Ross-Meehan Foundries

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 1, 1964

147 N.L.R.B. 207 (N.L.R.B. 1964)

ROSS-MEEHAN FOUNDRIES 207
has authority to discipline and discharge them, we find that he is a
supervisor and shall exclude him. It further appears from the record
that the drivers in Hyannis are directed in their work by two individ-'
uals named Jiminez and George Morrison; although the exact nature
of their duties is not specified. Under these circumstances, we shall
permit them to vote in the truckdrivers' unit subject to challenge.
We find the following employees of the Employer constitute units
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining : (1) all truck-
drivers and mechanics helpers of the Employer, employed at its New
Bedford and Hyannis, Massachusetts, branches, excluding district
managers , the head mechanic, professional employees, office clerical
employees, all other employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in
the Act; (2) all district managers of the Employer, employed at its
New Bedford, Massachusetts, office, excluding truckdrivers, mechanics
helpers, professional employees, office clerical employees, all other em-
ployees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.]
Ross-Meehan Foundries and United Steelworkers of America,
CIO. Case No. R-4240. June 1, 1964
DECISION AND ORDER CLARIFYING CERTIFICATION
On November 5, 1942, in the above-entitled case, the Board certified
United Steelworkers of America, CIO (Steelworkers), as the bargain-
ing representative of all production and maintenance employees of
the Employer, excluding all machinists and certain related classifi-
cations. On the same date the Board also certified International
Association of Machinists, Success Lodge No. 56, AFL (IAM), for
the machinists and other classifications excluded from the production
and maintenance unit.
Thereafter, on January 24, 1964, Steelworkers filed a motion for
clarification. of its certification, requesting a declaration that the IAM
certification does not extend to certain work performed on an auto-
matic power hacksaw by shipping department employees who are
admittedly within the Steelworkers' unit. On January 31, 1964, IAM
filed an opposition to the Steelworkers' motion in which it alleged
that the work in dispute had been traditionally performed in the
machine shop by employees within its certified unit, and requested
the Board to withhold any clarification of its certifications until a
hearing had been held in this matter. On March 3, 1964, the Employer
filed a statement in regard to the above motion and the opposition
147 NLRB No. 27.
208 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL ,LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
thereto, in which it asserted that its assignment of the work in dispute
to shipping department employees in the Steelworkers' unit was proper
and in accord with the Steelworkers' certification.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the Act, the Board,
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three- member
panel [Chairman McCulloch and Members Leedom and Jenkins].
The Board has considered the above papers and is of the opinion
that there is no dispute as to the relevant and material facts. Accord- •
ingly, as further corroboration through testimony of the agreed-on
facts would be superfluous, and as the positions of the parties have
been fully stated, the Board has decided to rule on the questions
presented, on the basis of the record before it.'
The Employer operates two job foundries producing steel and iron'
,castings in the form of bars and plates of various analyses which, it
sells primarily to industrial firms, machine shops, and jobbers. These'
bars or plates are cast to approximate sizes in lengths and diameters:
or thicknesses. When an order was received for a specified length
which was not in stock, it was the practice to'have a longer bar cut
in the shipping department by n shipping employee using a bandsaw.
However, when the diameter of the bar was too large to be cut with.
a bandsaw, the bar. was cut in the machine shop by a hacksaw, or on
a lathe, by machinists within the TAM certified unit. Cutting bars
to a specified length does not require working to close tolerances, nor
does it require the skills usually associated with the machinist's craft.
In November 1963, the Employer installed an automatic power hack-
saw in its shipping department thereby enabling it to perform in that
,department the cutting of bar stock which had previously been done.
in the machine shop. The setup time for placing a bar in proper
position for the automatic power hacksaw is normally less than' 3
minutes. Shipping department employees are able to perform this op-
'eration without interfering in any way with their normal duties. No,
additional persons have been hired to operate the new equipment, and
no member of the IAM unit has been laid off due to the fact that the
power hacksaws in the machine shop are no longer used for cutting bar
stock. Between November 1963 and February 1964, the new automatic .
power hacksaw installed in the shipping department was operated for.,
1 we are not persuaded that a hearing should be directed merely because JAM has agreed
to bold in abeyance its pending request for arbitration under its current contract with the
Employer until after the Board has conducted a hearing in this matter . The Board n!ay.
proceed with clarification of its certifications even though arbitration may be sought by
one of the parties involved . Kennecott Copper Corporation , Nevada Mines Division, 122 i
NLRB 198. Moreover , we note that resolution of the TAM claim through ; arbitration. ,
would not be binding on the Steelworkers and would not dispose of the Steelworkers'-con-
fleeting claims.
ROSS-MEEHAN FOUNDRIES 209
a total of 109 hours, while the setup time involved has been a little over
10 hours. During the same period, no more than 16 hours of work
would have been necessary in the machine shop to%ut bars of a size
which previously would have been handled in the machine shop, but
was now being done with the power hacksaw in the shipping
department.
The IAM contention, that its employees have traditionally cut bar
stock sized over a certain diameter with equipment in the machine
shop, must be evaluated in the light of the above facts. Its claim, in
effect, is that only employees within its unit may continue to operate a
power hacksaw for the cutting of bar stock regardless of where the
saw is located. It is evident, however, that cutting bar stock for ship-
ment to customers is part of the production process and such cutting
has been done by employees in the unit for which the Steelworkers has
been certified. The only reason all cutting of bar stock was not pre-
viously performed by employees represented by the Steelworkers is
that the bandsaw in the shipping department had not been capable of
cutting items above a certain diameter. IAM does not contend, and
there would be no basis for a contention, that employees who engaged
in operation of the bandsaw in the shipping department were covered
by its certification, although presumably the machine shop contains
bandsaws as well as power hacksaws. Certifications are not granted
to unions on the basis of specific work tasks or types of machines op-
erated, but in terms of employee classifications performing related
work functions 2 Here, the work of cutting bar stock to specified
lengths is a necessary part of the shipping department function of
filling customers' orders, and is.not converted into machine.shop work
merely because it can only be done by a particular piece of equipment
which machinists may also operate.
Upon the record here, it clearly appears and we find that shipping
department employees, when assigned to cut bar stock on the automatic
power hacksaw in the shipping department, are included in the produc-
tion and maintenance unit for which the Steelworkers was certified as
exclusive bargaining representative in Case No. R-4240.
[The Board granted the motion for clarification filed by the United
Steelworkers of America, AFIr-CIO, by specifying that employees in
the shipping department who cut bar stock on an automatic power
hacksaw in that department are included in the production and main-
tenance unit.]
2 See The Plumbing Contractors Association of Baltimore, Maryland, Inc., et al.. 93
NLRB 1081, 1087.
750-236=05-vol. 147-15