West Texas Utilities Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 19, 1952

98 N.L.R.B. 157 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

WEST TEXAS UTILITIES COMPANY 157
We shall direct elections among the following voting groups of
employees at the Employer's New York, New York, establishment :
(a) All new and used car salesmen, excluding office clerical
employees 4 and supervisors as defined in the Act.
(b) All shop employees including mechanics, greasers, porters,
polishers, washers, parts men,5 and utility men, but excluding guards,
professional employees, the service manager," all other supervisors
within the meaning of the Act, and all employees in voting group
(a) above.
If a majority of the employees in voting group (b) cast their
ballots for the CIO, they will constitute a separate appropriate unit.
Similarly, if a majority of employees in either group (a) or (b)
cast their ballots -for the AFL, the employees in that voting group will
constitute a separate appropriate unit, provided, however, if a majority
of employees in each group cast their ballots for the AFL, they-
together will constitute a single appropriate unit. The Regional
Director is instructed to issue a certificate of representatives in
accord with the foregoing.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]
4 The AFL would include office clerical employees in the broad unit . The inclusion of
office clericals in units with production and maintenance employees , such as the service and
repair-shop employees herein, is contrary to Board policy . Accordingly , although office
clericals might appropriately be included in a separate unit with salesmen , they are ex-
cluded from the salesmen ' s voting group here because the over-all production and main-
tenance unit , and not a salesmen 's unit, is the basic one requested by the AFL.
5 Sam Leff, who works as a part-time partsman , is the son of the Employer. He is
excluded from the unit because of his close relationship to the Employer.
6 The record shows that the service manager can effectively recommend the hiring and
discharge of employees . He is therefore excluded from the unit as a supervisor.
WEST TEXAS UTILITIES COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD
OF ELiicnuoAL WORKERS, LOCALS Nos. 898, 920, AND 1044, AFL,
PETITIONER . Case No. 16-RC-812. February 19, 1952
Supplemental Decision , Direction , and Order -
On December 19 and 20, 1951, pursuant to a decision of the Board,'
an election was conducted in the above-entitled proceeding under the
direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Sixteenth
Region. Upon the conclusion of the election, a tally of ballots was
furnished the parties which shows that, of the 152 votes cast, 59 valid
ballots were cast for the Petitioner, 47 valid ballots were cast against
the Petitioner, 45 ballots were challenged, and 1 void ballot was cast.
1 97 NLRB 184.
98 NLRB No. 29.
158 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
On December 28, 1951, the Employer filed objections to conduct-
affecting the result of the election and to the conduct of the election.
On January 8, 1952, the Regional Director issued his report on
objections to election and challenged ballots, and on January 25, 1952,
the Employer filed exceptions thereto. The Petitioner has filed no
exceptions to the report.
Upon the basis of the entire record in this case, the Board 2 makes
the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
The Challenged Voters
In his report, the Regional Director sustained the challenges to
the ballots of the employees listed in Schedule A. Because neither
party has excepted thereto, we hereby adopt these recommendations,
and will sustain the challenges to those ballots. The Regional Direc-
tor overruled the challenges to the ballots of the employees listed in
Schedule B, and as neither party has excepted thereto, we hereby adopt
these recommendations, and we will order that the challenges to these
ballots be overruled, and that they be opened and counted.
The Employer excepts, however, to the Regional Director' s recom-
mendations with respect to the employees listed in Schedule C. As
substantial issues of fact are raised with respect to these employees,
we shall direct that a hearing be held for the purpose of obtaining
evidence with respect to the duties of these employees, and we shall
further direct that the hearing officer designated for the purpose of
conducting the hearing prepare and cause to be-.served upon the parties
a report containing resolutions of the credibility of witnesses, findings
of fact, and recommendations to the Board as to the disposition of the
said challenged ballots.3
The Appropriate Unit
The Regional Director's Report and the Employer's exceptions
thereto indicate a lack of clarity in our Decision and Direction of
Election herein with respect to the inclusion in the unit of persons em-
ployed in operating or maintaining Diesel engines. To resolve any
doubts on this point, we will clarify the unit finding in our Decision
which was intended to include in the appropriate unit all employees,
however designated, who devote any part of their time to the operation
or maintenance of the Employer's Diesel engines. However, only
2 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 Ito a three -member panel
[ Chairman Herzog and Members Murdock and Styles].
'Pending a resolution of the challenged ballots which are in dispute , we shall not pass
upon the objections to the election, the Regional Director 's report thereon , and the
Employer's exceptions thereto.
