Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 30, 1969

177 N.L.R.B. 682 (N.L.R.B. 1969)

682 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Kaiser Aluminun & Chemical Corporation and
United Steelworkers of America , AFL-CIO,
Petitioner . Case 20-RC-8241
June 30, 1969
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF
ELECTION
BY MEMBERS FANNING, BROWN, AND JENKINS
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of
the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a
hearing was held before Hearing Officers Walter L.
Kintz, Jr., and Donald E. Twohey. Following the
hearing, this case was transferred to the National
Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C.,
pursuant to Section 102.67 of the National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations and
Statements of Procedure, Series 8, as amended.
Thereafter, the Petitioner, Employer, and
intervening Lithographers and Photoengravers
International Union, Local 17-L, AFL-CIO,' herein
called Lithographers, filed briefs.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
powers in connection with this case to a
three-member panel.
The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officers'
rulings made at the hearing and finds that they are
free from prejudicial error. They are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, including the
briefs filed herein, the Board finds:
1. The parties stipulated, and we find, that the
Employer is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the Act, and that it will effectuate the
purposes of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to
represent certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists
concerning the representation of certain employees
of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9(c)(1) and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
This case involves a new plant of Kaiser
Aluminum & Chemical Corporation, the Employer,
located at Union City, California. The Petitioner
seeks a unit of all production and maintenance
employees at this plant, excluding office clerical
employees, guards and supervisors as defined in the
Act. The Employer and the intervening Machinists
and Longshoremen agree as to the appropriateness
of this unit. The intervening Lithographers, however,
seek a unit consisting of all employees engaged in
'Permitted to intervene on the basis of a showing of interest. The
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers,
AFL-CIO, District Lodge No 115, herein called Machinists, and the
International Longshoremen ' s and Warehousemen ' s Union , Local No. 6,
herein called Longshoremen, were also permitted to intervene on the basis
of a showing of interest
the metal decorating functions, including specifically
those employees engaged in the operation of the
offset printing equipment, coating equipment, inside
spraying equipment, and the technicians related to
that equipment, excluding all other employees.
The Employer's Union City plant is designed,
equipped, and utilized for the fabricating, coating,
and decorating of seamless cans for beverage
producers, and the customers currently being served
are those producing Budweiser Beer , Hamms Beer,
and Coca-Cola. The plant has three production
lines, the first two of which were operational at the
time of the hearing herein, and the third was then in
the "debugging" phase. The three production lines
contain similar equipment, with minor differences in
location and capacity. As of the initial date of the
hearing, there were approximately 94 employees and
the Employer had no plans for any material increase
in hiring within the next 2 years. The existing job
categories include the following: line technician;
coater-printer operator; draw and iron operator;
equipment tender; quality control inspector; tool
repairman general; repairman mechanical;
repairman electrical; material distributor; tool
inspector; receiving clerk; and laborer.
There are currently two methods used in the
manufacturing of cans. The more traditional method
is known as the three-piece operation and consists of
a steel body, a steel bottom, and an aluminum top,
all of which are made independently of each other
on separate production lines . Sheets of raw material
are sheered into flat sheets and transported to
coating and printing lines. After coating, if required,
and printing, the sheets are taken to a press punch
line where the printed portions are cut or punched
into the size of flat can bodies, and are then taken
to an assembly line where the flat side pieces are
rolled into a cylindrical form, crimped and soldered,
and the bottoms are attached.
The plant involved herein uses exclusively the
more recently developed method known as the
two-piece operation which has the unique capacity
of not only fabricating a seamless aluminum can
from a sheet of raw material, but also, coating and
decorating the can in one continuous production
process. This is accomplished through the utilization
of an intricate trackwork system that moves the
product automatically from the uncoiler, the first
piece of equipment, to the automatic palletizer, the
last piece of equipment on the production lines. All
components on each production line are
interconnected and are dependent upon each other
for overall operation. In addition to the operating
dependency of all components, each production line
is actuated automatically by electrical sensing
devices. Other than for inspection and maintenance,
the cans are not touched by human hands from
fabricating through packaging.
The production process involves the running of a
coil of aluminum from an uncoiler through a
lubricator to a cupping press which stamps out
177 NLRB No. 67
KAISER ALUMINUM & CHEMICAL CORP. 683
circular pieces of aluminum into cups about 2 inches
high. These cans are then extruded by bodymakers
into the desired cylindrical form and size. After
being ttimmed to a prescribed height, the cans are
washed in a chemical solution, rinsed, dried, and
coated,'if required.' The coating process involves the
automaitic transferring of the cans to a spindle on
the coater which rotates past a roller that transfers a
solid white coating to the cans. After drying, the
cans are conveyed to the Rutherford printer' where
they are automatically inserted on a rotating wheel
that passes by a blanket in the printer and decorates
the can with the customer's label. The decorated
cans are dried and then conveyed to the inside
sprayer where they are sprayed by a jet nozzle.
