Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 8, 1946

65 N.L.R.B. 284 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of BETHLEHEM-SPARROWS POINT SHIPYARD, INC . and
INDUSTRIAL UNION OF MARINE AND SHIPBUILDING WORKERS OF
AMERICA, LOCAL 33, CIO
Case No. 5-B-1971.-Decided January 8, 1946
Mr. John L. Wynne, of Bethlehem, Pa., for the Company.
Mr. W. I. Woolston, of Philadelphia, Pa., for the Union.
Mr. Donald H. Frank, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon an amended petition duly filed by Industrial Union of Marine
and Shipbuilding Workers of America, CIO, herein called the Union,
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard,
Inc., Sparrows Point, Maryland, herein called the Company, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice before Earle K. Shawe, Trial Exaininer. The hearing
was held at Baltimore, Maryland, on September 6, 7, and 8, 1945. The
Company appeared specially to•contest the jurisdiction of the Board
on the ground that the employees involved herein are not employees
within the meaning of Section 2 (3) of the Act. The Union entered
a general appearance. All parties participated and were afforded full
opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and
to introduce evidence' bearing on the issues. At the hearing, the Com-
pany moved the dismissal of the petition. For the reasons stated in
Section IV, infra, 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 an opportunity to file
briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc., is a Delaware corpora-
tion engaged at its Sparrows Point, Maryland, shipyard in the repair,
65 N. L. R B., No. 57.
284
BETHLEHEM-SPARROWS POINT SHIPYARD, INC. 285
alteration , and construction of ships. During the year 1944, the value
of the materials used by the Company was in excess of $30,000,000, of
which more than 70 percent was shipped to it from points outside the
State of Maryland. During that year, the value of the work per-
formed at the Sparrows Point yard was in excess of $60,000,000, of
which more than 90 percent was destined for shipment to points
outside the State of Maryland.
We find that the Company is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. TIIE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America,
Local 33, of&liated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is
a,, labor organization admitting to membership employees of the
Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as the
exclusive bargaining representative of certain of the Company's em-
ployees until the Union has been certified by the Board in an appro-
priate unit.
A statement of. a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the
hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit sought.-
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.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union seeks a unit composed of the Company's office and cleri-
cal employees. The Company contends that the petition should be
dismissed on the grounds that the employees thus sought to be rep-
resented are not employees within the meaning of the Act and that
these employees do not constitute an appropriate unit within the
meaning of the Act, asserting that this is especially true where the
union seeking to represent clerical employees already represents, as
the Union does in this plant, the production and maintenance em-
ployees. We have had frequent occasion to consider the status of of-
fice and clerical employees, and we have concluded that, as 'such, they
' The Regional Director reported that the Union submitted 162 application -for-member-
ship cards which were dated 24 in February , 46 in March , 9 in April , 27 in 11Iay, 5 in June,
and 39 in August , 1945, and that 12 were undated ; and that there were 344 employees in
the unit sought . At the hearing , the Trial Examiner reported that the Union submitted
13 additional cards dated in August 1945, and that of the 175 cards submitted, 174 bore
the names of employees in the unit sought.
286 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
are employees within the meaning of the Act who constitute an ap-
propriate collective bargaining unit.' We are not persuaded that the
instant case differs from those previously considered by us, nor do
we consider that representation of them by the union which repre-
sents other employees, seeking, as it does, to represent these employees
separately, will not effectuate the policies of the Act.3 We have there-
fore denied the Company's motion to dismiss the petition.
There remains for us the question of the propriety of the inclusion
of certain employees, discussed below, who are sought by the Union,
but whom the Company would exclude from the unit for reasons
other than its general assertion that they are not employees within
the meaning of the Act; these reasons are set out and considered
below 4
Outfitters: The principal function of these employees is to plan
the work of the various crafts so as to eliminate production lags,
In pursuance of that purpose, they write work lists for all crafts,
check the actual installation of work against blueprints and speci-
fications, order equipment for installation and, in general, plan the
work for all crafts in advance. The Company asserts that these em-
ployees should be excluded from the unit as managerial employees.
