting ma-
chine operators By contrast , the packaging machine mechanics and
maintenance and repair mechanics are in the same department and share
common general supervision Further, the packaging machine mechanics
have been warned not to engage in production work In Beecham, ma-
chine mechanics and building mechanics engaged in distinct job func-
tions Building mechanics worked on production lines only when a major
overhaul or repair was needed Here , maintenance and repair employees
do some work on the machines maintained by the packaging machine me-
chanics and regularly maintain production equipment . In Beecham, the
Board stated that production employees and machine mechanics were
hourly paid and did not suggest any substantial distinction in pay, here,
packaging machine mechanics and maintenance and repair employees
earn similar hourly wages , which are substantially more per hour than
those of the production employees and, unlike production employees,
both have had their annual bonuses converted to hourly rates In Bee-
cham, maintenance mechanics as well as production employees were laid
off; mechanics could even bump into production positions. Here, packag-
ing mechanics and maintenance and repair employees are not laid off like
the production workers during the annual turndown periods, but contin-
ue working , repairing packaging and production equipment