Wenatchee Alloys, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 10, 1943

51 N.L.R.B. 229 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

I
In the Matter Of WENATCHEE ALLOYS, INC., and SMELTER WORKERS'
UNION No. 23368, AFL
In the Matter Of WENATCHEE ALLOYS, INC., and UNITED STEELWORKERS
OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE C. I. O.
Cases Nos. R-554.9 to R-5552 inclusive and R-5553 respectively.-
Decided July 10, 1943
Mr. R. Harold Elston, of Tacoma, Wash., for the Company.
Mr. Leo F. Flynn, of Seattle, Wash., and Mr. E. J. Brown, of
Wenatchee, Wash., for the A. F. of L.
Messrs. Ernest Pederson and C. F. Hudson, of Seattle, Wash., for
the C. 1. 0.
Miss Melvern R.'Krelow, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petitions duly filed by Smelter Workers' Union No. 23368,
AFL, herein called the A. F. of L., and United Steelworkers of
America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called the C.I. 0., alleging
that questions affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Wenatchee Alloys, Inc., Wenatchee, Wash-
ington, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations
Board consolidated the cases and provided for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice before William A. Babcock, Trial Examiner. Said
hearing was held at Wenatchee, Washington, on June 18, 1943. The
Company, the A. F. of L., and the C. I. O. appeared, participated, and
were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-
examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues.
The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from
prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded
opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
51 N. L. R. B., No, 52.
229
230 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Wenatchee Alloys, Inc., an Ohio corporation, having its principal
office at Canton, Ohio, is engaged in the production of ferro-silicon.
We are here primarily concerned with the Rock Island, Washington,
plant, which is operated by the Company under a lease arrangement
in the ordinary form with the Defense Plant Corporation. The Com-
pany secures a substantial quantity of raw materials from points out-
side the State of Washington, 'and all the finished products manu-
factured by the Company are shipped to points outside the State
of Washington,
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Smelter Workers' Union No. 23368, affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to membership
employees of the Company.
United Steelworkers of America, affiliated with the Congress of
Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to mem-
bership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The A. F. of L . and the C. I. O. requested the Company to recog-
nize them as the exclusive bargaining representatives of employees
of the Company each claims to represent . The Company refused
the requests unless and until they are certified by the Board.
A statement of a Field Examiner , introduced in evidence, at the
hearing, indicates that the A. F. of L . and the C. I. O. represent a
substantial number of employees in the units each claims to be appro-
priate
1 The Field Examiner reported that the A F of L submitted 147 designation cards in the
production and maintenance unit , all bearing apparently genuine signatures , and dated be-
tween January 5 and April 17, 1943 Of the 147 cards presented , 69 bear the names of
persons whose names appear on the pay-roll list submitted by the Company dated April 30,
1943 . The pay-roll list contains the names of 114 employees in the unit The C I 0 pre-
sented 44 cards in the same unit, all hearings apparently genuine signatures and dated be-
tween May 7 and May 18, 1943 Of the 44 cards submitted, 28 bear the names of persons
whose names appear on the said pay -roll list submitted by the Company , dated April 30, 1943
At the hearing the Trial Examiner reported that the A F of L submitted cards for the
office employees ' unit, the guard unit, and the laboratory employees ' units There are three
employees in the office, the names of all appearing on cards submitted by the A F. of L. The
cards are dated March 25, 1943 , and bear apparently genuine signatures .' There are seven
guards, including the chief guard, for whom the A. F of L . submitted 5 cards , dated in
February , March , and April , and all bearing apparently genuine signatures In addition
the A . F of L . submitted a ledger of dues payments on which appears the names of an
additional guard who is a member of good standing as of March 1943 There are three
WENATCHEE ALLOYS, INC. 231
We find that questions affecting commerce have arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor
Relations Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNITS
The A. F. of L. contends the following constitute separate appro-
priate units :
(1) All production and maintenance employees of the Company at
its Rock Island plant, including storeroom clerks, but excluding office,
clerical, and supervisory employees with the authority to hire and dis-
charge, laboratory and research employees, and guards.
(2) All armed and unarmed guards of the Company at its Rock
Island plant, excluding supervisory employees with the authority to
hire and discharge.
(3) All office and clerical employees of the Company at its Rock
Island plant, excluding supervisory employees with the authority to
hire and discharge.
(4) All laboratory and research employees of the Company at its
Rock Island plant, excluding supervisory employees with the au-
thority to hire and discharge.
The Company and the C. I. 0. agree that the appropriate unit
should comprise all production and maintenance employees of the
Company at its Rock Island plant, excluding storeroom clerks, office,
clerical, and supervisory employees with authority to hire and dis-
charge, laboratory and research employees, and guards.
The Company maintains that storeroom clerks should be excluded
because of the confidential character of their work; with respect to
the three other units sought to be established by the A. F. of L., it
argues that because of the confidential duties of those employees they
are more appropriately akin to management and therefore should not
be permitted to constitute units for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining. It further asserts, with respect to the guards, that collective
bargaining is inconsistent with their status as civilian auxiliaries of
the military police.
