Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 20, 1937

4 N.L.R.B. 159 (N.L.R.B. 1937)

In the Matter of ALLIS-CHALMERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY and
INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE WORKERS OF AMERICA,
LOCAL 248
Case No. R-215.-Decided November 20, 1937
Machinery Manufacturing Industry-Investigation of Representatives: con-
troversy concerning representatives of employees : rival organizations ; sub-
stantial doubt as to majority status; controversy as to appropriate bargaining
unit or units-Units Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : Units- ( 1) history
of collective bargaining relations with employer ; history of self-organization
among employees ; functional coherence ; skill-(2) where other considerations
determinative of appropriate unit are such that either of two contentions is
valid-decisive factor is the desire of the employees involved ; determination
of dependent upon results of elections-Elections Ordered
Mr. Robert R. Rissman and ilIr. S. G. Lippman, for the Board.
Mr. H. W. Story, of Milwaukee, Wis., for the Company.
Mr. Max E. Geline, of Milwaukee, Wis., and Mr. Lee Pressman, of
Washington, D. C., for Local 248.
Mr. Joseph A. Padway and Mr. David Previant, of Milwaukee,
Wis., for the I. A. M., I. M. U., I. B. F. 0., I. B. E. W., and the Pat-
tern Makers' League of America.
Shockley, Mattison, & Weinberg, by Mr. John L. Waddleton and
Mr. Phillip Weinberg, of Milwaukee, Wis., for the Independent
Engineers' and Draftsmen's Association.
Mr. Martin Kurasch, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On June 14, 1937, International Union, United Automobile Work-
ers of America, Local 248, herein called Local No. 248, by Julius
Blunk, financial secretary, filed with the Regional Director of the
Twelfth Region (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) a petition alleging that a
question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation
of employees of the West Allis, Wisconsin, plant of the Allis-Chal-
mers Manufacturing Company, herein called the Company, and re-
questing an investigation and certification of representatives pur-
suant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat.
449, herein called the Act. On June 26, 1937, the National Labor
Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Article
159
160 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula-
tions-Series 1, as amended, ordered the Regional Director to con-
duct an investigation and provide for an appropriate hearing.
On July 1, 1937, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing
to be held at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 12, 1937, copies of which
were served upon the Company, Local No. 248, the International
Association of Machinists, herein called the I. A. M., the Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers, herein called the I. B.
F. 0., the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, herein
called the I. B. E. W., Mr. Joseph A. Padway, attorney for these
unions, and upon the Metal Trades Council of Milwaukee, and the
Independent Engineers' and Draftsmen's Association, herein called
the Association.
Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held at Milwaukee, Wis-
consin, from July 12 through July 28, 1937, before Fred A. Hughes,
the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Company
was represented at the hearing by Mr. Story, its vice-president and
general counsel. The Association and Local No. 248 were represented
by counsel, and Joseph A. Padway appeared for the I. B. E. W.,
the I. B. F. 0., the I. A. M., the I. M. U., and the Pattern League of
America. All participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be
heard, to examine and to cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce
evidence bearing upon the issues was afforded. Objections to the
introduction of evidence were made during the course of the hearing
by counsel for the parties. The Board has reviewed the rulings of
the Trial Examiner on motions and objections, and finds that no
prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed.
On August 5, 1937, the proceeding was transferred to and con-
tipued before the Board, in accordance with Article II, Section 37,
of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1,
as amended, and on August 19, 1937, a hearing for the purpose of
oral argument was held at Washington, D. C. Local No. 248 and
the Association were represented by counsel, Mr. Lee Pressman ap-
peared for the Committee for Industrial Organization and Mr.
Joseph A. Padway for the Wisconsin Federation of Labor.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Company is a leading manufacturer of heavy industrial
machinery, electrical machinery, farm machinery, cement machinery,
crushing machinery, engines, flour mill machinery, hoisting ma-
I Except where otherwise indicated , the facts set out in this section are derived from a
stipulation entered into by the Company and the Board.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 161
chinery, metallurgical machinery, plate work, power transmission
machinery, pumps, road machinery, drill machinery, saw mill ma-
chinery, timber preserving machinery, tractors, tunnel shovels, tur-
bines, steel and hydraulic, and various other implements and
machines. The Company built and installed at Boulder Dam four
of the world's largest hydraulic turbines; at the San Francisquito
Power House in Los Angeles, California, it installed the largest
impulse turbines in the world.
The West Allis plant of the Company, consists of nine machine
shops, two foundries, two pattern storage warehouses, assembly,
forge and boiler shops, power plant, and the principal office build-
ing. The plant has 21 miles of railway track. 9,551 employees are
employed at this plant.
The Company has other plants at Norwood, Ohio, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, Springfield, Illinois, La Porte, Indiana, La Crosse,
Wisconsin, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Although the plants are
operated independently as manufacturing units, the West Allis plant,
which is the largest, is the center of operation. The other plants
are dependent on the West Allis plant, in varying degrees, and look to
the West Allis plant for guidance and leadership. Interplant coin-
munication is primarily by means of telephone, mail messenger, and,
to a limited extent, telegraphic service.
