Hughes Tool Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsAug 5, 1941

33 N.L.R.B. 1089 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of HUGHES TOOL Co. and INDEPENDENT METAL WORKERS UNION LocALs Nos. 1 AND 2 Case No. R-2566.-Decided August 5, 1941 Jurisdiction : oil well drilling tool manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : controversy concerning rep- resentation of employees: refusal to accord union recognition , affiliates of A. F. of L urging separate units for employees found to constitute a single unit placed on ballot as joint representative affiliated with the A. F of L. with option of any of the organizations withdrawing upon request ; election necessary Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance employees, including Class C colored employees in the maintenance depart- ment and those assigned to the general machine shop and inspection depart- ment; janitors; Class C colored common laborers working in the forge shop and in the heat-treat and foundry-shop departments, the colored employee working in 'the pattern shop; shipping-department employees; material- control-department employees ; shop clerks, machinists, mechanics, helpers, and laborers attached to the engineering department; and the five colored truck drivers in the maintenance department, but excluding executive, super- visory, clerical office, and professional employees ; printing-shop employees ; personnel-department employees ; sales-department other than those. employed in the shipping department : accounting-department employees other than shop clerks ; day office porters ; garage employees ; production-department employees ; and engineers, draftsmen, chemists, metallurgists, and clerical employees of the engineering department. Mr. V. Lee McMahon, for the Board. Andrews, Kelley, Kurth cC^ Campbell, by Mr. W. Al. Streetman, of Houston, Tex., for the Company. Fulbright, Crooker, Freeman & Bates, by Mr. Whitfield H. Marshall, of Houston, Tex., for the Independent. Mandell c Wright, by Mr. Arthur J. Mandell, of Houston, Tex., and Mr. C. W. Dickinson, of Houston, Tex., for the S. W. O. C. Mr. L. M. Fagan and Mr. Chas. A. Gadd, of Houston, Tex., for the I. A. M. Mr. J. L. McReynolds, of Tulsa, Okla., and Mr. W. F. Heickman. of Houston, Tex., for the Foundry Workers. Mr. Don Kennard, of Houston, Tex., for the I. B. E. W. Mr. Frederic B. Parkes, 2nd, of counsel to the Board. 33 N. L . R. B., No. 188. 1089 1090 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On April 8, 1941, Independent Metal Workers Union Locals Nos. 1 and 2, herein called the Independent, filed with the Regional Director for the Sixteenth Region (Fort Worth, Texas) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Hughes Tool Company, Houston, Texas, 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 May 6, 1941, 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 Regula- tions-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropri- ate hearing upon due notice. Â° On May 8, 1941, the- Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were served upon the Company, the Independent, upon International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers and Help- ers,I upon International Union of Operating Engineers, Stationary,' upon Steel Workers Organizing Committee, Lodge No. 1742, herein called the S. W. O. C., upon Lodge 1303, International Association of Machinists, herein called the I. A. M., upon International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America, Local No. 259, herein called the Foundry Workers, and upon International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 716, herein called the I. B. E. W., labor organizations claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on May 15 and 16, 1941, at Houston, Texas, before Chas. W. Whittemore, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Board, the Company, the Independent, the S. W. O. C., the I. A. M., the Foundry Workers, and the I. B. E. W. were represented by coun- sel or official representatives and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and to 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 various rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths , Drop Forgers and Helpers did not appear at the hearing. z International Union of Operating Engineers , Stationary , did not appear at the hearing. HUGHES TOOL COMPANY 1091 that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. On May 29 and June 3, 1941, respectively, the Independent and the S. W. O. C. filed briefs which the Board has considered. Upon the entire' record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Hughes Tool Company, a Delaware corporation with its principal office and place of business in Houston, Texas, is engaged in the manu- facture, sale, and distribution of oil well drilling tools at its plant in Houston, Texas. The Company maintains at least six warehouses out- side the State of Texas. Steel is the principal raw material used by the Company, and in the calendar year 1938 it purchased between $500,- 000 and $1,000,000 worth of this material, practically all of which was shipped to it from points outside the State of Texas. During 1939 and 1940, the Company purchased as much steel as in 1938. During the calendar year 1938, the Company produced and sold drilling tools valued at approximately $10,000,000, of which more than half were shipped to points outside the State of Texas. During 1939 and 1940, the Company manufactured and sold drilling tools valued in excess of the amount produced in 1938. The percentage of drilling tools that were shipped to points outside the State of Texas in 1939 and 1940 is approximately the same as for the year 1938. The Com- pany employs 3,787 employees of whom 806 are negroes. H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Independent Metal Workers Union is an unaffiliated labor organ- ization. It has chartered Local No. 1, which admits to membership non-supervisory white employees of the Company, and Local No. 2, which admits to membership non-supervisory colored, employes of the Company. Steel Workers Organizing Committee, Lodge No. 1742, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. Lodge 1303, International Association of Machinists, is a labor or- ganization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admit- ting to membership employees of the Company. International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North Amer- ica. Local No. 259, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 716, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Lal5or, admitting to membership employees of the Company. 450122-42-vol 33--70 1092 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION In March 1941, the Independent requested the Company to recognize it as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the Com- pany's non-supervisory employees. The Company refused to grant such recognition until the Independent had been certified' by the Board. Statements of a field examiner and an attorney for the Board introduced into evidence at the hearing show'that the Independent, the S. W. 0. C., the I. A. M., the Foundry Workers, and the I. B. E. W. each represent a substantial number of employees in the unit which each claims to be appropriate.3 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, de- scribed in Section I, above, has a close, intimate, and substantial re- lation 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 Independent contends that the unit appropriate for collective bargaining purposes consists of all hourly paid employees of the Company, including salaried employees in the storeroom, receiving, or material-control department; salaried shop clerks in the accounting 3 The Independent submitted 1,391 authorization cards, dated between October 1, 1940, and May 10 , 1941, to the Board 's Field Examiner , who found the signatures on all cards to be genuine and 1,250 to be the Dames of persons on the Company's pay roll of May 5, 1941. There are approximately 3,000 employees in the unit sought by the Independent. The S W 0 C. submitted 1,065 authorization cards to the Board 's Field Examiner. Four hundred and twenty -five were dated between September 1, 1937 , and December 31, 1939; 215 between January 1 and December 31, 1940; and 425 since January 1, 1941. The Field Examiner found that all 1 ,065 cards bore genuine signatures of which 875 were the names of persons on the Company ' s pay roll of May 5, 1941 . There are approxi- mately 2,000 to 2,200 employees in the unit claimed by the S . W O. C. to be appropriate. The I. A M submitted 149 authorization cards , dated between March 1 and May 1, 1941, to the Board 's Field Examiner , who found the signatures on all cards to be genuine and 80 to be the names of persons on the Company 's pay roll of May 5, 1941. There are approximately 255 employees in the unit alleged by the I . A M to be appropriate. The Foundry Workers submitted its membership roster and dues record containing 44 names to be Board's Field Examiner who found the names of 38 to be on the Com- pany's pay roll of May 5 , 1941. There were 77 white and 129 colored employees in the foundry on April 17 , 1941. The Foundry Workers seeks a unit of the 77 white employees only. At the hearing the I . B. E. W. submitted 19 authorization cards , which were checked against the Company's pay roll of May 9, 1941 , by the Board 's attorney , who found the signatures of 12 cards to be names on the Company 's pay roll . There are 21 employeeo within the unit contended for by the I. B. E. W. HUGHES TOOL COMPANY 1093 department; salaried machinists, mechanics, and helpers, or laborers in the engineering department; salaried watchmen and parking-lot attendants; non-clerical salaried employees in the sales department; and all salaried employees of the production department, but excluding watchmen or guards who have been deputized by any governmental agency ; employees of the personnel department engaged strictly in personnel work; employees of the sales and accounting departments engaged strictly in clerical work in the office; executive, supervisory, and professional employees; and engineers, draftsmen, chemists, metal- lurgists, and clerical employees of the engineering department. The S. W. 0. C. claims that the appropriate, unit consists of all main- tenance, operating, and/or production employees at the Company's plant, exclusive of executive and, supervisory employees, clerical and office employees, professional employees, watchmen and/or guards, janitors, porters, sales-department employees, accounting-department employees, engineering-department employees, production-department employees, personnel-departnent employees, shipping-department em- ployees, material-control or storeroom-department employees, the two colored employees and one white employee assigned to the garage, colored truck drivers, Class C colored employees in the maintenance department and those assigned to the inspection and general machine- shop departments, and all Class C colored common laborers in the heat-treat, foundry, pattern-shop, and forge-shop departments. The I. A. M. contends that all toolroom employees, department 40 employees, machine-repair employees, and Class B combination weld- ers constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. The I. B. E. W. claims that electricians, armature winders, and the white helpers assigned to the electricians in the maintenance depart- ment constitute a unit appropriate for collective bargaining.' The Foundry Workers contends that the white foundry-shop em- ployees, exclusive of supervisory employees, constitute an appropriate unit. The Company took no position as to the appropriate unit at the hearing. All hourly paid employees are employed in the following depart- ments : maintenance, inspection, general machine shop, pattern shop, foundry, heat treat, shipping,' and storeroom.5 The non-supervisory salaried employees work in the following departments : sales depart- ment, engineering department, production department,' personnel department,' accounting department, and material-control department. 4 The shipping department is a part of the sales department The stores oom is a part of the material-control department. 6 The production department is composed of time-study employees and order writers. ' Included in this department are watchmen, guards, and parking-lot attendants, as well as employees engaged in personnel work. 1094 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD In support of its contentions, the Independent asserts that the man- ufacturing process involves the work of employees in all the depart- ments of the Company, thereby resulting in such an integration of the various departments that only a single plant-wide unit is appro- priate for collective bargaining purposes. The S. W. O. C., like the Independent, claims that an industrial unit is appropriate, although it would exclude from the unit many of the employees whom the Independent would include. On the other hand, the I.A. M., the Foundry Workers, and the I. B. E. W., respectively claim units of certain groups of employees allied to the machinists, electricians, and molders trades to be appro- priate. The employees within those units are included in the units, urged by the Independent and the S. W. O. C. The employees in the unit claimed by the I. A. M. are part of the general machine-shop department. The employees of the toolrooin make machines, which in turn produce the bits and other tools sold, by the Company. The employees of the machine-repair department work in the various parts ' of the plant, repairing machines. The I. A. M. would exclude the Class B repairman and the heat-treat em- ployee, as well as several colored employees, all of whom work in the machine-repair department. Department 40 employees work in a separate building to which machines are brought for repair. The Class B combination welders work on bits, repair machines, and construct and repair equipment of the plant. The I. A. M., however,. would exclude 22 Class C welders who work on rock bits in the machine shop Rnd do welding work for other departments of the plant. The Foundry Workers would include only the 77 white employees of the foundry shop in the unit which it claims to be appropriate and would exclude the 129 colored employees who work in the shop. It- appears that all'the employees of the foundry shop are engaged in production work, being engaged in core making, molding, and other foundry operations on bits and tools manufactured by the Company, except approximately six colored employees who are engaged in clean- ing, sweeping, removing shavings, and other such work. The I. B. E. W. would include in the unit of electrical employees, which it claims to be appropriate, those maintenance craft helpers. who are now working for electricians as' apprentices. However, the, Company's policy in regard to craft helpers has been to rotate them among the various maintenance crafts represented in the plant, giving them a certain amount of apprenticeship in all crafts. The helpers are eventually promoted to maintenance mechanics jobs as they quali- fy and as vacancies occur. There is, therefore, a possibility that those helpers now assigned to electricians may never be promoted to elec- tricians' jobs, but instead may become tinners, pipe fitters, or- carpenters. HUGHES TOOL COMPANY 1095 For the past 3 years, the Company has followed its present "up- grade" policy in promoting employees, filling vacancies, and hiring men. Under the policy, the employees of each department and the subdivisions thereof are divided into various classifications. For ex- ample, the machine shop employs six classes of workers, namely, A, B, C, D, E,,and F. New employees commence in the lowest class of the department in which they work (Class F in the case of the machine shop). When a vacancy occurs, a notice of such opening is posted and employees of that department may enter their "bids" for the job. The Company chooses the candidate with the most ability and seniority. Thus, an employee advances from class to class in accordance with his ability and the number of years' service he has given to the Company. Employees are also frequently transferred from one department to another. Another feature of the "up-grade" system is the interchangeability of employees. In a period of slack activity when there is not sufficient work for all the employees of a certain department, instead of laying men off, short periods of time-off are taken by each man, and jobs are rotated in the department, often throughout the entire class, thereby spreading the work. In general, lay-offs caused by lack of available work are made on the basis of seniority. Under the "up-grade" system, lay-offs necessitate the demotion of employees in higher classes to the next lower classifi- cation in the exact inverse order to promotions, resulting in lay-offs in the lowest classes of each unit. Furthermore, in the event of lay- offs in different .units or departments, it is possible for an employee who has had at least 1 year's service in any other unit to displace another employee of less experience in a different unit. When an em- ployee has been demoted because of an insufficient amount of work for the employees of his class, he has a right to return to his former posi- tion when the work in that class increases. Thus, such openings are not posted for bids. When more workers are needed, the Company rehires those employees who have been laid off. If such an employee is laid off a year or longer before he is rehired, he loses all his seniority; but if he returns to work within a year's time from the date of the lay- off, he is credited with his former seniority upon being rehired. Under the "up-grade" system as it operates in'the Company's plant, it is thus apparent that the employees are interchanged, as the cir- cumstances require, among the various departments and sub-depart- ments of the Company's plant in accordance with the promotion and lay-off policies of the Company. The various crafts represented in the plant do not impede the interchangeability of employees. Employees assigned to a particular department, the scope of which is limited to the confines of a recognized craft, are frequently transferred to another 1096 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD department, where the skill of an entirely different craft is utilized. For example, numerous employees in the foundry-shop department, when the work was slack there, were recently transferred to the machine shop. All the features of the "up-grade" system, including its promotion, rotation of work, lay-off, and transfer policies, are applied also to col- ored employees under a separate and distinct classification system, di- viding them into Classes A, B, and C. The bargaining history supports the contentions of the Inde- pendent and the S. W. 0. C. for an industrial unit. The I. A. M., the Foundry Workers, and the I. B. E. W. commenced their organi- zational activities in the Company's plant prior to 1934. In that year the I. A. M. attempted to bargain for,employees of the machine shop in a unit composed chiefly of machine operators. Subsequently, ,a plant-wide election was conducted between the American Federa- tion of Labor and an independent labor organization existing at that time. The American Federation of Tabor won the election and an A. F. of L. Metal Trades Negotiating Committee attempted to nego- tiate a contract covering the entire plant, but no contract was ever executed. The Foundry Workers have had a grievance committee in the plant for a number of years. In 1935 it presented to the Com- pany a contract which was never accepted or signed. The I. B. E. W. has also made some efforts at collective bargaining. The S. W. 0. C. chartered Local No. 1742 in April or May 1937. It has not admitted to membership or attempted to bargain for the employees it would exclude from the unit. The Independent commenced its organiza- tional activities the latter part of 1940. ' In view of all these circumstances, we are of the opinion that an industrial unit is appropriate and consequently that the contentions of the I. A. M., the Foundry Workers, and the I. B. E. W. for sep- arate groups must fail. We accordingly find that all production and maintenance employees of the Company constitute a unit appro- priate for the purposes of collective bargaining. There remains for consideration the question of whether certain specific groups of employees should be included in the unit. Both the Independent and the S. W. 0. C. are in agreement upon the exclusion of executive, supervisory, and professional employees, print- ing-shop employees, watchmen deputized by government agencies, employees of the personnel department engaged strictly in personnel work, employees of the sales department and accounting department engaged strictly in clerical work in the Company's office, and engi- rieers, draftsmen, chemists, metallurgists, and clerical employees of the engineering department. We shall exclude such employees from the unit. HUGHES TOOL COMPANY 1097 The controversy between the Independent and the S. W. 0. C. involves the following employees whom the Independent would in- clude and the S. W. 0. C. would exclude : 1. Class C colored employees in the maintenance department, in- eluding those assigned to the general machine-shop and inspection departments. All new colored employees commence work in Class C, maintenance department. These employees work as common laborers in the general plant-maintenance crews or may be assigned as needed to either the general machine-shop or the inspection depart- ment. Such assignments are scheduled for a period of a week, but they may remain for as long as a year or two or even longer. After they are assigned to a department or subdepartment of the general machine shop, they are under the supervision of the foremen of that department. When their services are no longer needed in those de- partments, they return to the Class C maintenance pool. ' Approxi- mately 116 of these employees are now employed in the maintenance department, and approximately 308 have been assigned to the gen- eral machine shop and several to the inspection department. The S. W. 0. C. would exclude them for the alleged reason that they are actually janitors and porters. The Independent asserts that they are helpers. The record discloses that those working in the main- tenance department are engaged in keeping the plant and yards in good condition and in assisting in general maintenance crews. Those assigned to the general machine shop clean the shop, remove the shav- ings from the machines, lift and move heavy materials, obtain tools for the operators, and in general assist them. Those assigned to the inspection department assist the inspectors by lifting heavy tools and preparing the articles for inspection. It thus appears that the colored Class C employees are production or maintenance workers, and we shall accordingly include them in the