Curtiss-Wright Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 11, 1953

103 N.L.R.B. 458 (N.L.R.B. 1953)

458 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
gional Director found there was no evidence that Marino, Binkley, or-
Waggoner, the alleged participants in the coercive conduct, were other
than rank-and-file employees, whose actions are not attributable to
the Petitioner. The Employer's exceptions, in our opinion, do not
advert to any specific, substantial evidence which controverts these
conclusions .3 Accordingly, we find, as did the Regional Director, that
the Employer's objections raise no substantial and material issues
with respect to the election, and we hereby overrule them."
As the tally of ballots shows that the Petitioner received a majority
of the valid votes cast in the election, we shall certify it as the exclusive-
bargaining representative of the employees in the appropriate unit.
Certification of Representatives
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that Stove Mounters International Union
of North America, AFL, has been designated and selected by a ma-
jority of the employees of Marman Bag Company, Inc., Nashville,
Tennessee, in the appropriate unit, described in the stipulation for
certification upon consent election herein, as their representative for
the purposes of collective bargaining and that, pursuant to Section 9
(a) of the Act, the said organization is the exclusive representative of
all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining,
with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other
conditions of employment.
S Aside from conclusionary and speculative allegations , the exceptions that relate to the
Petitioner 's responsibility for the alleged acts of Marino , Binkley, and Waggoner rest
on newspaper references to Waggoner as the "spokesman" for the Employer 's employees
during a strike in August 1952, the inception of which, at least, appears to have occurred
before the Petitioner ' s advent at the Employer 's plant.
A J. J. Newberry Company, 100 NLRB 84 ; Benton's Cloak c6 Suit Company, 97
NLRB 1327.
CURTISS-WRIGHT CORPORATION, METAL PROCESSING DIVISION and
OFFICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL No . 212 A. F.
OF L., PETITIONER. Case No. 3-RC-1085. March 11,1953
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 Hymen Dishner,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-mem-
ber panel [Members Houston, Styles, and Peterson].
103 NLRB No. 60.
CURTISS-WRIGHT CORPORATION 459
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer' is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The parties are in substantial agreement as to the unit? Their
disagreement relates to the status of some employees, the Employer
maintaining that they are either confidential, technical, or super-
visory, and should therefore be excluded from the unit.
Secretaries
The secretary to the manager of the legal department in the course
of her secretarial duties gains advance information concerning the
formulation and effectuation of the Employer's labor relations poli-
cies through her work for the manager and her access to files con-
taining such information. It is anticipated that the manager, as head
of the department, will participate in one of the higher steps in the
grievance procedure and, as an attorney, take an active part in the
formulation of collective-bargaining agreements. We find, there-
fore, that the secretary to the manager is a confidential employee
and exclude her from the unit.3
We reach a similar conclusion with respect to the secretary to the
works manager. The works manager helps to formulate Employer
labor relations policy especially as it pertains to his department, and
he participates in conferences with the other departmental managers
and the general manager as to the Employer's overall labor policy.
In this respect his managerial activities are similar to those of the
quality control and metallurgical engineering managers. As the
parties agreed that the secretaries to those managers are excluded
i The Employer 's name appears as amended at the hearing.
2 On November 12, 1952, the parties agreed upon a unit and stipulated to a consent
election . The Regional Director did not accept the stipulation as he viewed the unit as
inappropriate . The Employer maintains that, in the interest of harmonious labor-
management relations , the Board should affirm the unit as originally stipulated by the
parties or , in the alternative , that it should alter that unit only in those respects in
which the Regional Director found the stipulation inadequate. At the hearing the
Petitioner and Intervenor sought to include employees whom they had agreed to exclude
in the stipulation , and the Employer changed its position so as to include a few employees
who were excluded from the stipulated unit. In the light of the record and the present
positions of the parties , and inasmuch as the approval of the Regional Director is neces-
sary for the effectuation of a consent election pursuant to a stipulation , the Board finds
that the purposes of the Act will be best effectuated by the establishment of the unit set
forth in this Decision and Direction of Election. The contention of the Employer is
therefore rejected.
3 Southern Alkali Corporation, 84 NLRB 120 , 127 ; see W. K. B. H., Inc., 81 NLRB 63.
460 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
from the unit because of their confidential status and as the duties of
the secretary to the works manager are similar, the Board also ex-
cludes the secretary to the works manager from the unit.'
