Commercial Solvents Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 29, 1942

45 N.L.R.B. 141 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter Of COMMERCIAL SOLVENTS CORPORATION and LOCAL UNION
12504, DISTRICT 50, UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA
Case No. R-4312.-Decided October 29, 1912
Jurisdiction : chemical products manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to accord petitioner recognition until certified by the Board ; election
necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em-
ployees at one of Company's plants, with specified inclusions and exclusions.
Wicker, Riddell, Bloomer, Jacobi, and McGuire, by Mr. Herbert J.
Jacobi, of New York City, for the Company.
Mr.-John M. White, of Peoria, Ill., for the Union.
Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition and amended petition duly filed by Local Union 12504,.
District 50, United Mine Workers of America, herein called the Union,
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of Commercial Solvents Corporation,.
Peoria, Illinois, herein called the Company, the National Labor Rela-
tions Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice
before Lester Asher, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Peoria
Illinois, on September 25, 1942. The Company and the Union ap-
peared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard,
to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence,
bearing on the issues. The trial Examiner's rulings made at the hear-
ing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
On October 12, 1942, the Company filed a 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
Commercial Solvents Corporation is a Maryland corporation operat-
ing plants in the States of Illinois, Indiana, California, and Louisiana.
45 N. L. R. B., No. 29.
141
142 - DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR 'RELATIONS BOARD
We are here concerned with its plant at Peoria, Illinois, where it is
engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of organic chemical
products, their derivatives, and byproducts. During 1941 the Com=
pany purchased raw materials for use at its Peoria plant valued in
excess of $2,500,000, approximately 25 percent of which was shipped
to it from outside Illinois. During the same period the Company sold
finished products from its Peoria plant valued in excess of. $5,000,000,
over 90 percent of which was shipped-out of Illinois.
H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Local-Union 12504, District 50, United Mine Workers of America,
is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the
Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On August 5, 1942, the Union, claiming to represent a majority of
the Company's employees, requested the Company for a collective
bargaining conference. The Company replied that it would do noth-
ing about the request until such time as the Board determined the
bargaining representative of its employees.
A statement of the Regional Director, introduced into evidence at
the hearing, indicates that the Union- represents a substantial number
of the employees in the unit alleged by it to be appropriate.'
- 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 National Labor
Relations Act.
- IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union urges that all production and maintenance employees
at the Peoria plant of the Company, including watchmen, but ex-
cluding superintendents, foremen, office and clerical employees, labo-
ratory employees, timekeepers, all employees in the powerhouse, engi-
neers in the methanol and dry ice departments, master mechanic,
chief electrician, maintenance engineer, steam engineers, chief bac-
teriologist, chief chemist, general foremen, assistant general foremen,
shift supervisors, and shipping foremen, constitute an appropriate
unit. The parties are in dispute as to the status of 50 foremen and
assistant foremen,2 storekeeper, millers, shipping clerk, assistant ship-
The Regional Director reported that the Union presented 280 membership application
cards bearing apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear on the Com-
pany's pay roll of September 14, 1942. There are 461 employees on that pay roll who
are in the alleged appropriate unit. °
S These persons are designated by the Company as pipefitter foremen, rigger foremen,
assistant rigger foremen, carpenter foremen, . labor foremen , assistant electrical foremen,
COMMERCIAL SOLVENTS CORPORATION 143 '
ping clerk, denaturing plant and bonded warehouse -foremen and
Government record clerk, laboratory employees, draftsmen, meter
maintenance man, inventory and Government drawings clerk, and
priorities clerk. The Union would exclude all such employees from
the unit and the Company would include them. In addition, the
Company would include all employees in the powerhouse and-engi-
neers in the methanol and dry ice departments in the unit.
On June 3, 1942, the Board, in another proceeding involving the
Company, found that all employees in the powerhouse and engineers
in the methanol and dry ice departments employed in the Company's
Peoria plant, excluding non-working supervisors, constitute an appro-
priate unit.3 The Company now contends that such employees should
be part of a larger plant-wide unit. As stated above,' the Union
desires that such employees be excluded from the unit in the instant
proceeding. Under all the circumstances, we shall exclude employees
in the powerhouse and engineers in the methanol and dry ice depart-
lnents.from the unit.