unit. 2. Garage employees. Two colored employees promoted from Class C maintenance, wash cars, grease them, and assist the Class B repairman assigned to the Company's garage. We shall exclude all three employees from the unit. 3. Janitors and porters. There are 21 janitors and 6 day office porters whose duties are those customarily performed by such em- ployees. We shall include the janitors and exclude the day office porters from the unit. 4. Class C colored common laborers working in the forge shop are promoted to the shop from Class C maintenance. Their duties are similar to those of the colored employees in the machine shop, dis- cussed above, consisting, of lifting, moving, and cleaning the shop. We shall include them within the unit. 109S DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 5. Class C colored common laborers working in the heat-treat de- partment. The heat-treat department employs 42 white and 163 colored employees who are engaged in treating raw materials and semi-finished products in various stages of manufacture. Approxi- mately one-half of the colored employees at various times are assigned, to the "hot box gang" which places the articles being treated in the furnaces and removes them and also cleans the department. We shall include all the employees of this department in the unit. 6. Class-C colored common laborers working in the foundry shop. There are approximately 129 colored employees, Classes A, B, and C, in the foundry shop. All such employees are engaged in core making, molding, and other foundry operations on bits and tools produced by the Company, except six employees whose duties are similar to those of the colored employees in general machine shop. We shall include the colored employees of the foundry-shop department in the unit. 7. Colored employee working in the pattern shop. The record dis- closes that the pattern shop employs only one colored employee. His' duties appear to be similar to those of the colored employees in the general machine shop. In addition, he has charge of the wood stock used by the pattern shop. We shall include him in the unit. 8. Shipping-department employees are a part of the sales depart- ment. The shipping department is composed of 7 white and 25 col- ored employees who clean, paint, pack, and crate the articles produced in the machine shop. We shall include these employees in the unit. 9. Material-control department employees number approximately 120 men, of whom 50 are colored workers. Forty are material han- dlers and checkers and work in the storeroom and adjacent warehouses, passing out tools, equipment, and material on order to other em- ployees. Three employees of the department operate cranes. Others' check the movement and location of raw materials about the plant. We shall include all the employees of this department in the unit. 10. Shop clerks are part of the accounting department, which em- ploys approximately 75 employees, 45 of whom are engaged strictly in clerical work, keeping records of accounts. The remaining 30 are known as shop clerks who work in the shop, handling and checking material and semi-finished bits, assisting employees in filling out their time cards, and assisting the foreman in keeping track of the move- ment of material. We shall include the shop clerks in the unit. 11. Machinists, mechanics, helpers, and laborers attached to the engineering department operate lathes and milling machines and are engaged in substantially the same sort of work as is done in the .machine shop. We shall include these employees in the unit. HUGHES TOOL COMPANY 1 1099 12. Production-department employees are composed of (1) time- study employees who seek to improve the production efficiency of the shop and (2) order writers who start production on its way by assem- bling blue prints and writing orders for the different parts necessary to make the bit or tool required. We shall exclude these employees from the unit. 13. Watchmen and parking-lot attendants are part of the personnel department. Their duties are those customarily performed by such persons. We shall exclude them from the unit. 14. Five colored truck drivers haul rubbish, shavings, and other material for the plant-maintenance department. They do not trans- port any of the raw materials used in production work. It appears that they are part of the maintenance department. We shall include them in the unit. We find that all production and maintenance employees-of the Company, including Class C colored employees in the maintenance department and those assigned to the general machine shop and in- spection department; janitors; Class C colored common laborers work- ing in the forge shop and in the heat-treat and foundry-shop depart- ments; the colored employee working in the pattern shop; shipping- department employees; material-control-department employees; shop clerks; machinists, mechanics, helpers, and laborers attached to the engineering department; and the five colored truck drivers in the maintenance department, but excluding executive, supervisory, cler- ical, office, and professional employees; printing-shop employees; per- sonnel-department employees; sales-department employees other than those employed in the shipping department; accounting-department employees other than shop clerks; day office porters; garage em- ployees; production-department employees; and engineers, draftsmen, chemists, metallurgists, and.clerical employees of theiengineering de- partment, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. We further find 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 concerning representation can best be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot. Inasmuch as the I. A. M., the Foundry Workers, and the I. B. E. W. urged separate units for the employees whom we found to constitute a single unit, we shall direct that the Independent, the S. W. 0. C., the I. A. M., the Foundry Workers, and the I. B. E. W. are the organizations to appear upon the ballot in the election among such employees. The 1100 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD I. A. M., the Foundry Workers, and the I. B. E. W.