The secretary to the production control manager handles the daily
production reports, takes care of wage increases in advance of their
being made public, sets up production schedules, and has knowledge
of the wages of the foremen in that department, which information is
considered confidential by the Employer. The production control
manager does not take an active part in the formulation of labor rela-
tions policy although he may be called upon to supply facts concern-
ing his department and to give his opinion as to the bearing of negotia-
tions on his department. The record fails to show that he effectuates
labor policy once formulated. The Board has consistently held that
confidential information limited to personnel matters is insufficient to
confer the status of confidential employee upon a person and, conse-
quently, the Board includes the secretary to the production control
manager in the unit.'
The secretary to the purchasing manager has access to the purchas-
ing records and central files, assembles the information needed by the
manager in the exercise of his duties, and handles confidential memo-
randa relating to production orders. The purchasing manager is
asked to supply information concerning his department in labor rela-
tions matters and attends all managers' meetings, but he does not
appear to spend any time in the formulation or effectuation of labor
relations policy. Therefore, in accordance with usual policy, the
Board finds that the secretary to the purchasing manager is not a
confidential employee, and includes her in the unit.6
Stenographer-Secretaries, Factory Clerks, Clerk-Typists
The stenographer-secretary to the sales manager and the stenog-
rapher-secretary to the contracts administrator have duties compa-
rable to those of the secretary to the purchasing manager. The sales
manager and the contracts administrator neither formulate nor effec-
tuate labor relations policy and their stenographer-secretaries have
access only to confidential information relating to orders, production,
and sales. Therefore, the Board also includes the stenographer- secre-
taries to the sales manager and contracts administrator in the unit.
The stenographer-secretary to the chief cost accountant has confi-
dential information with respect to costs, selling prices, and labor
relations matters. The chief cost accountant will handle grievances
4 Phillips Chemical Company, 91 NLRB 568; Southern Alkali Corporation, 84 NLRB
120, 127.
6 Singer Sewing Machine Company, 87 NLRB 460; Minneapolis-Moline Company, 85
NLRB 597.
6 See footnote 5, supra; The Ohio Steel Foundry Company , 92 NLRB 683.
CURTISS-WRIGHT CORPORATION 461
that arise in the controller's department. Moreover, one of his func-
tions is to formulate Employer policy with respect to job classifications
and wage rates, and he is active, although not at the bargaining table,
in labor negotiations as they bear on the Employer's finances. In this
connection his stenographer-secretary will be present during manage-
ment conferences dealing with grievance disputes, and has access to
reports concerning general labor relations matters. As the stenograph-
er-secretary to the chief cost accountant acts in a confidential capacity
to a person exercising managerial functions with respect to general
labor relations policy, we shall exclude her from the unit?
The stenographer-secretary to the production and materials control
supervisor, stenographer-secretary to the traffic supervisor, clerk-
typist to the machine shop superintendent, factory clerk to the foundry
superintendent, and factory clerk to the heat treat superintendent are
all present in the course of their duties when decisions are discussed
and made with respect to grievances arising in their respective depart-
ments. In the course of their clerical duties they have access to the
departmental files including the files which relate to personnel matters,
but their respective department heads, although they may be asked to
present facts to aid those who are responsible for the Employer's labor
relations policy, do not, themselves, formulate or effectuate general
labor relations policy. Furthermore, the record does not indicate that
their clerical assistants have access to or handle general labor relations
policy data. Therefore, the Board includes the stenographer-secretary
to the production and materials control supervisor, stenographer-
secretary to the traffic supervisor, factory clerk to the foundry super-
intendent, factory clerk to the heat treat superintendent, and the
clerk-typist to the machine shop superintendent in the unit."
The clerk-typist to the staff assistant to the general manager is a
stenographer and secretary to, and works on reports begun by, the
staff assistant or staff analyst. For this purpose she has access to
many confidential files including those relating to future manpower
schedules and labor relations policies. It would appear that she is
present on those occasions when the staff assistant and the manager
of industrial relations discuss grievance matters and formulate gen-
eral policy with respect to them. The principal work of the staff
assistant is to assist the general manager in the formulation of policy
for the entire metals processing division. The Board finds that the
clerk-typist to the staff assistant is a confidential employee and
excludes her from the unit .9
4 See footnote 4, supra.
8 Foster Wheeler Corporation, 94 NLRB 211 ; Republic Steel Corporation, Canton Plant,
Central Alloy Dtietru t , 91 NLRB 904, and cases cited therein at footnote 11.
