Allied Chemical and Dye Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 12, 1953

102 N.L.R.B. 129 (N.L.R.B. 1953)

NATIONAL ANILINE DIVISION, ALLIED CHEMICAL DYE CORP. 129
NATIONAL ANILINE DIVISION, ALLIED CHEMICAL AND DYE CORPORA-
TION and UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF
AMERICA, AFL, PETITIONER. Case No . 3-RC-1029. January 12,
1.953
Decision and Direction of Elections
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before John Weld, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's 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 case to a three-member
panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case, 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. The Employer and District 50, United Mine Workers of America,
Local 12330, herein called the Intervenor, contend that their current
contract constitutes a bar to this proceeding. The Petitioner opposes
this contention on the ground that this contract was prematurely
extended. The agreement was executed on June 28, 1950, to be
effective until June 28, 1952. On January 5, 1951, the parties con-
cluded a supplemental agreement extending their contract until June
28, 1954. The record does not establish that collective-bargaining
agreements exceeding 2 years' duration are customary in this industry.
Assuming, arguendo, that the 1951 supplement was not a premature
extension, the contract will have been in effect at least for a full 2-year
period before an election is held in this proceeding. In the absence
of proof of any other custom in this industry, therefore, under estab-
lished Board policy this contract cannot bar a present determination
of representatives.2 Accordingly, we find that a question affecting
commerce exists 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 3
' After the close of the hearing the Employer filed a motion to correct the transcript of
testimony. The Petitioner opposed the motion in all respects , except as to correction
of misspelled words. As to the corrections to which the Petitioner does not object, the
Employer 's motion is hereby granted and the record is hereby amended to conform to the
motion Because any changes in the remaining portions of the record sought to be
corrected would not affect our decision herein, we find is unnecessary to rule on them
Parsons Cw poratlon, 80 NLRB 74
z International Brick Co , 91 NLRB 1428
3 The Employer s motion to dismiss the petition on the ground that the petition does
not set forth a demand for recognition and a refusal is denied . The Great Atlantic
Pacific Tea Co , 96 NLRB 660, American Fruit Growers Inc., 101 NLRB 740
102 NLRB No. 12.
130 • DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
4. The Petitioner seeks a unit of the maintenance and construction
employees at the Employer's Buffalo, New York, plant; in the alter-
native it requests the establishment of 16 separate craft units encom-
passing substantially the same employees. The Employer and the
Intervenor oppose these requests and assert that because of the inte-
gration and interdependence of the Employer's operations, the con-
trary bargaining history, and the alleged absence of any true craft
system at the plant, only a plantwide production and maintenance
bargaining unit is appropriate.
At its Buffalo plant the Employer produces bulk chemicals, such
as aniline oil, muriatic acid, phthalic acid, anhydride, maleic acid,
triphenyl-methane colors, detergents, intermediates, and heavy ton-
nage dyes. 'The basic raw materials used are benzene, napthalene,
chlorine, and caustic soda. The plant consists of 75 to 100 buildings
spread over an area of approximately 100 acres. These buildings are
closely coordinated in the production process and are to a large meas-
ure connected by miles of pipes which carry the chemicals and
intermediates to them.
Overall personnel totals 2,500, of whom 1,700 are hourly paid. Of
the latter about 700 work in the operations department, headed by
the general superintendent for operations, and about 650 employees,
most of whom are covered by the petition here, are employed in the
construction and maintenance department, headed by the superin-
tendent for construction and maintenance. There is a considerable
measure of cooperation and coordination between the work of the
employees in the two departments, required by the continuity of the
plant operations and their hazardous nature. The flow of production
and the uninterrupted work of the operators is dependent on the day-
by-day maintenance, repair, and replacement work of the mechanical
employees, some of whom are for greater efficiency assigned to various
areas in the plant, away from their craft shops. However, the work
of the two employee groups is clearly distinguishable, basically dif-
ferent in nature, and separately supervised; there is no interchange
of employees from one such group to the other. The only transfers
from one department to another occur at times of economic layoffs,
when certain mechanical employees, who have achieved and retained
seniority in the operations department before qualifying as mechani-
cal workmen and entering the other department, temporarily return
to operating work to avoid layoffs. In these circumstances, and on
the entire record, we do not believe that the integration of operations
and functions at this plant is sufficient to preclude separate represen-
tation of craft employees. Accordingly, we find no merit in the
contention that only a plantwide unit is appropriate, and shall
consider the other issues raised by the petition.'
4 Mathie8on Chemical Corporation, 100 NLRB 1032.
NATIONAL ANILINE DIVISION, ALLIED CHEMICAL DYE CORP . 131
The employees whom the Petitioner seeks to represent are garage
mechanics, blacksmiths, carpenters, electricians , instrument and scale
mechanics, machinists, field machinists, painters, pipefitters, pipe
coverers, riggers, sheet metal workers, welders, truck drivers, crane
engineers , bricklayers, boilermakers (only if included in a multicraft
unit), and their apprentices. These employees must undergo an
extensive apprenticeship training in their respective trades, to be
taken in the plant and of 30 months' duration. Occasionally this
period may be reduced in cases of apprentices of special ability and
experience, and sometimes expert tradesmen are hired from the outside,
in which case they get a few months additional training to acquaint
them with the Employer's operations. The. mechanical employees,
as a group, maintain, repair, replace, and install the production and
operations equipment and machinery used throughout the plant, such
as high pressure autoclaves, chemical reactors, tanks, stills, and filters.