The Company employs about 50 persons classified by it as various
types of foremen or assistant foremen. The record indicates that the
foremen involved herein are charged with the duty of seeing that the
work assigned to the departments in which they work is properly
carried out and they transmit orders from department heads to all
other employees in their respective departments. The assistant fore-
men work along with the other employees in the departments and are
under the supervision of the foremen discussed above. The assistant
foremen spend a great deal more time actually performing manual
duties than do the foremen. Under all the circumstances, we shall
include the assistant foremen in the unit and exclude the foremen
from the unit.
Laboratory employees.-The Company maintains a bacteriological
laboratory and a chemical laboratory at its Peoria plant. The parties
agree to exclude the chief bacteriologist and the chief chemist from
the unit. In addition, the Union would exclude all laboratory em-
ployees from the unit. The laboratories in the plant are not scientific
research laboratories used for experimental purposes, but are main-
tained for the purposes of making routine tests and checks on the ma-
terials used in the various manufacturing processes. Most 'of the
laboratory employees have no technical training and they are in the
medium or low-wage brackets at the Company's plant.' We shall in-
clude-the laboratory employees in the unit.- -
machine shop foremen, assistant machine shop foremen, repair foremen, millwright foremen,
mill and feed plant repair foremen , working shift foremen, assistant working shift fore-
men, mill foremen, working foremen, first operators , shift foremen , and watchmen foremen.
"Matter of Commercial Solvents Corporation and Joint Council of Local Union No. 8 of
International Union of Operating Engineers , affiliated with -- the A. F of L, et al, 41
N. L. R. B. 642.
144 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Draftsmen.-The Company has one employee designated by it as
chief draftsman and two as assistant draftsmen . These employees
work in the Company's office building and draw plans and blue prints.
Inasmuch as their work . is technical and clerical in nature , we shall
exclude ' them from the unit.
. Meter maintenance man.-The Union contends that this person
should be excluded from the unit on the ground that he is a clerical
employee. Although this employee has an office in the office building,
he spends most of his time in the plant repairing meters and automatic
control instruments . We shall include him in the unit.
Inventory and Government drawings clerk.-This person performs
no manual duties but spends his time obtaining information and study-
ing inventories . In addition , he has charge of drawings which are
submitted to the United States Government. We shall exclude him
from the unit.
- Priorities clerk.-This person is charged with the duty of obtaining
priorities for plant equipment which entails the performance of
clerical functions . We shall exclude him from the unit.
Head storekeeper.-`hhe record indicates that this person has five
persons under him to whom he transmits orders. We shall exclude him
from the unit.
Millers.-The Union contends that such employees are supervisory
and should be excluded from the unit . The millers watch the flow
of grain from the elevators to the mills and regulate the amount of
steam used in the softening processes. Although they do have helpers,
their supervision over them is no greater than that,exercised by other
employees, admittedly in the unit, over their helpers. We shall in-
clude the millers in the unit.
Shipping clerk and assistant shipping and anti-freeze inventory
clerk. The duties of this employee are admittedly clerical in nature,
and we shall therefore exclude him from the unit.
Government record clerk and bonded warehouse foreman.-This
employee keeps a record of all inventory in the Company 's bonded
warehouses and also weighs and mixes alcohol in the denaturing plant.
He spends about 50 percent of his time performing clerical duties
and, in addition , has some supervisory powers. We shall exclude him
from the unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees at the
Peoria , Illinois , plant of the Company, including watchmen , assist-
ant foremen ,' laboratory employees , meter maintenance man, and
millers, but excluding superintendents , office and clerical èmployees,
master mechanic , chief electrician , timekeepers , maintenance engi-
neer, steam engineer , chief bacteriologist , chief chemist , general fore-
men, assistant general . foremen, shift supervisors, shipping foremen;
See footnote 2, supra.
COMMERCIAL SOLVENTS CORPORATION 145
foremen,5 draftsmen, inventory and Government drawings clerk, pri-
orities clerk, head storekeeper, shipping clerk, assistant shipping and
anti-freeze inventory clerk, and Government record clerk and bonded
warehouse foreman, employees in the powerhouse, and engineers in
the methanol and dry ice departments, 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
employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the
pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of
Election 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 Rela-
tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of -collective bargaining with Commercial
Solvents Corporation, Peoria, Illinois, an election by secret ballot -
shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty
00) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and
supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region,
acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations
Board, and subject to Article III, Section 10, 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 any
such 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. aid off; but exclud-
ing any who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to deter-
mine whether or not they desire to be represented by Local Union
12504, District 50, United Mine Workers of America, for the pur-'
poses of collective bargaining.
MR. GERARD D. REH.LY took no part in- the consideration of the
above Decision and Direction of Election. .
See footnote 2, supra.
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