0 Southern Alkali Corporation , 84 NLRB 120, 124.
462 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Maintenance Clerk to the Maintenance Superintendent
The maintenance clerk to the maintenance superintendent has duties
similar to those of a secretary or stenographer-secretary. He type-
writes, does filing work, and maintains records as to the wages and
changes in personnel status of the employees and foremen in the
maintenance department. The maintenance clerk is also present dur-
ing the discussions among foremen and the maintenance superin-
tendent relating to grievances. As his position is like that of the
factory clerks heretofore included, we shall also include him in the
unit.'°
The Sales Expeditor
The sales expeditor has complete access to all the information relat-
ing to orders. He receives information and complaints from custom-
ers which relate to the shipment of orders, and is familiar with the
current state of Employer operations concerning orders awaiting
production, in process, or being delivered. He can recommend to the
sales manager changes in orders to comply with customer needs.
None of the information possessed by the sales expeditor concerns
labor relations policy, and he is not a technical employee or supervisor.
Therefore, the Board includes him in the unit 11
Material Expeditor
The material expeditor maintains an inventory covering the inflow
and disbursement of nonproductive materials, such as gloves and
.hovels, for the forge shop, the foundry, and the machine shop. There
is nothing in the record to indicate that the material expeditor is a
technical or confidential employee or a supervisor and, therefore, the
Board includes him in the unit.
Staff Analyst
The staff analyst is a member of the general manager's staff and has
access to confidential records pertaining to all aspects of plant per-
formance, including manpower schedules and "confidential" salaries.
His office is adjacent to that of the general manager's and he shares
the services of the clerk-typist to the staff assistant. His job is to
construct schedules which, among other things, reveal the standard of
operating efficiency. These schedules also relate to inventory, produc-
tion, use of resources, and other subjects which serve to inform the
top management of the performance of the division. He does not
formulate or effectuate labor relations policies, although such policies
10 See footnote 8, supra.
11 Peterzell & aelles , Inc., 94 NLRB 346, 349.
CURTISS-WRIGHT CORPORATION 463
are formulated in part from the data which he prepares. In working
closely with the staff assistant on divisionwide matters and their
relation to the entire corporation, the staff analyst appears to apply
his technical knowledge. Under all these circumstances, we shall
exclude him from the unit.
Research Statistician
The research statistician carries out a varied research program of
original development and technique based on information received
from the operations in the plant and through trade periodicals. He
prepares charts and schedules, and correlates, analyzes, and interprets
his results for the information of his immediate superior, the forge-
shop superintendent, and for the works manager who furnishes him
with an outline of the research that he wants. As his work requires
the possession of technical knowledge, the Board excludes him as a
technical employee.
Sales Engineers
The sales engineers have a background in metallurgy equivalent to
u college degree and are required to possess sufficient technical knowl-
edge to be able to develop new ideas for additional products in their
customer dealings . The technical knowledge required for their posi-
tions differentiates the sales engineers from others in the unit. The
Board finds that they are technical employees and, therefore, excludes
them.
Workload Planners
The workload planners break down master schedules and finished
assemblies into the required parts, and schedule such parts to the
proper production departments on the basis of the type and capacity
of equipment, and the availability of manpower and materials. The
flow of materials from the storage rooms into production is based on
these workload schedules. On the basis of past experience they pro-
ject their schedules for the time required by the contract, and use
their own discretion in allowing a certain flexibility for emergencies.
In addition, they reschedule work which has been disrupted because
of breakdowns or other difficulties. Technical knowledge of the vari-
ous machines and their uses and of materials and their uses is re-
quired for the position of workload planner. By reason of their spe-
cial knowledge, we find that the workload planners are at least tech-
nical employees. Accordingly, the Board excludes them from the
unit'2
12 Cf American Locomotive Company, Alco Products Division , 92 NLRB 115, 117.
464 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Buyers
The buyers receive orders from the purchasing manager which they
independently fill. They possess a degree of technical knowledge
which includes the ability to read and interpret blueprints, and have
incidental supervisory authority over the clerk-typists who work for
them. Moreover, the buyers can purchase without prior approval
and have the authority to bind the Employer. Because the buyers are
authorized to bind the Employer, we find in accordance with our usual
policy that they are representatives of management and as such may
not be accorded bargaining rights under the Act 13 We shall exclude
them.
