General Motors Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 5, 1940

28 N.L.R.B. 316 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter of GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, DELCO-REMY DIVISION
and UNITED ELECTRICAL, RADIO & MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA',
AFFILIATED WITH THE CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS.
Case No. R-20165.-Decided December 5, 1940'
Jurisdiction : electric storage battery manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : refusal
to accord recognition to union and request that certification be obtained ;
election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all hourly rated production and
maintenance employees excluding the chief engineer, office, clerical, and
supervisory employees.
Mr. John T. Smith and Mr. Kevin McInerney, of, New York City,
for the Company. '
Mr. Samuel L. Rothbard, of Newark, N. J., for the Union:
- Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On September 18, 1940, United Electrical, Radio & Machine ,Work-
ers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organiza-
tions, herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the
Second Region (New York City) a petition alleging that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of General Motors. Corporation, Delco-Remy Division, Bloom-
field, New Jersey, herein called the Company, and requesting an
investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section
9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein
called the Act. On November 5, 1940, the National Labor Relations
Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the
Act and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation
and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for
an appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On. November 14, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice- of
hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and
28 N. L. R. B.. No. 53
316
GENERAL :MOTORS .CORPORATION;" 317
the Union. Pursuant to notice, a'hearing was- held- on November 25,
1940, at New York City, before Shad Polier, the- Trial Examiner
duly designated by the Board. The Company 'and the Union were
represented by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full oppor
-tunity to 'be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to
introduce evidence bearing on the issues' was afforded all parties.
During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several
_ rulings on notions. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the-Trial
Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. • The
rulings are hereby affirmed. -
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT-
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Company is a Delaware `corporation with its principal offices
located in New York City and with other offices at Detroit, Michigan.-
The Company has several unincorporated divisions. The division
with which we are concerned, Delco-Remy Division, operates a plant
at Bloomfield; New Jersey, where it is engaged in the manufacture
of electric storage batteries. More than 50 per cent of the raw mate-
rials used in the manufacturing operations at the Bloomfield, New
Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division are shipped to it from points
outside the State of New Jersey, and approximately 85 per cent
of its manufactured products are shipped by it to points outside the
State of New Jersey. The Company concedes that the Bloomfield,
New Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division is engaged in- commerce,
within the meaning of the Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, is a
labor organization, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organiza-
tions. It admits to membership all hourly rated production and
maintenance employees at the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant, of
Delco-Remy Division of the Company, excluding. the chief engineer,
office, clerical, and supervisory employees, timekeepers, time-study
men, watchmen, guards, and the direct representatives of the
management. -
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Union has requested the Company to bargain with it as ex-
clusive representative of the employees in the Bloomfield, New Jersey,
plant of Delco-Remy Division. The Company- refused to bargain
with the Union until it had been certified by the Board.
318 DECISIONS OF ' NATIONAL LABOR. RELATIONS BOARD
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation
of employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and
tends to lead to' labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Company and the Union agreed by stipulation that all hourly
rated production and maintenance employees at the Bloomfield, New
Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division of the Company, excluding
the chief engineer , office, clerical, and supervisory employees,' time-
keepers, time-study men, watchmen, guards, and direct representatives
of the management, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining. We see no reason for departing from such
unit.
We find that all hourly rated production and maintenance employees
at the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division of the
Company, excluding the chief engineer, office, clerical, and supervisory
employees, timekeepers, time-study men, watchmen, guards, and direct
representatives of the management, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining, and that said unit will insure
to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-
organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate
the policies of the Act.
VI. ,THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question which has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employes of the Company can best be resolved by an
election by secret ballot. The parties agreed that in the event the
Board directed an election, eligibility of employees to vote should be
determined by the Company's pay roll immediately preceding the
date of, the Direction of Election. We find that the employees of the
'The Company and the Union agreed that , as of the present time , Sidney C. Drury,
William Gustin , Joseph R. Slavinski, Otto Kazemayer , and Steven ICremshe ace not super-
visory employees ; and that the following persons are supervisory employees : James I.