The West Allis plant uses large quantities of raw materials which
consist principally of steam turbine blading, bare copper, insulating
material, transformer and fuel oil, coal, structural and electrical
sheet steel, blooms, tank steel plate, lumber, pig copper, pig tin, and
pig iron, mica and ingots. All of this material except a portion of
the lumber and copper, is obtained from states other than Wisconsin.
The Company carries on advertising of every available form, using
magazines and journals of national circulation, radio advertising,
exhibits at fairs, and direct mail advertising.
The Company has a world-wide market. H. W. Story, vice-presi-
dent of the Company, testified that 95 per cent of the finished prod-
ucts are manufactured for shipment to points outside of Wisconsin.
The Company maintains 15 district offices at principal cities over the
world. It has 43 district offices in the United States, of which only
one is in Wisconsin. It has 41 tractor division branches in the
United States and the rest of the world.
In order to transport its products, the Company maintains a line
of freight cars, having a capacity of over 100 tons each, and among
the largest in the country. If the size of the product permits, mule
back and aeroplane transportation are often used in reaching inac-
cessible places.
The net income of the Company derived from the operations for
1936 after all charges including interest on debentures, normal Fed-
162 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
eral income tax , surtax on undistributed profits, excess profits tax,
and depreciation, had been deducted, was $4,014,112.59. The Com-
pany has registered stock issues with the Securities and Exchange
Commission for sale in interstate commerce.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
A. The petitioning Union
Local No. 248, International Union, United Automobile Workers
of America is a labor organization affiliated with the Committee for
Industrial Organization . It admits to membership the production
and office employees of the West Allis plant of the Allis-Chalmers
Manufacturing Company.
B. The I. B. E. W.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is a labor
organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Local No. 663-B admits to membership the employees in the elec-
trical department and the maintenance electricians in the mainte-
nance department of the West Allis plant.
C. The I. M. U.
The International Molders Union is a labor organization affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor admitting to membership
the employees in the foundries at the West Allis plant.
D. The I. B. F. O.
The International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers is a labor
organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Local No. 125 admits to membership the employees in the power
house department and in the power plant of the' forge shop of the
West Allis plant.
E. The I. A. M.
The International Association of Machinists is a labor organiza-
tion - affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to
membership the employees in the machine shops of the West Allis
plant.
F. The Pattern League of America
The Pattern League of America is a labor organization affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor admitting to membership the
pattern makers in the pattern shop of the West Allis plant.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 163
G. The Association
The Independent Engineers' and Draftsmen's Association is a
labor organization, incorporated on June 24, 1935, admitting to mem-
bership the technical engineers and draftsmen of the West Allis
plant.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On May 28, 1937, Local No. 248 entered into a contract with the
Company. The first clause provides that :
The Company agrees to bargain with the Union as collective
bargaining agency for the members of the Union who are em-
ployees of the Company working at the West Allis plant. The
Company recognizes and will not interfere with the right of its
employees to become members of the Union. Neither the Com-
pany nor any of its agents will exercise discrimination, inter-
ference, restraint or coercion against any members of the Union
on account of such membership. It is agreed that any decision
of the National Labor Relations Board as to exclusive bargain-
ing rights for the employees of the Company at its West Allis
Works shall, when finally made, become a part of this agree-
ment.
There is an identical clause in a contract between the I. B. F. O.
Local No. 125 and the Company, entered into on June 28, 1937.
The first clause in a contract between the Company and the As-
sociation, executed June 29, 1937, reads as follows :
1. The Company agrees to bargain with the Association as the
collective bargaining agency for the members of the Association
working in the drafting rooms of the Company's West Allis
plant, with the understanding that any decision of the National
Labor Relations Board as to exclusive bargaining rights for.the
employees of the Company in the Drafting rooms at its West
Allis Works shall, when finally made, become a part of this
agreement.
The question of exclusive bargaining rights has thus been left with
the Board. The I. A. M., the I. B. E. W., the I. B. F. 0., the I. M. U.,
and the Pattern Makers' League insist that each of the crafts be
considered a separate unit.
We find that a question has arisen concerning the employees of the
Company in its West Allis plant.
IV.. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION ON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operation of the Company
164 NATIONAL LABOR, RELATIONS BOARD
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate , and substantial
relation to trade, traffic , and commerce among the several States,
and has led and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and ob-
structing commerce and the free flow of commerce.
V. IIISTORY Or ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY'S EMPLOYEES
After a long absence of any collective bargaining arrangements
between the Company and the employees of the West Allis plant,
a Works Council was set up in June 1, 1933. The Company, at the
least, cooperated in its initiation, and in its early stages, the man-
agement sat in at the meetings. The. general growth of employee
organization in this period, given added impetus in the West Allis
plant by the unsatisfactory nature of the Works Council, resulted
in the formation of several craft organizations.
In the fall of 1933, Local No. 494 of the I. B. E. W. attempted to
establish an organization for the electrical workers at Allis-Chalmers.
