Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 6, 1954

108 N.L.R.B. 174 (N.L.R.B. 1954)

174 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
If a majority vote for the Petitioner , they will be taken to
have indicated their desire to constitute a separate unit, which
the Board finds, under the circumstances , to be appropriate
for purposes of collective bargaining , and the Regional Director
is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the
Petitioner for such unit . If a majority vote for the Intervenor,
they will be taken to have indicated their desire to remain a
part of the existing appropriate plantwide unit and the Regional
Director is instructed to issue a certification of results of
election to that effect.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
Member Beeson took no part in the consideration of the
above Decision and Direction of Election.
CHICAGO PNEUMATIC TOOL COMPANY and INTERNA-
TIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS , AFL, Petitioner
and UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO
CHICAGO PNEUMATIC TOOL COMPANY and LOCAL UNION
116, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL
WORKERS, AFL , Petitioner and INTERNATIONAL ASSO-
CIATION OF MACHINISTS and UNITED STEELWORKERS
OF AMERICA, CIO. Cases Nos. 16-RC-1420 and 16-RC-
1425 . April 6, 1954
DECISION , ORDER, AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9 ( c) of the Act and
thereafter consolidated , a hearing was held before John F.
White, a hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board.
The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case , the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning
of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organizations named below claim to represent
certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the re-
presentation of certain employees of the Employer within the
meaning of Section 9 ( c) and Section 2 (6) and ( 7) of the Act.
4. The Employer ' s Fort Worth , Texas, plant, here involved,
was constructed in 1953 to manufacture rock bits. To this
plant the Employer plans to transfer the rock bit department
of its Franklin , Pennsylvania , plant. At the time of hearing
about 200 production and maintenance employees of a contem-
plated employee complement of 500 were employed at Fort
Worth with all classifications represented and all production
108 NLRB No. 36.
CHICAGO PNEUMATIC TOOL COMPANY 175
functions being carried on. The new Fort Worth plant also
houses a regional sales manager formerly located in Oklahoma
City, and apparently employees of the sales department. There
are also accounting , purchasing, and engineering functions
carried on at the new plant.
The Machinists by petition and the Steelworkers by inter-
vention seek to represent a unit of production and maintenance
employees. This type of unit exists at the Employer's Franklin,
Pennsylvania, plant. The IBEW has $petitioned for a unit of
,.all maintenance electricians," and the Machinists and Steel-
workers have intervened in that proceeding. The Machinists
takes no position about the inclusion of electricians in the
production and maintenance unit it seeks, but would wish to
appear on the ballot if the Board should order a separate
election among the electricians. The Employer and the Inter-
venor urge that the only appropriate unit is an overall production
and maintenance unit.
The unit sought by the IBEW: At the time of hearing there
were 4 maintenance electricians who, with approximately 11
other maintenance employees, are supervised by the plant
engineer without separate supervision for their own work. The
electricians maintain the electrical equipment in the plant,
but do not rewind motors and apparently would not install or
wire new equipment. They furnish only simple tools. There are
2 classifications of employment as an electric ian-electric ian A
and electrician B. Although the Employer does hire electricians
with experience in that field, it has no specific experience
standard for hiring. It maintains no training program for elec-
tricians and the requirements for progression from electrician
B to electrician A do not appear. The record indicates that the
electricians have a "headquarters" for their supplies within
an area partitioned for maintenance supplies generally, but
that there is no separate electrical shop. Their pay scale is
comparable to that of other maintenance employees. They have
the same hours and conditions of work as all other employees.
On this record we are unable to find that the maintenance elec-
tricians exercise the gamut of skills characteristic of the
electricians' craft.i Accordingly, we shall grant the Employer's
motion to dismiss the petition for a separate unit of electricians.
The unit sought by the Machinists and the Steelworkers: In
the overall production and maintenance unit the parties are
not in agreement as to 3 categories: outside truckdriver,
posting clerk, and clerk typist. The Steelworkers would include
these employees in the unit, and the Machinists would exclude
them. The Employer also would exclude them. The posting
clerk and the clerk typist work in the shipping and receiving
'See Reed Roller Bit Company, 87 NLRB 314; see also American Potash & Chemical
Corporation, 107 NLRB 1418; compare Screw Products Corporation of America, 106
NLRB 401; American Smelting and Refining Company, El Paso Smelting Works, 106 NLRB
244; Jefferson Chemical Company, Inc., 98 NLRB 805
17 6 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
office with 2 other employees: the shipping clerk and the re-
ceiving clerk. However, the 4 do nothave common supervision,
the clerk typist and the receiving clerk being on the plant pay-
roll, with supervision by the plant superintendent, and apparently
being considered part of a receiving department. On the other
hand the shipping clerk and the posting clerk are on the sales
department payroll, and are supervised by the sales manager.
The shipping clerk arranges for the shipping all articles and
he is on call at all hours of the day and night. Part of his duty
is to map routes for the outside truckdriver. The parties agree
that the shipping clerk should be excluded from the production
and maintenance unit. As to the truckdriver, it appears that
there is only 1 such employee to deliver products out of the
Fort Worth plant, but supervision over this classification comes
from the sales manager. On the whole the record indicates
that the outside truckdriver, the posting clerk, the clerk typist,
and the receiving clerk all have duties dealing with shipping
and receiving, and work in relatively close contact with each
other. All except the truckdriver appear to be plant clerical
employees. Therefore, despite the differences in supervision
which exist with respect to these 4 employees, we shall include
them in the production and maintenance unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the
Employer at its Fort Worth, Texas, plant, including maintenance
electricians, the clerk typist, the receiving clerk, the posting
clerk, and the truckdriver, but excluding the shipping clerk,
salesmen, office clerical employees, professional employees,
guards, watchmen, and supervisors as defined in the Act,
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
[The Board dismissed the petition in Case No. 16-RC-1425.]
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
Member Beeson took no part in the consideration of the
above Decision, Order, and Direction of Election.
MISSION APPLIANCE CORPORATION and SHEET METAL
WORKERS INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION, LOCAL 371,
AFL and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAM-
STERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN & HELPERS OF
AMERICA, LOCAL 196, AFL, Joint Petitioners . "Case No.
21-RC-3461. April 7, 1954
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Karl W. Filter,
hearing officer.
'Herein called the Sheet Metal Workers and the Teamsters respectively.
108 NLRB No. 37.