We find the following employees of the Employer constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act :
All office clerical and plant clerical employees at the Employer's
establishment at Buffalo, New York, including typist-clerks, assistant
buyers, contract clerks, stenographer-secretaries, gauge control clerks,
tool expeditors, blueprint machine operators, accountants, accounting
clerks, timekeepers, stationery storekeepers, messengers, property in-
ventory analysts, property custodians, comptometer operators, tabu-
lating equipment operators, key punch operators, bookkeeping ma-
chine operators, pattern coordinators, material expeditors, production
expeditors, traffic clerks, factory clerks, PBX operators, the secretary
to the production control manager, secretary to the purchasing man-
ager, stenographer-secretary to the laboratory supervisor in the metal-
lurgical engineering department, stenographer-secretary to the sales
manager, stenographer-secretary to the contracts administrator, sten-
ographer-secretary to the production and materials control supervisor,
stenographer-secretary to the traffic supervisor, factory clerk to the
foundry superintendent, factory clerk to the heat treat superintendent,
clerk-typist to the machine shop superintendent, sales expeditor, main-
tenance clerk to the maintenance superintendent, and the material ex-
peditor in the works department, but excluding all production and
maintenance employees, engineers, industrial engineering technicians,,
industrial engineers, process engineers, quality control engineers, tool
designers, tool production coordinators, tool troublemen, metallurgists,
chemists, laboratory technicians, foundry technicians, electrical de-
signers, mechanical designers, plant layout engineers, nurses, buyers,
sales engineers, secretaries to the heads of the following departments :
Controller, quality control, works, metallurgical engineering, legal,
and industrial relations, stenographer-secretaries to the assistant man-
ufacturing engineering manager, tool engineering superintendent,
is American Locomotive Company, Alco Products Division, 92 NLRB 115, 116.
COMMERCIAL CHEMICAL COMPANY 465
-foundry engineering department supervisor, technical services super-
visor, forge and extrusion engineering superintendent, quality control
superintendents, plant engineering manager, industrial engineering
manager, employment manager, and chief cost accountant; also staff
analyst, research statistician, field procurement expeditor, quality
control analyst, the storeman in the quality control department, con-
fidential employees, professional employees, guards, executives, and
all other supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
COMMERCIAL CHEMICAL COMPANY and UNITED GAS, COKE AND CHEM-
ICAL WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO. Case No. 32-CA-187. March
12, 1953
Decision and Order
On October 24, 1952, Trial Examiner Lloyd Buchanan issued his
Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that the
Respondent had engaged in and was engaging in certain unfair labor
practices in violation of Section 8 (a) (1) and (5) of the National
Labor Relations Act and recommending that the Respondent cease
and desist therefrom and take certain affirmative action, as set forth in
the copy of the Intermediate Report attached hereto. Thereafter,
the Respondent filed exceptions to the Intermediate Report.
The Board 1 has reviewed the rulings made by the Trial Examiner
at the hearing and finds that no prejudicial error was committed. The
rulings are hereby affirmed. The Board has considered the Interme-
diate Report, the exceptions thereto, and the entire record in this
case, and to the extent consistent herewith, hereby adopts the findings,
conclusions, and recommendations of the Trial Examiner 2 The
Board, however, specifically adopts in full the Trial Examiner's reso-
lutions of credibility. With respect to those findings, conclusions,
and recommendations of the Trial Examiner which the Board adopts,
it relies solely upon the following :
A. Violations of Section 8 (a) (1)
The Union began its organizational campaign at the Respondent's
plant in the early part of March 1951. We find, as did the Trial
i Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board has delegated its
powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel [ Members Houston , Murdock,
and Styles].
2In view of the General Counsel's failure to except to portions of the Intermediate
Report dismissing certain allegations of the complaint, we adopt without comment the
findings of the Trial Examiner.
103 NLRB No. 54.