Waterman Steamship Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 29, 1948

78 N.L.R.B. 20 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORPORATION , REPAIR DI-
VISION, EMPLOYER and UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND
APPRENTICES OF T1-1E PLUMBING AND PIPEFITTING INDUSTRY, LOCAL
419, AFL, PETITIONER
In the Matter Of WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORPORATION, REPAIR Di-
VISION, EMPLOYER and SHEET METAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL As-
SOCIATION, LOCAL 412, AFL, PETITIONER
In the Matter Of WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORPORATION, REPAIR Di-
VISION, EMPLOYER and SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH
AMERICA, MOBILE BRANCH, AFL, PETITIONER'
In the Matter of WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORPORATION, REPAIR DI-
vISioN, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL
WORKERS, LOCAL No. B-505 , PETITIONER
In the Matter of WATERMAN STEAMISIIIP CORPORATION, REPAIR DIVISION,
EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL BROTIIERIIOOD OF BOILERMAKERS,
IRON SHIP BUILDERS AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL 112, AFL,
PETITIONER
In the Matter of WATERMAN STEAMSI UP CORPORATION, REPAIR DIVISION,
EMPLOYER and BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS, DECORATORS, AND PAPER-
HANGERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL UNION No. 779, PETITIONER
In the Matter of WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORPORATION, REPAIR DIVISION,
EMPLOYER and UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS
OF AMERICA, LOCAL 872, PETITIONER
In the Matter of WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORPORATION, REPAIR DIVISION,
EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL HOD CARRIERS, BUILDING AND COM-
MON LABORERS UNION OF AMERICA, LOCAL 487,1 PETITIONER
Oases Nos. 15-R-2234,15-R 4244,15-R-2245,15-R-2254,15-R-=2259,
15-R-2260,15-R-2257, and 15-R-2261, respectively. Decided June
29, 1948
' The petition in this case Naas filed by International Hod Carriers , Building, and Common
Laborers Union of America . Local 00 After the hearing , this labor organization moved
to amend the petition by stukmg out the words Local No 00 from its name and substitut-
ing therefor the words Local 487 It contends that after the filing of its petition , it rever ed
a charter from its parent organization and at the same time was assigned the name Local
487 The motion is hereby gi anted
7SNLRB.,No5
20
WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORPORATION
DECISION
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
AND
ORDER
21
Upon separate petitions 2 duly filed, a consolidated hearing in these
cases was held 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:
After the hearing, the petitioning unions in Cases Nos. 15-R-2234,
15-R-2245, 15-R-2257, and 15-R-2260 moved for leave to withdraw
their respective petitions. In each case, the petitioning union was the
only union with an interest in the employees it requested. Under
these circumstances, we shall dismiss the petitions in Cases Nos. 15-R-
2234, 15-R-2245, 15-R-2257, 15-R-2260.
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. Questions of representation exist concerning the representation of
employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1)
and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. Each of the petitioning unions, with the exception of the Hod
Carriers, has requested a craft unit confined to employees within its
respective craft jurisdiction. The Sheet Metal Workers seeks a unit
composed of the sheet metal workers, their helpers, and apprentices.
The Electrical Workers seeks a unit composed of the electricians, their
helpers, and apprentices. The Boilermakers seeks a unit composed
of boilermakers, shipfitters, riveters, chippers and caulkers, angle-
smiths, drillers and reamers, punch and shear operators, rivet heaters,
rivet buckers, bar furnacemen, tank testers, rivet testers, their ap-
prentices and helpers. The Hod Carriers urges as appropriate a unit
composed of all the Employer's laborers. The Employer, on the other
hand, contends that the only appropriate unit in the repair yard is
one embracing all the employees. There is also disagreement with
2 These cases were ordered consolidated by the Board on July 22 and 24, 1947,
respectively
* Chan m a n Herzog and Members Remolds and Jlurdock.
798767-48-vol 78-3
22 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
respect to the disposition of quartermen and leadermen, classifications
which the petitioning unions would include in the respective units
they desire and the Employer would exclude.
The Employer's Repair Division is engaged in the business of re-
pairing and converting vessels at Pier C of the Alabama State Docks,
in Mobile, Alabama. More than 60 percent of the work of this divi-
sion consists of voyage repairs which are performed away from the
repair yard. These repairs are made while vessels are loading or
unloading cargo and they are executed with all possible speed so that
sailing schedules will not be interrupted. Orders for repairs may
come from the vessels that have docked at various points along a 5-mile
stretch in either direction of the repair yard or they may come from
vessels in Gulfport, Mississippi, or Pensacola and Panama City,
Florida. Trucks are used to transport employees and materials to
these ships.
There are approximately 1,400 employees in the Employer's Repair
Division. For operating purposes, they are divided into 8 depart-
ments, corresponding generally to traditional craft groups. The de-
partments are known as the hull, sheet metal, electrical, carpenters,
burners and welders, machinists, pipe, and painting. Of the 3 craft
groups here sought, the hull department employs the group sought by
the Boilermakers; the sheet metal department, the group sought by the
Sheet Metal Workers; and the electrical department, the group sought
by the Electrical Workers. Each department also employs some
laborers and the Hod Carriers would represent all of them. Each
department is supervised by a general foreman.