WEST TEXAS UTILITIES COMPANY 159
such of those employees as regularly devote a substantial part of their
time to the maintenance or operation of Diesel engines will be deemed
to have been eligible to vote in the election conducted herein.4
We accordingly find that the following unit is appropriate for
collective bargaining purposes within the meaning of Section 9 (b)
of the Act :
All power plant employees in the Employer's production depart-
ment, including all employees who operate or maintain Diesel engines,
but excluding office clerical employees, shift engineers, guards, watch-
men, professional employees, and supervisors.
Direction
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, the Regional
Director for the Sixteenth Region shall, pursuant to National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations, within ten (10) days from
the date of this Direction, open and count the ballots of the employees
listed in Schedule B.
Order
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this proceeding be, and it hereby is, re-
manded to the Regional Director for the Sixteenth Region for the
purpose of conducting a hearing on the issues raised by the Employer's
exceptions with respect to the challenged ballots of the employees
listed in Schedule C, and that the said Regional Director be, and he
hereby is, authorized to issue early notice thereof ; and
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the hearing officer designated for the
purpose of conducting the hearing shall prepare and cause to be served
upon the parties a report containing resolutions of the credibility of
witnesses, findings of fact, and recommendations to the Board as to
the disposition of the said challenged ballots. Within 10 days of
receipt of such report, any party may file with the Board in Washing-
ton, D. C., an original and six copies of exceptions thereto. Imme-
diately upon the filing of such exceptions, the party filing the same
shall serve a copy thereof upon the other party, and shall file a copy
with the Regional Director. If no exceptions are filed thereto, the
Board will adopt the recommendations of the hearing officer.
Schedule A
C. W. Phillips Ernest M. Wilson, Jr. Tom Ferguson
Layton H. Holt Jim Sikes Lewis Jackson
L. S. Hollowell Otis Finch Grady Starkey
E. M. Murphy L. R. Hallmark W. H. Thornburg
4 The Ocala Star Banner, 97 NLRB 384.
160 DECISIONS
W. E. Rule, Jr.
Lucians Rodriquez
W. A. Cates
Lewis R. Tucker
V. L. Smith
L. M. Smith
Miguel Franco
James Price
F. H. Welling
H. L. Jones
Eugene Allison
OF NATIONAL LABOR
Schedule B
V. L. Aldermann
Schedule C
W. B. McCreary
Jose Gonzales
C. L. Morrow
Acie Henderson
C. L. Reavis
M. C. Powell
R. L. Walker
M. C. Bell
J. A. Bettis
V. H. Lindsey
RELATIONS BOARD
A. E. Herchman
Francisco Valenzuela
T. B. Henderson
J. R. Urista
W. E. Rule
John Mullins
Frank Drummond
N. F. Roberson
F. F. Coughran
A. M. Coplen
J. I. Chappell
CONNECTICUT CHEMICAL RESEARCH CORPORATION and KATHERINE
CLEVELAND, GEORGIA DECLEMENT, ANTOINETPE GALLANT, ELEANOR
JASTER, ANTHONY KRAFTCHICK, MARY KRAFTCHICK, MORRIS
KRONISH, ROSE KUI3IC, CORA LALUNA, MARY PANICCIA, ROSE PETRO,
DOROTHY PRIMROSE, MILDRED SHEMETH, DORA VAN GELDER, AND
OTHERS SIMILARLY SITUATED. Case No. 2-CA-590. February 20,
1952
Decision and Order
On August 13, 1951, Trial Examiner Stephen S. Bean issued his
Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that
the Respondent had engaged in and was engaging in certain unfair
labor practices and recommending that it cease and desist therefrom
and take certain affirmative action, as set forth in the copy of the Inter-
mediate Report attached hereto. Thereafter, the Respondent filed
exceptions to the Intermediate Report, and a supporting brief. The
Respondent also requested oral argument. This request is hereby
denied, as the record, exceptions, and brief, in our opinion, adequately
present the issues and the positions of the parties.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board has
delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member
panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Styles].
The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner made
at the hearing and finds that no prejudicial error was committed. The
rulings are hereby affirmed.' The Board has considered the Inter-
:'The Respondent, in its brief , contends that prejudicial error and denial of due process
resulted from the Trial Examiner 's refusal to compel the General Counsel to produce
affidavits of Edward Helfer, a former official of the Respondent who testified for the
98 NLRB No. 33.