Bartlett & Snow Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 11, 1937

4 N.L.R.B. 113 (N.L.R.B. 1937)

In the Matter of BARTLETT & SNOW COMPANY and THE BARTLETT &
SNOW EMPLOYEES' ASSOCIATION, INC., and UNITED AUTOMOBILE
WORKERS OF AMERICA
Cases Nos. R-301 and R-30f.Decided November 11, 1937
Machinery "and Parts Manufacturing Industry --Investigation of Representa-
tives: controversy concerning -represents tires : rival organizations ; shut down
of plant caused by conflicting demands of rival organizations-Unit Appropriate
for Collective Bargaining : production employees ; employees on hourly rate
basis ; divergence of interests ; occupational differences ; wage differentials-
Ele(tnon Ordered-Certification of Representatives.
Mr. Peter Di Leone, for the Board.
Krueger, Gorman & Davis, by Mr. Harold H. Gorman, of Cleve-
land, O., for the Company.
Mr. Ralph W. Bell, of Cleveland, 0., for the Association.
Mr. Bert Cochran, of Cleveland, 0., for the U. A. W.
Mr. S. G. Lippman, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On June 15, 1937 and June 29, 1937, respectively, Bartlett & Snow
Employees' Association, Inc., herein called the Association, and
United Automobile Workers of America, herein called the U. A. W.,
each filed with the Regional Director for the Eighth Region (Cleve-
land, Ohio) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce
had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Bartlett &
Snow Company, Cleveland, Ohio, herein called the Company, and
requesting 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 July 6, 1937, the National Labor Re-
lations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9
(c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, ordered
an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it
and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon clue notice; and the
Board further ordered, pursuant to Article III, Section 10 (c) (2),
113
114 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
of said Rules and Regulations, that the two cases be consolidated for
the purpose of hearing.
On September 8, 1937, the Regional Director issued a notice of
hearing to be held at Cleveland, Ohio, on September 16, 1937. Copies
were served upon the Company, the U. A. W., and the Association.
Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held in Cleveland, Ohio, on
September 16, 1937, before Alvin J. Rockwell, the Trial Examiner
duly .designated by the Board.
The Board, the Company, the Association, and the U. A. W. were
represented by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full oppor-
tunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to
introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded to all parties.
During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several
rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence.
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
Bartlett & Snow Company was incorporated under the laws of the
State of Ohio on March 12, 1902. The Company is engaged in the
business of designing and manufacturing machinery and equip-
ment for the handling and processing of materials.
The principal office of the Company is in Cleveland, Ohio. It
maintains sales offices in New York City, Chicago, Illinois, and
Baltimore, Maryland.
The principal raw material used by the Company in the operation
of its plant is structural steel, including plates. About 75 per cent
of this material comes from outside the State of Ohio. Other raw
materials used by the Company come from foundries principally
located in Ohio. However, about one per cent of the rough castings,
nuts, and bolts used by the Company, and five per cent of the steel
drop forgings come from outside the State of Ohio.
The Company's principal sales result from engineering studies of
the problems of prospective customers. Production begins with
detailing, and with the making of lay-outs and blueprints by the
engineering department. From, this department drawings are sent
to the fabricating departments, where the actual construction of the
machinery as so designed takes place. The fabricating departments
are designated as follows : structural lay-out, structural, machine
shop, and assembly. The completed machine is sent finally to the
shipping department, from which it is shipped to the customer. On
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 115
occasion, where the contract so requires, the machine is erected at
the purchaser's place of business.
The percentage of its finished products that are shipped directly
outside the State of Ohio has varied during the last 10 years from a
low of 35 per cent to a high of about 85 per cent. Exclusive of
supervisory and clerical help, the Company employs 140 employees;
32 of these are employed in the engineering department; the balance
are employed in the fabricating shops.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Automobile Workers of America is a labor organization
affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization. It admits
to membership all employees of the Company excluding supervisory,
clerical and engineering employees.
The Bartlett & Snow Employees' Association, Inc., is an incorpo-
rated labor organization unaffiliated with any outside labor organ-
ization. All employees of the Company are eligible to membership
in the Association except supervisory employees having authority
to hire, discharge, or discipline employees.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
In May 1937, the U. A. W. commenced its drive for membership
among employees of the Company. Subsequently a petition for the
formation of the Association was circulated throughout the plant.
About June 1, 1937, the Company received a request for recognition
,from the Association, together- with a signed list of signatures of
employees of the Company. On the basis of a comparison of the
pay roll with the signed list of names, the Company posted notices
giving the Association exclusive bargaining rights for all of its em-
ployees. On June 5, the Company received a communication from
the U. A. W. requesting a meeting for the purpose of negotiating
an agreement. On June 7, during the period of negotiations between
the U. A. W. and the Company, the plant abruptly shut down.
The Company stated that it was advisable to shut down because of
the conflicting demands of two factions seeking bargaining rights
and that it did not deem it advisable to operate its plant until such
conflict was adjusted.
On June 9, 1937, U. A. W. established a picket line around tie
factory. On June 25, pursuant to an agreement entered into between
the Company, U. A. W., and the Association, the Company granted
a general wage increase and agreed to recognize and bargain col-
lectively with the Union certified by the Board.
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation
of employees of Bartlett & Snow Company.
116 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
IV. EFFECT OF THE QUESTION OF REPRESENTATION ON COMMERCE
We find that the question of representation , which has arisen 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
In its petition the Association alleges that all the hourly em-
ployees of the Company, including the engineers, constitute an appro-
priate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining. The U. A. W.
alleges in its petition that all the hourly paid employees, excluding
the engineering employees, constitute an appropriate unit for the
purposes of collective bargaining. Both petitions exclude supervisory
and clerical help. The Company maintains that the engineers are
part of production and should be included in the unit. Thus the
question to be determined is whether the engineering department
shall be excluded or included in the bargaining unit.