The only history of collective bargaining at the repair yard con-
cerns the employees in the machinist department and the employees in
the burners and welders department. The machinists have been
represented by the International Association of Machinists, herein
called the IAM, since 1943. The burners and welders were represented
by the United Brotherhood of Welders from 1944 to 1945, and since
1947 have been represented by the IAM. These bargaining representa-
tives were all certified by the Board pursuant to Board-directed elec-
tions.3
The separate unit requests of the Sheet Metal Workers, the Electrical
Workers and the Boilermakers
The units proposed by the Sheet Metal Workers, the Electrical
i:'orkers, and the Boilermakers are each basically craft in character
within the traditional craft jurisdiction of such labor organizations.
1 49 N . L. R. B. 555; 54 N L R B. 267; and 15-R-2142.
WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORPORATION 23
The Employer, however, contends that the employees in the craft
groups here requested are not sufficiently distinguishable from its
other craft employees to warrant their recognition as separate bar-
gaining units because (1) they work in proximity to other craft em-
ployees, (2) they sometimes perform the functions of other craft
groups, and (3) the wages, working conditions, and vacation privileges
are the same for all the Employer's craft employees.
The record shows that the Employer's craft workers perform their
duties aboard vessels in gangs composed of the representatives of
various crafts. The composition of each gang as well as its size varies,
with the nature of the repairs to be performed on the vessel. Upon
the receipt of a repair order, the foreman of each department employ-
ing the necessary craftsmen is notified and he selects the employees
who make up the repair gang. The Employer assigns a job super-
intendent to each gang, to direct the work aboard the vessel. While
the superintendent is under a duty to see that the repairs are properly
executed, he has no authority to discipline employees. He reports
whatever criticism lie may have of their work to their departmental
foremen for corrective action.
It appears that the Employer normally adheres to craft lines in
work assignments. However, rt sometimes becomes necessary to assign
a function normally performed by the representatives of one craft to
the men of another craft. This is clue primarily to the fact that much
of the work of the Repair Division is performed at a distance from the
repair yard and the gangs are assembled before an inspection is made
of the job to determine the type of craftsmen required.
Despite their commingling with other craft employees and the fact
that they may occasionally perform the functions of other craft
groups, the three groups of craft employees here sought are distin-
guishable from each other and from other employees of the Em-
ployer. They are at all times subject to the ultimate control of their
departmental foremen. Furthermore, they do the work common to^
their craft most of the time. Accordingly, notwithstanding the inte-
grated nature of the Employer's operations, we are of the opinion
that the craft employees sought by the Sheet Metal Workers, the Elec-
trical Workers, and the Boilermakers, respectively, may appropriately
constitute separate bargaining units.
The unit request of the Hod Carriers
The laborers whom the Hod Carriers would represent work in scat-
tered places throughout the repair yard. They are unskilled and per-
form the usual duties of such employees . Although they are respon-
24 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
sible to the foremen in the departments to which they are assigned,
their conditions of work are the same. We find that these employees
have common interests and that they constitute an appropriate bar-
gaining unit.
Leadermen and Quarter men: Leadermen have supervision over 6
to 12 employees while quartermen have charge of several leadermen.
Quartermen may also be placed in charge of groups of employees.
Neither the leadermen nor the quartermen engage in the work per-
formed by the employees whose work they supervise. They have au-
thority to recommend hiring, discharging, and promotions, and more-
over, have exercised this authority. We find that the leadermen and
quartermen are "supervisors" within the meaning of Section 2 (11)
of the Act, and we shall, accordingly, exclude them from the units.
We find that each of the following groups of,employees in the Em-
ployer's Repair Division, excluding from each group leadermen, quar-
termen, draftsmen, guards, clerical employees, and all supervisors,
constitutes a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act :
1. All sheet metal journeymen, sheet metal helpers, and sheet metal
apprentices.
2. All electricians, electrician helpers, and electrician apprentices.
3. All boilermakers, shlpfitters, riveters, chippers and caulkers,
anglesmiths, drillers and reamers, punch and shear operators, rivet
heaters, rivet buckers, bar furnacemen, tank testers, rivet testers,
their helpers, and apprentices.
4. All laborers.
V. THE DETERIIINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
A few months before the date of the hearing, the Employer laid off
a number of employees because of a decrease in its business due to
reconversion to a peacetime basis. The Employer contends that it
does not anticipate an increase in business to warrant _the rehiring
of the laid-off employees. In fact, it anticipates that there will be a
further reduction in force. As there is no reasonable expectancy of
reemployment of these laid-off employees by the Employer, their ter-
mination must be deemed permanent. Under these circumstances, we
find them ineligible to participate in the elections hereinafter di-
rected.4
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petitions for investigation and certifi-
cation filed herein by each of the following labor organizations be
4 Matter of Cross Paper Products Corporation , 77 N L R B 149
WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORPORATION 25
severed from this proceeding and that they be, and hereby are, dis-
missed : United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the
Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry, Local 419, AFL; Seafarers Inter-
national Union of North America, Mobile Branch, AFL; Brotherhood
of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America, Local Union
No. 779; and United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of
America, Local 872.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining with Waterman Steamship Corporation,
Repair Division, Mobile, Alabama, elections 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 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 units found
appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed
during the pay-roll period 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, 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 this
election, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled
to reinstatement, to determine :
(1) Whether or not the employees in unit 1 desire to be represented
by Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Local 412, AFL,
for the purposes of collective bargaining;
(2) Whether or not the employees in unit 2 desire to be represented
by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local No. B-5b5,
AFL, for the purposes of collective bargaining.
(3) Whether or not the employees in unit 3 desire to be represented
by International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders
and Helpers of America, Local 112, AFL, for the purposes of collective
bargaining;
(4) Whether or not the employees in unit 4 desire to be represented
by International Hod Carriers, Building and Common Laborers Union
of America, Local 487, AFL, for the purposes of collective bargaining.