East Central Oklahoma Electric Cooperative Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 13, 1949

87 N.L.R.B. 604 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter Of EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
INC., EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL
WORKERS, LOCAL UNION No. 384, PETITIONER -
Case No. 16-RC-433.-Decided December 13, 1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Evert P.
Rhea, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hear-
ing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members
Houston and Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer, an Oklahoma-chartered nonprofit rural electric
cooperative Financed by Rural Electrification Administration, with
headquarters at Okmulgee, Oklahoma, distributes electricity to its
shareholders, all located within 9 counties of east central Oklahoma.
The 3,159 shareholders comprise 2,420 farmers, 467 nonfarmers, oor
persons living on 3 acres or less, and 272 commercial customers.
Eighty percent of the commercial customers consists of country stores
and gasoline filling stations ; of the remainder, 5 are cotton-ginning
companies, 6 are companies over which this Board has in the past
asserted jursidiction, and 1 is Federal Communications Commission.
Of the 6 afore-mentioned customers over which we have asserted juris-
diction, 5 are oil companies,1 which purchase electricity from the
Employer for oil pumping and electrolysis operations and for light-
ing. The remaining customer, Southwestern Bell Telephone Com-
pany, uses the current so supplied for 2 rural line stations. Federal
Communications Commission uses the Employer's current for its
radio monitoring services.
I These companies comprise Bovaird , Inc., Mid-Continent Pipe Line Co., Shell Oil Com-
pany , Sunray Oil Company , and Wilcox and Company.
87 NLRB No. 94.
604
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. 605
The Employer purchases all its electricity for resale from public
utility companies located within the State. During 1948 its total pur-
chases of electricity amounted to $23,130.58, of which $18,510.09 rep-
resented purchases from Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company, over
which we have previously asserted jurisdiction; 2 $650.16, from Public
Service Company of Oklahoma; 3 and $3,970.33, from KAMO Electric
Cooperative (Grand River Dam). During the same period the Em-
ployer purchased lines, transformers, insulators, hardware, and other
electrical equipment in the amount of $120,000 and poles in the amount
of $40,000; of these purchases, 90 to 95 percent was shipped to the
Employer's plant from points without the State.
During 1948 the Employer's total sales of electricity amounted to
$130,634, of which amount approximately $2,500 represented sales to
the afore-mentioned 5 oil companies, Southwestern Bell Telephone
Company, and Federal Communications Commission. The Employer
sells no merchandise to its customers.
We find, contrary to the contention of the Employer, that it is en-
gaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act.4
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees 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. We find that 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 employees in the construction, maintenance, meter and trans-
former departments, including linemen, apprentice linemen, ground-
men, helpers, servicemen, truck drivers, meter repairmen, storeroom
helpers, laborers, digger operators, dynamiters, and equipment
maintenance men, but excluding office and clerical employees, profes-
sional employees, and supervisors.'
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, ° an election
by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later
than 30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and
2 86 NLRB 437.
3 The Board conducted a consent election in Case No . 16-R-855 , involving employees of
Public Service Company of Oklahoma.
4 Oklahoma Gas aizd Electric Company, supra, and cases cited therein.
6 We make no unit determination respecting temporary employees , whom the Petitioner
seeks to exclude , as there are no employees in that category.
606 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
supervision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case
was heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the
unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were,
employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date
of this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work
during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or
temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since
quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein-
stated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether
or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bar-
gaining, by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local
Union No. 384. ^