Most of this equipment is unique and much of it is made to the
Employer's particular designs and specifications. In the various
categories, they perform skilled duties, according to the usual respon-
sibilities of their standard classifications, using the tools of their
trades which they must furnish themselves. For example, the pipe-
fitters lay out, cut, bend, thread, fit, install, and hang pipes; the field
machinists install and repair machinery and mechanical equipment,
align equipment, shafting and drives, diagnose and correct engine
difficulties , etc.; the carpenters install, repair, and fabricate buildings,
equipment, and accessories constructed of wood or wood substitutes,
using carpenter's hand and shop tools and machines, and perform
all work commonly performed by carpenters ; the sheet metal workers
lay out, assemble, form, fabricate, install, and repair pipe, equipment,
and accessories made from light gauge metals, screens, and metal
substitutes. A booklet, prepared jointly by the Employer and the
Intervenor and issued on June 28, 1950, under the title "Job Classifi-
cations," provides that the mechanical employees must be journeymen
skilled in a trade requiring an extended period of training and practice,
thoroughly familiar with the use and application of the tools used
in the trade, and capable of executing without close supervision the
layout, fabrication, and installation of work of their trades-
It is clear therefore that these employees exercise skills which
require a high degree of aptitude and specialized training. It is true,
as the Employer asserts, that many of them work alongside of and in
close association with the operators and their supervisors, and are at
times assigned to work in areas away from their craft shops. These
facts do not detract from the essential differences between their work
and that of the production employees .5 On these facts, and on the
" Ethyl Corp ., 101 NLRB 435.
132 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
entire record, we find that the various categories sought by the Peti-
tioner-except for the few discussed below-are engaged in the work
of the traditional crafts which the Board has consistently recognized
as entitled to separate representation.
We do not agree, however, with the Petitioner's original contention
that the severance of a multicraft unit is warranted in this case. The
bargaining history of the Employer shows that the Intervenor was
certified as representative of the employees on a plantwide basis in
1942. Since 1943, it has maintained successive bargaining agree-
inents covering substantially all production and maintenance employ-
ees. For about 5 years, ending in 1947, the welders-16 or 17 in
number-were separately represented by the Associated Welders of
Western New York, Inc._; 6 since 1947 the 4 or 5 leadburners have been
separately represented by the United Association of Journeymen
Plumbers and Steamfitters of the United States and Canada, AFL.7
In the face of this substantial history of collective bargaining on a
predominantly plantwide basis, we find, in accordance with estab-
lished Board policy, that a multicraft unit is not appropriate now .s
We find, however, pursuant to the Petitioner's alternative request,
that the carpenters, electricians, instrument and scale mechanics, ma-
chinists (including garage mechanics), field machinists, painters,
pipefitters, sheet metal workers, welders, truck drivers, and bricklay-
ers, constitute well defined, homogenous groups, such as the Board has
consistently held may, if they so desire, form separate appropriate
units, despite their past inclusion in broader bargaining units.' They
may, of course, also remain part of the existing plantwide unit. We
shall, therefore, make no final unit determination pending the out-
come of the elections directed below.
The riggers rig, move, and place large and small units of machinery,
piping, supports, and equipment. Although through their appren-
ticeship-training period they acquire skills distinct from those of the
operators in the plant, it does not appear that they individually possess
or exercise skills different from those of riggers to whom the Board
does not accord the right of separate representation on a craft basis is
Therefore, because these riggers are not craftsmen in the Board's usual
definition of the term, we hereby deny the Petitioner's request for an
election among them.
'i National 4niiine Dii i.sion , 4lited Chemical and Dye Corp, 40 NLRB 1351.
' National Aniline Division , Allied Chemical and Dye Corp , 71 NLRB 1217.
United States Time Corp , 86 NLRB 724
° lathieson Chemical Corp. , 100 NLRB 1032 (electricians . pipefitters , welders ) , Mathieson
Chemical Corp , 101 NLRB 274 (carpenters) ; Certain-Teed Products Corp , 78 NLRB 910
(held machinists-millwrights) , Mathteson Chemical Corp (Doe Ran Plant), 100 NLRB 166
(instrument and scale mechanics) , Goodyear Synthetic Rubber Corp , 99 NLRB 382 (paint-
ers and sheet metal workers ) , Cities Seri ice Refining Corp , 83 NLRB 890 ( machinists and
garage niechanics ) i, Standard Oil Company of California , 79 NLRB, 1466 ( bricklayers)
Phillips Oil Co , 94 NLRB 1438 (truck drivers).