From the fall of 1933 to August 1, 1934 meetings were held among
the Allis-Chalmers employees at which the attendance varied from
three to 30. A charter for the Allis-Chalmers workers was obtained
in August, 1934 and Local No. 663 of the I. B. E. W. was set up,
with a charter group of 18 members. This nucleus grew to about 36
members. In order to encourage organization among the electrical
workers, the practice was instituted of taking in "registrants"-men
who were considered union men, but who had no rights with respect
to the International organization, and who paid lower initiation fees
and dues than the official members. Under this plan the Local took
in "everyone from the sweeper to the foreman in the electrical de-
partment." About 400 or 500 registrants were taken in.
A year after Local 663 had been granted its charter, the "regis-
trants" were given an official status with the International. A
new charter was granted and Local No. 663-B was formed. Here,
the former registrants became class B members, who paid lower dues
than the class A members, and who, as a group, had one vote in the
International body whereas each class A member was entitled to one
vote. Although the class B membership consisted, in large part, of
the mass production electrical workers, some skilled electricians,
eligible to class A membership, became class B members, because of
the lower dues.
The electrical workers, besides building their own organization,
sought to unionize all the men in the plant by inducing them to join
their respective craft unions. From the fall of 1933 through 1936,
they sponsored mass meetings for the employees, supplied the
speakers; paid for the hall and took care of all the arrangements.
At one time, a Mr. MacLogan, a representative of the International,
suggested that the electrical workers seek to obtain a separate agree-
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 165
ment and not concern themselves about organizing the rest of the
plant. The men in the electrical union decided, however, that it was
imperative that the other employees at Allis-Chalmers be unionized.
In the fall of 1935, a number of electric welders were members of
Local No. 663-B. Upon objection from Mr. White, business agent
of the Boilermakers, these men were turned over to the Boilermakers,
where they were the main body of that organization. The electrical
union appeared eager to have other unions formed in the plant.
By the end of 1935, most of the electrical workers in the plant were
unionized. At this point, however, the peak of organization appeared
to have been reached. Many men were being lost because of transfers
out of the electrical departments. Many became disgruntled at
paying clues without tangible results. There was talk of forming
one union for the whole plant. The electrical union was facing a
critical period during 1936.
The I. M. U. experienced two organizational spurts. A drive at
about the time Local 663 of the I. B. E. W. was starting did not suc-
ceed in creating an effective organization because a separate charter
for the Allis-Chalmers foundry employees could not be obtained. A
later drive resulted in the acquisition of a charter in 1936. Over 1000
foundry employees are eligible to membership in the I. M. U. The
greatest actual membership appears to have been about 125. During
the period from July 26, 1935 to the fall of 1936 about 150 made
application to join the I. Al. U., but few of these applicants were
initiated.
The I. A. M. did not succeed in creating an effective organization at
the Allis-Chalmers plant. An unsuccessful strike in 1916 had dis-
couraged craft organization among the machinists. Bolka, a ma-
chinist, testified that the 30 or 40 men from the tractor shop whom
he had induced to join, had left the I. A. M. in 1935. Later, 150 out
of 400 men in the detail shop joined. But in January 1936, out of a
possible membership of 3500, the I. A. M. Local No. 66, which in-
cluded the West Allis plant in its jurisdiction, had only 250 Allis-
Chalmers members. And during the year, the membership decreased.
In July, 1936, the Allis-Chalmers members numbered 225.
A federal union had been started in the fall of 1935. Local 20136
at the West Allis plant received a charter in December, 1935 from
the American Federation of Labor. Under its constitutional juris-
diction, which was limited to employees not claimed by the various
craft unions, only several hundred workers at the West Allis plant
were eligible. About 10 employees formed the charter group, and
this number increased to about 39 during the ensuing nine months.
During this period of craft and federal union organization, the
Company had evinced a willingness to bargain with representatives
of the employees, though it did not accord exclusive bargaining rights
166 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
to any group. In 1934, a proposed agreement had been jointly sub-
mitted to the Company by the I. B. E. W., Local No. 663, the Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Boilermakers ad Ship Builders, Local No.
107, the International Molders Union, Local No. 125, the I. A. M.,
Local No. 66, the Pattern Makers' League of North America, the
Brotherhood of Foundry Employees, Local No. 76, and the Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers and Helpers, Local
No. 77. The provisions dealing with closed shop, seniority, promo-
tions, grievances, etc. were to apply generally to all the crafts. And
the wage clause provided a minimum of 85 cents per hour and a ten
cent increase for all crafts, with the exception of foundry employees,
who were to get a 60-cent minimum.
The Company, in December, 1934, issued a statement of policy
under the National Industrial Recovery Act, revocable on 15 days'
notice, in which it stated, inter alia, that it would bargain with the
representatives of any of its employees. All provisions were to apply
generally except that the maximum hours provided by the appropri-
ate codes would be the hours of work at the plant.
On October 7, 1935, another proposed agreement was submitted
to the Company. The letter accompanying the agreement was signed
by "Allis-Chalmers A. F. of L. Unions-Negotiating Committee, Har-
old Christoffel, Acting Chairman." As in the first proposed agree-
ment, the provisions were to apply generally to all crafts, except for
foundry employees. On July 13, 1936 the Company issued "Rulings
Relative to Company's Statement of Policy" which appeared to deal,
in large part, with the August, 1935 proposals.