In our opinion, the functions of these employees are not of such a
nature as to identify them with management. We shall therefore
include them in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.
Outfitter Supervisors: These employees coordinate and expedite
the outfitting work on the ships, consulting the various craft foremen
in order to insure that the work will progress smoothly and rapidly
and that no craft's work will be delayed by the failure of another to
have completed its functions. In other industries these employees
would be known as expediters. The Company seeks their exclusion
from the unit as supervisory employees. They do not have the au-
thority, however, to hire, fire, or discipline the outfitters, or to make
effective recommendations affecting their status, and we shall there-
fore include the outfitter supervisors in the unit hereinafter found
appropriate.
Timekeeper Leaders A: Each of these employees directs the work
of from 6 to 20 timekeepers and timekeeper leaders B.5 Each assigns
work to the timekeepers under him. Timekeeper Leaders A do not
have the authority, however, to make effective recommendations con-
cerning the employees whose work they oversee. They are not, there-
2 Matter of Bethlehem Steel Company, 63 N L. R. B. 1230; Matter of Bethlehem-Spar-
rows Point Ship gaid, Inc , 49 N L R B. 762.
3 Matter of The Babcock & Wilcox Co., 52 N. L. R. B. 900
* For the categories of employees whom the Union and the Company agree should be
excluded as maniigerial, technical, supervisory, or confidential, see Appendix A, annexed
hereto.
6 Other than its general contention , the Company raises no specific objection to the inclu-
sion of timekeepers and timekeeper leaders B.
BETHLEHEM-SPARROWS POINT SHIPYARD, INC. 287
fore, contrary to the Company's contention, supervisory employees
within the meaning of our usual definition, and we shall include them
in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.
Photostat Operators: The Company asserts that these employees
should not be included in the unit because in performing their duties
they photostat, on occasion, matters from the general manager's office
which pertain to confidential labor relations data.e The honest per-
formance of their duties, however, does not require them to read this
material, no copies of which are retained in their department. We
shall therefore include them in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.
Sketchers: The Company seeks the exclusion of these employees
from the unit on the ground that they are technical employees. The
sketchers are hourly paid employees whose pay is similar to that of
the other employees involved herein. It is their duty to make from
blueprints sketches which show the proper placement of pipes and
fittings to be installed aboard ships. They are not required to have
any technical education or any special training in order to qualify
for this position. We are of the opinion that they possess interests
in the terms and conditions of employment substantially similar to
the other office employees, and are not sufficiently technical to warrant
their exclusion from the unit. We shall, therefore, include them in
the unit hereinafter found appropriate.
Miscellaneous individual employees: The Company asserts that
the following named employees (department symbol indicated), clas-
sified by the Company as clerks, are either supervisory or confidential
or both and should therefore be excluded from the unit. The record
does not support the Company's assertion and we shall accordingly
include these clerks, as such, in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.
V. L. Sirk (QAB) A. V. Hutcheson (QAK)
R. Chandler (QAB) J. F. McNulty (QAK)
A. Hartsock (QAB) C. E. Hughes (QAK)
A. E. Parlett (QAB )
The record, however, does substantiate the claims of the Company
concerning the status of certain other employees.
Among these employees, the following named are confidential em-
ployees within the meaning of our customary definition because they
have access to labor relation files and materials which they must con-
sult in the performance of their duties, and because they attend man-
agement conferences on labor relations matters :
F. Bouda (QDB) R. E. Obrycki (EB )
M. Kennedy (EA) G. Buettner (H)
See Matter of Hudson Motor Car Company, 55 N L It B 509, as to a similar conten-
tion concerning telephone and telegraph operators.
679100-46-vol 65-20
288 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
C. Green (L) D. Maroney (EB)
J. Bradstock (N) D. M. Sandebeck (L)
T. W. DuBois (P) W. G. Amoss (N)
A. Al. Macauley (TA) E. G. West (P)
M. Karayinopulos (UA) H. C. Burt (SE)
E. V. Malcolm (EA) P. Metallo (TB)
M. L. Baer (EA)
We shall therefore exclude them, as confidential employees, from the
unit hereinafter found appropriate.