10 Mathieson Chemical Corp ., 100 NLRB 1032.
NATIONAL ANILINE DIVISION, ALLIED CHEMICAL DYE CORP. 133
We reach the same conclusion with respect to the pipe coverers in
this plant. They prepare and install insulation materials and cover-
ing around pipes and equipment and bind and seal covering. The
Board has consistently held that employees performing such work are
not craftsmen and therefore may not be severed from existing pro-
duction and maintenance units."
The crane engineers operate mobile steam, gasoline or diesel buckets,
scoops and hoisting cranes, make minor repairs and adjustments on
their equipment, inspect it for safe condition, and do work commonly
performed by crane engineers. In several cases involving employees
performing duties similar to those of the crane engineers here involved
the Board has held that crane operators are not craftsmen.12 On the
facts before us in this record, we perceive no persuasive reason for
departing from precedent, and we shall therefore leave the crane
engineers in the existing unit.
We shall at this time direct that separate elections be held among
the employees at the Employer's Buffalo, New York, plant, excluding
from each voting group all other employees and all supervisors 13 as
defined in the Act :
(1) All carpenters and their apprentices.
(2) All electricians and their apprentices.
(3) All instrument and scale mechanics and their apprentices.
(4) All machinists and garage mechanics and their apprentices.
(5) All field machinists and their apprentices.
(6) All painters and their apprentices.
(7) All pipefitters and their apprentices.
(8) All sheet metal workers and their apprentices.
(9) All welders and their apprentices.
(10) All truck drivers and their apprentices.
(11) All bricklayers and their apprentices."
If the majority of the employees in any of the voting groups estab-
lished under (1) to (11) select the Petitioner, they will be taken to
have indicated their desire to constitute a separate bargaining unit,
and the Regional Director conducting the elections is instructed to
issue a certificate of representation to the Petitioner as the labor or-
11 Mathr.eson, Chemical Corp ., supra
"International Paper Co. , 94 NLRB 500 ; Phillips Oil Co , 94 NLRB 1433.
1$ Contrary to the contention of the Employer and the Intervenor , the Petitioner asserts
that the "pushers " are supervisors and should be excluded from any unit The record
shows that these men , who assist the craft foremen in the exercise of the latter ' s functions,
have no authority to hire , discharge , or discipline, or effectively to recommend any such
action Accordingly, we find that the pushers are not supervisors as defined in the Act,
and they are hereby included in each voting group wherever found
"In the blacksmith classification there is only one employee . Because alone lie could
not constitute a separate bargaining unit, we shall not direct an election in his classifica-
tion . Johns Manville Production Corp. , 98 NLRB 748. The boilernrakers also appear
to he pure craftsmen. The Petitioner took the position that it wished to represent this
category as part of a m.ultieraft unit , its original unit request , or not at all.
250983-vol. 102-53-10
134 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ganization selected by the employees in such groups , which the Board
in such circumstances finds to be separate units appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
MORGANTON FULL FASHIONED HOSIERY COMPANY, HUFFMAN FULL
FASHIONED HOSIERY MILLS, INC." and THOMAS EDGAR PARKS, PETI-
TIONER, and LOCAL UNION No. 161, UNITED TEXTILE WORKERS, AFL.
Case No. 11-RD-36 (formerly 34-RD-36). January 12, 1953
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Robert Cohn, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from
prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.2
The Union contends that the petition should be dismissed on the
ground that it was inspired and fostered by the Employer, through
its supervision, alleging that the petition was circulated by super-
visors , with the assistance, knowledge , and acquiesence of the
Employer.
Although the Board normally excludes from, representation pro-
ceedings evidence relating to unfair labor practices , the Board believes
that this rule should not be applied to preclude an investigation as
to the relationship of a decertification petitioner to the employer.
The precise language of Section 9 (c) (1) (A) of the Act indicates
clearly that decertification proceedings provide a remedy exclusively
for and on behalf of employees, and not of employers.' With this
principle in mind, the Board cannot, as a matter of policy, permit an
employer to do indirectly, through instigating and fostering a decerti-
fication petition, that which we would not permit him to do directly.'
Accordingly, we agree with the hearing officer's ruling excluding
1 Huffman Full Fashioned Hosiery Mills, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Morganton
Full Fashioned Hosiery Company , the two of which constitute a single Employer within
the meaning of Section 2 (2), of the Act.
2 The Union excepted to the hearing officer ' s ruling revoking a subpoena duces tecum
issued by the hearing officer, by means of which the Union sought to introduce into evidence
the form of the petition circulated among the Employer 's employees in order to attack
the validity of the instant showing of interest . We have repeatedly held that a petitioner's
prima facie showing of interest is an administrative matter, not subject to direct or
collateral attack, and we therefore sustain the hearing officer 's ruling. See Stokely Foods,
Inc., 81 NLRB 1103.
3 Clyde J. Merris, 77 NLRB 1375.
A See Knife River Coal Mining Company , 91 NLRB 176; Wood Parts, Inc., 101 NLRB
445.
102 NLRB No. 8.