After inside spraying, the cans are conveyed to the
necker-flanger where they receive a slightly indented
neck around the top edge and a rounded lip or
flange, all of which prepares the cans so that they
can receive tops after being filled with the
customer's product. The final steps along the
production line involve the automatic testing of the
cans, packaging, and storing for shipment to the
customer.
The wet-offset lithographic process is used in the
three-piece operation, and the dry-offset process is
used exclusively in the two-piece operation. Under
the traditional wet-offset process, the image to be
reproduced is engraved on a copper and steel plate
and ink and water is applied to the plate during the
printing process, with the ink adhering to the image
or copper portion of the plate and being repelled by
the steel portion which attracts the water. The inked
portion of the plate is then brought into contact
with a rubber blanket which receives the image
which is then transferred, or offset, from the blanket
to the material being printed. Under the dry-offset
process, a plastic plate is used which has a raised
image that takes the ink directly, after which it is
brought into contact with the rubber blanket and
then offset onto the material being printed. In sum,
the dry-offset is based upon mechanical separation
of the inked and uninked areas , and the wet-offset is
based upon a chemical separation through the
interaction of ink and water of the inked and
uninked portions of the plate. The wet-offset process
requires the development of more skills than is
required for dry-offset printing and considerably
more training in the exercise of those skills.
The Lithographers only seek to represent those
employees engaged in the operation of the coater,
printer, inside sprayer, and the technicians related to
that equipment, excluding all other employees. All
such equipment is located on that part of the
production lines that is identified in the record as
the Deco department and also includes the
'Coating is not required on the cans made for Coca-Cola.
'This is a recently designed printer that has the capacity to decorate a
cylindrical form which was not possible in the traditional three-piece
operation: The Rutherford printer can only be used in a two-piece
operation.
necker-flanger, Borden tester, and automatic
palletizer. Job classifications regularly assigned to
operate all of the equipment in the Deco department
are line technician, coater-printer operator, and
equipment tender.
Line technicians in the Deco department are
primarily responsible for overall troubleshooting and
repairing equipment. On the day and the afternoon
shifts, a line technician is normally assigned to the
coater, printer, and related equipment, and another
line technician is normally assigned to the inside
sprayer, necker-flanger, Borden tester, and
automatic palletizer. Line technicians are regularly
supervised by a Deco shift supervisor. However, a
line technician can be used elsewhere on the
production lines and when so used he is under the
supervision of the supervisor in charge of that area.
A line technician from the Deco department is also
assigned to the graveyard shift where he is under the
supervision of the maintenance supervisor. On the
coater, the line technician's main function is one of
repair and replacement of rolls. In the absence of a
coater-printer operator, the line technician will
operate the coater on a production basis. On the
printer, the line technician is primarily responsible
for the changing of plates, rollers, blankets,
adjusting the flow of ink from the well to the roller,
and adjusting the pressure between the plates and
the blankets on original setup. It takes about 6
months to 1 year to train a line technician to
perform all of the functions on the Rutherford
printer so that he can do so without supervision. In
hiring line technicians, the Employer usually looks
for an individual who has had plant maintenance
mechanical experience. There is no apprenticeship or
formalized training program at the instant plant.
Coater-printer operators are primarily responsible
for operating the coating and printing equipment.
On the coater, this will involve putting a specified
enamel or base coat into the equipment, setting the
rollers so that there will be sufficient pressure
against the can so as to produce adequate coating,
and operating the equipment. On the printer, his
duties involve placing a specified ink into the ink
well, setting the rolls, by use of handle adjustments,
to attain proper pressure against the plates, and
operating the equipment. Coater-printer operators
are regularly supervised by a Deco shift supervisor.
However, they do spend a substantial amount of
time away from their assigned equipment doing
such added duties as clearing jams, routine
maintenance, and can sorting. While performing
these added duties they are supervised by the
supervisor in charge of that area. No special
qualifications or skills are required for the hiring
of coater-printer operators. It takes about a week
to train a coater-printer operator.
Equipment tenders in the Deco department are
regularly assigned to operate the inside sprayer,
necker-flanger, Borden tester, and automatic
palletizer. They also work on the trackwork system,
684 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ovens, and assist the line technicians in maintaining
the equipment. An equipment tender is regularly
assigned to the graveyard shift and is supervised by
the maintenance supervisor. Although equipment
tenders are also regularly supervised by a Deco shift
supervisor, they still spend a substantial amount of
time away from their regular assigned areas
performing such added duties as working on the
trackwork system, ovens, assisting the line
technicians in maintaining the equipment, can
sorting, and packaging. While performing these
other than regular assigned duties, they are
supervised by the supervisor in charge of that area.
It takes about 3 or 4 days to train an equipment
tender to operate the inside spraying equipment. No
formal training or experience is required in the
hiring of equipment tenders, but the Employer
requires an applicant to be physically acceptable,
literate, and to have a reasonable mechanical
aptitude.
Line technician, draw and iron operator, and
equipment tender comprise the job classifications
regularly assigned to the Forming department. Line
technicians, as are their counterparts in the Deco
department, are generally responsible for overall
troubleshooting and repairing the equipment. They
can also be utilized up and down the production
lines . They receive the same hourly pay as the line
technicians in the Deco department, and use the
same facilities, have the same working conditions,
and receive the same fringe benefits as do all of the
other employees. Although line technicians are
regularly supervised by a Forming shift supervisor,
they also can be and are utilized elsewhere on the
production lines and on such occasions are
supervised by the supervisor in charge of that area.
The draw and iron operators are primarily
responsible for operating the overhead crane,
uncoiler, lubricator, cupping press, and bodymakers.
Although they are also regularly supervised by a
Forming shift supervisor, they still spend a
substantial amount of time working in other areas
where they are under the supervision of the
supervisor in charge of that area. They receive an
hourly pay somewhat comparable to that received
by the coater-printer operators. Equipment tenders
are regularly assigned to the washer and the scrap
bailer.' They are also regularly supervised by a
Forming shift supervisor, but as do their counterpart
in the Deco department, they spend a substantial
amount of time performing duties away from their
regular assigned areas and on such occasions are
supervised by the supervisor in charge of that area.
They also receive the same hourly pay as the
equipment tenders in the Deco department.
Other employees include quality control inspectors
who are regularly assigned to the Forming and Deco
departments. Their primary duties involve inspection
of incoming raw material and making in-process
inspections all along the production lines. They are
in constant contact with the production employees.
There are also material distributors assigned to the
warehouse areas whose duties involve receiving and
transporting incoming raw material to their proper
storage areas and transporting the finished cans
from the palletizers to the storage areas awaiting
shipment to the customers. They also have
substantial contact with the production workers. The
remaining classifications of tool repairman general,
repairman mechanical, repairman electrical, tool
inspector, receiving clerk, and laborer have duties
which require their presence on the production lines.
With respect to the unit sought by the
Lithographers, it appears that the employees
involved therein do not work entirely under
separate supervision; they spend a substantial
amount of time in nonprinting duties; they do not
work in a separate location, but rather as part of
the Deco department, on printing equipment which
is part of the production lines; the line technicians
and equipment tenders in the Deco department
receive the same hourly pay as the same
classifications in the Forming department; the
coater-printer operators receive an hourly pay
somewhat comparable to that received by the draw
and iron operators in the Forming department; and
all of the employees use the same facilities, have the
same working conditions, and receive the same
fringe benefits. Moreover, the Employer does not
have an apprenticeship or formalized training
program, does not specifically require lithographic
experience in the hiring of employees, and the
dry-offset printing process is used exclusively, which
requires less skill and which the Board has
distinguished from "traditional" lithography
printing.' The foregoing factors persuade us that the
line technicians, coater-printer operators, and
equipment tenders sought by the Lithographers do
not have a sufficient community of interests to
warrant their establishment as a separate bargaining
unit. It is, of course, true that the Board has long
recognized that employees engaged in the
lithographic process may constitute an appropriate
bargaining unit in appropriate circumstances. We do
not find this to be such a unit. Whatever separate
community of interests flow from the performance
of lithographic functions are far outweighed by the
larger community of interests these employees share
with other employees in the plant by reason of
shared supervision, common location on the
production line, and shared responsibility for and
participation in the operation of the nonprinting
equipment along the production lines . Accordingly,
we find that they do not by themselves constitute a
unit appropriate for purposes of collective
bargaining.
The scrap bailer compresses into briquettes the scrap from the cupping
presses and the bodymakers. 'Continental Can Co, 171 NLRB No 99.
KAISER ALUMINUM & CHEMICAL CORP.
However, the facts set forth above demonstrate
that all of the production and maintenance
employees involved herein are an identifiable and
distinct group with a community of interests, and
they constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining.
4. We find that the following employees constitute
a unit ; appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the
Act: All production and maintenance employees at
the Employer ' s Union City, California, plant,
excluding office clerical employees , guards and
supervisors as defined in the Act.
685
[Direction of Election' omitted from publication.]
'In order to assure that all eligible voters may have the opportunity to
be informed of the issues in the exercise of their statutory right to vote, all
parties to the election should have access to a list of voters and their
addresses which may be used to communicate with them Excelsior
Underwear Inc, 156 NLRB 1236, N.L R B v. Wyman-Gordon Company,
394 U.S 759. Accordingly, it is hereby directed that an election eligibility
list, containing the names and addresses of all the eligible voters , must be
filed by the Employer with the Regional Director for Region 20 within 7
days of the date of this Decision and Direction of Election The Regional
Director shall make the list available to all parties to the election No
extension of time to file this list shall be granted to by the Regional
Director except in extraordinary circumstances Failure to comply with this
requirement shall be grounds for setting aside the election whenever proper
objections are filed.