The record reveals that the following named employees have, at
least, the power to make effective recommendations affecting the status
of employees under them :
J. C. Erdman (QAC) F. S. Hormes (QAC)
G. F. Hanunel (QAC) R. C. Clifton (QAK)
J. Corbin (EB) - H. E. Seeger (EB)
D. D. Jarman (QDB)
We shall therefore exclude them, as supervisory employees, from the
unit hereinafter found appropriate.
The record further reveals that the following named employees
perform functions and bear other indicia which more closely align
them with management than with the other employees involved :
A. M. Hodges (assistant to the assistant, general manager, QAK)
J. R. Price (material expediter, UC)
We shall therefore exclude them, as managerial employees, from the
unit hereinafter found appropriate.
There are, in the planning and production department (QAK),
two other' employees in dispute, both of whom are classified as "super-
visors." ° It is the function of one of these employees to schedule
manpower generally over the company yards so that production will
conform to schedules. In so doing, it is his duty to study and analyze
indirect labor and material costs. Usually this employee works alone,
although on occason three or four employees may assist him. The other
"supervisor" records the dates that the major steps were taken in the
construction process, and sets up schedules based on that knowledge,
in order to determine the possible dates of delivery and the dates for
future bidding. Normally, he has one employee assisting him. In our
opinion, these employees are not managerial supervisory; or confi-
dential, as the Company contends, and we shall include them in the
unit hereinafter found appropriate, as non-supervisory employees.
Remaining to be considered- is the status of the Company's janitors.
The Union seeks to include in its unit those janitors whose duty it is
to clean the Company's administrative offices, but exclude those who
' R. C. Anderson , C F Kainka
BETHLEHEM-SPARROWS POINT SHIPYARD, INC. 289
clean the production and maintenance offices.8 All janitors were spe-
cifically excluded from the production and maintenance unit which
the Union presently represents. Janitors are found on the pay rolls
of two departments in the plant, but they are not divided between
those departments by function or according to the lines which the
Union seeks to establish. They are also divided into salaried and
hourly-paid groups, but this division likewise is not made on the basis
of place of performance of duty. Although each janitor cleans either
administrative offices or other offices, but not both, they perforin iden-
tical duties under the same supervision. We perceive no basis in this
case for the exclusion of those who perform their duties in the Com-
pany's production and maintenance offices, and we shall include all
office janitors in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.
We find that all office and clerical employees employed by the
Company, including outfitters, outfitter supervisors, timekeeper lead-
ers A, photostat operators, sketchers, and janitors, but excluding
those categories of employees listed in Appendix A, confidential em-
ployees, managerial employees, and all supervisory employees with
authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect
changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such
action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elec-
tion herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the
Direction.
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, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Bethlehem-Spar-
rows Point Shipyard, Inc., Sparrows Point, Maryland, 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 di-
8 This discussion does not involve certain plant laborers, excluded from the unit by
agreement of the parties, who, as one of their duties perform janitorial duties in the plant
yards
290 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
rection and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fifth Re-
gion, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labdr Relations
Board and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules
and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appropriate
in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period
immediately,preceding the date of this Direction, including 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 themselves in per-
son at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit or been dis-
charged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to
the date of the election, to determine whether or not they desire to
be represented by Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding
Workers of America, Local 33, CIO, for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
APPENDIX A
General Manager's Department (QAA)
All employees
Outfitting Department (QAB)
General Foreman of Outfitting
Outfitting Supervisor
Supervisor 9
General Superintendent
Assistant General Superintendent
Superintendents
Assistant Superintendents
Quartermen`
Technical Welding Inspectors 10
Chief Clerks-
Confidential Clerk 12 to Supervisor
Confidential Stenographer to Hull Superintendent
Assistants to Superintendents
Engineer in Charge of Boiler Room
Coordinator of Machinery Installation
Material Coordinator
Outfitting Foreman 14
Material Foreman
Confidential Stenographer 15 to General Superintendent
S F Sullivan.
lJ P Edmiston , R N. Hoenes.
