Armstrong Bros. Tool Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 29, 1941

37 N.L.R.B. 221 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of ARMSTRONG BROS. TOOL CO. and LOCAL 732, INTERNA-
TIONAL UNION UNITED AUTOMOBILE WORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED
WITH THE A. F. OF L.
Case No. R-3288.-Decided November 29, 1941
Jurisdiction : tool manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: Com-
pany refused to recognize petitioning union pending Board determination of
majority representation; stipulation of mutual substantial interest of two
unions involved ; elections necessary.
Units Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : units comprising (1) all employees
in the Die Room, including die sinkers, engaged in making forge dies and
trimming dies for the drop forge department; and (2) all productions, mainte-
nance, and other employees, excluding from either unit working foremen and
higher supervisory employees, office and clerical employees, and time study men.
Fyffe and Clarke, by Mr. Albert J. Smith , of Chicago, Ill., for the
Company.
Mr. Joseph. M.,Jacobs and Mr. Philip D. Goodman, of Chicago, Ill.,
for the U. A. W. A.-A. F. L.
Mr. J. G. Meiner , of Cleveland , Ohio, for the Die Sinkers.
Mr. Armin Uhler, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On August 8, 1941, Local 732, International Union United Auto-
mobile Workers of America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., herein
called the UAWA-AFL,1 filed with the Regional Director for the
Thirteenth Region ( Chicago, Illinois ) a petition alleging that a ques-,
tion affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of
employees of Armstrong Bros. Tool Co., Chicago, Illinois, herein called
the Company , and requesting an investigation and certification of
representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
3 The Trial Examiner at the hearing granted a motion to correct the petition and other
formal papers pertaining to this proceeding by adding "Local 732" to the name of the
Union.
37 N. L R. B , No. 34.
221
222 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tions Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. -On October 29, 1941,
the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting
pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of
National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2,
as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Di-
rector to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon
due notice.
On October 30, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear-
ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company ' and the
UAWA-AFL. On or about October 31, 1941, International Die Sink-
ers Conference and Chicago Die Sinkers Local No. 100 of the Interna-
tional Die Sinkers` Conference,2 herein called, the Die Sinkers Local,
filed a motion to intervene. Pursuant to notice a hearing was held on
November 12, 1941, at Chicago, Illinois, before Stephen M. Reynolds,
the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner.
At the beginning of the hearing the Trial Examiner granted the mo-
tion of the Die Sinkers Local to intervene. The Company, the
UAWA-AFL, and the Die Sinkers Local were represented by counsel
or official representative, and participated in the hearing. Full op-
portunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and
to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties.
During the course of the hearing UAWA-AFL moved to amend its
allegations concerning the appropriate unit in certain particulars set
out in Section IT, below. The Trial Examiner granted the motion.
No objections to the rulings of the Trial Examiner were made by any
of the parties. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial
Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The
rulings are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Armstrong Bros. Tool Co. is an Illinois corporation with its plant
and principal place of business at Chicago, Illinois. The Company
is engaged in the manufacture and sale of tools, such as lathe tools,
pipe tools, and wrenches. During the calendar year 1940 the - Com-
pany purchased raw materials consisting principally of open-hearth,
alloy and high-speed steel, at a cost of approximately $100,000. Ap-
proximately 50 per cent of these materials were purchased by and
shipped to the Company from outside the State of Illinois. During
the same period the Company manufactured products exceeding in
value $750,000, approximately 60 per cent of which products were sold
2 Sometimes referred to in the record as Chicago Die Sinkers Lodge No. 100.
ARMSTR,OTN'G BROS. TOOL 00. 223
and shipped to points outside the State of Illinois. The Company
concedes that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Local 732, International Union United Automobile Workers of
America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., and Chicago Die Sinkers Local
No. 100 of the International Die Sinkers Conference, are labor
organizations admitting to membership employees of the Company.
M. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The parties stipulated that on or about August 6, 1941, the UAWA-
AFL requested recognition from the Company as the sole collective
bargaining agent of certain of its employees, and that the Company
questioned the representation by the UAWA-AFL of a majority of
its employees and refused to grant recognition until the UAWA-AFL
should be certified by the Board. The UAWA-AFL and Die Sinkers
Local further stipulated that each has a substantial interest in this
proceeding.8
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of
employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I, above. has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and
tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The UAWA-AFL's unit claim, as modified at the hearing, extends
to all employees of the Company, except die sinkers, supervisory,
office and clerical employees.4
8A statement prepared by the Regional Director and introduced in evidence sets forth
that UAWA-AFL submitted to him 271 application -for-membership cards, 261 of which
appear to bear genuine signatures . Ninety-six of the 271 cards are dated in 1941, as
follows : 1 in January ; 51 in June ; 5 in July ; 37 in August, and 2 in September. 175
cards are undated but were represented by the Union to have been signed during the
months of August and September , 1941. By the stipulation hereinabove referred to it is
agreed that each of the labor organizations involved in this proceeding has a substantial
interest therein. The Company has in its employ approximately 550 employees at the
present time
4 Originally the UAWA-AFL requested the inclusion in the unit of "all production and
maintenance employees , excluding supervisory and office and clerical employees." It Is
the UAWA-APL's intention to include in the unit employees in all classifications , except
die sinkers.
