Aluminum Co. of America

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 11, 1944

55 N.L.R.B. 407 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of ALUMINUM COMPANY OF AMERICA, CANONSBURG
PLANT and INTERNATIONAL DIE SINKERS CONFERENCE, CANONSBURG
DIE SINKERS LODGE No. 310
Case No. 6-R-894.Derided March 11, 1944
Messrs. Harry Flynn and J. B. Cowan, both of Pittsburgh, Pa., and
Mr. F. C. Seeger, of Canonsburg, Pa., for the Company.
Messrs. J. G. Meiner and Walter Lynch, both of Cleveland, Ohio,
for the Die Sinkers.
Mr. Philip M. Curran, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Mr. William Brady,
of Canonsburg, Pa., for the Steelworkers.
Mr. David V. Easton, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition filed by International Die Sinkers Conference,"
herein called the Die Sinkers, alleging that a question affecting com-
merce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of
Aluminum Company of America, Canonsburg Plant, Canonsburg,
Pennsylvania, herein called the Company, the National Labor Rela-
tions Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice
before W. G. Stuart Sherman, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was
held at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 7, 1944. The Com-
pany, the Die Sinkers, and United Steelworkers of America, affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, herein called the
Steelworkers, appeared, participated, and were afforded full op-
portunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and
to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Steelworkers made
a motion at the hearing to dismiss the petition herein which the Trial
Examiner referred to the Board. For reasons hereinafter set forth,
I The record shows that Canonsburg Die Sinkers Lodge No 310 is the local labor organi-
zation more particularly concerned herein. All papers in this proceeding are hereby
amended to reflect this fact.
55 N L R B , No. 75.
407
408 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the motion is hereby denied. 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.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board slakes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Aluminum Company of America is a Pennsylvania corporation with
its principal offices located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Com-
pany owns or operates plants in approximately 20 States of the United
States. We are concerned herein with a plant located in Canonsburg,
Pennsylvania, which, although owned by the Defense Plant Corpora-
tion, is operated by the Company. Said plant is engaged in the manu-
facture, sale, and distribution of aluininu m forgings for aircraft,
and its entire production is destined for use as part of the national
war effort. During the period between May 1943, when the plant
commenced production, and December 1943, the Company purchased
raw materials for use at its Canonsburg plant valued in excess of
$2,000,000, of which approximately 90 percent was shipped to the
plant from points located outside the State of Pennsylvania. During
the same period the Canonsburg plant manufactured drop forgings
valued in excess of $2,000,000, more than 90 percent of which was
shipped to points outside the State of Pennsylvania.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce, within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Canonsburg Die Sinkers Lodge No. 310 is a labor organization
affiliated with the International Die Sinkers Conference, admitting
to membership employees of the Company.
United Steelworkers of America is a labor organization affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to mem-
bership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Die Sinkers
as the exclusive bargaining representative of certain of its em-
ployees on the ground that the unit sought by the Die Sinkers is
in appropriate.
A statement of a Field Examiner of the Board, introduced into
evidence at the hearing , indicates that the Die Sinkers and the Steel-
ALUMINUM COMPANY OF AMERICA 409
workers each represents a substantial number of employees in the
unit hereinafter found appropriate.2
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IN. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Die Sinkers contends that all employees of the Company work-
ing on dies or parts of dies used to complete forgings , excluding super-
visory employees , constitute an appropriate unit. The Steelworkers
contends that only an industrial unit consisting of the production and
maintenance employees (including those employees claimed by the
Die Sinkers ) who were previously encompassed by a unit set forth
in a consent election agreement , is appropriate. The Company takes
no affirmative position , contending solely that the unit sought by the
Die Sinkers is inappropriate.
The Canonsburg plant is comparatively new, having commenced
production operations in May of 1943 . The Steelworkers began
organizing the employees of the plant shortly after production started,
and in August 1943 requested recognition from the Company as the
exclusive bargaining representative of its production and maintenance
employees . The Company refused to grant such recognition on the
ground that the question of representation should be postponed to
such time when a majority of the total anticipated complement of em-
ployees would be engaged . In November the Steelworkers filed a peti-
tion seeking an industrial unit.3 The Aluminum Workers of America,
affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations , herein called
the Aluminum Workers , and International Council of Aluminum
Workers' Unions, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
herein called the A. F. L., claiming an interest in the employees of the
Company , intervened in that proceeding , and on December 4, 1943,
entered into a consent election agreement with the Company and the
Steelworkers , providing for an election to be held among all produc-
tion and maintenance employees of the Company , including time-
keepers and tally clerks , but excluding plant-protection employees,
salaried employees, office and clerical employees , temperature clerks,
and supervisory employees.
'The Field Examiner reported that the Die Sinkers submitted 82 designation cards, 74
of which bole apparently genuine original signatures and contained the names of persons
appeasing on the Company's pay roll of January 19, 1944, and that said pay roll contained
the names of 102 employees in the appropriate unit
He further reported that the Steelworkers submitted 102 application cards, 65 of which
bore apparently genuine original signatures and contained the names of persons appearing
on the aforesaid pay roll.
8 Case No 6-R-874.
410 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Die Sinkers, having commenced organizational activities among
employees of the Company during the latter part of November 1943,
stated that it would object to the consent election agreement unless its
representatives were allowed to challenge at the election all employees
in the unit which it presently claims as appropriate. An understand-
ing was reached by all parties concerned, and it was agreed that the Die
Sinkers would be permitted to challenge all such employees who would
attempt to vote in the election. On the day of the election which was
conducted on January 11, 1944, the Die Sinkers did, in fact, challenge
these employees.4 Previously, on December 20, 1943, the Die Sinkers
had filed the petition in the instant case.
The employees whom the Die Sinkers seeks to represent are engaged
in the Company's machine shop together with machinists and other
maintenance workers. The Company has recently completed a new
building to which the machine shop will be transferred in the near
future, and a representative of the Company testified that in this
building machines used for die sinking operations will be separated
from those used for other purposes. The machine room in which the
die sinking operations are presently conducted houses approximately
115 employees, of whom, according to testimony adduced by the Com-
pany, approximately 40 percent spend one-half or more of their time
on die work, whereas the remaining employees spend the larger portion
of their time on work other than the production of dies. That most of
the employees perform both die sinking and maintenance work, and
few perform maintenance or die sinking work exclusively, is due to
the fact that the Company, in order to cope with the present shortage
of skilled die sinkers caused by the national emergency, has instituted
a program whereby persons are trained to perform one or more of the
several operations in the die sinking process rather than all of such
operations. These employees are first classified by the Company as
trainees and perform both maintenance and die work. Thereafter,
when they acquire additional skill, the trainees are promoted to the
classification of operators. The record discloses that trainees and
operators, as they increase in skill, spend more and more of their time
on die work. Thus, as of February 5, 1944, the Die Sinkers submitted
evidence which indicated that there were 109 employees in the machine
shop performing work on dies.5
i The steelworkers won the election and the Regional Director filed a Report on Consent
Election, dated January 17, 1944, in which lie found that it had been designated by a
majority of the employees in the agreed unit as their exclusive bargaining representative.
The report fuither showed that 93 ballots were challenged and that the challenged ballots
could not affect the results of the election.
5 The evidence elicited by the Die Sinkeis may be summarized by the following chart
No. of employees : Tense spent on die ssnl,ieg operations
46-------------------------------------- 100 percent.
18-------------------------------------- 90 percent or more.
12-------------------------------------- between 50 and 90 percent.
33-------------------------------------- between 10 and 50 percent.
ALUMINUM COMPANY OF AMERICA 411
By its challenges of the ballots cast by those employees in the group
which it now seeks to represent, the Die Sinkers has attempted, as far
as it has been able; to preserve their identity. We have frequently
found that die sinkers are a sufficiently skilled craft to warrant their
separate representation if they so choose.,, We do not feel that the
"dilution" of the craft caused by the national emergency should mili-
tate against affording them this choice, where, as here, the evidence
shows that the employees sought by the Die Sinkers are performing
work comparable to that performed by persons serving a regular ap-
prenticeship in the craft. We are of the opinion, therefore, that in
the absence of any collective bargaining history to the contrary, all
employees in the machine room of the Company working on dies, or
parts of dies, may properly constitute a separate craft unit. How-
ever, the close functional relationship of these employees to others
engaged by the Company, and the comprehensive organizational ac-
tivities of the Steelworkers, clearly indicate that a single industrial
unit may also be proper.
Accordingly, before making a final determination as to the propriety
of the unit proposed by the Die Sinkers, we shall first ascertain the
desires of the employees themselves. We shall direct an election by
secret ballot to be conducted among all employees in the machine room
of the Company working on dies, or parts of dies, excluding super-
visory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, disci-
pline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effec-
tively recommend such action, and all other employees, who were em-
ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date
of the Direction herein, subject to the limitations and additions set
forth in the Direction, to determine whether they desire to be repre-
sented by the Die Sinkers or by the Steelworkers. Upon the results
of the election will depend, in part, our determination of the appro-
priate unit. If the employees in this voting group select the Die
Sinkers as their bargaining representative, they will have thereby
indicated their desire to constitute a separate appropriate unit. If,
however, • these employees choose the Steelworkers, they will have
thereby indicated their desire to be part of the production and mainte-
nance unit presently represented by it, and they will be deemed to be
part of said unit.
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 Relations
,,Matter of Aluminum Company of America, 54 N L R. B. 782; Matter of Duff
Norton Manufacturing Company, 48 N. L. R. B. 1148; Matter of International Harvester
Company, Tractor Works, 36 N. L. R. B. 520.
412 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain represen-
tatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Aluminum Com-
pany of America, Canonsburg Plant, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, an
election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not
later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the
direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Sixth Re-
gion, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations
Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules
and Regulations, among all employees of the Company in the machine
room at its Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, plant, working on dies, or
parts of dies, excluding all supervisory employees with authority to
hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in
the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, and all
other employees of the Company, who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, includ-
ing 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 them-
selves in person at the polls, but excluding those employees who have
since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or
reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether they
desire to be represented by International Die S':il•:^rs Conference,
Canonsburg Die Sinkers Lodge No. 310, or by United Steelworkers of
America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for
the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
MR. JOHN M. HOUSTON took no part inthe consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.