Boyle Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 16, 1942

38 N.L.R.B. 1281 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter of BOYLE MANUFACTURING COMPANY and STEEL
WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, AFFILIATED WITH THE C. I. O.
Case No. R-34142.-Decided February 16, 1942
Jurisdiction : steel products fabrication industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: dis-
pute as to appropriate unit ; refusal to recognize either of two competing
unions until certified by the Board ; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : single or separate unit comprising :
(1) shipping department employees at one of two plants, and (2) production
and maintenance employees at one plant and all employees at the other plant,
of the Company, excluding foremen, assistant foremen or supervisors in charge
of any classes of labor, clerical and salaried employees, truck drivers, watch-
men, and guards ; determination of, dependent on desires of employees.
Mr. J. L. Bradley, of San Francisco , Calif., for the Company.
Mr. Walter S. Binns, of Los-Angeles, Calif., and Mr. John Despol,
of Maywood, Calif., for the S. W. O. C.
Mr. George E. Mock, and Mr. Paul W. Bunco, of Los Angeles,
Calif., and Mr. Frank Merhab, of Compton, Calif., for the Teamsters.
Mr. Robert E. Tillman, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On October 7, 1941, and November 10, 1941, respectively, Steel
Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein
called the S. W. O. C., filed with the Regional Director for the
Twenty-first Region (Los Angeles, California) a petition and an
amended petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had
arisen concerning the representation of employees of Boyle Manu-
facturing Company, at its plants in Alameda and Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation
and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act.
On December 4, 1941, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and
38 N. L. R. B., No. 227.
438861-42-vol 38-82 1281
1282 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and
authorized the Regional Director to conduct it, and to provide for
an appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On December 26, 1941, the Regional Director •i9sued,a notice', of
hearing, copies of which were duly served upon-the Company; the
S. W. O. C., and upon General Warehousemen's Union, Local 598,
affiliated with the International Brotherhood • of Teamsters, Chauf-
feurs, Warehousemen & Helpers, affiliated with the A. F. of L., herein
called the Teamsters, a labor organization claiming to ' represent, em-
ployees directly affected by this investigation. Pursuant to notice, a
hearing was held on January 5, 1942, at Los Angeles, California, be-
fore Maurice J. Nicoson, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the
Chief Trial Examiner. The Company, the S. W: O. and' the
Teamsters were represented and participated, in the hearing. Full
opportunity 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, the Trial Examiner made 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, af-
firmed. On January 22, 1942, the ' S. - W. O. C. filed it brief, which
the Board has considered. •
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the'following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Boyle' Manufacturing Company, a Delaware corporation, and a
wholly owned subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, is
engaged in the manufacture and fabrication of steel products at
Alameda and Los- Angeles, California. During the year ending
September 1941, the Company purchased 50,000 tons of steel and
other raw materials, 20,000 tons coming from points outside the
State of California. During the same period it sold 45,000 tons of
finished products, 5,000 tons of which were shipped to points outside
the State of California.
The Company concedes that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Steel Workers Organizing Committee is a labor, organization affili-
ated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and admits, to
membership employees of the Company. •
-BOYLE -MANUFACTURING COMPANY 1283
• General Warehousemen's Union, Local 598-, is a labor organization
affiliated with the -International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauf-
feurs,'Warehousemen & Helpers, affiliated with the American Federa-
tion of Labor. It admits to membership employees of the shipping
department of the Los Angeles plant, herein called the Vernon plant.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company,' because of the conflicting representation claims of
the ' two- unions, has refused to grant the S. W. 0. C. recognition as
the exclusive bargaining representative of employees in its two plants
until the S. W. 0. C. has been certified by the Board.
A statement by -the Regional Director, introduced in evidence, indi-
cates • that the S. W. 0. C. and the Teamsters each represents a
substantial number of employees in the unit each contends is
appropriate 1
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 S. W. 0. C. contends that a company-wide unit composed of
production and maintenance workers, including warehouse and ship-
ping employees, but excluding foremen, assistant foremen or super-
visors in charge of any classes of labor, clerical and salaried employees,
truck drivers, watchmen, and guards, is appropriate for the purposes
of, collective bargaining. The Teamsters claims that the shipping-
1 The Regional Director ' s statement shows that 572 authorization cards were submitted
by the S W. 0 C. All the signatures appear to be genuine , and 398 of the names thereon
appear on the pay roll of October 10, 1941 , which contains the names of approximately 700
employees-in the proposed . unit The statement further shows that the Teamsters submitted
31 application -for-membership cards , allegedly from the shipping department of the Vernon
plant, where 30 out of 45 shipping-department ' employees are in the proposed unit. The
signatures appear to be genuine , and 24 appear on the above -mentioned pay roll. There
is also in evidence a statement , dated November 28, 1941 , bearing the names of 23 persons
in the shipping department of the Vernon plant appearing on the October 10, 1941, pay roll,
who designate the S i W. 0 C as their representative The record does not disclose the
number of persons who had designated both organizations
1284 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
department employees of the Vernon plant, with the exclusions
mentioned above, and excluding jitney drivers, properly constitute a
separate unit apart from the production and maintenance employees
of the plant. The parties stipulated that warehousemen "A" in the
shipping department, who are occasionally assigned one or two
helpers, should be included in the appropriate unit. The Company
takes no position as to the appropriate unit.
