Chrysler Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 6, 1942

39 N.L.R.B. 532 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter Of CHRYSLER CORPORATION (DODGE FORGE DIVISION)
and INTERNATIONAL UNION, I UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT AND
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO)
In the Matter of CHRYSLER CORPORATION (DODGE TRUCK PLANT)
and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE AIRCRAFT AND
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO)
Cases Nos. R-3536 and R-3537, respectively.Decided March 6, 1942
Jurisdiction : motor vehicle manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: refusal
of Company to accord union recognition; elections necessary.
Units Appropriate for Collective Barfgaining : separate units at each of two plants
of the Company comprising the following identical classes of employees:
all salaried and hourly paid office workers, including timekeepers, telephone
and teletype operators, and mail clerks, but excluding supervisory employees,
engineers, all employees in the labor relations department and the employment
department, all employees in, the time-study, methods, and budget depart-
ment (except secretarial employees), credit men, professional employees,
draftsmen, package engineers, and the confidential secretaries to executives,
heads of'departments, and foremen.
Larkin, Rathbone cQ Perry, by Mr. T. R. Iserman and Mr. John
O'Keefe, Jr., of New York City, for the Company.
Sugar and Tucker, by Mr. Jack N. Tucker, of Detroit, Mich., for the
Union.
Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
.STATEMENT, OF THE CASE .
On November 27 and December 5,1941, respectively, International
Union,, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement
Workers of America, (UAW-CIO), herein called the Union, filed with
the Regional Director for the Seventh Region (Detroit, Michigan)
separate petitions alleging that questions affecting commerce had .
arisen concerning the representation of employees at the Dodge Forge
Division and Dodge Truck Plant of Chrysler Corporation, Detroit,
39 N. L. R. B., No. 92.
532
CHRYSLER CORPORATION 533
Michigan, herein called the Company, and requesting investigations
and certifications of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act.
On January 21, 1942, 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
authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice, and, acting pursuant to Article
III, Section 10 (c) (2), of said Rules and Regulations, ordered the two
cases consolidated.
On February 5, 1942, the Regional Director issued a notice of
hearing, copies of which were duly served -upon the Company and
the,Union. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on February 12,
1942, at Detroit, Michigan, before Harold A. Cranefield, the Trial
Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Com-
pany and the Union 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 several
rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence.
The Board has reviewed these rulings and finds that no prejudicial
errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed.
During the course of the hearing the parties stipulated to incorporate
the record in Case No. R-2961 1 in this proceeding. The record in
that case is hereby incorporated into and made a part of the record
in this proceeding.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY -
Chrysler Corporation is a Delaware corporation with its principal
office at Detroit, Michigan. It operates plants in the States of Michi-
gan, Indiana, and California, where it is engaged in the manufacture
of motor vehicles and other war material for the exclusive use of the
United States Government. The Dodge Forge Division and the
Dodge Truck Plant of the Company are the only plants of the Com-
pany involved herein.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural
Implement Workers of America, is a labor organization affiliated with
I Matter of Chrysler Corporation (Marysville Plant) and International Union, Unsted Automotnle Workers
of America, affilzated with the C. I. 0., 36 N. L. R. B. 157.
534 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership
employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
During, November 1941, the Union requested the Company to
recognize it' as the exclusive representative of certain employees
at the Dodge Forge Division and the Dodge Truck Plant of the Com-
pany. The Company replied that it did not believe that the Union
represented a majority of 'the employees claimed by it. Statements
of the Regional Director, introduced into evidence at the hearing,
show that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in
each of the units alleged by it to be appropriate.2
We find that questions have arisen concerning the representation of
employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
UPON COMMERCE
We find that the questions' concerning representation which have
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, have a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and
,tend to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPPOPRIAIE UNITS
The Union contends that all salaried and hourly rated office
workers at the Dodge Forge Division and Dodge Tluck Plant of the
Company, respectively, including timekeepers, but excluding super-
visory employees, all employees in the, time-study, methods, and,
budget department (except secretarial employees), credit men, pro-
fessional employees, and employees in the labor relations department,
constitute two s,parate units appropriate for the purposes of, collective
bargaining. The Company would also exclude timekeepers, secre-
tarial employees to executives, foremen and heads of departments,
telephone and teletype operators, all employees in the employment
department, draftsmen, package engineers (or designers), and mail
clerks. The Union and the Company agree to exclude all engineers,
and the secretaries to the traffic manager, the superintendent of parts
order, plant engineer, plant superintendent, and supervisor of the
Z The Regional Director reported that the Union presented 20 membership application cards bearing the
names of persons who appear on the December 31, 1941, pay roll of the Dodge Forge Division of the Com-
pany. There are 39 employees on this pay roll who are in the alleged appropriate unit. The Regional
Director further reported that the Union presented 58 membership application cards bearing the names
of persons who are on the December 31, 1941, pay roll of the Dodge Truck Plant of the Company. There
are 128,persons on this pay roll who are in the alleeed appropriate unit. '
CHRYSLER CORPORATION 535
time-study, methods, and budget department. As stated above, the
parties stipulated to incorporate by reference in this proceeding the
record in a prior proceeding involving another plant of the Company
at which there are employees performing similar work.' The parties
stated that their contentions with respect to the disputed classifica-
tions of employees in the instant proceeding are the same as appears
in the record incorporated by reference herem.4 We incorporate
herein all findings of fact in Case No. R-2961 relating to the various
classifications of employees there in dispute, and make those findings
a part of our Decision herein.- Thus, upon the entire retold in this
proceeding, we find the following units appropriate foi the purposes
of collective bargaining.