'I J. B Harris, A A Ross
'° M R Britt
]9 R Roden
14 E. L. Insley.
15 D P. Coleman.
BETHLEHEM-SPARROWS POINT SHIPYARD, INC. 291
Accounting Department (QAC)
Works Accountant
Chief of Cost
Assistant Works Accountant
Special Statistical Clerk 16
Confidential Stenographers 17
Supervisor of Timekeepers
Chief of Payroll and Tabulating
Assistant Supervisor of Tabulating
Cashier
Assistant Cashier
All counters, counter supervisors, counter leaders, counter learners
Purchasing Department (QAE)
District Purchasing Agent
Buyers
Travelling Junior Buyer 18
Supervisory Clerk 19
Confidential Typist 20
Industrial Relations Department (QAJ)
All employees
Production and Planning Department (QAK)
Supervisor of Planning and Production 21
Assistant Foreman 22
Head of Cost Group 23
Confidential Clerk 24 to Assistant to General Manager
Piece Rate Department (QAL)
All employees
(lull Drafting Department (UA)
Chief Hull Draftsman-Structural
Test Engineers
Assistant Test Engineers
Assistant to Chief Engineer
Leading Draftsmen
Draftsmen
Junior Draftsman
Supervisor of Order Department
Assistant Supervisor, Order Department 25
10 A G. Preisendorfer
11 G L Beiswanger, A Dailey.
13 E Howland
10 J A Morris.
20 L AT Hayden
21 W C McNlel.
22 W T Brown
23J N Kelly.
2% H G Mulvihill.
11 H. H . Hleatzman.
292 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Confidential Typist 26 to Chief Hull Draftsman
Confidential Clerk 21 to Chief Hull Draftsman
Machinery and Pipe Drafting Department (UB)
Department Chief (Assistant Chief Engineer)
Chief Engine Draftsmen
Leading Draftsman
Draftsmen
Junior Draftsmen
Supervisor of Cost Section
Confidential Stenographer 28 to Chief Engineer
Electrical Drafting Department (UC)
Chief Electrical Draftsman
Leading Draftsmen
Draftsmen
Junior Draftsmen
Confidential Stenographer 29 to Chief Electrical Draftsman
Departments QAF, EA, EB, G, H, L, N, 0, P, Q, QDA, 1?, TB, SB,
BD,SE,SF,X,Y
General Foremen
Foremen
Assistant Foremen
Quartermen
Supervisors
Pipe Shop (QDB)
Foreman
Assistant Foreman
Chief Clerk
Confidential Clerk 31 to Foreman
Quartermen
Supervisors
Plate and Shape Yard (TA)
Foreman
Supervisor
Supervisory Clerk 82
Plate and Shape Yard (TC)
General Foreman
Assistant General Foreman
Foreman
Supervisor
29 P. I. West
21 C. A. BruehI
29 A. B. Callison
29 C Pietrowics
80 E H Pinek.
I'M. Keyes.
92 R. M Gamble.
BETTTLEHEM-SPARROWS POINT SHIPYARD, INC. 293
Furnace Quarterman
Supervisory Clerk 33
Pitting and Erecting Department (SC) °
General Foreman
Assistant General Foreman
Foremen-Assembly
Foremen
Assistant Foremen
Quartermen
Supervisors
Confidential Clerks 34 to General Foreman and Assistant General
Foremen
Stores Department (W)
General Storekeeper
Warehouse Foremen
Chief Clerks 35
Material Expediter 36
Voucher Clerk 31
Confidential Clerks 3s
Supervisors
Confidential Clerk 39 to the Assistant to Superintendent of Ma-
terials
Confidential Typists 40
Supervisory Clerk 41
Plant Maintenance Department (YB)
General Foreman
Assistant Foreman
Confidential Clerk to General Foreman 41
Supervisors
Draftsman
Inspector
Instrument Men
89 E K Einstein
D R Lewis, T Decker
85G M Cavanaugh, W S Heck.
86 L. T Conjar
87 H Ramseyer
88 R. Lowdermilk , M. A. Szeliga. E, H Sealover
ee P. Montanari.
408 P Livak, K F. Mock
'1 H Schwartz
u H Weisheit