The engineering department is an integral part of the Company's
business. The Company in its testimony refers to the engineers as
a part of the production departments. There is evidence, however,
that during the shut-down the Company requested' the U. A. W. to
allow engineers access to the plant without being stopped by pickets.
The management is alleged to have insisted, on this occasion, that
the engineers were a distinct group apart from the production
departments.
In general, the record indicates little community of interest between
the shop and engineering employees. The point of view, background,
training, and skill of the two groups are different. The engineers
are technical employees and, as a whole, have a scale of wages sub-
stantially higher than that earned by the rest of the men. Their
work day, lunch period, and other conditions of employment are
distinct froln that of the men in the shops. The men in the shops,
on the other hand, are all manual workers and, as a whole, have
similar wage scales, working conditions, and problems.
It appears that the rights and interests of the Company's em-
ployees can best be protected and furthered by considering the shop
employees as a distinct group excluding the engineers for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining.
In order to insure to the employees of the Company the full bene-
fit of their right to self-organization and collective bargaining and
otherwise to effectuate the policies of the Act, .we find that all hourly
paid employees, except those employed in the engineering depart-
ment, or in a supervisory or clerical capacity, constitute a unit
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 117
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect
to rates of pay, wages, hours' of employment, and other conditions-
of employment.
^ VI. CONDUCT OF THE ELECTION
We further find that an election by secret ballot is necessary to
determine the proper representative for collective bargaining and
thus resolve the question concerning representation. It was stipu-
lated by the parties that all the employees listed on the pay roll list
of June 5, 1937, should be eligible to vote. We shall follow this
agreement in one direction.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
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 Bartlett & Snow Company, within the
meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act.
2. The hourly paid employees of the Company, exclusive of those
employed in the engineering department, or in a clerical or super-
visory capacity, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of
collective 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
Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8
of National 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 Bartlett
& Snow Company, Cleveland, Ohio, an election by secret ballot shall
be conducted within twenty (20) days from the date of this Direc-
tion, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director
for the Eighth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9,
of said Rules and Regulations, among all the hourly paid employees
of the Company, employed on June 5, 1937, excluding those employed
in the engineering department, or in a 'clerical or supervisory capacity,
and those who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to deter-
mine whether they desire to be represented by United Automobile
Workers of America or the Bartlett & Snow Employees' Association
for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
118
[SAME TITLE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 7 , 1937
On June 15, 1937, and June 29, 1937, respectively, Bartlett & Snow
Employees ' Association , Inc., herein called the Association, and
United Automobile Workers of America, herein called the U. A. W.,
each filed with the Regional Director for the Eighth Region (Cleve-
land, Ohio) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce
had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Bartlett
& Snow Company, Cleveland, Ohio, herein called the Company, and
requesting 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 July 6, 1937, 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 Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, ordered
an investigation and authorized the Regional . Director to conduct
it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice; and
the Board further ordered, pursuant to Article III, Section 10 (c)
(2), of said Rules and Regulations , that the two cases be consolidated
for the purpose of hearing.
On September 8, 1937, the Regional Director issued a notice of
hearing to be held at Cleveland, Ohio, on September 16, 1937. Copies
were served upon the Company, the U. A. W., and the Association. ,
Pursuant to the notice , a hearing was held in Cleveland , Ohio, on
September 16, 1937, before Alvin J. Rockwell , the Trial Examiner
duly designated by the Board.
The Board, the Company, the 'Association, and the U. A. W. were
represented by counsel and participated in the hearing . Thereafter,
on November 11, 1937, the Board issued a Decision and Direction of
Election. The Direction of Election provided that an election by
secret ballot be held among all the hourly paid employees of the
Company employed on June 5, 1937, excluding those employed in the
engineering department or in a clerical or supervisory capacity, and
:hose who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine
whether they desire to be represented by United Automobile Workers
of America or the Bartlett & Snow Employees ' Association , Inc., for
the purposes of collective bargaining oi by neither . Pursuant to the
Direction , an election by secret ballot was conducted on November
24, 1937. Full opportunity was accorded to all the parties to this
investigation to participate in the conduct of the secret ballet and to
make challenges.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 119
Thereafter, the Regional Director, acting pursuant to Article III,
Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula-
tions-Series 1, as amended, issued and duly served upon the parties
to the proceeding his Intermediate Report on the ballot. No excep-
tions to the Intermediate Report have been filed by any of the parties.
As to the results of the secret ballot the Regional Director reported
as follows :
Total number of employees eligible-------------------------- 98
Total number of ballots counted----------------------------- 93
Total number of votes for United Automobile Workers of
America------------------------------------------------- 35
Total number of votes for Bartlett & Snow Employees' Asso-
ciation, Inc---------------------------------------------- 57
Total number of blank ballots------------------------------- 0
Total number of void ballots-------------------------------- 1
Total number of challenged votes---------------------------- 2
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 1, as amended,
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that Bartlett & Snow Employees' Asso-
ciation, Inc. has been designated and selected by a majority of all the
employees of the Bartlett & Snow Company who are paid by the
hour, excluding those employed in the engineering department, or in
a clerical or supervisory capacity, and those who have since quit or
been discharged for cause, as their representative for the purposes
of collective bargaining, and that pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the
National Labor Relations Act Bartlett & Snow Employees' Asso-
ciation, Inc. is the exclusive representative of all such employees for
the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay,
wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment.
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