Reeves Pulley Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 8, 1940

22 N.L.R.B. 768 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter of REEVES PULLEY COMPANY and COLUMBUS LOCAL LODGE
No. 1466, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS OF THE
A. F. OF L.
In the Matter of REEVES PULLEY COMPANY and PATTERN MAKERS
LEAGUE OF NORTH AMERICA AND PATTERN MAKERS ASSOCIATION OF
INDIANAPOLIS AND VICINITY, AFFILIATED WITH THE A. F. OF L.
Cases Nos. R-1689 and R-1690, respectively.Decided April 8, 1941)
Variable Speed Control Device Manufacturing Industry-Investigation of
Representatives : controversy concerning representation of employees: rival or-
ganization ; refusal by employer to bargain with any of rival organizations until
certified by Board in view of conflicting claims as to appropriate unit or units
and majority designation therein-Units Appropriate for Collective Bargaining:
(1) pattern makers and pattern makers ' apprentices , excluding supervisory
employees; no controversy as to; ( 2) factory employees : separate unit of tool
makers, machinists and specialists , their apprentices and helpers , if election shows
these employees desire it ; unit composed of all other employees , excluding em-
ployees in pattern makers department , supervisory and clerical employees, con-
fidential employees , time-study men, or persons having the right to hire or dis-
charge employees ; tool makers, machinists and specialists , their apprentices and
helpers included in plant -wide unit if election indicates their desire for inclu-
sion ; sweepers and truckers , tool clerk, assistant electrician, jig designer, office
janitors , excluded from machinists ' unit and included in unit of remaining em-
ployees-Representatives : proof of choice : factory employees : evidence of ma-
jority designation insufficient ; eligibility to participate in choice : pay-roll period
as of time of hearing used where determination of appropriate unit made with
reference thereto and where no change in employee personnel indicated-Cer-
tification of Representatives : upon proof of majority designation in unit of
pattern makers and pattern makers' apprentices ; no controversy as to-Elections
Ordered: ( 1) among tool makers, machinists and specialists , their apprentices
and helpers and (2) among remaining employees -Procedure: petition for in-
vestigation and certification filed with Trial Examiner by intervening union
treated as intervention.
Mr. Arthur R. Donovan and Mr. Robert D. Malarney, for the
Board.
Mr. James A. Ross, of Indianapolis, Ind., and Mr. Edwin G. Crouch,
of Columbus, Ind., for the Company.
Mr. H. T. Hamilton, of Washington, D. C., for the I. A. M.
Mr. George W. Henke, of Indianapolis, Ind., for the League.
Mr. W. C. Landmeier, of Indianapolis, Ind., for the Association.
Apr. Donald P. Shinn, of Columbus, Ind., for the Independent.
Mr. Harold M. Weston and Mr. Robert F. Koretz, of counsel to the
Board.
22 N L . R. B., No. 47.
768
REEVES PULLEY COMPANY
DECISION
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
769
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On May 4,1939, Columbus Local Lodge No. 1466, International Asso-
ciation of Machinists, herein called the I. A. M., affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor, herein called the A. F. of L., filed with
the Regional Director for the Eleventh Region (Indianapolis, Indiana),
a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen con-
cerning the representation of employees of Reeves Pulley Company,
Columbus, Indiana, herein called the Company. On October 18, 1939,
Pattern Makers League of North America, herein called the League,
affiliated with the A. F. of L., and Pattern Makers Association of
Indianapolis And Vicinity, herein called the Association, affiliated
with the League, filed a petition with the Regional Director alleging
that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the represen-
tation of employees of the Company.' Each of the petitions requests
an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Sec-
tion 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein
called the Act. On November 18, 1939, the National Labor Relations
Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of
the Act and Article III, Sections 3 and 10 (c) (2), of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, ordered an investi-
gation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to pro-
vide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice, and further ordered
that the cases be consolidated.2
On January 8, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear-
ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the I. A. M.,
the League, the Association, and upon Transmission Workers and
Machinists Union of Columbus, Indiana,' herein called the Independ-
i The League is designated in the various formal documents as "Pattern Makers League
of N. A." The petition filed by the League and the Association is signed "Pattern Makers
League of N. A. and Pattern Makers Association of Indianapolis And Vicinity, Affiliated
with the A. F. of L, By W C. Landmeier, Ass't Bus Mgr, Pattern Makers Ass'n_
Indianapolis "
2 Theretofore, on May 18 and June 12, 1939, the I A M had filed charges and
amended charges against the Company. By the order issued Noiember 18, 1939, the
Board consolidated with the representation cases referred to in the text, the proceedings
initiated by the charges and amended charges Thereafter, following a settlement with
respect to the charges of unfair labor practices, and agreement by the I A M to aithdiaw
the charges, the Board, on January 6, 1940, issued a further order which severed the
proceedings with respect to the charges of unfair labor practices
3 Copies of the notice of hearing were also served upon the United Automobile Workers
of America, and upon the respective regional directors of the C 1 0 and A F of L
770 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ent, a labor organization described in the petitions as claiming to rep-
resent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to
the notice, a hearing was held on January 15 and 16, 1940, at Columbus,
Indiana, before Berdon M. Bell, the Trial Examiner duly, designated
by the Board. The Board, the Company, the I. A. M., the League,
the Association, and the Independent were represented by counsel,
participated in the hearing, and were afforded full opportunity to be
heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evi-
dence bearing upon the issues. At the opening of the hearing the
Independent filed an application for leave to intervene which the
Trial Examiner granted. Thereupon the Independent asked and was
granted leave by the Trial Examiner to file in the proceedings a petition
for investigation and certification of representatives of the employees
of the Company pursuant to Section 9 (c). Article III, Section 1,
of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2,
requires that such a petition be filed with the Regional Director.4
However, the Trial Examiner stated at the hearing that the Inde-
pendent's petition for investigation and certification placed it in no
different position than its intervention and we will treat the case upon
that basis.' In the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made
various rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evi-
dence. The Board has reviewed those rulings and finds that no prej-
udicial errors were committed. We hereby affirm all rulings of the.
Trial Examiner.
On January 26, 1940, the Company, and on January 30, 1940, the
Independent filed briefs which have been considered by the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Reeves Pulley Company, an Indiana corporation, with its principal
office and place of business located in the city of Columbus, Indiana,
is engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of variable speed-
control devices, including variable speed transmissions, vari-speed
motor pulleys, vari-speed motodrives, and wood pulleys.
The raw materials used by the Company in manufacturing its prod-
ucts consist chiefly of grey-iron castings, shafting, ball bearings,
4 Except where filed with the Board as provided in Article III, Section 10, of said
Rules and Regulations
5 Compare Matter of Wadsworth Watch Case Company and Metal Polishers, Buffers,
Platers and Helpers International Union, 4 N L R. B 487, 490, 494; Matter of Vast-Ballou
Press, Inc. and Binghamton Printing Pressmen's and Assistants' Union, No. 57, 1. P. P.
and A U. of Binghamton,- N. Y., and Binghamton Typographical Union, No 232, 15
N L. R. B 378, 381, 406.
REEVES PULLEY COMPANY 771
motors, rubber belting, and lumber. In 1938 such raw materials
amounted to approximately $400,000, of which 75 per cent were pur-
chased in States other than the State of Indiana. During the same
period the Company manufactured products having a value of ap-
proximately $900,000, of which 90 per cent were shipped to destina-
tions located outside the State of Indiana, including foreign countries
as well as every State in the United States.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Columbus Local Lodge No. 1466, International Association of Ma-
chinists, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor
organization admitting to membership employees of the Company.
Pattern Makers Association of Indianapolis And Vicinity, is a labor
organization chartered by Pattern Makers League of North America,
a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
and admits 'to membership pattern makers and pattern makers' ap-
prentices employed by the Company.
Transmission Workers and Machinists Union of Columbus, Indiana,
is an unaffiliated labor organization admitting to membership all em-
ployees at the Company's plant, except supervisory, office, and confi-
dential employees, time-study men, and employees having the right
to hire, discharge,'or discipline other employees.,'
III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On or about April 19, 1939, upon the basis of a report of a certified
public accountant that the Independent had been designated by 102
"shop" employees, the Company recognized that organization as the
exclusive bargaining agent of "all of the employees in (its) plant,"
and arranged to meet with the Independent for the purposes of col-
lective bargaining. Meanwhile, in the period between the submission
to the accountant of the Independent's evidence of designation and
the report thereon, certain of the Company's employees had formed
a labor organization for the purpose of affiliating with the Interna-
tional Association of Machinists and the latter promptly challenged
the majority status of the Independent. Thereafter, on or about
April 25, the. International Association of Machinists wrote the Com-
pany claiming to represent "the majority of tool makers, machinists,
9 At the time of the hearing the I. A . M. had not sought to enroll members except
among the employees of the Company ; membership , however , is not restucted to such
employees. The Association has members not only among the Company 's employees
but also throughout the area described in its name . The Independent limits membership
to employees of the Company.
772 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
assemblers , their apprentices and helpers ," and as of April 25, 1939,
chartered Columbus Local Lodge No. 1466 , herein called the I. A. M.
Because of the conflicting claims the Company refused to deal for the
purposes of collective bargaining with either labor organization until
certified by the Board. As stated above, on May 4, 1939 , the I. A. M.
filed its petition for investigation and certification.
The recognition granted the Independent on or about April 19, 1939,
had been as exclusive bargaining agent of "all of the employees in
(the) plant ." The bargaining unit for which the Independent was
thus recognized as agent included not only the employees claimed by
the I . A. M. to constitute a separate appropriate unit, but also in-
cluded the pattern makers and pattern makers' apprentices employed
by the Company . These latter employees , the League and the Asso-
ciation allege in their petition for investigation and certification filed
on October 18, 1939, constitute another separate appropriate unit and
have designated the League and the Association as their representa-
tives. At the hearing the Company stated that it would not bargain
with any of the contending labor organizations unless certified by the
Board.
The parties agree, and we find, that questions have arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
UPON COMMERCE
We find that the questions concerning representation which have
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, have a close, intimate , and substantial
relation to trade, traffic , and commerce among the several States and
with foreign countries , and tend to lead to labor disputes burdening
and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNITS
The I. A. M. contends that a unit composed of tool makers, ma-
chinists and specialists , their apprentices and helpers , hereinafter re-
ferred to as the machinists ' unit, is appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining.
The Independent and the Company contend that all employees of
the Company at its Columbus , Indiana, plant, including those men-
tioned above , but excluding employees in the pattern makers depart-
ment, supervisory and clerical employees, confidential employees, time-
study men, or persons having the right to hire or discharge employees,
constitute an appropriate unit.
REEVES PULLEY COMPANY 773
The League and the Association contend, and all parties agree, that
employees in the pattern-makers department, excluding supervisory
employees, constitute an appropriate unit.
A. The pattern-makers department
The Company's pattern-makers department, which is under the
supervision of a departmental foreman, consists of three pattern mak-
ers and three pattern makers' apprentices. These six employees are
engaged entirely in making patterns which the Company ships to a
foundry for use in making castings of certain iron parts necessary in
the manufacture of machines produced by the Company. At the
hearing the Independent withdrew its claim to represent the pattern
makers and pattern makers' apprentices; and together with the other
parties stipulated that these employees constituted a separate appro-
priate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining. The unit thus
agreed upon is a usual one, and we shall find in accordance with the
wishes of the parties.
We find that the pattern makers and pattern makers' apprentices,
exclusive of supervisory employees, employed by the Company consti-
tute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and
that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit
of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and
will otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act.
B. The factory employees
According to the pay roll for January 6, 1940, which was intro-
duced in evidence, the Company employs approximately 201 em-
ployees, excluding pattern makers and pattern makers' apprentices,
listed under the heading of, and herein called, factory employees.
The Independent and the Company claim that these employees
constitute the plant-wide unit which they contend is appropriate.
The I. A. M. introduced into evidence a list of approximately 134
of these factory employees who, it asserts, are properly included in
the unit of tool makers, machinists and specialists,7 their apprentices
and helpers. With the exception of approximately nine persons here-
inafter considered, the employees whom the I. A. M. would include in
the unit are the skilled metal workers who comprise the employee
personnel in departments A, B, C, D, E, F, G, M, and P, of the plant
and are listed under the classifications set forth in Appendix A. All
7In its petition the I. A M defined "machinists and specialists" to include tool
grinders, machine-tool operators, bench hands or assemblers, their apprentices or helpers,
in departments A, B C, D, F, F. G, Al, and P Specialists are defined by NNitnesscs for
the I A Al as machinists who, because of their limited experience, are capable of
pei forming a single operation
2 8 303 3-41-vol 22--50
774 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
of these departments except M are comprised of related groups of
employees working in physically separate, but frequently adjacent,
parts of the plant. Department M is a "miscellaneous" group com-
posed of tool grinders, electricians, inspectors, sweeper, tool clerk,
office janitor. The remaining factory employees, whom the I. A. M.
would exclude, are grouped into the following departments: depart-
ment I, the woodworking department; department H, the belt depart-
ment; department L, the rough-stock room; department K, the
finished-stock room; department N, the shipping department; and
department 0, referred to as "lumber and yard," into which lumber-
yard laborers, carpenters, firemen, engineers, watchmen, and a truck
driver are grouped.
In support of its position concerning the appropriate unit, the
I. A. M. asserts : that the pay-roll classifications of employees whom
it would include in the unit, as distinguished from the remaining
factory employees, "are typical descriptions of work which appro-
priately and by practice throughout the nation come within the
generally recognized machinists' trade jurisdiction"; that for "many
years hundred and thousands of employers have recognized the
machinists as a highly skilled trade and so bargained with the trade
as such through the I. A. M."; and that certain of these employees
formed a labor organization for the purpose of affiliating with the
I. A. M. "with the thought in mind . . . of endeavoring to enroll
therein every eligible tool maker, machinist, specialist, their ap-
prentices and helpers, actively working in the city of Columbus at
the recognized machinists' trade." 8
On the other hand, the Independent and the Company, in sub-
stantiation of their claim that a plant-wide unit is appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining, refer to the following facts:
that the operations performed throughout the plant are highly co-
ordinated; 9 that about one-half of the residual group of approxi-
mately 68 factory employees whom the I. A. M. would exclude from
the machinists' unit "are engaged in skilled labor comparable to the
more simple forms of machinists' work"; 10 that the hours of labor of
employees throughout the plant are uniform; that there is some
8 At the hearing the I A . M introduced into evidence a statement signed by approxi-
mately 60 employees in the machinists ' unit in April and May 1939 designating the
I. A. M as their representative tor the purposes of collective bargaining.
9 The Independent and the Company emphasize the fact that a considerable part of
the work performed in departments I and H consists of making leather - tipped wood
blocks which are an essential part of belts assembled in department IT These belts aie
peculiar to, and essential in, the Company's principal finished product
°Employees in departments H and I operate the following machines in perfoimmg
the work referred to in footnote 9, supra , planer , saws , molding machine, drill presses
(department I) ; nailing, cutting, bolt pressing, sewing, and skiving machines, lathe, and
sander (department H).
REEVES PULLEY COMPANY 775
interchange of personnel throughout the plant; that skilled work-
men are employed in practically every department, and, accordingly,
wage variables are similar in nearly all departments; and that there
is no past bargaining history in the plant that would indicate the
appropriateness of separate bargaining for the group covered by the
claim of the I. A. M.11 According to the uncontradicted testimony of
witnesses called by the Independent, approximately 101 factory em-
ployees in the various departments into which factory employees are
divided have signed a statement designating the Independent as their
representative for the purposes of collective bargaining.
From the entire record, it appears that tool makers, machinists
and specialists, their apprentices and helpers, as defined below, appro-
priately may be established as a separate unit or included within
the plant-wide unit. Under these circumstances we are of the
opinion that the desires of these employees should be determinative. 12
As stated in Section VI, infra, the determination of their desires can
best be made in elections which we shall direct. Upon the outcome
of the elections will depend our ascertainment of the appropriate
unit or units herein. There remains for consideration the determina-
tion of the specific composition of the election units.
The I. A. M. objected to the inclusion within the unit of Henry
Hoeltke, who is listed on the pay roll as "Chief Electrician." Hoeltke
was described by Brooks, assistant plant manager, as "a working
foreman," who, with one assistant, "looks after all the electrical work,
such as wiring the motors or moving the motors, locating the
motors . . .; also any pipe fitting . . . that might come up."
Hoeltke has the power to hire and discharge his assistant and,
like the foremen, whose exclusion was agreed upon, is paid on a salary
basis, while all other factory employees, with the exception of six
firemen and engineers, are paid on an hourly basis. We find that
Hoeltke is a supervisory employee and therefore we shall exclude
him from both election units.
The I. A. M. would include in the machinists' unit William Ott,
listed on the pay roll as "Machinist, Milling Machine Operator; tem-
porarily operating Block Trimmer" in department 11.11 Shortly prior
to the hearing Ott had been transferred from department B, where
"None of the unions involved has a contract with the Company Prior to 1938, there
had been no collective bargaining between the Company and any representative of its
employees In 1938 the Company entered into a collective haigaunng agreement Huth
the Employees Welfare Association , which had organized the Company 's employees on a
plant -wide scale , but which was theieafter disestabinslned pursuant to a settlement agree-
ment entered into by the Company and the Board ' s Regional Directoi
12 Matter of The Globe Machine and Stamping Co and Metal Polishers Union Local
No. 3, et at, 3 N. L. R B. 294, and subsequent cases
13 See footnote 9, supra, for a description of the work pen formed in department H.
776 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
he had worked as a machinist, because of the need of extra help in
department II. Brooks testified, "If we need him [Ott] out in the
machine shop more than we do in the belt department we would
take him back there," and stated that "we would consider" returning
Ott to machinists' work if he requested it. It is clear that Ott is
a machinist by trade, and in view of the probability that he will
return to this work, we shall include him in the machinists' unit.
The I. A. M. would include in the machinists' unit Otto Arnholt
classified on the pay roll as "Painter," in department F, Eugene
Miter classified as "Assembler of Vari-Speed Motor Pulleys and
painter," in department A, but would exclude Robert Gilmore, classi-
fied as "Painter; and Balances Transmission Discs," in department F,
and Martin Mackey, classified as "Painter, and Assembler of Trans-
mission Parts," in department F. Brooks, the assistant plant man-
ager, testified that Arnholt, in addition to painting, also assembles
levers and balances discs and "that he has painted as much as he has
done either of the other jobs." Brooks stated that Gilmore 14 has bal-
anced discs and assembled parts, but that "he uses a spray gun mostly
now." No testimony was adduced elaborating on the duties of Mizer
or Mackey, and in the absence of such testimony, we assume that their
pay-roll classification is correct. Inasmuch as it appears that all
four of these employees perform work of the type which the I. A. M.
asserts is within the "machinists' trade jurisdiction," we shall include
them within the machinists' unit.
The I. A. M. would also include within the machinists' unit James
Kirby, Forest Lane, Christian Waldkoetter, and John Ott, each
classified on the pay roll as "Sweeper; also trucks parts from one
operation to another" in departments A, B, C, and F, respectively.
The testimony indicates that the pay-roll classifications correctly
describe the duties of these employees and that they do not perform
any machinists' work. We are of the opinion that their presence
within the departments in which the skilled metal workers are con-
centrated is not a sufficient reason for their inclusion within the
machinists' unit," particularly where, as in the instant case, the.
I. A. M. urges, as pointed out hereinafter, the exclusion of a jig
designer, who is an hourly paid employee and works in the toolroom
with the tool makers whom the I. A. M. would include in the unit."'
1{ Gilmore sieved the statement referred to in footnote 8, supra, designating the
1. A M as his representative for the purposes of collective bargaining
15 In Matter of Waterbury Manufactunanq Company and International Association of
Machinists , Local 1335 , 5 N. L It . B. 288 , 243, we excluded , over the objection of the
union , " various unskilled workers such as cleaners and truckers, who are located in the
various departments where the highly skilled men are concentrated ," from a unit of
maintenance machinists , tool and die makers, tool grinders , model makers , metal -pattern
makers , automatic screw machine tool setters and operators , and apprentices
11 Moreover , as pointed out infra, the I A DL would also exclude from the unit an
employee classified as "Sweeper , and Office Janitor," in department M
REEVES PULLEY COMPANY 777
We shall exclude Kirby, Lane, Waldkoetter, and Ott from the
machinists' unit and include them in the election unit with the re-
maining factory employees.
The I. A. M. desires to include in the machinists' unit William
Lockman, classified on the pay roll as "Tool Clerk," and Robert
Schwartzkop f, classified as "Assistant Electrician," both of whom
are listed with the "miscellaneous" group of employees in depart-
ment M. Their pay-roll classifications indicate that these employees
do not perform work coming "within the generally recognized ma-
chinists' trade jurisdiction." Moreover, the record, while not entirely
clear, indicates that Schwartzkopf performs the work of an ordinary
maintenance electrician throughout the plant. We shall exclude
Lockman and Schwartzkopf from the machinists' unit and include
them in the unit with the remaining factory employees.17
The I. A. M. desires to exclude from the machinists' unit Harold
Aldrich, classified on the pay roll as "jig designer" in department P,
Ozias A. Hinkle, classified as "Sweeper; and office janitor" in depart-
ment M, and Grace Hinkle, classified as "Office Janitor" in depart-
ment M. Although Aldrich works in the same department with the
tool makers, Brooks testified that Aldrich performs his work "on a
drawing board," designing jigs or tools. It is clear that Aldrich,
0. Hinkle, and G. Hinkle do not perform machinists' work and we
shall also exclude them from the machinists' unit and include them
in the election unit with the remaining factory employees.
Under these circumstances, we shall order elections among the
Company's employees at its Columbus, Indiana, plant, within the
groups described below, excluding employees in the pattern-makers
department, supervisory and clerical employees, confidential em-
ployees, time-study men, and persons having the right to hire or
discharge employees :
(a) All tool makers, machinists and specialists, their apprentices
and helpers, employed in departments A, B, C, D, E, F, G, M, and
P, under the pay-roll classifications set forth in Appendix A,18
17 Cf. Matter of Cherner Motor Company and Lodge No. 193, International Association
of Machinists 19 N L . R B 609 , where we excluded , at the request of the
union, a tool or shop clerk from a unit of automotive maintenance , repair , conditioning
mechanics and helpers ; Matter of Willys Overland Motors , Inc. and International Union,
United Automobile Workers of America , Local No. 12 , 9 N. L R . B. 924 , 928, where
we excluded electricians from a unit of maintenance mechanics and maintenance ma-
chinists , over the objection of the union.
'B Several employees in these departments are classified on the Company 's pay roll as
performing work in more than one of the employment classifications listed in Appendix
A, and certain other employees are classified as performing work both in an employment
classification listed in Appendix A and in an employment classification not so listed The
list of employment classifications in Appendix A is intended to include all such em-
ployees as eligible to vote in this election . Appendix A includes persons classified
as "Painter" in departments A, B, C, D, E, F, G, M, and P , inasmuch as we have found,
supra, that such employees also perform work coming within the "recognized machinists'
trade jurisdiction."
778 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
including William Ott, to determine whether they desire to be rep-
resented by the I. A. M., or by the Independent, for the purposes of
collective bargaining, or by neither;
(b) All the remaining employees to determine whether or not
they desire to be represented by the Independent for the purposes
of collective bargaining.
We shall certify the union, if any, designated by a majority of the
employees within each election unit as the exclusive representative
thereof. If the Independent should win both elections, we shall
certify it as the exclusive representative of both election units com-
bined.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
A. The pattern-makers department
As we have stated above, the Company employs the three pattern
makers and the three pattern makers' apprentices in one of the units
which we have found appropriate. At the time of the hearing these
six employees were members in good standing in the Association
and the League. The Company concedes this to be the case, and
does not object to the request of the Association and the League that
they be certified upon the basis of the evidence adduced at the hear-
ing. Under the circumstances we see no reason for' holding an elec-
tion and will, therefore, grant the request of the Association and the
League. We find that the Association and the League have been
designated and selected by a majority of the employees of the Com-
pany in the pattern makers department, excluding supervisory em-
ployees, as their representatives for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining. They are, therefore, the exclusive representatives of all
pattern makers and pattern makers' apprentices for the purposes
of collective bargaining, and we will so certify.
B. The factory employees
As stated above, the I. A. M. and the Independent introduced evi-
dence that they each represent a substantial number of employees
in the units which they respectively urge as appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining. This evidence, however, is in-
sufficient for a determination of the desires of the employees either
as to the appropriate unit or units or as to their bargaining rep-
resentative or representatives, nor did the Independent or the I. A.
M. request certification upon the record. Under these circumstances,
we find that the question concerning representation which has arisen
can best be resolved by the holding of elections by secret ballot. ,
REEVES PULLEY COMPANY 779
As we have stated above, the pay roll of the Company for the
period ending January 6, 1940, was introduced in evidence. Inas-
much as we have made our determination of the appropriate unit
with reference to employment classifications appearing thereon, and
since the record does not indicate the likelihood of any change in the
number of persons employed by the Company, we shall direct that
those eligible to vote in each election will be those persons in the
respective election units who were employed during the pay-roll
period ending January 6, 1940, including employees who did not
work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vaca-
tion, and employees who were then or have since been temporarily
laid off , but excluding those employees who have since quit or been
discharged for cause.
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. Questions affecting commerce have arisen concerning the rep-
resentation of employees of Reeves Pulley Company , Columbus,
Indiana, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and
(7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The pattern makers and pattern makers' apprentices , exclusive
of supervisory employees , employed by the Company constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining , 'within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
3. Pattern Makers Association of Indianapolis And Vicinity , affili-
ated with the Pattern Makers League of North America, and Pattern
Makers League of North America, affiliated with the American Fed-
eration of Labor, are the exclusive representatives of all the em-
ployees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining, within
the meaning of Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended,
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that Pattern Makers Association of Indian-
apolis And Vicinity, affiliated with Pattern Makers League of North
America, and Pattern Makers League of North America, affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor, have been designated and
selected by a majority of the pattern makers and pattern makers'
apprentices , excluding supervisory employees , employed by Reeves
780 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Pulley Company, Columbus, Indiana, as their representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining and that, pursuant to the provisions
of Section 9 (a) of the Act, Pattern Makers Association of Indian-
apolis And Vicinity, affiliated with Pattern Makers League of North-
America, and Pattern Makers League of North America, affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor are the exclusive representa-
tives of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining
in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other
conditions of employment.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of
National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2,
as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation ordered by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining
with Reeves Pulley Company, Columbus, Indiana, elections 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 Eleventh Region, acting
in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and
subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations,
among the employees within the groups described below who were
employed by the Company at its Columbus, Indiana, plant, during
the pay-roll period ending January F, 1940, including employees who
did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on
vacation, and employees who were then or have since been tempo-
rarily laid off, but excluding employees in the pattern-makers depart-
ment, supervisory and clerical employees, confidential employees,
time-study men, persons having the right to hire or discharge em-
ployees, and those who have since quit or who have been discharged
for cause :
(a) All tool makers, machinists and specialists, their apprentices
and helpers, employed in departments A, B, C, D, E, F, G, M, and
P, under the pay-roll classifications set forth in Appendix A,19 includ-
ing William Ott, to determine whether they desire to be represented
by Columbus Local Lodge No. 1466, International Association of Ma-
chinists, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, or by
Transmission Workers and Machinists Union of Columbus, Indiana,
for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither;
19 See footnote 18, supra.
REEVES PULLEY COMPANY 781
(b) All the remaining employees to determine whether o1
not they desire to be represented by Transmission Workers and
Machinists Union of Columbus, Indiana, for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining.
MR. EDWIN S. SMITH, dissenting :
My reasons for the present dissent are similar to those which were
stated by me in Matter of Combustion Engineering Company, Inc.,20
in Matter of Western Pipe and Steel Company of California, 21 and in
other cases.
The highly integrated character of the Company's operations, the
similarity in wages, hours, working conditions of employees whom
the I. A. M. would include, and those whom they would exclude
from the unit, and the fact that a large number of employees in the
residual group which the majority would set up as a separate unit
perform work requiring skill comparable to those within the machin-
ists' unit, indicate the propriety of the plant-wide unit as claimed by
the Independent. Indeed, while not plant-wide, the unit claimed
by the I. A. M. is essentially not a craft unit. It includes unskilled
and semi-skilled, as well as skilled, workers. Under these circum-
stances, in my opinion, the Board, instead of seeking by exclusions to
approximate more nearly a craft unit, should define the unit upon a
completely industrial basis. Particularly would this seem to be the
proper course where, as here, because of the nature of the Company's
operations, the large majority of the employees perform work of the
type which the I. A. M. asserts is within "the generally recognized
machinists' trade jurisdiction."
By allowing tool makers, machinists and specialists, their appren-
tices and helpers, comprising approximately 132 employees, to deter-
mine the appropriateness of the unit, the majority decision leaves but
approximately 68 employees to vote in all that is left of the plant-wide
unit. The majority of these 68 employees have problems and interests
essentially similar to those of the other workers in the plant. Further-
more, except as joined with the others, these 68 employees present a
heterogeneous group unlikely to be able to function effectively for the
purposes of collective bargaining. Neither unity of interest upon
which a plant-wide unit is justified, nor any other criterion of appro-
priateness, is subserved by grouping together employees in the plant
who are engaged in such a diversity of occupations as firemen, engi-
neers, operators of machines in the woodworking and belt. departments,
a jig designer; stockkeepers, craters and packers, and such unskilled
20 Matter of Combustion Engineering Company, Inc., and Steel Workers Organizing
Committee, etc, 5 N. L. R. B. 344.
21 Matter of Western Pipe and Steel Company of California and Steel Workers Organiz-
ing Committee, etc., 14 N L. R B. 473.
782 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
workers as sweepers, janitors, and yard laborers. On the contrary,
I would declare the appropriate bargaining unit to be all employees
of the Company, excluding supervisory and clerical employees, and
further excluding pattern makers and pattern makers' apprentices,
whose separate claims to representation have been conceded by all of
the other parties. Within this unit I believe the Board should order
an election to determine whether a majority of these employees desire
to be represented by the Independent or by the I. A. M.
APPENDIX A
Bench Hand and Drill Press Operator.
Assembler of Vari-Speed Motor Pulleys.
Machinist, operates Lathe.
Assembler of Vari-Speed Motor Pulleys and painter.
Machinist, operates Drill Press.
Machinist, operates Lathe and Drill Press.
Machinist, operates Drill Press, Milling Machine, and Lathe.
Assembler of Vari-Speed Motor Pulleys, and Inspector.
Machinist, operates Milling Machine.
Machinist, operates Turret Lathe.
Machinist,-operates Grinder.
Machinist, operates Turret Lathe, also Drill Press.
Machinist, operates Boring Mill.
Machinist, operates Milling Machine and Boring Mill.
Machinist, operates Milling Machine and Lathe.
Machinist, operates Broach and Drill Press.
Machinist, operates Lathe and Grinder.
Machinist, operates Drill Press and Milling Machine.
Machinist, operates Punch Press.
Machinist, operates Gun Drill.
Machinist, operates Cut-off Saw.
Assembler of Motodrive Parts.
Assembler of Motodrives.
Tester of Motodrives.
Assembler of Motodrive Reducers.
Inspector of Motodrive Parts.
Assembler of Motodrives and Spinning Frames.
Assembler of Transmissions and Key Fitter.
Painter.
Tester of Transmissions.
Painter; and Assembler of Transmission Parts.
Key Fitter.
REEVES PULLEY COMPANY
Assembler of Transmission Parts and Controls..
Assembler of Transmissions.
Assembler of Transmission Parts.
Painter; and Balances Transmission Discs.
Tool Grinder.
Inspector.
Inspector of Transmission Parts.
Inspector of Repair Parts.
Tool Maker.
783