Milheim, Warren Seazholtz , Herbert - H. Gartin , Joseph 'J. Parker , James M Clewell,
William B . - Milford , Angelo Christiano , Leonard Freund , George W. Shaw , James J.
,Allen, John A. Post, Edward V. Sullivan , Frank E Buckley , and Thomas W. Cook.
GENERAL MOTORS 'CORPORATION 319
Company eligible to vote in the election shall be those in the appro-
priate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period imme-
diately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, includ-
ing employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because
they were ill or on vacation and employees who were then or have since
been temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have
since quit or been discharged for cause.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and the entire record
in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning-the repre-
sentation of employees at the Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant of Delco-
Remy Division of General Motors Corporation, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor
Relations Act.
2. All hourly rated production and maintenance employees at the
Bloomfield, New Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division of the Com-
pany, excluding the chief engineer, office, clerical, and supervisory
employees, timekeepers, time-study men, watchmen, guards, and direct
representatives of the management, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
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 8, of the National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series' 2, as amended,
it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining
with General Motors Corporation, Delco=Remy Division, Bloomfield,
New Jersey, 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 Second Region, acting in this matter- as agent for
the National Labor-Relations Board, and subject to Article III,
Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among all the hourly rated
production and maintenance employees at the Bloomfield, New Jersey,
plant of Delco-Remy Division of the Company who were employed
during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this
Direction, -including employees who did not work during such pay-
320 DECISIONS- OF NATIONAL "LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
roll period because they were ill or on vacation and employees -who
were "then' or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding
the chief engineer, office, clerical, and supervisory employees, time-
keepers, time-study men, watchmen, guards, direct representatives of
the management, and employees who have since quit or been -dis-
charged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be repre-
sented by United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America,
affiliated with the'Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining.
CHAIRMAN HARRY A.• MILLIS took no part in the consideration of
the above Decision and Direction of Election.
[SAME TITLE ]
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 7, 1941
On December 5,,1940, the National Labor Relations Board , herein
called the Board , issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the
above-entitled proceeding . Pursuant to the Direction of Election,
an election by secret ballot was conducted on December 19, 1940, under
the direction, and supervision of the Regional Director for the Second
Region ( New York City ). ' On December 20, 1940, the Regional Di-
rector , acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, issued
and duly served - upon the parties an Election Report on - the ballot.
No objections to the conduct 'of the ballot or the Election Report
have been filed by any of the parties.
As to the balloting- and its results, the Regional Director reported
as follows : - -
Total number eligible to vote________________ ________________' 281
Total number of ballots cast_________________________________ 277
Total number of valid ballots________________________________ 277
Total number of votes in favor of United' Electrical ,' Radio &-
Machine Workers of America , affiliated with the Congress of
Industrial Organizations ---------------------------------- 191
Total number of votes against aforementioned union-- --------- 86
Total number of blank votes_________________________________ 0
Total number of void ballots_________________________________ 0
Total number of challenged votes __ __________________________ 0
"
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, 49 Stat.' 449, and pursuant to Article III, Sections- 8 and 9,
,of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2,
as amended,
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION 321
IT is HEREBY CERTIFIED that United Electrical, Radio & Machine
Workers of America, affiliated with,the Congress of Industrial Or-
ganizations, has been designated and-selected by a majority of all
hourly rated production and maintenance employees at the Bloom-
field, New Jersey, plant of Delco-Remy Division of General Motors
Corporation, excluding the chief engineer, office, clerical, and super-
visory employees, timekeepers, time-study men, watchmen, guards,
and direct representatives of the management, as their representative
for, the purposes of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to
Section 9 (a) of the Act, United Electrical, Radio & Machine Work-
ers.of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organiza-
tions, is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the
purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages,
hours of employment, and other conditions of employment.
28 N. L . B. B., No. 53a.