Lockheed Aircraft Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsSep 24, 1946

71 N.L.R.B. 9 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of LOCKHEED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, FOR ITSELF AND ON BEHALF OF LOCAL LODGE 1712, BURBANK, CALIFORNIA, PETITIONER Case No. 21-R-2885 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND ORDER September 24, 1946 On August 26, 1946, the Board issued its Decision and Direction of Elections in this proceeding,' in which it found that one or both of two voting groups consisting of the Employer's group and section supervisors, respectively, except those in the engineering branch and those whose sole function was to supervise salaried, executive, admin- istrative, or professional employees, outside salesmen or representa- tives, guards, or firemen, may constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.2 Thereafter, on September 12, 1946, the Employer submitted a motion to vacate the Decision and to reopen the case for the introduction of evidence as to the appropri- ateness of the contemplated unit, and on September 16, 1946, a sup- plement to its motion. The motion is based on the grounds that the parties did not have an opportunity to be heard as to the appropri- ateness of the unit contemplated by the Board, that the potential unit does not correspond substantially to the existing non-supervisory pro- duction and maintenance unit, and that the unit contemplated by the Board is not appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining. We deem the Employer's contentions to be without sufficient merit. The record reveals that, at the hearing, evidence was introduced as to the Employer's operations in all of its branches. We are of the opinion that the Board had before it ample evidence as to the appro- priateness of the unit contemplated in the'Decision. We have reexamined the entire record and have concluded that the voting groups established in our Decision are defined with adequate clarity and that the potential bargaining unit is appropriate within the meaning of the Act. The Employer's principal contentions to the ' 70 N L. R. B. 696. s Since self-determining elections were ordered , final determination of the appropriate unit was reserved, pending the results of the elections. 71 N. L. R. B., No. 3. 9 10 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD contrary were fully considered prior to the issuance of our Decision. The motion papers submitted by the Employer suggest that the voting groups as defined in our Decision may in fact include a relatively small number of "fringe" supervisors,- who are not reasonably allied in in- terest with the production and maintenance supervisors comprising the bulk of the proposed unit, and who may therefore be unsuitable in- clusions therein. If such cases materialize, we believe that the ap- propriate and convenient remedy is for the Employer or other in-' terested parties to challenge any such would-be "fringe" voters in the forthcoming election 4 if, in the opinion of the challenging party, such "fringe" supervisors have no proper place in a production and main- tenance supervisory group. This remedy is available with respect to the employees referred to in the supplement to the motion, received September 16, 1946, as well as to the others. If it becomes necessary or desirable to investigate such challenges, the record already made can be adequately supplemented, and any necessary corrections of our present findings can be made. We see no reason to delay the election by reopening the record at this stage of the proceeding. ORDER ' Upon the entire record in this proceeding. the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the motion to vacate the Decision of the Board and to reopen the case, filed by Lockheed Aircraft Cor- portation, Burbank, California, be, and it hereby is, denied. MR. JAMES J. REYNOLDS, JR., took no part in the consideration of the above Supplemental Decision and Order. a By "fringe" supervisors , we mean those who supervise office clerical , confidential or monitorial sections or groups , such as, for example : personnel , labor relations , tax, finance, legal , outside salesmen, guards, firemen, and similar classifications 4 I e , even though the language used in our Decision and Direction of Elections appears to make the would-be "fringe" voter eligible to vote.