General Motors Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 15, 1942

42 N.L.R.B. 508 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter of DELCO R 1DIO DIVISION OF GENERAL MOTORS CORPORA-
TION-and INTERNATIONAL UNION5 UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT, AND
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL No 292
(C I 0)
Case No. R-394: -Decided July 15,1942
Jurisdiction war materials manufactuimg industry
Investigation and Certification of Representatives - existence of question re-
fusal to accord petitioner recognition until certified by the Board, contract
executed subsequent to filing of petition held no bai , election necessary
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production, maintenance, and
toolioom employees in two plants of the Delco Radio Division of the Company,
with specified exclusions, stipulation-as to
Mr Robert T. Malarney, for the Board
• Messrs. Henry M Hogan and Denton Jolly, of Detroit, Mich, for
the Company
Mr Richard H Oberreich, of Kokomo, Ind , and Messrs Frank
Slay and Elmer Wilkerson, of Muncie, Ind, for the C I. O.
Mr. Francis O'Rourke, of Indianapolis, Ind, and Mr. Earl R.
Weimer, of Marion, Ind., for the I. B E W.
Mr Walter Bennett, of Kokomo, Ind, for the Metal Polishers
Mr David Karasick, of counsel to the Boaid
,DECISION
AND
DIRECTION,OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition and amended petition duly filed by International
Union, United Automobile, Aircraft, and Agi icultural Implement
Workers of America, Local No 292 (C I 0 ), herein called the C I O ,
alleging that a question affecting commeice had aiisen concerning the
representation of employees of Delco Radio Division of General Mo-
tois Corporation, Kokomo,' Indiana, herein called the Company, the
National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Boai d, provided for
an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Henry J Kent, Trial
Examiner Said hearing was held at Kokomo, Indiana, on June 15,
1942 The Board, the Company, the C I 0., Local B-1194 of the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, affiliated with the
42 N L R B, No 104
508
DELCO RADIO DIVISION 509
American Federation of Labor, herein called the I B E W, and Metal
Polisheis, Buffers, Platers and Helpeis Inteinational Union, Local No
24, affiliated with the Ameiican Federation of Labor, herein called the
Metal Pohsheis,t appeared, paiticipated, and weie affoided full op-
portunity to be heard, to examine and cioss-examine witnesses, and to
introduce evidence bearing on the issues At the opening of the heat-
ing, the representatives of the I B E W moved to postpone the
proceedings on the giound that the repie=entative of International
Union, United Automobile Workers of Anmerica, Local No 683, affili-
ated with the American Fedei ation of Labor, herein called the UAW-
AFL, a labor organization claiming to have an interest in the outcome
of this proceeding and which had been served with notice of healing,
had been taken ill and could not appear at the hearing The Trial
Examiner denied this motion 2 During the course of the lieaiing, rep-
iesentatives of the I B E W moved to dismiss the petition on the,
ground that the I B. E W. and the UAW-AFL are pai ties to a pies-
ently existing contract with the Company, which coveis the employees
in the unit alleged to be appropiiate by the C I 0 The Tiial Ex-
aminer ieserved ruling on this motion for the Boaid For the reasons
appearing in Section` III below, the motion is hereby denied The
Trial Examiner's rulings made at the heainlg ale fiee from prejudicial
error and are hereby affirmed
On June 29 and June 30, 1942, respectively, the UAW-AFL and the
C I 0 filed biiefs which the Board has considered The iequest
made in the brief of the UAW-AFL to set aside the heating and to
dismiss the petition is hereby denied
Upon the entire recoid in the case, the Boaid makes the following
FINDINGS OF FACT
I THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Company is a Delaware corpoi ation with its principal offices
located inNe* York City and with other offices in Detroit, Michigan
The Company has several unincorporated divisions The Delco Radio
Division maintains a plant located in two buildings at Kokomo, In-
diana, where, until the present %i ar, it manufactured automobile radio
service sets, automobile carburetors, and parts for such pi oducts The
Company is piesently engaged in piodtu,nlg war materials Appioxi-
mately 70 percent by value of the productive materials, including iaww
materials and fabricated of pai tially fabi icated articles used in the
t The parties at the hearing agreed that no question concerning representation had arisen
as to metal polishers, buffers , platers, and theft helpers , who ale covered by the teims of
an existing contract between the Metal Polishers and the Company
'The I B E W and the UAW-AFL ale joint paitiPN , to in existing contract with the
Company , as noted in Section III below
510 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
manufacturing and fabricating operations of Delco Radio Division,
is obtained from souices outside the State of Indiana and approxi-
mately 95 percent of its products are shipped upon completion to
points outside the State of Indiana 3 The Delco Radio Division of
the Company employs from 900 to 1,100 employees The Company
admits for the purposes of this case that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the Act
II TIIE ORGANI ZATIONS INVOLVED
United Automobile, Aircraft, and Agricultural Implement Work-
ers of America, Local No 292, affiliated with the Congress of Indus-
trial Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to menbership
employees of the Company
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local B-1194;
,International Union, United Automobile Workers of Amei lca, Local
No 683, and Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers and Helpers Interna-
tional Union, Local No 24. are labor organizations affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees
of the Company
III THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On January 22, 1942, the C I 0 wrote to the Company claiming
that it represented a majority of the production and maintenance em-
ployees and requesting recognition In a letter to the C I 0 dated
January 26, 1942, the Company replied that it was party to a pi esently
existing contract with the UAW-AFL and refused to recognize the
C I 0 unless it should be certified by the Board On Febiuaiy 28,
1941, the Company entered into a contract with the I B E W and
the UAW-AFL which covered all the production, maintenance, and
toohoom employees, the runt alleged to be appropriate by the C I O.
