Hilton Hotels International, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 27, 1953

106 N.L.R.B. 1312 (N.L.R.B. 1953)

1312 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
plant, constitute separate units appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of
the Act, excluding from each unit all other employees and
supervisors as defined in the Act.
Unit 1: All toolroom employees, including the machine tool
setup man and instructor and the tool -crib attendant.
Unit 2: All millwrights.14
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.]
laln its brief, the Employer contends, in substance, that a finding that toolroom employees
and millwrights constitute separate appropriate bargaining units would rest solely upon the
extent of the Petitioner's organization among the Employer's employees and is therefore
prohibited by Section 9 (c) (5) of the amended Act. However, as indicated above, we have
relied on factors other than extent of organization in finding that such units are appro-
priate
HILTON HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, INC. and UNION INDE-
PENDIENTE DE EMPLEADOS DEL HOTEL CARIBE
HILTON, Petitioner. Case No. 24-RC-612. October 27, 1953
DECISION AND ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Vincent M.
Rotolo, hearing officer. The hearing officers rulings made
at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.'
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 organization involved claims to represent
certain employees of the Employer.
3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer within the
meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section Z (6) and (7) of the Act,
for the following reasons:
Pursuant to a consent election conducted on September 21,
1952, the Board, on November 21, 1952, certified the Petitioner
as representative of a unit of service employees at the Em-
ployer's Hotel Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, exclud-
ing "office and clerical employees," supervisors, and various
other categories not here relevant. The Petitioner nowdesires
to establish its right to bargain collectively for 9 persons
(assistant stewards, head dishwashers, linen room supervisors,
and linen room attendant) whom the Employer contends are
and should be excluded from the unit. It is the Employer's
I For the reasons given infra, the Employer's motion to dismiss the petition is hereby
granted
106 NLRB No. 233
HILTON HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, INC. 1313
position that 6 of these persons are supervisors and that 3 are
clericals.'
The assistant stewards: In the Employer ' s steward depart-
ment about 30 persons are normally employed . Next in rank
to Chief Steward Dreier and Assistant Chief Steward Corin
(who are both admitted to be supervisors ) are 3 assistant
stewards ( Crespo , Caban, and Figueroa ), whose supervisory
status is at issue . Crespo oversees at least 8 dishwashers,
icemen , and cleaners ; Caban , 4; and Figueroa , 11. S The views
of the assistant stewards are sought by Chief Steward Dreier
when employees are being selected for promotion . Moreover,
Assistant Steward Crespo is in full charge of the entire steward
department from 5 or 5:30 a. m. until 9 a . m. every day.
Similarly , Assistant Steward Figueroa regularly substitutes
for Assistant Chief Steward Corin every Thursday night. We
therefore find that both Crespo and Figueroa are supervisors
as defined in the Act .4 With respect to Assistant Steward
Caban, the only evidence was that his authority and duties
were the same as the other assistant stewards. Accordingly,
we find that he too is a supervisor.
The head dishwashers : Subordinate to the assistant stewards
are two employees, Hermidas and Delgado , who are classified
as head dishwashers and whom the Employer would exclude
as supervisory . Hermidas oversees and assists a crew of
at least 3; Delgado oversees and assists a crew of at least 7.5
They are expected to report inefficiencies to Chief Steward
Dreier or Assistant Chief Steward Corin . Before Dreier
permits probationary dishwashers to become permanent, he
always consults with the head dishwashers . In addition, Head
Dishwasher Hermidas regularly assumes full charge of the
entire steward department from 2 p. m. until 5 p. m. every
day, a time when neither Dreier , Corin , nor any of the assistant
stewards are present . We find that the head dishwashers are
supervisors and that they are excluded from the unit.
The linen room supervisors : In the linen room there are 3
workers who are classified as linen room supervisors. One
of these , Isabel Rodriquez , is in full charge of the other 2
"supervisors " and of the 2 or 3 seamstresses in the linen
room. She reports directly to Executive Housekeeper Faye,
who is in charge of 50 to 60 employees . Faye never hires a
seamstress without first having Rodriquez interview and test
the applicant and tell Faye whether she is competent . We find
that Rodriquez is a supervisor.
As for the other two "supervisors " in the linen room, Iris
Toledo and Celenia Lopez, no one contends that they have
2It is the Employer 's further contention that the Board and the Petitioner are estopped
from raising any unit issues at this time. Because we herein sustain the Employer's unit
contentions , it is unnecessary to consider the estoppel issue.
S These are the numbers as of the date of the hearing , which was held in the off-season.
At busier times Figueroa oversees about 14, and others probably a few more each.
4Pure Oil Company , 90 NLRB 1661.
5 These are off-season figures. During the season , Delgado oversees about 10.
1314 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
actual supervisory authority. They stand at the phone all day,
receiving requests for service, lost-and-found inquiries, break-
age reports, and check-out reports, all of which they relay
to the proper destinations. They make a record of all such
messages . The Employer regards them as clericals and
would exclude them even though they work in a service area
under the direction of service supervisors, and are therefore
plant clericals rather than office clericals.6 Although plant
clericals as a group will usually be given an opportunity to
join a production or service unit at the request of any party,
the Petitioner is not now making such a request. There are
other plant clericals (such as the cafeteria and dining room
cashiers and the secretary in the laundry) who are not sought
by the Petitioner in the present proceeding. We therefore
find that Toledo and Lopez are excluded from the unit.? The
proposal to include them is denied because they constitute
only a segment of the plant clerical group.
The linen room attendant, Herminio Resto, separates linens
into bundles to be taken to the various maids, helps deliver
linen directly to rooms on special requests, and constantly
checks the supply of linens in all linen storage areas.. In
addition to this physical work, he directs the work of the linen
room boy and keeps a few records. When Executive House-
keeper Faye is faced with a decision whether to retain or
dismiss a linen room boy, she consults Restoand relies heavily
on his opinion; for it was Resto who originally set up the
Employer's linen room system when it first opened in San
Juan. We find that he is a supervisor and that he is excluded
from the unit.
As no question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of the Employer's employees, we shall dismiss
the petition.
(The Board dismissed the petition.]
6 The unit description appears to exclude all clericals , not just office clericals.
See Rath Packing Company , 101 NLRB 96.
HELEN H. DIETZE , JULIE EARL AND RUDOLPH HALM,
PARTNERS , d/b/a HINCHER MANUFACTURING COMPANY,
Petitioner and LOCAL 671, UPHOLSTERERS ' INTERNA-
TIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA , AFL. Case No. 35-
RM-56 . October 27, 1953
DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
On August 31, 1953, pursuant to a stipulation for certifica-
tion upon consent election , an election by secret ballot was
conducted under the direction and supervision of the Regional
Director for the Ninth Region , among the employees in the
106 NLRB No. 231.