Duke Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 8, 1943

53 N.L.R.B. 1239 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of DUKE MANUFACTCEING COMPANY and AMERICAN
FEDERATION OF LABOR AND ITS AFFILIATED INTERNATIONAL UNIONS
Case No. 14-B-793.-Decided December 8, 1943
Messrs. Wallace Cooper and M. P. Duke, both of St. Louis, Mo.,
for the Company.
Mr. John R. Barr, of St. Louis, Mo., for the A. F. of L.
Mr. Thomas M. Conway, of St. Louis, Mo., for the Weldors.
Mr. David V. Easton, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by American Federation of Labor and its
Affiliated International Unions, and International Association of
Machinists, District No. 9,1 herein called the A. F. of L., alleging that
a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representa-
tion of employees of Duke Manufacturing Company, St. Louis, Mis-
souri, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board
provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Ruth C.
Hutchinson, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at St. Louis,
Missouri, on November 5, 1943. The Company, the A. F. of L., and
United Brotherhood of Weldors, Cutters & Helpers of America,
Local No. 15, herein called the Weldors, appeared, participated, and
were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-
examine witnesses and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues.
During the course of the hearing, the A. F. of L. made a motion to
dismiss the request of the Weldors to participate in an election which
the Trial Examiner referred to the Board. For reasons hereinafter
stated the motion is hereby granted. The Trial Examiner's rulings
made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed. All parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with
the Board.
'At the hearing , the Trial Examiner granted a motion to eliminate "International
Association of Machinists , District No. 9," from the name of the petitioner since the
International Association of Machinists is now affiiated with the American Federation of
Labor.
53 N. L . R. B., No. 226.
1239
1240 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the entire record in the case; the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Duke Manufacturing Company, a Missouri corporation with its office
and sole place of business located in St. Louis, Missouri, is engaged in
the manufacture and distribution of hotel and hospital kitchen equip-
ment. During 1942, the Company purchased raw materials valued at
approximately $150,000, of which about 75 percent was shipped to the
Company's plant from points outside the State of Missouri. During
the same period, the Company manufactured finished products valued
at approximately $400,000, of which about 90 percent was shipped to
points outside the State of Missouri. The Company admits that, it is
engaged in commerce within the meaninj of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
American Federation of Labor and its Affiliated International
Unions are labor organizations, admitting to membership employees of
the Company.
United Brotherhood of Welders, Cutters & Helpers of America,
Local No. 15, is an unaffiliated labor organization, admitting to mem-
bership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company refuses to recognize the labor organizations herein
unless and until the Board has certified them as the representative of
its employees in an appropriate unit.
A statement of the Regional Director, introduced into evidence at the
hearing, indicates that the A. F. of L. represents a substantial number
of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate 2
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 Act.
2 The Regional Director reported that the A. F. of L. submitted 36 designations of which
30 bore apparently genuine original signatures of persons whose names appear on the
Company's pay roll for the period ending September 29, 1943; that said pay roll contained
the names of 34 persons within the appropriate unit.
He further reported that the Weldon submitted 4 designations all of which bore ap-
parently genuine original signatures and the names of persons appearing upon the afore-
mentioned pay roll ; that said pay roll contains the names of 5 persons who appear to be
in the unit which the Weldors seeks to represent . However, the Regional Director further
stated that the Company employs 11 ipersons who perform welding operations
DUKE MANUFACTURING COMPANY 1241
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
Both the Company and the A. F. of L. contend that the appropriate
unit should include all production and maintenance employees of the
former, including welders, and shipping and receiving department em-
ployees, but excluding office and clerical employees, watchmen, and
all supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge,
discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees or
recommend such action. The Weldors seeks to represent a unit com-
prised solely of employees of the Company engaged as welders, who
spend more than half of their time performing such work.
The Company is a comparatively small concern engaged ih the
manufacture of articles in small quantities on order. Because of the
nature of its products, the Company does not operate an assembly or
production line, but requires each employee to perform as much of the
various types of work required in manufacturing a particular product
as the individual employee's capacity permits. Thus, each of the
production and maintenance employees may be assigned work other
than that called for under their particular job classification, i.e.,
welders may perform assembly or grinding work in addition to their
welding; sheet metal workers may be required to operate welding
machines, and so on. Furthermore, there is no segregation of em-
ployees according to the classifications under which they are hired, and
the Company, of necessity, shifts its employees from and to various
types of production and maintenance work in order to achieve their
greatest possible productive capacity, and to achieve continuity of
production. All production and maintenance employees are under the
supervision of a single shop foreman who assigns the various tasks.
The entire shop is, at the present time, under the same roof, with small
partitioned additions thereto for painting and sandblasting opera-
tions, and working conditions are the same for all employees through-
out the shop. Under these circumstances, we are of the opinion that
a separate unit of welders is inappropriate and that the interest of all
employees, including welders, will best be served by the establishment
of an industrial unit.3
The Company employs 14 men in a group of approximately 34
production and maintenance employees, who, because of their experi-
ence and skill, are placed in charge of particular jobs, and have some
voice in the choice of assistants who work along with them. These
employees are responsible for the results of the particular job to which
they are assigned, and are not concerned with the supervision of their
a See Matter of Port Houston Iron Works , 46 N. L . R. B. 155, wherein the Board included
within an industrial unit those persons engaged as welders because of the fact that they
were not physically segregated from the remaining employees , under separate supervision,
or engaged in specialized operations.
1242 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
assistants, except for the purposes of directing or instructing them.
Moreover, instances have occurred where these highly skilled em-
ployees have worked under each other's direction on a particular job.
We are of the opinion and find that these employees do not have status
as supervisory employees; we shall therefore include them.
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Com-
pany, including welders and the shipping and receiving department,
but excluding office and clerical employees, watchmen, and all super-
visory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline
or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees or effectively
recommend such action, 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 em-
ployees 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 4
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 Relations
Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, it is hereby
DIRECTm that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collecti'e bargaining with Duke Manufac-
turing Company, St. Louis, Missouri, an election by secret ballot shall
be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days
from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision
of the Regional Director for the Fourteenth Region, acting in this
matter as agent, for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject
to Article III, Sections, 10 and 11, 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 employees who did not
work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation
4 The A F. of •L. requested that It be designated on the ballot as "The American Federation
of Labor and its affiliated International Unions ." We are of the opinion that in the absence
of showings of; representation by particular International affiliates such designation is too
indefinite for purposes of certification. We shall therefore designate the A. F. of L. on the
ballot simply as "American Federation of Labor ." In view of our finding herein that the
unit bought by the welders is inappropriate , we shall not grant it a place upon the ballot.
DUKE MANUFACTURING COMPANY 1243
or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces
of the United Stat4s who present themselves in person at the polls,
but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged
for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of
the election, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented
by the American Federation of Labor for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
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