in this case 4 This agreement was supplemented on June 13, 1941,
and was to remain in effect until May 28, 1942, and thereafter unless
60 days' written notice to modify or terminate was given by either
party On May 28, 1942. the Company entered into a new agreement
with the I B E W and the UAW-AFL covering employees in the
same unit This contract is to run for 1 year and from year to year
thereafter, subject to modification or termination upon 60 clan,,s' notice
The abo'e-stand fact, conceining the business operations of the Comp tin ` ate as set
forth in the Matterof Delco Radio Ditiasion of General Motors Corporation and Intei national
Brotherhood o/ Electrical norkera , affiliated with the A F of L , et at, 25 N- L R B 698,
in accordance p ith an agreement beteeen counsel for the Board and the iepreaentatives of
the Cmnpany in the present case that the business operations of the Company are substan-
Ualli the same as set forth in the Boaid ' s findings of fact in the cited Decision
4 The-specific exclusions noted in the contract of February 28, 1941, were substantially
the same as those set forth in the unit found to be appropriate In Section IV below
DELCO RADIO DIVISION 511
in writing prior to the end of any year The I B - E W at the hear-
ing and the UAW-AFL in its bilef contended that the contract of May
28, 1942, is a bar to a piesent determination of representatives The
contract was executed subsequent to the filing of the petition and
amended petition by the C I 0, on February 12 and February 24,
1942, respectively, and it is therefore ineffectual as a bar to this investi-
gation 5
A statement of the Regional Director introduced into evidence at
the hearing indicates that the C I 0 repiesents_a substantial number
of employees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate 13
We find that a question 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
IV TIDE APPROPRIATE UNIT
In accordance with the stipulation of the parties at the hearing, we
find that all production, maintenance, and toolroom -employees, in
Plant 1 and Plant 2 of the Delco Radio Division of the Company,
excluding metal polishers, buffers, platers, and their helpers, direct
representatives of the management, such as officers and directors of
the Company, sales managers and assistant sales managers, factory
managers and assistant factory managers, process engineers, tool de-
signer s, timekeeper s, time-study men, dii ectoi s and employees of sales,
accounting; personnel, and mdustiial/relations,departments, directors
of purchases and assistant'diiectors of purchases, superintendents and
assistant superintendents, general foremen, foremen and assistant fore-
men, and all other persons woiking in a supeivisoiy capacity, i nclud-
Ing those having the right to hire and discharge and those whose
duties include recommendations as to hiring and discharging - (but
not leaders), and those employees whose work is of a confidential
nature, office employees, plant protection employees, all clerical em-
ployees, chief enginers, shift operating engineers in the power plants,
designing engineers, laboratory technicians, technical school students,
engineering model makers, draftsmen, and detanleis, constitute a unit
6 Matte? of Philadelphia Dairy Products Co , Inc and Local Indust, ,al Union No 1119,
Coup,ess of Industrial Organizations , 36 N L R B 737
"The Regional Director repotted that the C I 0 presented 594 application for mem-
bership and authorvation cards, of which 71 were duplicates , and of the remaining 523
cards, 470 contained the names of poisons listed on the Company 's pay roll of May 1, 1941,
which contained the names of approximately 1040 production and maintenance employees,
exclusive of supeivisoiy employees , cleiical employees , and metal polishers , buffeis, platers
and then helpers The 470 authorivation and membership application cards, all of which
appeaied to contain original genuine signatures , were dated as follows 2 in 1939, 6 between
April and December 1940 , 41 between January and June 1941, 156 between June and
December 1941, 260 between J anuaiv and April 1942, and 5 undated The UAW-AFL
and the I B E W were patties to a contract' with the Company and therefore did not
submit other eN idence in support of their claims of substantial interest
512 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining w ithni the mean-
ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act
V THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question coiiceinnig representation which has arisen
can best be iesolved by an election by secret ballot Although the
UAW-AFL did not appear at the hearing, it has nevertheless shown
its interest in the outcome of this pioceedmg by filing a brief and is
furthermore a pai ty, together with the I B E W, to an existing
contiact with the Company covering employees in the unit which we
have found to be appiopiiate in Section IV above We shall, theie-
foie, direct that the UAIiV-AFL be accorded a place on the ballot
jointly with the I B E W in the election which we shall hereafter
direct In accordance with oui usual practice, we shall direct that the
employees of the Company eligible to vote in the election shall be
those employees 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
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and puisuant 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 National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation ordered by the Board to
ascertain representatives foi the purposes of collective bargaining
with Delco Radio Division of Genei al Motors Cor poi ation, Kokomo,
Indiana, 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,ai^d.supervision;of the Regional Director
for the Eleventh 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, amoi,g the employees in the unit found appro-
priate in Section IV above, who were employed at the Company's
Kokomo, Indiana, plant during the pay-roll period immediately pre-
ceding the date of this Direction, including any such employees who
did not wank during such pati-ioll period because they were ill or on
vacation or in the active military service or training of the United
States, or ,temporarily laid,off, _but, excluding any who have since quit
or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be
represented by International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft, and
Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Local No 292, affiliated
DELCO RADIO DIVISION 513
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or jointly by Inter-
national Union, United Automobile Workers of America, Local No.
683, and Local B-1194 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, both affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for
the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
MR. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
G
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