We find that all salaried and hourly paid office workers at the Dodge
Forge Division of the Company, including timekeepers, telephone and
teletype operators, and mail clerks, but excluding supervisory
employees, engineers, all employees in the labor relations department
and the employment department, all employees in the time-study,
methods, and budget department (except secretarial employees),
credit men, professional employees, draftsmen, package engineers,
and the confidential secretaries to executives, heads of departments,
and foremen, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collec-
tive, bargaining and that such unit will insure to employees of the
Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to
collective bargaining and otherwise will effectuate the policies of
the Act.'
We find that all salaried and hourly paid office workers at the
Dodge Truck Plant of the Company, including timekeepers, telephone
and teletype operators, and mail clerks, but excluding supervisory
employees, engineers, all employees in the labor relations department
and the employment department, all employees in the time-study,
methods, and budget department (except secretarial employees),
credit men, professional employees, draftsmen, package engineers,
and confidential secretaries to executives, heads of departments, and
foremen, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining and that such unit will insure to employees of the Com-
pany the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective
bargaining and otherwise will effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES'
We find that the questions concerning representation which have
arisen can best be resolved by the holding of elections by secret ballot.
J See footnote 1, supra
4 The parties relied upon the evidence introduced in Case No R-2961 and introduced no new evidence
regarding the duties of the disputed classifications of employees.
5 The parties agreed that this unit would exclude D. Stewart , foreman's clerk and include Wilkins, a
specifications clerk.
536 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
We shall direct that those eligible to vote in the elections shall be the
employees within the appropriate units who were employed during
the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction
of Elections herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth
in the Direction.
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. Questions affecting commerce have arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees at the Dodge Forge Division and Dodge
Truck Plant of Chrysler Corporation, Detroit, Michigan, within the
meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
2. All salaried and hourly paid office workers at the Dodge Forge
Division ' of the Company, including timekeepers, telephone and
teletype operators, and mail clerks, but excluding supervisory em-
ployees, engineers, all employees in the labor relations department
and the employment department, all employees in the time-study,
methods, and budget department (except secretarial employees),
credit men, professional employees, draftsmen, package engineers,
and the confidential secretaries to executives, heads of departments,
and foremen, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of col-
lective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
3. All salaried and hourly paid office workers 'at the Dodge Truck
Plant of the Company, including timekeepers, telephone and teletype
operators, and mail clerks, but excluding supervisory employees,
engineers, all employees in the labor relations department and the
employment department, all employees in the time-study, methods,
and budget department (except secretarial employees), credit men,
professional employees, draftsmen, package engineers, and the confi-
dential secretaries to executives, heads of departments, and foremen,
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining,
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) 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 Rela-
tions Act, 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 Chrysler Corporation, Detroit, Michigan, elections by secret
ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty
CHRYSLER CORPORATION 537
(30) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and
supervision of the Regional Director for the Seventh 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, among:
1. All salaried and hourly paid office workers at the Dodge Forge
Division of the Company who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including
timekeepers, telephone and teletype operators, mail clerks, and em-
ployees who did not work during such 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 supervisory
employees, engineers, all employees in the labor relations department
and the employment department, all employees in the time-study,
methods, and budget department (except secretarial employees),
credit men, piofessional employees, draftsmen, -package engineers,
confidential secretaries to executives, heads of departments, and fore-
men, and employees who have since quit or been, discharged for cause,
to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Inter-
national Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Imple-
ment Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial
Organizations, for the purposes of collective bargaining.
2. All salaried and hourly paid office workers at the Dodge Truck
Plant of the Company who were employed during the pay-roll period
immediately. preceding the date of this Direction, including time-
keepers, telephone and teletype operators, mail clerks, and employees
who did not work during such 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 supervisory em-
ployees, engineers, all employees in the labor relations department
and the employment department, all employees in the time-study,
methods, and budget department (except secretarial employees),
credit men, professional employees, draftsmen, package engineers,
confidential secretaries to executives, heads of departments, and fore-
men, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause,
to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Inter-
national Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Imple-
ment Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial
Organizations, for the purposes of collective bargaining.
CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Elections.