Goslin-Birmingham Manufacturing Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 8, 1944

55 N.L.R.B. 304 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of GOBLIN -BIRMINGHAM MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC.
and UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO -
Case No. 10-R-1088.-Decided March 8, 1944
Mr. Jenks H. Cdbaniss; of Birmingham, ,Ala., for the Company.
Messrs. R. E. Farr and Dan, Huston, ,both; of Birmingham, Ala., for
the Steelworkers. [
Mr. J. C. McG lon, of Birmingham, Ala., for the Machinists., -
Messrs. Shelley Walden and Draper Doyal, both, of Cincinnati, Ohio,
for the Molders. , , , I , „:
Mr. J. A. Lipseombe, ,of , Bessemer, Ala.,,for the Pattern Makers.'-
34,. Darvid V. Easton, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF .ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF, TIIE CASE
Upon, a petition duly filed by United Steelworkers of America,
CIO, herein called "the -Steens orkers, alleging that a question affect-
ing commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees
of Goslin-Birmingham Manufacturing Company, Inc., Birmingham,
Alabama, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations
Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before
Dan M. Byrd, Jr., Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Bir-
mingham, Alabama, on February 4, 1944. The Company, the Steel-
workers, and International Association of Machinists, herein called
the Machinists, Pattern Makers' League of North America, herein
called the Pattern Makers, and Local 255 International Molders and
Foundry Workers Union of North America, affiliated with the Amer-
ican Federation of Labor, herein called the Molders, appeared,' par-
ticipated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine
- Although duly apprised of the instant proceeding , International Brotherhood of Boiler-
makers, Iron Shipbuilders & Helpers of America, International Association of Bridge,
Structural & Ornamental Iron Workers , and International Brotherhood of Electric Work-
ers made no appearance at the bearing herein , nor evinced any interest in the representa-
tion of the employees of the Company.
55 N. L. R. B., No. 55.
304
GOSIjIN-BIRMINGHAM' MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC. 305
and•cross-examine'witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the
issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing.are free-
from `prejudicial er'ror' and • are hereby affirmed. , All parties .were
`afi•od'ed an opportunity-to file brief s,with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
-•Goslin-Birmingham Manufacturing Company, Inc., an Alabama
corporation; is customarily engaged as ,a jobbing foundry; specializing
in heavy industrial castings and specialty 'machinery ' for chemical,
sugar, and allied industries. In addition, it also manufactures at the
present' time, specialty machinery, heavy castings, and shells for the
United States Army. For these purposes, it operates two plants in
the city of Birmingham, known as the Goslin and Birmingham plants,
respectively, which are separated by a distance of approximately 1/4
of a mile. , The Company's annual purchases of materials, used in its
manufacturing processes exceed $500,000 in value, part of which is
received from points outside the State of Alabama. The annual sales
I of the Company exceed $500,000 in value, 95 percent of which-is
shipped to points located outside the State of Alabama. We find that
the Company is engaged in commerce within the meaning of'the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act. -
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Steelworkers of America is a labor organization affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to mem-
bership employees of the Company.
International Association of Machinists, Local'255; International
Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America; and Pat-
tern Makers' League of North America are labor organizations affili-
ated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership
employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Steelworkers
as the exclusive bargaining representative of certain of its'employees
-until its claims and those of labor organizations affiliated with the
American Federal of Labor have been adjudicated by the Board.
Statements of the Field Director and of the Trial Examiner intro-
duced into evidence at the hearing, indicate that the Steelworkers, the
Machinists, the Pattern Makers, and the Molders each represent a
575129-44-vol 55 21
306 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
substantial number of employees in the units claimed as appropriate
by each.2 . I
We find that questions affecting'commerce, have 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. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Steelworkers seeks ' a unit composed of all production and
maintenance employees of the Company in its Birmingham and Gos-
lin plants, excluding foremen, supervisors, watchmen, guards, salaried
employees,- and,, clerical, employees. ' The Company, while agreeing
generally with the foregoing.. unit, contends that the employees of its,
shell' shop; which is part of the Goslin plant, should constitute a unit
separate from the remaining employees, since the work performed in
the shell, shop is of a temporary nature: The Machinists seeks a unit
-composed, generally, of assembly and machine-shop employees 'in 'the
Birminghain'plant; 't'he Molders 'seeks a unit composed, generally,- of
foundry-employees; and the Pattern Makers seeks a unit composed
of all pattern makers and pattern' makers' apprentices. All parties
agree that watchmen, guards, supervisory, and clerical employees
should be excluded from any of the proposed units.
The Goslin plant is comprised of a pattern shop, foundry, and the
"old n'lachine shop"; the "old machine shop"' is presently known as
the shell plant, having been converted, because of the national emer-
gency, to the production of shells. The other plant is known as the
Birmingham plant 'and contains therein a plate shop, a machine shop,
an assembly floor, and storage space. The record indicates that the
shell plant is a-functionally coherent entity. The forgings used therein
are purchased from outside sources, and the only connection between
the operations conducted therein and the remainder of the Company's
2 The reports of the Field Examiner and the Trial Examiner, utilizing only those designa-
tions bearing apparently genuine and original signatures, and containing the names of
persons appearing upon the Company's pay roll for the period ending December 11, 1943,
may be summarized as follows : , .
