Denver Heating, Piping and Air Conditioning Contractors Association

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsMay 22, 1952

99 N.L.R.B. 251 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

DENVER HEATING, PIPING AND AIR CONDITIONING CONTRACTORS 251 DENVER HEATING, PIPING AND AIR CONDITIONING CONTRACTORS Asso- CIATION AND ITS MEMBERS AND DENVER MASTER PLUMBERS ASSOCIA- TION AND ITS MEMBERS AND HARRY PASHEL AND ROBERT M. PASHEL, D/B/A DENVER PLUMBING AND HEATING COMPANY 1 and PIPE FITTERS LOCAL UNION No. 208, UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF THE PLUMBING AND PIPE FITTING INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, AFL ,2 PETITIONER DENVER MASTER PLUMBERS ASSOCIATION AND ITS MEMBERS and UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF THE PLUMBING AND PIPE FITTING INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, LOCAL UNION No. 3, AFL 3 AND DRAIN LAYERS LOCAL UNION No. 331, INTERNATIONAL HOD CARRIERS, BUILDING AND COMMON LABOR- ERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL,4 PETITIONERS MEHRING & HANSEN COMPANY AND WILLIAM H. SINGLETON COMPANY, INC.S and PIPE FITTERS LOCAL No. 208, AND PLUMBERS LOCAL No. 3, AND DRAIN LAYERS LOCAL No. 331, PETITIONERS. Cases Nos. 30- RC-701, 30-RC-706, 30-RC-710, 30-RC-715, 30-RC-704, 30-RC- 711, and 30-RC-719. May 02, 1950 Decision , Order, and Direction of Elections Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, consolidated hearings in Cases Nos. 30-RC-701, 710, and 715 and in Cases Nos. 30-RC-704, 711, and 719 and a hearing in Case No. 30-RC-706 were held before Harry Irwig, hearing officer. As Cases Nos. 30-RC-704, 711, 719, and 706 involve members of the employer associations who have or intend to bargain for their em- ployees through the associations, those cases are hereby consolidated with Cases Nos. 30-RC-701, 710, and 715, involving the Denver Heat- ing, Piping and Air Conditioning Contractors Association, herein called Heating Contractors, and the Denver Master Plumbers Associa- tion, herein called Master Plumbers. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearings 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-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Styles and Peterson]. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. The units found appropriate below are multiemployer in scope. i The Employer 's name appears as amended at the hearing. 2 Herein called Pipe Fitters Local No. 208. 8 Herein called Plumbers Local No. 3. 4 Herein called Drain Layers Local No. 331. The Employer ' s name appears as amended at the hearing 99 NLRB No. 50. 252 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The members of the associations are engaged in either the heating, piping, and air-conditioning business or in the plumbing business or both. The inflow of members of Heating Contractors exceeds $3,000,- 000 annually, that of Master Plumbers, $5,000,000. We find that the members of the Associations, as a group, are en- gaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act, and that it will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction in this cases 2. Pipe Fitters Local No. 208, Plumbers Local No. 3, and Drain Layers Local No. 331 are labor organizations claiming to represent certain employees employed by the members of the Associations. They are all organizations affiliated with the Building and Construc- tion Trades Department of the American Federation of Labor. Denver Building and Construction Trades Council, herein called Council, was permitted to intervene on the basis of its general. in- terest in matters relating to the building and construction industry in the Denver area, but did not claim to represent directly and of the employees involved. 3. Questions affecting commerce exist concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employers within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The appropriate units : The units requested in this case embrace three categories of em- ployees of members of one or the other or both of the two employer- associations involved. A description of the operation of these two associations is necessary to an understanding of the unit requests. Master Plumbers, a Colorado corporation, and Heating Contrac- tors, an unincorporated group, are employer associations with com- mon officers and an overlapping membership. Since about 1915, each of these associations has represented its members in collective bar- gaining negotiations with Pipe Fitters Local No. 208 and Plumbers Local No. 3, with respect to employees classified as pipefitters and plumbers. Since 1901 Master Plumbers has bargained for its mem- bers concerning drain layers with Drain Layers Local No. 333. Mem- bers of Heating Contractors do not normally employ plumbers or drain layers. Where pipefitters and plumbers have been involved, negotiations have been conducted jointly among the two unions and the two asso- ciations, with representatives from each group. The representatives of Plumbers Local No. 3 discuss problems peculiar to its members with the Master Plumbers; and Pipe Fitters Local No. 208, with the Heating Contractors and Master Plumbers, but the problems in- 6 For the reasons stated in The Plumbing Contractors Association of Baltimore, Mary. land, Inc., et at., 93 NLRB 1081 , we find no merit to the contention of the intervenor Council that the Board should refuse to assert jurisdiction over any part of the building and construction industry. DENVER HEATING, PIPING AND- AIR CONDITIONING CONTRACTORS 253 volving members of both unions are jointly discussed. The contract so negotiated is then jointly and severally signed by each of the two unions and each of the two-associations. As indicated above, some of the employers concerned are members of one while some are members of both associations. All members, however, are given an opportunity to file a notice of nonparticipation before negotiations are commenced, and the associations are authorized to bind all members who have not filed such notice. In this case Pipe Fitters Local No. 208 seeks a unit of all pipe- fitters, pipefitter welders, and their apprentices employed by mem- bers of both associations. Alternatively it is willing to represent this particular craft in two separate units confined to employees of members of each association, if the Board decides that such a unit is more appropriate. The petition of Plumbers Local No. 3, as clari- fied by its brief, is for a unit of plumbers, gas fitters, and their ap- prentices employed by members of Master Plumbers. There are no plumbers employed by members of Heating Contractors.' Drain Layers Local No. 311 seeks certification in a unit of employees classi- fied as "drain layers" employed by members of Master Plumbers.,, The associations took no position on the unit issue. Each of the units requested is identical with the existing contract units which have been in existence since 1924. The pipefitters and plumbers included herein must both undergo 5-year apprentice training programs before they can qualify as jour- neymen pipefitters or as licensed journeymen plumbers. They en- gage in the performance of duties traditionally associated with their crafts.9 The drain layers are semiskilled employees who perform work which in the Denver area is classified as drain-laying although elsewhere it is usually performed in part by employees classified as plumbers and in part by employees classified as common laborers.1Â° The drain layers work primarily in association with and under the The Unions filed single-employer petitions with respect to two employers , one of whom was a member of only one of the two associations , and the other not a member of either at the time the petitions , were filed. For seasons stated below, neither factor militates against including the employees of either employer in the units herein found appropriate. 8 In its original petition Plumbers Local No. 3 sought a unit which included a classifica- tion of employees designated as "drain tile layers." At the hearing it developed that there are no employees on the payrolls of the employers who have that classification . Plumbers Local No. 3 thereupon disclaimed any interest in such employees . It is not clear , however, from the record and the briefs whether Plumbers Local No. 3 is interested in representing the drain layer employees sought by Drain Layers Local No . 331. In these circumstances we shall place Plumbers Local No 3 on the ballot in the election hereinafter directed in the unit of "drain layers," with leave to withdraw from that election upon timely notice to the Regional Director. 9 The Plumbing Contractors Association of Baltimore, Md., Inc., supra, and cases cited therein ; Continental Oil Company, 88 NLRB 1302 and 89 NLRB 410. 11 The record shows that the National Joint Board for Settlement of Jurisdictional Dis- putes In the Building and Construction Industry , herein c.illed the Joint Board, has made awards covering disputes between the laborers and the plumbers , which have not affected the job content of the drain layers involved in this proceeding. 254 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD supervision of journeymen plumbers, but there is little or no inter- change among the pipefitters, ' plumbers, their apprentices, or the drain layers. It is clear, and we find, that the two groups sought respectively by the Pipefitters and Plumbers unions constitute homogeneous craft groups which may appropriately be represented in separate units. So far as the drain layers are concerned, we need not here decide whether under all circumstances such employees may constitute separate bar- gaining units. Under the particular circumstances present here, in- cluding the long bargaining history in which such employees have been separately represented,11 and the apparent agreement of the parties, we find that the unit of drain layers is appropriate. So far as the scope of the various units is concerned, the record as a whole satisfies us that those members of the associations who have delegated to the Associations the authority to negotiate on their be- half 12 have clearly indicated their intent to be bound by group rather than individual action. Moreover, because of the overlapping mem- bership of the Associations, the manner in which bargaining has been jointly conducted by both Associations, and the joint and several character of the contracts executed, we believe that in the case of the pipefitters the appropriate unit should be defined as embracing em- ployees employed by participating members of either association, as requested by the Pipefitters union. On the basis of the foregoing and the entire record in this case, we find that the following units, excluding in each case supervisors as defined in the Act, are appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: (1) All pipefitters, pipefitter-welders, and their apprentices em- ployed by participating members of either or both Heating Con- tractors and Master Plumbers. (2) All plumbers, gas fitters, and their apprentices employed by participating members of Master Plumbers. (3) All employees classified on the payroll of participating mem- bers of Master Plumbers as drain layers 13 5. The evidence shows that approximately 50 percent of the plumb- ers, gas fitters, pipefitters, pipefitter-welders, and their apprentices 11 See Ill-mots Cities Water Company, 87 NLRB 109 P This includes new members who, as a condition of membership , agree to be bound by association contracts . On the other hand, mere membership In the association or the mere adoption of contracts negotiated by the association is Insufficient . The participating members of the association are set forth in Appendices A and B, below. 11 In view of the Joint Board awards which Plumbers Local No 3 introduced into evi- dence at the hearing, we again reiterate that Board certification in a repiesentation pro- ceeding is not a jurisdictional award ; it is merely a determination that a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit have selected a particular labor organization as their representative for purposes of collective bargaining . See The Plumbing Contractors Asso- ciation of Baltimore, Md, supra. Such labor organization may, if It chooses , join another labor organization in common negotiations. DENVER HEATING, PIPING AND AIR CONDITIONING CONTRACTORS 255 and approximately 60 percent of the drain layers are permanently employed by members of the Associations. The remaining employees within these job classifications are employed on a project basis. Al- though the permanent employees constitute a' representative group, the parties requested the Board to find eligible to vote all employees who were employed by a member of either association during the last 3 months or 13 weekly payroll periods before the date of this Decision and Direction of Election. On the particular facts present here, we shall grant this request in order to assure that the franchise is extended to the greatest number of employees directly concerned=with these elections. Order As only multiemployer units are appropriate as to the participa- tion members of the associations, it is hereby ordered that the peti- tions in Cases Nos. 30-RC-706, 704, 711, and 719, be, and they hereby are, dismissed. [Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this volume.] Appendix A 1 Participating Members of Heating Contractors Advance, Inc., 1163 Welton Street. Robert B. Anderson, Inc., 1375 West Alameda Avenue. Bell Plumbing and Heating Company, 1228 East Evans Avenue. Bradbury Brothers Equipment Company, 1219 Stout Street. Crabb Plumbing and Heating Company, 1048 12th Street. The Empire Plumbing and Heating Company, 1314 12th Street. Emrick and Company, 1945 Champa Street. L. Ralph Fry Plumbing and Heating Company, 324 South Broad- way. Johnson & Davis Plumbing and Heating Company, 2235 Arapahoe Street. J. E. Kiefer Plumbing and Heating Company, 1350 Larimer Street. Lembke Plumbing and Heating, 2851 Fairfax. Mehring & Hansen Plumbing & Heating Company & William H. Singleton Company, Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Harvey H. Mellema, 1570 South Pearl. Midwest Plumbing and Heating Company, 2450 Blake Street. ' The Petitioners moved to add names adduced at the hearings to the lists submitted with the petitions and to include new members . This motion , which the hearing officer referred to the Board, is hereby granted 256 , DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Mitchell and Trautman, Inc., 1441 Ogden Street., .Sideo Heating and Piping Contractors, 661 Logan. Slattery and Company, 1726 Market Street. E. S. Toy Steam & Hot Water Heating Company, 836 Madison Street. Bill Wafer Plumbing and Heating Company, 1754 Humboldt Street. Whelan Heating and Engineering Company, 2915 Raleigh Street. McCarty-Johnson, Inc., 944 Osage. Appendix B Participating Members of Master Plumbers Advance, Inc., supra. A. J. Adshade, 2446 Champa Street. Fred Bailey, 4335 Eliot Street. Johnson & Davis Plumbing and Heating Company, supra. Bell Plumbing and Heating Company, supra. Fred Berger Plumbing Company, 1827 Federal Boulevard. J. E. Kiefer Plumbing and Heating Company, supra. Dependable Plumbing and Heating Company, 4700 West Colfax Avenue. Nicholas R. Brunger, 1566 South Emerson Street. E. B. Clayton Plumbing and Heating Company, 1618 Lafayette. Emil W. Clayton, 218 Hooker. Walter F. Cobb, 4020 West 38th Avenue. Slattery and Company, supra. Conrad Plumbing and Heating Company, 2515 East 34th Avenue. Crabb Plumbing and Heating Company, supra. Emrick and Company, supra. Flockhart Plumbing and Heating Company, 1128 Bannock Street. L. Ralph Fry Plumbing and Heating Company, supra. Thos. L. Gibb Plumbing Company, 1412 West Dakota Avenue. J. M. Johnston, 4558 Hooker. Mehring & Hansen Plumbing & Heating Company & William H. Singleton Company, supra. Harry Pashel and Robert M. Pashel d/b/a Denver Plumbing and Heating Company, 1810 Blake Street. Mountain Plumbing Company, 101 South Federal Boulevard. Louis Katchen Plumbing Company, 2851 Fairfax. Robert B. Anderson, Inc., supra. York Plumbing and Heating Company, 2701 West 8th Avenue. Midwest Plumbing and Heating Company, supra. Ralph Petrailia, 4021 Navajo. DENVER HEATING, PIPING AND AIR CONDITIONING CONTRACTORS 257 Park-Hill Plumbing and Heating Company, 4630 East 23rd Avenue.' Stocking Plumbing and Heating Company, 2434 Federal Boulevard. Suson Plumbing and Heating Company, 1400 Larimer Street. Morris Tepper Plumbing and Heating Company, 3000 East Colfax Avenue. Vogel Plumbing and Heating Company, 754 Santa Fe Drive.- J. J. Wafter Plumbing and Heating Company, 1758 Humboldt. Bill Wafter Plumbing and Heating Company, 1754 Humboldt. Mitchell and Trautman, Inc., supra. Hyman Weinstein Plumbing Company, 1444 Arapahoe Street. Good Plumbing Service Company, 1120 Corona Street. W. S. White and Son; 5101 Meade Street. McCarty-Johnson, Inc., supra. William J. Brantley, 153 South Hazel Court. Bullock Plumbing & Heating, 3848 South Delaware, Englewood'. Louis Cook Plumbing and Heating, 2126 Arapahoe Street. Charles Fellows, 515 Pennsylvania. Leo Hargrave, d/b/a L. & H. Plumbing Co., 1450 West Nevada Place. John A. Heard, 171 South Grant Ave., Littleton. W. E. Hein, 255 South Grant Street. R. A. Hurley, 3374 West Thirty-second Ave. H. F. Janowski Plumbing & Heating Company, 3371 West Thirtieth Avenue. Vincent Kandorf Plumbing & Heating Company, 507 Gilpin Street. Frank Mollot, d/b/a Brickey & Mollot Plumbing, 665 South Pearl Street. Harvey Rosenbaum, d/b/a Capital Plumbing Co., 1827 Grant Street. Charles A. Smith, d/b/a Barnum Plumbing Co., 141 South Knox, Court. Elmer B. Street, d/b/ a Street Plumbing, Inc., 692 South Monaco Parkway. Sidney Tepper, d/b/a Ideal Plumbing Company, 3127 West Thirty-' fourth Ave. John B. Vessa, d/b/a Vessa Plumbing & Heating Company, 856' Madison Street. Harvey R. Rhodes, d/b/a Mile-High Plumbing and Heating Com- ' pany, 1390 Santa Fe Drive. George W. Bell, representing Bell & Sons, 191 Vallejo.