The impatience of the men with the absence of concrete results,
and the fact that the various unions had reached a point at which
they were either not making much headway or were undergoing a
decline in membership, became a matter of grave concern to the
craft leaders. They met during the late summer of 1936, and in the
fall it was decided that an expansion of the jurisdictional limits of
the Federal Union so as to admit the craft members was essential.
At a meeting of Local 125 of the I. M. U., a member started to dis-
cuss the question of joining the Federal Union. Larry Cullen, the
business agent, objected that this would be a violation of the Con-
stitution of the I. M. U. The meeting then unanimously decided to
give up their charter, and the group went into the Federal Union.
All but about fifty of Local 663-B of the I. B. E. W. decided to join
the Federal Union. About 195 members of I. A. M. Local No. 66
went over to the Federal Union. In addition, many previously un-
organized workers joined the Federal Union; 700 men from the
foundries joined the Federal Local. From October 1936 until Jan-
uary 1937, the Federal Union grew until it had over 2000 members.
On October 15, 1936 Mr. Frank Morrison, Secretary-Treasurer of
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 167
the American Federation of Labor, sent a letter to Federal Local No.
20136 protesting against its practice of taking in members of the-
I. M. U. The reply set forth the asserted reasons for such expansion,
of jurisdiction at some length. More friction developed when the-
Milwaukee Metal Trades Council refused to seat the delegates sent
by Federal Local No. 20136, and , on March 14 , at a meeting of the.
Federal Local, it was decided to affiliate with the Committee for-
Industrial Organization and the membership of the Federal Local_
now became Local No. 248 of the United Automobile Workers of
America. By May, 1937, the membership of Local No. 248 had-
grown to 7,000. Negotiations were entered into with the Company
and the contract hereinbefore mentioned between Local No. 248 and
the Company was signed on May 28, 1937.
VI. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
Although about 50 per cent of the products produced by the Com--
pany are made on special order, the workers are engaged in typical,
mass production processes. The design for the product is conceived
by the technical engineer. The draftsman puts the engineer's ideas-
on paper. The draftsman's product is then sent to the blue print
department, where the blue prints are made. The pattern shop then,
makes the appropriate patterns, either in wood or in metal. From;
these, the castings are made in the foundries, and they are machined-
and assembled in the machine shops. In the paint shops, the product
is either sprayed or hand-painted. It is then sent to the shipping-
department where it is either placed on freight cars or boxed. There-
are also electrical shops where the coils are wound and the yokes are-
stacked for the transformers, and where other steps are taken in the-
manufacture of the electrical products made by the Company.
Throughout the plant, there is this continuous production process.
This is true also in the various departments, where the work is highly
specialized. Thus in the foundry, for example, there are molders,
molders' helpers, cupola tenders, smelters, furnace men, chippers,
steel workers, casting cleaners, gangway men, yardmen, cranemen,
flash makers, blackeners, craters, sand cutters, shaker-outs, flask
sorters, pattern carriers, shippers and shippers' helpers, cast iron and
steel enamel workers, packers, operators of vertical drills, pattern,
sorters, grinders, mill men and welders. Each group has its distinct
function. It is significant that in response to a request for informa-
tion as to the number of employees in the various trades in the pro--
duction departments, the Company presented a list which indicated
that many employees in the various shops are not classified by the,
Company as belonging to the usual standard trade categories.
67573-38-vol. iv-12
168 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The integrated picture, in fine, is one of a large plant of the mass
production type, in which there had been some joint bargaining by
small craft groups-the terms of that bargaining having been gen-
eral and for the most part applicable to other craftsmen in the plant
as a whole . During the same period , there was an expansion of the
jurisdiction of the electrical union to take in all of the electrical pro-
duction workers in the plant . This tendency towards more inclusive
organization then was manifested in the expansion of jurisdiction in
the Federal Union so as to admit craft members, and finally in the
success of the one plant -wide organization , Local No. 248.
Whatever the factors responsible for this growth of the all-inclu-
sive type of employee organization may have been , the West Allis
plant is, with the exception of certain craftsmen hereinafter discussed,
today well organized on a plant-wide basis and the plant-wide
organization has engaged in successful collective bargaining with the
Company. Local No. 248 asserts, without substantial contradiction,
that it represents over 7000 employees.
In this case , the weight of the factors arguing for recognition of
the plant-wide unit would, at the least, seem to make it requisite
upon the advocate of the smaller unit , after showing that his defini-
tion of the smaller unit is not an arbitrary one, to indicate that a
reasonably large percentage of the workers in that smaller unit desire
it, as opposed to the more inclusive unit.
Counsel for the A. F. of L . unions argues that there should be
about 11 units at the Allis - Chalmers plant. As to six of these, the
craft organizations which would normally represent the men did not
intervene . The I. Al. U. claims that all the foundry workers, from
the molders down, who are employed in making castings , constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. The
I. A. M. asserts jurisdiction over everyone working in the machine
shops at the plant, including the assembly division , tractor division,
and erection crews. The I. B. E. W . claims that there are two sep-
arate units of those doing electrical work, one consisting of the pro-
duction electrical workers, and the other consisting of the 49 main-
tenance electricians . The Pattern League of America claims the pat-
tern shop.
However, the business agent of the I. A. M. testified that out of a
possible number of 3500 workers in the unit alleged to be appropriate
by the I. A. M., his organization did not represent more than 50. The
president of the I. B. E. W. Local stated that he did not know of
any members that Local No. 663 had in the electrical production de-
partments. It does have some 27 maintenance electricians and 11
helpers in the maintenance department . The business agent of the
I. M. U. stated that his organization , at the time of the growth of the
Federal Union , lost practically all of its membership except a few
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 169
who had earned the right to high insurance benefits, and conceded
that his organization had nowhere near a majority among the mold-
ers. Other evidence indicates that its membership is not substantial.
The claim of Local No. 248 to an overwhelming majority of the
pattern makers is uncontradicted.
It is evident that if a union were to petition for an investigation of
representatives and its petition indicated that its numerical strength
was no greater than that shown here by the Pattern League, the
I. M. U., the I. A. M., and the I. B. E. W. with respect to the electrical
production workers, the Board would consider it unnecessary to order
the investigation. And similarly, an election among the electrical
production workers, among those claimed by the machinists' union,
among the pattern makers, and among the employees in the foundries,
to determine the desires of these men as to unit is unnecessary and
would cause unwarranted confusion. Upon the showing made at
the hearing, the result of such elections would be a foregone
conclusion.
As to the maintenance electricians, however, the I. B. E. W. has
made a substantial showing. These men who are engaged in main-
tenance work are the skilled electricians. Their relationship to the
electrical production workers is no closer than their relationship to
the other production workers in the plant. The maintenance elec-
tricians first organized Local No. 663. The I. B. E. W. claims to
represent not only a reasonably large proportion of this well-defined
group that for the greater part of the last four years has remained
in its organization, but a majority. The Board will order an election
among the maintenance electricians to determine whether they desire
to be represented by the I. B. E. W. Local No. 663 or by the U. A.
W. A. Local No. 248 or by neither.
The Firemen and Oilers came on the scene after the Federal Union
had expanded its jurisdiction. Organization meetings among Allis-
Chalmers employees were held in January and February, 1937, and
the I. B. F. O. approached the Company as a majority representative
on March 10, 1937. After a period of negotiation, the contract be-
tween the I. B. F. O. and the Company was entered into on June
28, 1937.
The contract is for the following employees in the main power
house of the Company : the operating engineer in charge, the operat-
ing engineer in the basement, the operating engineers, the head fire-
man in charge, the laead firemen, the assistant operating engineers,
the firemen, the oilers, the boiler washers, the coal dock operator, the
coal dock man, and the ashman. There are 41 men in these classifi-
cations. There are also about 15 men who operate the boilers in the
forge shop. These 15 fit into some of the above classifications, and
although several of the employees in the main power house testified
170 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
that they thought the main power house and the power plant for
the forge shop should be considered as two different units, Mr.
Willard Davis, the business agent of the I. B. F. 0., stated that
the jobs were comparable and that these men should all be in the
same group. The possible basis of separation in the fact that the
two power plants are in different parts of the West Allis plant and
that the boilers in the main power house are stoker fired whereas
the boilers in the forge shop are hand fired, is not persuasive. The
main power house and the boiler department of the forge shop should
be considered together.
In the main power house there are also about 20 maintenance em-
ployees among whom there are a boilermaker, machinist, steamfitter,
and their helpers. These men do work in the main power house, and
in the forge shop. The nature of their work indicates, however, that
they are not to be classified with those who operate the boilers. They
are not eligible to Local 125 of the I. B. F. 0. Besides, these mainte-
nance men work the same hours as the men in the production depart-
ments of the shop whereas the operating group, except for the
coalmen and ashmen, work on a different hourly basis.
The I. B. F. 0. claims to represent about 38 of the group, all of
its membership being in the main power house. An election will be
held among the groups mentioned above in the main power house and
in the forge shop to determine whether they desire to be represented
by the I. B. F. 0. Local No. 125 or by the U. A. W. A. Local No. 248
or by neither.
The Association desires to represent the technical engineers in non-
supervisory positions and the draftsmen in the West Allis plant.
The Association was formed in the spring of 1935, after there had
been an unsuccessful attempt to start a local of the Technical Engi-
neers, Architects, and Draftsmen's Union, an American Federation
of Labor affiliate. From November 4, 1935 on, the Association has
engaged in collective bargaining with the Company through an "ad-
j ustment committee" that functioned as a bargaining committee.
Various individual and group grievances were brought to the atten-
tion of the Company, and, although the Company at no time acknowl-
edged that they were taking cognizance of these grievances as a re-
sult of a bargaining process, the matters complained of were remedied
by the Company. The contract between the Association and the
Company appears to have eliminated a major grievance, that of classi-
fication of the draftsmen. Previously draftsmen had been hired at a
low rate and assigned to the most skilled type of work of which they
were capable. As a result, men doing the same type of work were
receiving greatly varying rates of pay. The classifications agreed
upon in the Association's contract provides for definite rates of pay
for the various types of work. This was a tremendous gain for the
DECISIONS A D ORDERS 171
draftsmen. 'Significantly, the Association had started bargaining for
these classifications before the C. I. 0. had begun negotiations for its
contract.
The contract of Local 248 did not cover salaried office employees or
men receiving over $180 per month. Many draftsmen are on salary
and many receive a wage rate greater than $180 per month.
The engineers and draftsmen were not members of the Works Coun-
cil. At the time of the rapid growth of the Federal Union, Harold
Christoffel, president of the Federal Local, invited the members of
the Association to join, but they did not.
Besides this history of a continued craft form of organization, re-
maining unchanged in the face of the strong movement towards plant-
wide organization which was taking place at the plant, and a history of
comparatively successful bargaining, other factors militate against
the inclusion of the draftsmen and technical engineers in the wider
unit. Because the codes of ethics of various draftsmen's societies
provide that the draftsman is to consider himself impartial as be-
tween capital and labor, some of the draftsmen are strongly opposed to
joining with the shop production workers for purposes of collective
hargaining. '
The description of the work of the various classes of draftsmen in-
dicates that they must be acquainted with shop production processes
and the evidence indicates that at times they are called into the shop
when things are not going smoothly as the product for which they
have made the drawings is actually being constructed. But the
Company has always considered the draftsmen and engineers as part
,of the office rather than part of the shop. Draftsmen often have to
discuss designs with customers and have to make the drawings, in
many instances, ahead of the customer's order. When there is a
-slack season in the shop, the draftsmen are kept busy making draw-
ings with which the Company attempts to get new orders.
Throughout the last two decades, the type of machinery has, of
course, changed tremendously, but the draftsman's art has remained
much the same. Although the draftsmen may be made to specialize
with regard to the various products manufactured by the Company,
they still are responsible for the completed drawing. And much of
the Company's business consists of production of products according
to specifications supplied by the customer; the draftsman must, as a
consequence, have more than a routinized skill. A draftsman must
undergo a longer period of training than the production worker in the
shops. The various classifications of draftsmen appear to be succes-
sive stages of advancement for the draftsman as he acquires a greater
skill. There is a three year apprenticeship course for the draftsman.
The Company has a teacher at the plant for that purpose. It was
172 NATIONAL LABOR IIELATIONS BOARD
stated that about the same amount of time is required to go from one
classification to another.
The Association contends that in the drafting rooms, only the
draftsmen should be considered and that the specification clerks and
the filing clerks be excluded, though the Association has bargained
for them and though a witness for the Association indicated that the
draftsmen knew the work of these men well enough to be able to'
represent them adequately. The former group takes the drawings
after the draftsmen have completed them, and prepares a list of
materials in a typewritten form so that they can be mimeographed or
bectographed for shop purposes. The specification clerk must be able
to read drawings. The filing clerks in the drafting rooms file the
blueprints. Neither of these classes is so allied with the draftsmen as to.
require their being grouped together with draftsmen.
There are about 238 draftsmen in the plant. The Association claims.
that it represents 137 draftsmen.2 There are approximately 150 tech-
nical engineers in non-supervisory capacities. Of these, the Associa-
tion has only two enrolled as members. The Association has stated
that many technical engineers have been afraid to join because such
action will be frowned upon by the Company. Local No. 248 shows.
no substantial membership among either the draftsmen or the
engineers.
The Company has considered the draftsmen and technical engi-
neers as one unit. The working conditions and the hours are the-
same. The engineers work about 10 or 20 feet from the draftsmen,,
in the same room or across the hall. Both are subject to the au-
thority of the manager of the department. Both the drafting and
engineering are divided so as to correspond to the different main di-
visions of work of the Company. Thus there is an electrical depart-
ment, a steam turbine department, a turboblower department, a tex-
rope department, and other divisions of draftsmen and engineers.
Both the draftsmen and engineers are together with the office em-
ployees.
Their functions are closely allied. The engineer goes througli speci-
fications, studies their feasibility and makes certain theoretical cal-
culations. He then conveys his information to the draftsman. The
designer collaborates and works together with the engineer and
eventually makes the appropriate drawing.
From the foregoing facts it seems clear that the technical engineers
iii non-supervisory capacities and the draftsmen should be considered
together as one unit.
Local No. 248 wants to include the office workers with the other
workers in the plant. It has failed, however, to adduce sufficient evi-
9 Three draftsmen who have left the Company have retained their membership in the
Association . They will not be considered a pact of the draftsmen's group.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 173
dente to support its position. In the absence of such evidence, the
clear difference in function and the usual difference in the problems
faced by each group, not shown to be otherwise in the instant case,
would appear to be controlling.
In view of all the afore-mentioned facts and in order to insure
to the draftsmen and technical engineers at the West Allis plant
of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization
and to collective bargaining, and otherwise to effectuate the policies
of the Act, we find that the draftsmen and the technical engineers in
non-supervisory capacities at the West Allis plant of the Company,
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
As to other production employees, the Board finds, from the facts
set forth above, and from the whole record, that they may be consid-
ered together as one unit, or that units may be made of the firemen and
oilers, of the maintenance electricians, and of all the production work-
ers excluding draftsmen, technical engineers, maintenance electricians
and firemen and oilers. The determining factor shall be the desires of
the men themselves.