Storeroom clerks: The Company employs two storeroom clerks and
a weigh master in its storeroom or warehouse, in which are stored ma-
terials and supplies used by the Company in its operation at its Rock
Island plant. The clerks receive, check and record deliveries of ma-
terials and handle all but heavy machinery and materials within the
, employees in the laboratory , including the chemist , for whom the A F. Of L . has submitted
cards, dated in March and April 1943 , and bearing apparently genuine signatures The
C. I 0 presented no evidence of membership in these units , stating at the hearing that it
did not represent any of those employees
232 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
storeroom. The weigh master weighs all incoming and outgoing
cars containing silica rock and ferro-silicon, and prepares reports and
bills of lading. For about an hour a day, the weigh master stores
stock. All these employees work under the supervision of the store-
keeper, and are paid on an hourly basis the same as the production
employees in the plant. We can find no substantial difference between
the work of these employees and that of other production and mainte-
nance employees in the plant. They bear no such confidential rela-
tionship to the Company as would require their exclusion from the
unit. We conclude therefore that the storeroom clerks and the weigh
master are,employees properly included Within the unit of production
and maintenance employees. With respect to the storekeeper, who
is responsible for the work done in the storeroom, and who supervises
the work of the above employees and has the authority to hire and
discharge, we are of the opinion that he is a supervisory employee and
we shall exclude him from the unit.
Guards: The Company's plant-protection force consists of seven
guards , including the chief guard, all of whom have recently been
made civilian auxiliaries of the military police. The Army 'has
formulated certain employment standards applicable to these guards.
Nevertheless, these employees are hired and paid by the Company and
in all essential respects the customary employer-employee relation-I
ship is preserved. In view of these facts, and for reasons we have
stated in similar cases, we find no merit in the Company's contentions,a
and find that the guards are employees within the meaning of the Act
and may designate a representative for purposes of collective bargain=
ing. The record discloses that the chief guard has the authority to
hire and is responsible for the work of the guards . We conclude that
the chief guard is a supervisory employee, and we shall exclude him
from the unit.
Office and clerical employees: The record indicates that the Com-
pany employs three persons in the classification of office and clerical
employees.s Their duties consist of. general office work including fil-
ing, typing and stenographic work, preparing pay-'roll records, pro-
duction records, and checks for freight. The possession of important
information is of itself insufficient to justify exclusion from the right
to collective bargaining. We find the Company's contention that the
duties of these employees should preclude them from constituting an
appropriate unit to be without merit.
Laboratory and research employees: There are three employees in
the laboratory, the chemist, assistant chemist, and sample man. The
2 See Matter of, Curttss-Wright Corp ., 45 N. L R B 1268 , and cases cited therein.
3 The pay-roll list submitted by the Company indicated that there were two office em-
ployees ; however , the record indicates that M A McCallum , who was employed in the plant
as a batcher , has recently been transferred to the office.
WENATCHEE ALLOYS, INC. 233
work of the assistant chemist consists of routine analysis of incoming
material and all metal shipped from the plant. The sample man's
duties are to obtain samples and prepare them for analysis. We have
frequently found that laboratory employees constitute appropriate
bargaining units, and we conclude , therefore , that the Company's
contention with respect to these employees , as heretofore stated, is
without merit .' The chemist has supervision over the laboratory,
and the authority to hire and discharge . We are of the opinion that
the chemist is a supervisory employee and we shall exclude him from
the unit.
The parties are in agreement that the superintendent and assistant
superintendent should be excluded from the unit . They are, how-
ever , in disagreement with respect to the turn foremen , the mainte-
nance foreman , the labor foreman, and the assistant labor foreman.
The A. F . of L. contends that these employees do not have the au-
thority to hire or discharge , and should therefore be included in the
unit. However , the record clearly indicates that the turn foremen,
the maintenance foreman, and the labor foreman have supervision over
the employees in their respective departments ,' and have the authority
to hire and discharge . The assistant labor foreman engages in pro-
duction work and acts as substitute labor foreman for 1 day during
each week . We conclude that the above -named employees are super-
visory employees and we shall exclude them from the unit.
We find that the following groups of the Company 's employees in
the Rock Island plant constitute units appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining , within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the
Act :
(1) All production and maintenance employees , including the
storeroom clerks, but excluding the storekeeper , the superintendent,
the assistant superintendent , turn foremen , the maintenance foreman,
the labor foreman, the assistant labor foreman, or any other super-
visory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge , discipline,
or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees , or effectively
recommend such action ; all guards including the chief guard ; all
office and clerical employees ; and all laboratory and research em-
ployees, including the chemist ;
(2) All guards , excluding the chief guard;
(3) All office and clerical employees;
(4) All laboratory and research employees , excluding the chemist.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the questions concerning representation which
have arisen be resolved by elections by secret ballot among the em-
4 See Matter of Ford Motor Company , 50 N. L. R. B 30; and Matter of Bendix Products
Division of Bendim Aviation, Corp , 43 N. L . R. B. 912.
234 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ployees in the appropriate units who were employed during the pay-
roll-period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of Elec-
tions, subject to the limitations and additions set forth therein.
Since the C. I. O. has stated that it does not represent any of the
employees other than the production and maintenance employees, we
shall not accord it a place on the ballot with re:-pect to units (2), (3),
and (4).
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
. By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is
hereby -
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Wenatchee Alloys,
Inc., Wenatchee, Washington, elections by secret ballot shall be con-
ducted 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'Nineteenth Region, acting in this matter as
agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article
III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees
in the units found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were em-
ployed 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, and including employees in the armed forces of the United
States who present themselves in person at the" polls, but excluding
any who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine (1)
whether the employees in the production and maintenance unit de-
sire to be represented by Smelter Workers' Union No. 23368, AFL,
or by United Steelworkers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., for
the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither; and (2) whether
or not the employees in the guard unit, the office and clerical unit, and
the laboaratory unit, respectively, desire to be represented by Smelter
Workers' Union No. 29368, AFL, for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining.