National Lead Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 31, 1944

55 N.L.R.B. 963 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of NATIONAL LEAD COMPANY (STEEL PACKAGE DIVISION)
and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, DISTRICT No. 9,
A. F. OF L.
Case No. 14-R-839.-Decided March 31, 1944
Messrs. Wallace Cooper and A. D. Sargent, of St. Louis, Missouri,
for the Company.
Mr. W. C. Riley, of St. Louis, Missouri, for the I. A. M.
Messrs. Ralph Z. Miller and Walter S. Love, of Granite City,
Illinois, for the U. S. A.
Mrs. Platonia P. Kaldes, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by International Association of Ma-
chinists, District No. 9, A. F. of L., herein called the I. A. M., alleg-
ing that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of National Lead Company (Steel Pack-
age Division), Granite City, Illinois, herein called the Company, the
National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice before Keith W. Blinn, Trial Examiner. Said
hearing was held at St. Louis, Missouri, on February 22, 1944. Dur-
ing the course of the hearing, Local Union No. 1989, United Steel-
workers of America, C. I. 0., herein called the U. S. A., moved to
intervene in the proceedings. The Trial Examiner granted the
motion. The Company, the I. A. M. and the U. S. A. appeared and
participated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard,
to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence
bearing on the issues. During the course of the hearing, the Com-
pany and the U. S. A. moved to dismiss the proceedings because,
inter alia, the unit sought by the I. A. M. was inappropriate. The
motion was referred to the Board. For the reasons hereinafter set
forth, the motion is granted. The Trial Examiner's rulings made
at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
55 N. L. R. B., No. 172.
963
964 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
All parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the
Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The National Lead Company is a New Jersey corporation and main-
tains plants, offices, and warehouses throughout the United States.
This proceeding involves only the Company's Steel Package Division
located at Granite City, Illinois, which is engaged in the manufacture
of steel containers for the use of the United States Army Air Forces
and for the Company's use in the packaging of paste and pigments.
During the year 1943, the Company purchased raw materials, the
principal one of which was steel, valued in excess of $100,000, of which
more than 95 percent was shipped from points out of the State of
Illinois to the Company's Steel Package Division at Granite City,
Illinois. During the same period, the Company manufactured fin-
ished products valued in excess of $100,000, of which in excess of 95
percent was shipped from its Steel Package Division at Granite City,
Illinois, to points outside the State of Illinois.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
If. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Association of Machinists, District No. 9, affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization ad-
mitting to membership employees of the Company.
Local Union No. 1989, United Steelworkers of America, affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organiza-
tion admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNIT
The I. A. M. seeks a unit of machinists, machinists' helpers and a
handyman, herein referred to collectively as the machinists, employed
in the machine shop of the Company's Steel Package Division. With
the exception of the handyman, the employees the I. A. M. seeks to
represent comprise a separate craft. All form a clearly identifiable,
liomogeneous group. Although the Company and the U. S. A. do not
deny the facts respecting the homogeneity of this group of employees,
they contend, however, that because of the collective bargaining his-
tory in the Company's Steel Package Division, the only appropriate
NATIONAL LEAD COMPANY 965
unit should be one consisting of all production and maintenance
employees, including the machinists.
The history of organization and collective bargaining in the Com-
pany's Steel Package Division, so far as the record discloses, dates
from 1937. On Jude 10, 1937, the U. S. A. was recognized as the
exclusive bargaining representative of all the production and mainte-
nance employees, the machinists included. Since that date, the
Company and the U. S. A. have been in continuous contractual rela-
tions. The U. S. A. has negotiated with the Company respecting
hours, wages, and conditions of work for all production and mainte-
nance employees and has established a grievance procedure for the
settlement of employee problems. The machinists have participated
in all the benefits of the U. S. A.'s collective bargaining contracts
with the Company, including wage increases. Although the ma-
chlnists have not presented grievances through U. S. A. representa-
tives, the evidence establishes that the U. S. A.'s grievance procedure
was at all times available to the machinists. There is no evidence
that the machinists have bargained collectively with the Company as
a group. While on two separate occasions, one as early as December
20, 1938, the Company refused the I. A. M.'s requests to bargain
with it for the stated reason, inter alia, that the Company believed
the machinists did not constitute an appropriate unit, the I. A. M.
did not petition the Board to investigate and certify representatives
for the Company's Steel Package Division employees until after a
third request for bargaining on November 11, 1943, was refused by
the Company.
We find no reason on the basis of the facts and circumstances
outlined above, to set the machinists apart from the production and
maintenance employees In the Company's Steel Package Division.
Although we agree that the machinists form a clearly identifiable
homogeneous group, we do not consider this fact to be of sufficient
weight to justify the disturbance of a collective bargaining unit
which appears to have achieved and maintained harmony between
the Company and the employees. Clearly, the U. S. A. and the
Company have considered the machinists to be included in the unit
of production and maintenance workers and the I. A. M. until re-
cently has not protested this inclusion.2 We find on the basis of prior
bargaining history that the unit requested by the I. A. M. is not
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.'
Another request vNas made on March 11, 1942
2 we note from the evidence that the entire group of production employees at the Com-
pany's Steel Package Dn ision would probably be accepted for membership in the I. A. M.
3 See Matter of Pitcairn Company, 52 N. L R. B. 404 , Matter of Procter & Gamble Mfg.
Co , 52 N L R. B. 661.
966 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
IV. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Since, as we have held in Section III, above, the bargaining unit
sought to be established by the petition is inappropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining, we find that no question affecting
commerce has arisen concerning the representation of the Company's
employees in an appropriate unit.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact, the National Labor
Relations Board hereby orders that the petition for investigation
and certification of representatives of employees of National Lead
Company ( Steel Package Division), Granite City, Illinois , filed by
International Association of Machinists , District No. 9, A. F. of L.,
be, and it hereby is, dismissed.