General Time Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 4, 1953

102 N.L.R.B. 1007 (N.L.R.B. 1953)

GOSHEN DIVISION OF GENERAL TIME CORPORATION 1007
or less 4 Almost all orders requiring fine printing are "farmed out"
to job printing concerns. All employees of the Employer are subject
to the same general and immediate supervision, and all appear to
enjoy similar conditions of employment, except for variations in the
hourly wage rate.
The unit requested is clearly inappropriate on a departmental basis.
The unit is also inappropriate on a craft basis as the employees, except
possibly for the single compositor, are not skilled craftsmen. More-
over, the requested employees not only perform diverse functions, but
the Petitioner also seeks to exclude employees such as the upright and
pinticket operators who perform functions related to those of the
operators sought to be included.
Under all the circumstances, we find, as contended by the Employer,
that the unit sought is inappropriate 5 and we shall, therefore, dismiss
the petition.
Order
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition filed herein be, and it hereby
is, dismissed.
' The slittermen can be taught their Job in a matter of hours. The Ludlow machine
operator , Stoneman , and platemaker jobs can be learned in less than a week . The machine
setup men can do their tasks adequately with 2 weeks ' instruction and require about fi
months for top proficiency . As for the machine operators , the New Era attendants re-
quire less than 1 month of instruction and the other machine tasks require a week or less.
' See The Standard Register Company, 84 NLRB 939.
GOSHEN DIVISION OF GENERAL TIME CORPORATION and DISTRICT No.
103, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, AFL, PETITIONER.
Case No. 13RC 3068. February 4,1958
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Frances P. Dom, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing 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 Houston and
Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
102 NLRB No. 89
1008 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
2. The labor organizations claim to represent certain employees of
the Employer.
3. The Employer moves that the petition be dismissed as premature,
because its plant is a new one which does not yet have a substantial
and representative complement of employees? The Employer is en-
gaged in the manufacture of timing equipment for the armed forces.
Its plant in Goshen, Indiana, is still under construction, but is nearing
completion. Much of the machinery is already in place. The rest
is on the way. At the time of the hearing on December 5, 1952, no
parts were yet being fabricated, and there were only 4 skilled or semi-
skilled employees on the payroll. However, 58 unskilled employees
and 10 inspectors were at work assembling parts produced in the La
Salle plant, 200 miles distant.
When the Goshen plant is fully staffed, it will have a complement
of 450 employees. Of these, 150 will be engaged in skilled and
semiskilled jobs. Some of these job categories, such as power-press
operator, foot-press operator, and automatic machine operator, are
unfilled in the current staff. Other presently unfilled categories to
be added in the near future are storeroom clerk, factory clerk, cafeteria
employee, and over-the-road truck driver.
The Employer is proceeding to recruit personnel as rapidly as the
labor market permits. Although it was believed that within 30 days
as many as 135 persons might be employed, it was stated by the
Employer that this complement would still not be representative of
the full gamut of skills to be employed. Within 90 days, or by about
March 15, 1953, however, it was expected that the staff would be
reasonably representative.
Accordingly, we find that a question affecting commerce exists
concerning the representation of employees of the Employer, within
the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
However, instead of ordering an immediate election, we will order
that an election be held as soon as the Regional Director shall deter-
mine that the current payroll is both substantial and representative 2
but not later than March 5, 1953,3 subject to submission by the parties
of an adequate current showing of interest .4
4. In general the parties are in agreement that a production and
maintenance unit at the Goshen plant is appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining e However, the Petitioner and the Inter-
For the reasons set forth below, this motion is denied.
z Precision Manufacturing Co., 88 NLRB 509.
3 Walnut Ridge Mfg Co., 80 NLRB 1196.
4 Weyerhaeuser Timber Co ., 93 NLRB 887. 889.
6 Although the Employer intimated that it could contend that only a two-plant unit is
appropriate , it did not actually advance that contention.
GOSHEN DIVISION OF GENERAL TIME CORPORATION 1009
venor 6 would include the following fringe categories which the Em-
ployer desires to exclude:
Plant clericals: It is the Board's practice to include plant clericals
in production and maintenance units whenever any of the parties
so desire., We shall follow that practice here, and will therefore
include the so-called "factory clericals," the plant timekeepers,8 the
shipping clerks,' and the storeroom clerks.-
Cafeteria employees: As no labor organization seeks to represent the
cafeteria employees separately, and as their work will bring them into
close contact with the other production and maintenance employees,
we find that their interests will be similar and we will include them
in the unit.1'
Setup men are normally included in production and maintenance
units.12 The Employer, nevertheless, apparently desires their ex-
clusion on the ground that they are to be supervisors. It plans to
give them the power to recommend discipline. However, as no setup
work had yet been done at the time of the hearing, it could not be
ascertained whether any recommendations which might be made by
the future setup men would be likely to be effective. Because of this,
and because setup men are usually not supervisors, we will include the
setup men, subject to challenge in the event that any of them are
actually functioning as supervisors.
Over-the-road truckdriver: The plant is to have a single truck-
driver, who will spend most of his time driving the 200 miles between
Goshen and the La Salle plant. Although both the Petitioner and
the Employer would exclude him, the Intervenor desires his inclusion.
Because a separate unit composed of only one employee could not
be appropriate,13 and as the truckdriver may appropriately be included
in the production and maintenance unit, we shall include him in the
unit herein found appropriate.
Accordingly, we find that the following employees constitute an
appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All production and maintenance
employees of the Employer at its plant in Goshen, Indiana, including
factory clerks, plant timekeepers, storeroom clerks, shipping clerks,
cafeteria employees, setup men, and the over-the-road truckdriver,
but excluding planning clerks, time-study employees, the nurse, office
8 Local 11019, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL.
Chrysler Corporation ( Dodge Main Plant), 70 NLRB 55; Wilson d Company, 97 NLRB
1388, 1394.
8 Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company , 81 NLRB 584, 586.
8 Westinghouse Electric Corp ., 89 NLRB 8, 18.
io Standard Lime and Stone Company , 95 NLRB 1141.
n Western Electric Co., 76 NLRB 400.
Geneva Forge, Inc., 76 NLRB 497.
13 Sinclair Rubber , Inc, 96 NLRB 220, 227.
1010 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
clerical employees, professional employees, guards, and supervisors
as defined in the Act 14
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
14 The exclusions are pursuant to agreement of the parties.
SCHAFFNER BROTHERS COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
FIREMEN & OILERS, LOCAL 249, AFL, PETITIONER . Case No.
6-RC-1188. February 4, 1953
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Harold L. Hudson,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing 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-mem-
ber panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Styles and Peterson].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.2
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. The Petitioner seeks a unit of all the Employer's power depart-
ment employees, including engineers, firemen and maintenance men,
but excluding all other employees, guards, professional employees,
and supervisors. At the hearing, however, the Petitioner stated that
if the Board finds such a unit is inappropriate, it is willing to repre-
sent the Employer's firemen and engineers in one unit, and the main-
tenance mechanics in a separate unit. Both Intervenors contend that
the Petitioner's requested unit is inappropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining. The Employer takes no position on the unit
question.
1 At the hearing , International Union of Operating Engineers „ Local 859, AFL, herein
called Local 859, moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that the unit requested by
the Petitioner is inappropriate . For the reasons stated herein, Local 859 's motion to
dismiss the petition is denied..
2 Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America , Local 94, AFL,
herein called Local 34, and Local 859 , were permitted to intervene at the hearing on the
basis of recently expired contracts with the Employer.
102 NLRB No. 92.