-shall be set forth thereon in brackets as joint representatives affiliated with the Ameri- can Federation of Labor.8 Any orgaliization desiring not to appear on the ballot shall notify the Regional Director to that effect within five (5) days after the receipt of this Decision and Direction of Elec- tion; thereupon its name shall be omitted from the ballot. All the labor organizations request the use of the pay roll of April 17, 1941, for the purpose of determining eligibility to vote. We find no reason, however, to depart from our customary practice and shall accordingly direct that the employees of the Company eligible to vote in the election shall be those in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to such limitations and additions as are set forth in the Direction herein. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon 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 of Hughes Tool Company, Houston, Texas, within the meaiiing of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 2. All production and maintenance employees of the Company in- cluding Class C colored employees in the maintenance department and those assigned to the general machine shop and inspection de- partment ; janitors ; Class C colored common laborers working in the forge shop and in the heat-treat, and foundry-shop departments; the colored employee working in the pattern shop; shipping-department employees ; material-control-department employees ; shop clerks ; ma- chinists, mechanics, helpers, and laborers attached to the engineering department; and the five colored truck drivers in the maintenance department, but excluding executive, supervisory, clerical; office, and professional employees; printing-shop employees; personnel-depart- ment employees; sales-department employees other than those em- ployed in the shipping department;. accounting-department employees other than-shop clerks ; day office porters ; garage employees ; produc- tion-department employees; and engineers, draftsmen, chemists, metallurgists, and clerical employees of the engineering department, constitute a unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. "Cf. Matter of A. E. Staley Manufacturing Company and United Grain Proeessor8 Union, Local 211,90, afhated with, the A. F. of L , 31 N L R B 946 and cases cited therein. HUGHES TOOL COMPANY DIRECTION OF ELECTION 1101 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, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of 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 Hughes Tool Company, Houston, Texas, 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 Sixteenth 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 production and maintenance employees of the Company who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including Class C colored employees in the maintenance department and those assigned to the general ma- chine shop and inspection department; janitors; Class C colored com- mon laborers working in the forge shop and in the heat-treat and foundry-shop departments; the colored employee working in the pat- tern shop; shipping-department employees; material-control-depart- ment employees; shop clerks; machinists, mechanics, helpers, and laborers attached to the engineering department; and the five colored truck drivers in the maintenance department; and employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vaca- tion or in the active military service or training of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding executive, supervisory, clerical, office, and professional employees; personnel-department employees; printing-shop employees; sales-department employees other than those employed in the shipping department; accounting-department em- ployees other than shop clerks; day office porters; garage employees; production-department employees; engineers, draftsmen, chemists, metallurgists, and clerical employees of the engineering department; and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining by Independent Metal Workers Union, Locals Nos. 1 and 2, or by Steel Workers Organizing Committee, Lodge No. 1742, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or by the American Federation of Labor [Lodge 1303, International Asso- ciation of Machinists; International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America, Local No. 259; and International Brother- hood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 716], or by none of such organizations. 1102 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD MR. EDWIN S. SMITH, dissenting in part and concurring in part : The material-control-department employees and the shop clerks are all engaged in work that places them on the fringe of the functions of employees admittedly in the unit. Following the long established rule of the Board in the case of such "fringe groups," I would hold that the above-named employees should be excluded from the unit on the ground that one of the labor organizations involved desires their exclusion.9 I concur in the remainder of the Board's Decision and Direction of Election. " See my concurring opinions in Matter of Union Switch and Signal Company and United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, Local 610, 30 N. L. R. B. 922; Matter- of Pidgeon Thomas Iron Company and Steel Workers Organizing Committee, 32 N. L. R. B- 295, and cases cited therein.