An election will therefore be ordered among the maintenance elec-
tricians to determine whether they desire to be represented by the
I. B. E. W. Local No. 663, by Local No. 248 or by neither. If Local No.
248 is accorded a majority, the maintenance electricians will be con-
sidered as constituting, together with the other production Workers, a
single unit. If the I. B. E. W. Local No. 663 is accorded a majority,
the maintenance electricians Will be considered as constituting a
separate unit.
An election will be ordered among the operating engineer in
charge, the operating engineer in the basement, the operating engi-
neers, the head firemen in charge, the head firemen, the assistant
operating engineers, the firemen, the oilers, the boiler washers, the
coal dock operator, the coal clock man, and the ashman, in the main
power house and in the boiler rooms of the, forge department, to
determine whether they desire to be represented by the I. B. F. 0.
Local No. 125 or by the U. A. W. A. Local No. 248 or by neither.
If Local No. 248 is accorded a majority, these groups will be con-
sidered as constituting, together with the other production workers,
a single unit. If the I. B. F. 0. Local No. 125 is accorded a majority,
these groups will be considered as constituting a separate unit.
An election will be ordered among all other production employees
to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Local
No. 248.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the proceeding, the Board makes the following conclusions
of law:
174 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of the West Allis, Wisconsin, plant of the
Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor
Relations Act.
2. The technical engineers in non-supervisory capacities and the
draftsmen constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National
Labor Relations Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
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, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of Na-
tional Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as
amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with the Allis-
Chalmers Manufacturing Company, of West Allis, Wisconsin, an
election by secret ballot shall be conducted within thirty (30) days
from the date of this Direction under the direction and supervision
-of the Regional Director for the Twelfth Region, acting in this
matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and subject
to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations,
1. Among the technical engineers in non-supervisory capacities
-and the draftsmen, who were employed by the Company during the
week including the date of this Direction, to determine whether they
desire to be represented by the Independent Engineers' and Drafts-
men's Association, or by Local No. 248, International Union, United
Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the Committee for
Industrial Organization, for the purposes of collective bargaining,
or by neither;
2. Among the maintenance electricians who were employed by the
Company during the week including the date of this Direction, to
determine whether they desire to be represented by Local No. 248,
International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, affil-
iated with the Committee for Industrial Organization, or by Local
No. 663 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, affil-
iated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of
,collective bargaining, or by neither;
3. Among the operating engineer in charge, the operating engineer
in the basement, the operating engineers, the head fireman in charge,
the head fireman, the assistant operating engineers, the firemen, the
-oilers, the boiler washers, the coal dock operators, the coal dock man
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 175
and the ashman, in the main power house and in the boiler rooms of
the forge department, who were employed by the Company during
the week including the date of this Direction, to determine whether
they desire to be represented by Local No. 248, International Union,
United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the Committee
for Industrial Organization, or by Local No. 125 of the International
Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers, affiliated with the American Fed-
eration of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by
neither ;
4. Among all the production employees who were employed by the
Company during the week including the date of this Direction, ex-
cluding those in supervisory capacities and clerical workers, and ex-
cluding the employees in the groups named in Paragraphs 1, 2, and 3
above, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by
Local No. 248, International Union, United Automobile Workers of
America, affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization,
for the purposes of collective bargaining.
MR. EDWIN S. SMITH, dissenting :
I cannot concur in this decision, because, under all the circumstances,
I feel the Board is here abandoning its necessary judicial function
under the Act of making a reasonable determination of the appropriate
bargaining unit in accordance with the facts of the particular case.
The decision vests in the hands of a small group of employees the
choice of determining whether in this mass-production plant, employ-
ing nearly 10,000 workers, a complete industrial unit, or one from
which one or more crafts have been severed, is most appropriate to
promote collective bargaining. By this pseudo-democratic method a.
determination of the greatest consequence to the other employees in
the plant is left in the hands of groups known to be hostile to
industrial organization. The wishes of the great majority of the
employees are ignored. The device of holding such an election to.
resolve the conflict between industrial union adherents and craft
conscious groups, as here represented by the oilers and firemen, is
obviously inadequate to throw any light on the problem of what is the
most appropriate bargaining unit. Permitting minorities to set
themselves off, as all the indications are they would do in this instance,
succeeds in providing full self-determination for the minority but
only at the expense of entirely disregarding the interests of the
majority.
The statute states that the Board shall decide in each case the ap-
propriate bargaining unit "in order to insure to employees the full
benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bar-
gaining and to otherwise effectuate the policies of this Act." Among
other things, the policies of the Act are clearly aimed at establishing
176 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
that form of collective bargaining which will be most likely to lead
to industrial stability and peace. Having in mind the broad pur-
poses of the Act, the appropriate unit in this, as in other cases, must
be decided on the particular facts presented.