In the operation of its two plants, the Company employs approxi-
mately 700 employees, excluding foremen, supervisors, clerical and
salaried employees. Of this number, 45 are attached to the shipping
department of the Vernon plant. The record discloses-that each plant
does its own hiring, and that there is no interchange of employees be-
tween them. The base rate of pay, hours, and vacations are uniform
throughout the Company.
The Alameda plant has two locations; on one is the factory, and
closely adjoining, a storehouse for raw materials used by that factory;
on the other plot is a warehouse where finished products of the two
plants are stored. The factory produces steel containers only. The
record discloses no interchange between employees of the factory and
the warehouses. Employees in the latter department carry on the
usual functions of crating, shipping, and receiving; this is also true
in the Vernon plant.
The Vernon plant in Los Angeles is the larger of the two. It con-
sists of one main building and a small adjoining storehouse. The
main building is divided into various departments, one of them being
the shipping department in question in this proceeding. There is
some interchange between production and maintenance employees,
and shipping-department employees.
When the United States Steel Corporation assumed ownership of
the Company in 1939, the S. W. O. C. had a contract covering its
members in the Alameda plant. Following this change in ownership,
the S. W. O. C. and the Company, in August 1939, signed identical
contracts, one for the Vernon plant and the other for the Alameda
plant. These, again, were members-only contracts. Also in 1939, the
Company signed a contract, the nature and scope of which is not dis-
closed by the record, with an unaffiliated union which is no longer
in existence. The Company has also dealt with the International
Longshoremen and Warehousemen's Union respecting its members
among employees in the Alameda warehouses; however, this union
notified the Regional Director prior to the hearing that it had no
interest in the present proceeding.
On April 1, 1941, the Company signed a company-wide, members-
only contract with the S. W. O. C., which terminated the 1939 agree-
FOYLE MANUFACTURING COMPANY 1285
ments.2 Just prior thereto, in February 1941, the Company had begun
relations with the Teamsters which culminated in an oral "under-
standing" on March 11, 1941, respecting the shipping department of
the Vernon plant. The Teamsters claims that this "understanding"
provided for exclusive recognition, but the Company contends 'that
it recognized the Teamsters for its members only. In any event, the
Company continued to deal with both unions as to the members of
each within the shipping department at the Vernon plant. Finally,
on September 22, 1941, following demands by the S. W. 0. C., the
Company gave notice that it would recognize the S. W. 0. C. as the
exclusive representative of employees in both plants if the S. W. 0. C.
were certified by the Board as such representative.
Under the circumstances herein presented, we find that the shipping-
department employees of the Vernon plant could properly constitute
a separate unit or be included with production and maintenance em-
ployees as part of a larger unit. We hold, therefore, that the desires
of the employees involved shall govern, and we shall direct that sepa-
rate elections be held among the shipping-department employees of
the Vernon plant, including warehousemen "A," and among the pro-
duction and maintenance employees of the Vernon plant and the
employees of the Alameda plant. Upon the results of these elections
will depend in part our determination of the appropriate unit or units.
If a majority of the employees of the shipping department of the
Vernon plant select the Teamsters as their representative, they will
constitute a separate and distinct unit; if a majority of them choose
the S. W. 0. C., and a majority of the remaining employees of the
Company also express their desire to be represented by the S. W. 0. C.,
then the employees at both plants shall constitute a single unit.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen
can best be resolved by the holding of elections by secret ballot and
we shall so direct. Those eligible to vote shall be those employees who
were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the
date of our Direction of Elections, subject to the limitations and addi-
tions set forth therein.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following:
'The S. W. 0 C. contracts with the Company have been patterned after agreements
reached nationally by representatives of United States Steel Corporation and its subsidiaries,
and national and local representatives of the S. W . 0 C, with minor variations to fit local
circumstances
1286 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
CONCLUSION OF LAW
A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the. represen-
tation of employees of Boyle Manufacturing Company, at its plants
in Alameda and Los Angeles, California, within the meaning of Sec-
tion 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
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 Relations
Act, 49 -Stat. 449, 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 ordered by the Board to
ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with
Boyle Manufacturing Company, at its plants in Alameda and Los
Angeles, California, elections by, secret ballot shall be conducted as
early as possible but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of
this Direction of Elections, under the direction and supervision of the
Regional Director • for the Twenty-first 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 all production and maintenance' workers employed by
the Company at its Vernon and Alameda plants during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including
jitney drivers, Alameda warehouse employees, employees who did not
work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or bh vacation or
in the active military service or training of the United States, or tem-
porarily laid off, but excluding foremen, assistant. foremen or super-
visors in charge of any classes of labor, clerical and salaried employees,
truck drivers, watchmen, guards, shipping-department employees at
the Vernon plant, and employees,who have since quit or been, dis-
charged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be repre-
sented by Steel Workers Organizing -Committee, affiliated with the
C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective bargaining;
2. Among all shipping-department employees employed by the Com-
pany at its Vernon plant during the pay-roll period ending immedi-
ately preceding the date of this Direction, including warehousemen
"A," and employees who did not work during said 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
foremen, assistant foremen or supervisors in charge of any classes of
labor, clerical and salaried employees, truck drivers, jitney drivers,
BOYLE MANUFACTURING COMPANY 1287
watchmen, guards, and employees who have since quit or been dis-
charged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented
by Steel Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with the C. I. 0.,
or by General Warehousemen's Union, Local 598, affiliated with the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen
& Helpers, affiliated with the A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective
bargaining, or by neither.