National Silver Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 9, 1946

71 N.L.R.B. 303 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of NATIONAL SILVER COMPANY, EMPLOYER and METAL
POLISHERS, BUFFERS, PLATERS AND HELPERS INTERNATIONAL UNION,
A. F. L., PETITIONER
Case No. 2-R-6755.-Decided October 9, 1946
Mr. L. L. Balleisen, of New York City, and Mr. Stanley Lipman, of
Brooklyn, N. Y., for the Employer.
Mr. Jerome Y. Sturm, of New York City, for the Petitioner.
Mr. Angelo Perruccio, of Brooklyn, N. Y., for the Intervenor.
M11r. Benj. Cook, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition dilly filed, hearing in this case was held at New
York City, on July %G, 1946, before Vincent Al. Rotolo, hearing officer.
The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from preju-
dicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. TILE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
The Employer is a New York corporation and maintains its prin-
cipal office in New York City. Its factories are located in Brooklyn,
New York, and Taunton, Massachusetts, where it manufactures cut-
lery, giftware, and silver plate. During the period from June 1, 1945,
to June 1, 1946, the Employer's purchases for its Brooklyn factory, the
only one involved in this proceeding, were valued in excess of $250,000,
75 percent of which was shipped to its factory from points outside
the State of New York. During the same period, its gross volulne of
sales was valued in excess of $500,000, 75 percent of which was shipped
to points outside the State of New York.'
'The Emhiovei maintains branch offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Califonua,
and \liami, Florida
71 N. L. R B., No 38
303
717734-47-vol. 71-21
304 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with American
Federation of Labor claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
National Labor Bargaining Agency, herein called Intervenor, is an un-
affiliated labor organization, claiming to represent employees of the
Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the
Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner seeks a unit confined to the Employer's timekeepers
who appear on the factory pay roll, but excluding timekeepers carried
on the office pay roll. The Employer contends that the unit is gen-
erally inappropriate because (1) all of the timekeepers are confidential
employees, (2) the Petitioner is precluded from representing the time-
keepers because it also represents production and maintenance em-
ployees,2 and (3) that in any event all of the timekeepers, whether on
the office or factory pay rolls, should be included in a single unit. The
Intervenor is in accord with the Employer's position insofar as it
alleges that all timekeepers should be included in the unit and that the
same organization which represents the production and maintenance
employees should not represent the timekeepers.
All of the Employer's timekeepers perform the usual functions
generally associated with their classification. They check the volume
of work produced by each production employee, report any discrep-
ancies between the production worker's claim and the timekeepers'
findings, and compute the amount payable for each operation. There
are eight timekeepers on the Employer's" pay roll, three of whom ap-
pear on the factory pay roll and are paid on an hourly basis; the re-
maining five timekeepers are carried on the office pay roll and are
salaried employees. However, the record discloses that the duties and
2 There is presently pending before the Board a proceeding (2-R-6652, 2-11-Ms, and
2-RE-82) in which a unit of the Employer's production and maintenance employees, ex-
cluding timekeepers, is being sought by the Petitioner herein
NATIONAL SILVER COMPANY 305
functions of the hourly paid and salaried timekeepers are identical.
The hourly paid timekeepers were formerly production workers and
for that reason their names were retained on the factory pay roll.
Inasmuch as there is no material distinction between the duties and
functions of the hourly paid and salaried timekeepers , we perceive no
reason why all of the timekeepers should not be included in the same
unit. Nor do we find that the duties and functions of any of the
timekeepers are confidential within the Board's definition of that
term .3 We have frequently held that timekeepers may constitute a
separate appropriate unit for collective bargaining purposes under the
Act, and in such a imit they are, of course, entitled to be represented
by whatever bargaining agent they choose.4
We find that all timekeepers of the Employer's Brooklyn factory,
including hourly paid and salaried timekeepers , but excluding office
clerical employees and all supervisory employees with authority to
hire, promote , discharge , discipline , or otherwise effect changes in the
status of employees , or effectively recommend such action , constitute a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with National Silver Company,
Brooklyn, New York, 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 Second Region, acting in this matter as agent for the
National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Sections 203.55 and
203.56, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-
Series 4, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Sec-
tion IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period im-
mediately preceding the date of this Direction , including employees
who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or
on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the
armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person
at the polls , but excluding those employees who have since quit or been
discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to
the date of the election, to determine whether they desire to be repre-
sented by Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers and Helpers International
Union, A. F. L.. or by National Labor Bargaining Agency, for the
purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
3 See Matter of Ordnance Steel Foundry Company, 60 N. L. it. B . 207, Matter of Bethle-
hem Steel Company, 67 N. L. it. B 159
4 See Matter of Bethlehem Steel Company , footnote 3, supra.