Aside from separate bargaining by organized craft groups for a
short time many years ago, the whole recent and significant history
of sentiment regarding collective bargaining in the Allis-Chalmers
plant points to the emergence of the industrial type union as the
,choice of the overwhelming mass of the employees. This strongly-
-marked tendency developed before the entrance of the C. I. O. union
into the picture. The craft unions beginning in 1934 had attempted
to extend themselves industrially, notably the electricians and the
machinists. Finally, with the expansion of the jurisdiction of the
Federal Labor Union, affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, craft sentiment all but disappeared from the plant, a handful
of electricians and other skilled workers being left to hold the craft
banner aloft. Thereafter, the oilers and firemen, a petitioning group
here, did separate themselves out from the mass of the employees
and have maintained since then, even after the impetus to organiza-
tion given by the C. I. 0., a definite craft outlook as regards their
own interest in collective bargaining.
The reasons for this attitude can be found in the testimony by wit-
nesses for the oilers and firemen. The workers who compose this
group form the great majority of the plant's two power houses.
This gives them in their separate craft union a strike weapon of
great potential force. Without doubt, the employer's pro tem recog-
nition of the oilers and firemen in its existing contract was condi-
tioned by the threat of economic power inherent in their separate
form of organization. It is obvious that a group capable, by strike
action, of shutting down completely a large manufacturing plant
would be of the greatest assistance to the great mass of the employees
in their bargaining efforts. Conversely, by remaining aloof from the
general picture of collective bargaining, by not identifying the in-
terests of its members with the great majority of the employees, this
particular craft group could, in its own interest, take action which
would throw thousands of persons out of work and hamper greatly
the attempt of the majority to achieve stable employment under col-
lective bargaining. Again, if the interests of the craft group and the
industrial group are not welded in the collective bargaining process,
it might well happen that if the major group sought to exercise eco-
nomic pressure by means of strike, this minority group, through its
ability to keep power flowing in the plant by abstaining from strike,
would tend to weaken joint action.
,One does not need to anticipate the situation that might develop
during strikes in order to see the inappropriateness for collective
DECISIONS ^ D ORDERS 177
bargaining purposes of small but powerful craft units coexisting
with a broad industrial unit. The economic strength which its stra-
tegic position in the plant gives to the oilers and firemen could, if
the unit were completely industrial, be exercised not only in the
interest of its own members but would be added to the bargaining
strength of the other employees. If the oilers and firemen and the
skilled maintenance electricians bargain separately, by so much is
the united economic strength of the employees as a whole weakened.
Anything which weakens the bargaining power of the employees
will tend to lessen reliance upon peaceful collective bargaining as
the means for achieving the workers' economic ends. Such a tend-
ency is plainly contrary to the purposes of the Act.
I have dwelt chiefly on the bargaining situation as it may be
affected by the role which will be played by oilers and firemen under
the Board's decision. The reasons which I would urge against per-
mitting the maintenance electricians to vote their bargaining strength
away from the rest of the employees are similar.
The draftsmen and technical engineers are a naturally separate
white collar group whose semi-professional interests may very prob-
ably best be served by a different type of union than that suited to
the production and maintenance employees. Nor would the economic
strength of these draftsmen and technical engineers contribute ma-
terially to the welfare of their fellow employees if they were added
to the industrial unit. I concur with my colleagues in their decision
that the draftsmen and technical engineers should appropriately be
set apart as a separate bargaining unit.
[SAME TITLE]
AMENDMENT TO DIRECTION OF ELECTION
December 9, 1937
On November 20, 1937, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
,called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the
above-entitled case, the-election to be held within thirty days from
the date of the Direction, under the direction and supervision of the
Regional Director for the Twelfth Region (Milwaukee, Wisconsin).
The Board, having been advised by the Regional Director for the,
Twelfth Region that a longer period within which to hold the elec-
tion is necessary, hereby amends the Direction of Election issued
on November 20, 1937, by striking therefrom, wherever they occur,
the words, "within thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction",
and substituting therefor the words "on or before January 8, 1938".
178
[ SAME TITLE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
SECOND AMENDMENT
TO
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
December 22, 1937 ,
On November 20, 1936, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the,
above entitled case, such election to be held under the direction and
supervision of the Regional Director for the Twelfth Region (Milwau-
kee, Wisconsin). On December 9, 1937, the Board issued an Amend-
ment to the Direction of Election which directed an election to be
held on or before January 8, 1938.
The Board, having been advised by Local No. 248 that the Direction
of Election inadvertently excludes the clerks in the production depart-
ments of the Company, hereby amends the Direction of Election and
the Amendment to Direction of Election by striking from the Direc-
tion of Election the Paragraph numbered 4 and substituting therefor
the following :
4. Among all the production employees, including the clerks in
the production departments with the exception of the efficiency
experts and the time study employees in the main shop production
office, who were employed by the Company during the week in-
cluding the date of this Direction, excluding those in supervisory
capacities, and excluding the employees in the groups named in
Paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 above, to determine whether or not they
desire to be represented by Local No. 248, International Union,
United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the Com-
mittee for Industrial Organization, for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
Mr. EDWIN S. SMITH took no part in the consideration of the above
Second Amendment to Direction of Election.