Kendall Refining Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsOct 9, 1946

71 N.L.R.B. 306 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of KENDALL REFINING COMPANY dnd OIL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, CIO Case No. 6-R-1375 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES October 9, 1946 On August 16, 1946, pursuant to the Decision and Direction of Elec- tion issued by the Board herein on August 5, 1946,' an election by secret ballot was conducted under the direction and supervision,of the Re- gional Director for the Sixth Region (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). Upon the conclusion of the election, the Regional Director issued and duly served upon the parties his Report on Challenged Ballots, setting forth.the results of the election and the recommendation of the Re- gional Director With respect to the disposition of 11 challenged ballots. Thereafter the Employer filed exceptions to the Report on Challenged Ballots. No objections have been filed by any of the parties to the conduct of the balloting or to the results of the election. The Report on Challenged Ballots discloses the following election results : Approximate number of eligible i otes s----------------------- 354 Void ballots-------------------- -------------- 0 Votes cast for Oil Workers International Union, CIO ---------- 157 Votes cast for International Union of Operating Enguieei . AFL_ 0 Votes cast against participating organizations________________ 143 Valid votes counted-------------- -------------------- 300 Challenged ballots----------------- ------------------------- 11 Valid votes counted plus challenged ballots_ ___________________ 317 In his Report on Challenged Ballots, the Regional Director found that two employees challenged by the Oil Workers as alleged super- visory employees were non-supervisory and eligible to vote in the elec- tion. The Regional Director found, however, that the other nine em- ployees challenged by the Oil Workers and employed in the multi graph department where they operate various machines used in the duplica- tion of advertising matter, form letters, and stationery, are essentially clerical employees and recommended that.the challenges in these in- 3 69 N. L R . B. 1185. 71 N. L R. B, No. 39. 306 KENDALL REFINING COMPANY 307 stances be sustained upon the ground that such employees come within the Board's general exclusion of "office and clerical employees" from the appropriate unit,. In its exceptions, which are concerned only with the recommendation of the Regional Director with respect to the nine employees hereinabove referred to, the Employer contends in substance that the employees of the multigraph department have interests closely related to those of the refinery employees and that they by reason thereof come within the general terms of the appropriate unit. We have considered the Report on Challenged Ballots and the Employer's exceptions thereto. We concur in the finding of the Re- gional Director that the employees of the multigraph department are essentially clerical employees, although from the allegations in the Employer's exceptions such employees would also appear to be plant clerical employees of a type which we have on occasion included within production and maintenance units. In the present instance, however, no issue was raised at the hearing with respect to the inclusion of plant clerical employees as such within the unit heretofore found to be appropriate. In the absence of such issue, the Board adopted with respect to the exclusion of office and clerical employees generally, the same provision as was used in the determination of the appropriate unit in the earlier proceeding involving employees of the Employer.2 In so doing, the Board intended by its exclusion of "office and clerical employees," to exclude both office and plant clerical employees from the appropriate unit.' Under the circumstances, we find that the multigraph department employees herein concerned are not properly included within the appropriate unit. Accordingly, we sustain the challenges to the ballots of such employees and overrule the exceptions of the Employer to the Regional Director's Report on Challenged Ballots. Since the results of the balloting show that a majority of the em- ployees in the appropriate unit have selected the Oil Workers as their bargaining representative and that such selection could not be affected by opening and counting the two challenged ballots of alleged super- visory employees, we find it unnecessary to determine the validity of the challenges in these instances and shall certify the labor organi- zation shown to have been designated as bargaining representative for the purposes of collective bargaining. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES By virtue of raid pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations See Matter of Kendall Refining Company , 59 N. L. R B 1334. $ See Matter of Precision Castings Co., Inc , 48 N. L. R. B. 835 at 838. 308 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Act, and pursuant to Sections 203.54 and 203.55, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 4, IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that Oil Workers International Union, CIO, has been designated and selected by a majority of all employees em- ployed in or attached to the refinery of Kendall Refining Company, at Bradford, Pennsylvania, including Fosterbrook, the pipe-line de- partment, the stock clerk and his helper, and watchmen, but excluding the main and job order clerk, production employees, laboratory em- ployees, office and clerical employees, salesmen, administrative em- ployees, foremen, assistant foremen, and all or any other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively rec- ommend such action, as their bargaining representative for the pur- poses of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, the said organization is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment.