Quincy Compressor Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 19, 1941

34 N.L.R.B. 486 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of QUINCY COMPRESSOR COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS
Case No. R-2831.Decided August 19,194f1
Jurisdiction : air compressor manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: Com-
pany refused to accord union recognition until certified by the, Board ;
election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective ' Bargaining : machine operators, assemblers,
drill-press operators, testing-bench and repair men, maintenance men, spray-
painting and stockroom employees, and crating and shipping-room employees,
but excluding clerical, office, and supervisory employees, salesmen , watchmen,
foremen , and janitors.
Mr. Mac Irwin, of Quincy, Ill., for the Company.
Mr. J. T. Farr, of Springfield, Ill., for the I. A. M.
Mr. Bliss Daffan, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On June 25, 1941, Lodge 822, International Association of Ma-
chinists, herein called the I. A. M., filed with the Regional Director
for the Fourteenth Region (St. Louis, Missouri) a petition alleging
that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Quincy Compressor Company, Quincy,
Illinois, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation
and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act.
On July 30, 1941, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called
the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article
III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Reg-
ulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and au-
thorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On July 31, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the I. A. M.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on August 1, 1941, at Quincy,
34 N. L. R. B., No. 70.
486
QUINCY COMPRESSOR COMPANY , 487
Illinois, before Wallace Cooper, the Trial Examiner duly designated
by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company and the I. A. M. were
represented by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full oppor
tunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to
introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties.
During the course of the hearing, the Trial Examiner made several
rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence.
The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds
that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Company is an Illinois corporation with its principal place
of business at Quincy, Illinois. It is engaged in the manufacture and
sale of air compressors. The principal raw materials used by the
Company are castings, forgings, tanks, motors, and electrical ap-
paratus. During the 12 months preceding the date of the hearing,
the value of the raw materials purchased and used by the Company
was approximately $300,000. More than 50 per cent of these raw
materials were shipped from points outside the State of Illinois to
the Company's plant at Quincy. During the same period of time,
the Company manufactured finished products of the approximate
value of $500,000. Approximately 75 percent of these finished prod-
ucts were shipped from the Company's plant at Quincy to points
outside the State of Illinois. The Company admits that it is engaged
in commerce within the meaning of the Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Lodge 822, International Association of Machinists, is a labor
organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, ad-
mitting to membership employees of the Company.
M. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On some undisclosed date during June 1941, the I. A. M. requested
recognition as the exclusive bargaining representative of the em-
ployees of the Company. The Company refused to grant the I. A. M.
such recognition until it should be certified by the Board as the bar-
gaining representative of the employees.
A report prepared by the Regional Director of the Board, which
was introduced into evidence at the hearing, shows that the I. A. M.
488 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD'
represents a substantial number of the employees of the Company
within the unit alleged to be appropriate.'
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation
of employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States
and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing com-
merce and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The I. A. M. contends that the appropriate unit consists of all
machine operators, assemblers, drill-press operators, testing-bench
and repair men, maintenance men, spray-painting and stockroom men,
excluding clerical, office, and supervisory employees, 'salesmen, crating
or shipping employees, watchmen, foremen and janitors. The Com-
pany is in accord with the unit contended for by the I. A. M. except
that it objects to the exclusion therefrom of crating- or shipping-room
employees.
There are only two crating- or shipping-room employees in the em-
ploy of the Company. They are engaged in preparing the compressors
for shipment after they leave the paint department of the plant. In
this connection they see that all the parts and materials are assembled
in the crate or box, prepare name plates, stamp the serial number and
other information on each compressor, and complete the work of
crating for the purpose of delivery to the carrier. They are hourly
paid employees, one of them receiving 46 cents an hour and the other
55 cents an hour. Ordinary production employees of the Company,
consisting principally of machine operators, are paid substantially
the same rates.
The only reason asserted by the I. A. M. for the exclusion of the two
crating or shipping employees from the unit is because they are not
members of the I. A. M. The record shows, however, that shipping
employees are eligible to membership in the organization and have
been included in the unit by the I. A. M. at other plants when they
'The Regional Director reported that the I A. M. submitted to him 22 membership
application cards of employees on the pay roll of the Company as of July 18, 1941, 15 of
which were variously dated from April 1 through May 31, 1941, and 7 of which were
undated. There are approximately 50 employees in the alleged appropriate unit.
QUINCY COMPRESSOR' COMPANY 489
were members of the organization. Under these circumstances, we
will include the two crating or shipping-room employees within the
unit.
We find that all machine operators, assemblers, drill-press opera-
tors, testing-bench and repair men, maintenance men, spray-painting
and stockroom employees, and crating and shipping employees, but
excluding clerical, office, and supervisory employees, salesmen, watch-
men, foremen, and janitors, constitute a unit appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining and that such unit will insure to em-
ployees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organi-
zation and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies
of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen
can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. Both the I. A. M.
and the Company agree that the pay roll to be used to determine eli-
gibility to vote shall be the Company's pay roll of July 18, 1941.
Under these circumstances, we find that the employees of the Company
eligible to vote in the election shall be those employees in the appro-
priate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period of July 18,
1941, subject to such limitations and additions as are set forth in the
Direction of Election hereinafter.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following:
CONCLusIONs OF LAw
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Quincy Compressor Company, Quincy, Illi-
nois, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. All machine operators, assemblers, drill-press operators, testing-
bench and repair men, maintenance men, spray-painting and stock
room employees, and crating- and shipping-room employees, but ex-
cluding clerical, office, and supervisory employees, salesmen, watch-
men, foremen, and janitors, constitute a unit appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b)
of the National Labor Relations Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations
Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended , it is hereby
490 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining
with Quincy Compressor Company, Quincy, Illinois, 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 di-
rection and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fourteenth
Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations
Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regula-
tions, among all machine operators, assemblers, drill-press operators,
testing-bench and repair men, maintenance men, spray-painting and
stockroom employees, and crating- and shipping-room employees, who
were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period of July 18,
1941, including employees who did not work during such pay-roll
period because they were ill or on vacation, or in the active military
service or training of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but
excluding clerical, office, and supervisory employees, salesmen, watch-
men, foremen, and janitors, and employees who have since quit or been
discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be
represented by Lodge 822, International Association of Machinists,
for the purposes of collective bargaining.
MR. EDwiN S. SMITH took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.