1
Number
l
Designations for
emp oyed
in respec-
tive units U. S A. I A 'M
Pattern
Makers Molders
Number by respective units
Steelworkers' Unit______________ 511 "162 (182) 0 0 0
Machinists' Unit________________ 88 1 28 0 0
Molders' Unit'__________________ 106 *15 (19) 0 '0- 14
Pattern Makers' Unit ______-____ 8 0 0 5 0
The Steelworkers submitted 46 additional designations at the hearing, of which 20 were signed
by persons apparently working in the shell,shop, and 4 were signed by persons apparently working
'in the foundry,'
GOSLIN-BIRMINGHAM MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC. 307
business is that the shell plant uses certain metal shell holders pro-
duced by the Company's foundry, these shell holders amounting to
much less than 1 percent of the total production of the foundry. The
record further reveals, however, a close functional relationship be-
tween the pattern shop and foundry at the Goslin plant and the opera-
tions of the Birmingham plaiit; the patterns produced by the pattern
shop are used in the foundry for the purpose of making castings; the
castings produced in the foundry are sent to the machine shop in the
Birmingham plant for finishing; and after being machined the cast-
ings are sent to the assembly floor for assembling. On the other hand,
there is little transfer of employees between either the Birmingham
or the Goslin plants, or among the various departments of the Com-
pany as a whole.
All operations of the Company are centralized under a chief produc-
tion supervisor, who has jurisdiction over both plants. Next below
him in the supervisory hierarchy are superintendents in the shell
plant, the foundry plant,3 and the Birmingham plant. Assisting the
three superintendents are foremen located in the shell plant, foundry,
pattern shop, plate shop, machine shop, and the assembly floor. Each
department of the Company has a separate pay roll. In addition, a
divergence exists with respect to working hours of the various depart-
ments, the shell plant employees working an 8-hour day, 6 days a week
on two shifts; the foundry employees also working an 8-hour day,
but with a skeleton second shift; the pattern shop working a one-shift,
8-hour day; and the Birmingham plant working a two-shift, 10-hour
day.
At one time the Company bargained with the Steelworkers on be-
half of all employees in the Birmingham plant only. However, the
Company has not conducted bargaining relations on behalf of any of
its employees for approximately 3 or 4 years.
As noted hereinabove, each of the labor organizations herein, affil-
iated with the American Federation of Labor, seeks units composed
of employees traditionally represented by it, whereas the Steelwork-
ers seeks an industrial unit. In view of the physical and functional
set-up of the Company's operations, we are of the opinion that the
groups sought by the Machinists, the Pattern Makers, and the Molders
may properly function either as separate units or as part of an indus-
trial unit. Accordingly, our determination of the unit issue generally
with respect to the Company's employees will depend, in part, upon
the desires of the employees themselves, these desires being best ex-
pressed at the elections hereinafter directed, at which time they will
have an opportunity to vote for a craft organization, or for the Steel-
3 The superintendent of the foundry plant is also in charge of the pattern shop, which is
located in a separate building from the foundry.
308 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
workers, which favors an industrial form of unit, or for neither. We
shall consequently make no final determination of the unit or units at
this time, but shall defer such determinations pending the outcome
of the elections hereinafter directed
We shall direct, therefore, that separate elections by secret ballot be
held among the employees of the Company within each of the groups
listed below, who were employed during the pay-roll period imme-
diately preceding the date of the Direction of Elections herein, sub-
ject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. There
shall be excluded from each of such voting groups, in addition to
others specially mentioned therein, all watchmen, guards, clerical em-
ployees, superintendents, foremen, and all other supervisory employees
with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise
effect changes in the status of employees. or effectively recommend
such action. The respective voting groups shall be as follows :
1. All pattern makers and pattern makers' apprentices employed at
the Company's pattern shop, excluding all other employees working
therein, to determine whether they desire to be represented by the
Pattern Makers, or by the Steelworkers, for the purposes of collective
bargaining, or by neither ;
2. All employees in the foundry department of the Company to de-
termine whether they desire to be represented by the Molders, or the
Steelworkers, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither;
3. All employees in the machine shop and on the assembly floor of
the Company to determine whether they desire to be represented by
the Machinists, or the Steelworkers, for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining, or by neither;
4. All remaining production and maintenance employees of the
Company, excluding those employees in groups 1, 2, and 3, above, to
determine whether or not they desire to be represented by the Steel-
workers.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
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
DIRECTED that, as pert of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Goslin-Birming-
ham Manufacturing Company, Inc., Birmingham, Alabama, separate
elections 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 Tenth
Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela-
GOSLIN-BIRMINGHAM MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC. 309
tions Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said
Rules and Regulations, among the following groups of employees of
the Company who were employed during the pay-roll period immedi-
ately preceding the date of this Direction, nicludmg employees who
did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on
vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed
forces of the United States 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, as well as watchmen, guards, clerical em-
ployees, superintendents, foremen, and all other supervisory em-
ployees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or
otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively
recommend such action :
1. All pattern makers and pattern makers' apprentices engaged
in the pattern shop, excluding all other employees engaged therein,
to determine whether they desire to be represented by Pattern Makers'
League of North America, affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, or by United Steelworkers of America, affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collective
bargaining, or by neither;
2. All employees in the foundry department to determine whether
they desire to be represented by Local 255, International Molders and
Foundry `Yorkers Union of North America, affiliated with the Amer-
ican Federation of Labor, or by United Steelworkers of America, effil-
iatecl with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes
of collective bargaining, or by neither;
3. All employees engaged in the machine shop and on the assembly
floor to determine whether they desire to be represented by Inter-
national Association of Machinists, affiliated with the American Fed-
eration of Labor, or by United Steelworkers of America, affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of
collective bargaining, or by neither;
4. All remaining production and maintenance employees, exclud-
ing those in groups 1, 2, and 3, above, to determine whether or not
they desire to be represented by United Steelworkers of America,
affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining.
Mn. JOHN M. HOUSTON took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Elections.