Cameron Glass & Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsJul 17, 1940

25 N.L.R.B. 580 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter of CAMERON GLASS & MANUFACTURING Co. and AMERI- CAN FLINT GLASS WORKERS UNION, LOCAL No. 42, AFFILIATED WITH A. F. OF L. Case No. R-1875-Decided July 17, 15.E } Jurisdiction : lamp manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : strike for recognition ; eligibility of striking, temporary and seasonal employees to vote ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : blowers, gatherers, finishers, press- ers, press gatherers, and skilled employees in the iron and paste mould depart- ment, excluding supervisory employees and all hourly-paid miscellaneous workers. Mr. Robert H. Kleeb, for the Board. Mr. Clarence M. Mulholland, of Mulholland, Robie di McEwen, of Toledo, Ohio, for the Union. Mr. R. L. Straub, of Cameron, W. Va., for the Company. Mr. Norman M. Neel, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On March 22, 1940, and April 30, 1940, respectively, American Flint Glass Workers Union, Local No. 42, affiliated With the American Federation of Labor, herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Sixth Region (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) a peti- tion and an amended petition alleging that a question affecting coin- merce had arisen concerning the, representation of employees of Cameron Glass and Manufacturing Co., Cameron, Wrest Virginia, herein called the Company; and requesting an investigation and cer- tification of representatives. pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On May 18, 1940, 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 directed the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. 25 N L R. B, No. 66 580 CAMERON GLA SS & MANUFACTURING Co 581 On May, 28, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and upon the Union. Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on June 6, 1940, at Wheeling, West Virginia, before Robert H. Kleeb, the Trial Exami- ner duly designated by the Board. The Board and the Union, repre- sented bvl counsel, and the Company, by its representatives, partici- pated 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. At the hearing the Union and the Company requested ten clays within which to file briefs with the Board. The request was granted and the Union availed itself of this privilege. 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 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY 1 The Company is a West Virginia corporation having its principal office and place of business in Cameron, West Virginia. It is engaged in the manufacture and sale of lamps, lamp chimneys, and lantern globes. The principal raw materials used in the process of manu- facture are sand, soda ash, lime, borax, and feldspar. Sand, consti- tuting 75 per cent of the total raw materials used, is obtained exclu- sively within the State of Wrest Virginia. The remaining raw materials are obtained from places-outside the State of West Virginia. In the year 1939, 384,200 pounds of sand and 210,000 pounds of other raw -material were purchased. During the same year 84,178 dozen lamp chimneys and 33,126 lantern globes were manufactured by the Company. Of the total products thus manufactured 75%J were shipped to places outside the State of West Virginia. The Company concedes that it is engaged in interstate commerce and in a business affecting commerce within the meaning of the Act. IL THE OIIGANIZATION INVOLVED American Flint Glass Workers Lnion, Local No. 42, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor admitting to membership skilled employees of the Company. ,,the findings in this Section aie based upon a stipulation of facts between the Company and counsel for the Board 28 :030--42--N of 2-)--:,S ' 582 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD III. 1I--IE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION At a,series of confel'euces held in February and March 1940, the Union claimed to represent a majority of the Company's skilled em- ployees, sought recognition as the exclusive bargaining representative, and presented a request for a wage increase. The Company refused to grant either a wage increase or recognition and on March 4 or 5, 1940, the members of the Union went out on strike.2 We find that a question has arisen concerning representation of employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QCES 'IION 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 has led and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of conmlerce V. THE API'ROPRTA'I E U \ I'I The Union contends that the unit appropriate for the pi-ii-pose of collective bargaining should consist of blowers, gatherers, finishers, pressers, press gatherers, and skilled employees in the iron and paste mould department, excluding supervisory employees and employees in the miscellaneous department. The Company, on the other hand, contends that all its employees should comprise the unit, or, in the alternative, that the four departments at the plant should be desig- nated as separate bargaining units., It further contends that the inclusion of chimney finishers in the unit contended for by the Union is erroneous since the Company classified such persons as miscella- neous workers and they are. in fact no more or less skilled than other miscellaneous -workers whom the Union would exclude from the unit. In the past collective bargaining for skilled glass workers who have been organized by the Union's national affiliate or the latter's local affiliated organizations has been conducted through a national conference at which representatives of a national association of glass manufacturers met with representatives of the Union's national affiliate and settled piece-work rates to be paid for the production of B The record does not disclose how many employees went out on strike, but it does appear that all but two were still out at the time of the hearing 'The four departments are the off-hand chimney department ; the iron- and paste-mould depaitment; the pressed , pressed and blown department, and a department consisting of miscellaneous workers CAMERON GLASS & MANUUP ACTURING CO. ,583 individual glass articles. Such national agreement has been supple- mented by individual agreements covering local working conditions t the separate organized plants and ill the case of a manufacturer not a member of the association, individual agreement has been made requiring such manufacturer to abide by the terms, or certain of the arms, reached at the national conference. The Union was organized at the Company's plant in 1914 and bargained with the_ Company. for its skilled workers from that time until 1927 or 1928 when its agreement was terminated because of unfavorable conditions in the industry. The Union continued to have members at the Company's plant but there was no further agreement between the Union and the Company. From November 21, 1939, the Union conducted an organizing campaign for new members among the Company'ss skilled workers and thereafter requested a resumption of collective bargaining as heretofore discussed in Section III, supra. . In 1936 or 1937 the Union's national affiliate assumed jurisdiction over miscellaneous workers who were thereafter considered a separate group within the organization, conducting its bargaining at separate conferences and organizing in separate locals. However, the Com- pany's miscellaneous workers have never been organized and have never bargained collectively. The operations of the Company are conducted in four departments.' The major processes are carried out by "shops" consisting of a gatherer and a blower who shape the glass. The miscellaneous workers do odd jobs designed to facilitate and supplement the work of the "shops".