224 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL 'LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Die Sinkers Local requests a separate unit.of all die sinkers
and their apprentices engaged in making forge dies and trimming
dies for the drop-forge department .5 The Company takes no posi-
tion, but requests that the Board determine the appropriateness of a
separate unit composed of these employees.
The record shows that the employees sought to be represented by
the Die Sinkers Local are employees who are regularly engaged in
sinking drop-forge dies and employees in accessory units, such as
trimmers and punchers. It is further shown that these employees
constitute a separate department which in the Company's plant occu-
pies a locality known as the Die Room. They are highly specialized
workers who acquire their skill in the course of from 7 to 9 years'
apprenticeship. Apparently all of these employees are members of
the Die Sinkers Local. The UAWA-AFL, which has organized
production, maintenance, and certain other employees, agrees to the
exclusion of these employees from a plant-wide unit. We shall
exclude the die sinkers and their apprentices from the plant-wide
unit hereinafter found appropriate and shall establish them as a
separate bargaining unit.6
The UAWA-AFL desires the exclusion from the production and
maintenance unit, for which it contends, of all employees perform-
ing supervisory duties, including straw bosses and assistant straw
bosses or working foremen, regardless of the extent to which they
may perform manual work. However, the Die Sinkers Local asks
for the inclusion of working foremen in the Die Sinkers unit. The
Company takes the position that working foremen should be excluded
from- the units claimed by both the Die Sinkers Local and the
UAWA-AFL. The record shows that, due to defense work, employ-
ment in the Company's plant has increased from approximately 250
to 550 employees during the current year. In consequence, the pro-
portionate amount of supervision exercised' by working foremen has
increased during recent months. Under these circumstances we shall
exclude all working foremen and higher supervisory employees from
the units herein found appropriate.?
All parties are in agreement that office and clerical employees,
including time-study men, should be excluded. In accordance with
our usual practice, we shall exclude them from the units herein.
5 The Company carries on its pay roll the following employees who are engaged in
these activities , including one working foreman: Clarence E. Lindahl, Albert R Kreft,
Carl A. Anderson, Arthur Gulbrandsen , Clarence E . Gibbons , Fred Jacobson , Raymond
Algrup, William Prining, Frank Langer, John Berg, Ed. Berg , and Anton Frederickson.
6In the Matter of International Harvester Company (East Moline Works) and Pattern
Makers ' League of North America and Pattern Makers Association of Quad Cities if
Vicinity, ( A. F. of L. ), et at., 32 N. L . It. B., No S.
7 There is only one working foreman (Anton Frederickson ) among the employees in
the proposed die sinkers unit The Die Sinkers Local's representative stated at the
heating that this employee is eligible to his organization.
ARMSTRONG BROS. TOOL CO. 225
We find that the following two groups of employees, excluding
working foremen and higher supervisory employees, office and cleri-
cal employees, and time-study men, constitute separate appropriate
units for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that said units
will insure to the respective employees of the Company the full bene-
fit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining, and
otherwise will effectuate the policies of the Act:
1. All employees in the Die Room, including die sinkers and
their apprentices, engaged in making forge dies and trimming dies
for the drop-forge department;
2. All production,' maintenance, and other employees of the
Company.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question which has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of the Company can best be resolved by elec-
tions by secret ballot. The Company and the UAWA-AFL have
expressed their preference for a current pay-roll date as the basis
upon which eligibility to vote should be determined. The Die Sink-
ers Local has expressed no preference in this respect. In accordance
with our usual practice we shall direct that all employees in the
appropriate units who were employed by the Company during the
pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of
Elections, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in our
Direction, shall be eligible to vote.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Armstrong Bros. Tool Co., Chicago, Illinois,,
within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and '(7) of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. All employees of the Company in the following two, groups, -Ex-
cluding working foremen and higher supervisory employees, office and
clerical employees and time-study men, constitute units appropriate
for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Sec-
tion 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act:
(a) All employees in the Die Room, including die sinkers and their
apprentices, engaged in making forge dies and trimming dies for
the drop-forge department;
(b) All production, maintenance, and other employees of the Com-
pany.
226 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act , and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that , as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
.to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining
with Armstrong Bros. Tool Co., Chicago , Illinois, elections 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 Thirteenth 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, among
_the employees in each of the two groups described below who were
employed by the Company during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction , including employees who did
not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or` on
vacation or in the active military service or training of the United
States, or temporarily laid off , but excluding working foremen and
higher supervisory employees , office and clerical employees , and time-
study men, and employees who have since quit or been discharged
for cause :
(1) All employees in the Die Room, including die sinkers, and
their apprentices , engaged in making forge dies and trimming dies
for the drop -forge department , to determine whether or not they desire
to be represented by Chicago Die Sinkers Local No. 100 of the Inter-
national Die Sinkers Conference for the purposes of collective
bargaining ;
(2) All production , maintenance and other employees of the Coin-'
pany, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by
Local 732, International Union United Automobile Workers of Amer-
ica, affiliated with the A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective
bargaining.