^ After completion by the shops, lamp chimneys are carried to finishers who reheat and put crimps in them, thus partici- pating to some extent in the shaping of them. The Union designates these men as skilled workers and admits them to membership. The Company apparently has admitted the existence of a distinction between the work of finishers and that of other miscellaneous workers, since it pays finishers on a piece-work basis along with other skilled workers, whereas the other persons classified as miscellaneous workers are paid an hourly wage. The work, skill, and pay of the employees in the unit sought by The Union differs from that of the miscellaneous workers. Moreover, the Company's skilled workers have organized and bargained collec- tively with the Company over a period of years whereas the miscella- neous workers are presently unorganized Upon the basis of these • See footnote 3, supra. s The press transfers boy transfers the glass from a blank mould to a blow mould for movement under the blowing head The press turn -out boy opens the moulds and removes rough finished products, placing them where a carrying-in boy can take them to the tem- peung lehr . Mould boys separate the pipes from the finished products and remove cold glans from the pipes 584 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD considerations we find that the skilled workers may appropriately constitute a separate unit. As heretofore stated, the finishers are paid on the same piece-work basis as the other-workers who the Company admits are skilled em- ployees. Functionally, the finishers' work is similar to that of the "shops," since both are engaged in the shaping of the glass. Since the Union admits finishers to membership and desires their inclusion," and in view of the history of collective bargaining of the Union, we shall include finishers within the appropriate unit. There are two persons on the,Company's pay roll of March 9, 1940, who the Union claims are incorrectly classified as " Chimne'^-Iron & Paste Mould,".and should be excluded as miscellaneous workers. The Company admits that John W. Hartzell and Glen Morten Yoho are "small help" or miscellaneous workers, and since they are hourly paid, we shall exclude them from the appropriate unit. We find that blowers, gatherers, finishers, pressers, press gatherers, and skilled employees in the iron and paste mould department, exclud- ing supervisory employees and all hourly paid miscellaneous workers, constitute'-a^ unit'appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to the employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES On the Company's payroll of March 9, 1940, there were 31 employees in the appropriate unit. The Union has submitted to the Regional Director evidence of substantial membership. We find that the ques- tion concerning representation can best be resolved by the holding of an election by secret ballot. It appears from the record that six of the Company's employees in the appropriate unit, whose names appear on the pay roll of March 9, 1940, were temporary employees.' Straub testified .that they had been employed 'at various times before their last employment and had been laid off, that some had relatively regular employment more than others, that he "wouldn't say they get a third of the time that the other fellows get." They are entitled to no division of the time worked, but work at odd jobs in the summer and take whatever work the Company can provide in the winter. We conclude that "tempo- 0 See Matter of May Knitting Company, Inc and United Wholesale and Warehouse Ene- ployees of Yew York, Local No. 65, C I. 0, 11 N L R B. 772, and decisions therein cited. it. L Straub, secretary of the Company, testified that the following were hired for about 60 days and had worked about a month at the time of the strike: David Walker, Clyde Anderson, Willard E\ans, Wesley Yoders, George Emory Swann and Dale Dougherty CAMERON GLASS & MANUFACTURING CO. 585 nary employees " in the appropriate unit are likely to be reemployed rnd accordingly have an . interest in the conditions of employment which may be agreed upon during the period when they are not working and should be aliowed.to participate in the selection of representati ves.s , As we have hereinabove stated -a . strike began on March 4 or 5, 1940. The pay roll of June 1, 1940, contains no new employees. We shall adopt the pay roll of March 9, 1940, as determinative of eligi- bility to vote, and direct that all persons in the appropriate unit whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of March 9, 1940, excluding those who have since quit or been discharged for cause, shall be eligible to vote in the election. 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 Cameron Glass & Manufacturing Co.; Cameron, West Virginia , within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 ( 6) and ( 7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. Blowers, gatherers , finishers , pressers , press gatherers, and the skilled iron and paste mould department employees , excluding super- visory employees and hourly paid miscellaneous workers, 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 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 Cameron Glass & Manufacturing Co., Cameron, West Virginia, ,iii election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, tinder the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Sixth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National 8 See Matter of Alec; Holstein, Daizd Holstein,, Phillip Holstein and hoses ZVinhelsten, D/B/A Syracuse Ornamental Co and International Ladies' Hand Bag, Pocketbook & Nov- elty Wo, kers anion , A F of L ( Local to be chartered), 20 N. L R B 877 , and decisions therein cited 586 DECISIONS or NACIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Labor Relations Board, and subject 'to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations , among all blowers, gatherers , finishers, pressers , press gatherers , and skilled iron and paste mould depart- ment employees , excluding supervisory employees and all hourly paid miscellaneous workers whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of March 9 , 1940, and further excluding all persons who have quit or have been discharged for cause since that date, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by American Flint Glass Workers Union, Local No. 42 , affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining. MR. WILLIAM M. LEISERSON took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election.