Temple Associates, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsDec 7, 1966

161 N.L.R.B. 1604 (N.L.R.B. 1966)

1604 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the company's operation" and does not "reflect any separate segment of employees which manifest distinct lines of demarcation from the remainder of the company's employees perfoiming construction noik in Bryan, Texas " For the reasons stated in R B Butler, Inc, 160 NLRB 1595, we find the Employer's contentions to be without merit Accordingly, we find that the following employees constitute a unit appropriate fox collective-bargaining purposes within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act All employees working as laborers on the Employer's construc- tion jobs in the Bryan, Texas, area,6 excluding all other employ- ees, office clerical employees, professional employees, watchmen, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act [Text of Direction of Election is omitted from publication 7 8] 8 The Bryan , Texas, area includes College Station, Texas 7 The parties did not agree on any formula for deter mining eligibility to vote The Em ployer stated that "bur position only is that the petition in this case should be dismissed " The Petitioner merely suggested that "the standard should be liberal enough to tal e in the maximum amount of laborers that can enjoy the franchise guaranteed by the Oct " Therefore, as the parties suggested no formula for determining eligibility and as the evidence adduced at the hearing is insufficient to warrant any deviation in our usual eligibility requirements, eligibility will be determined by the usual payroll period See R B Bi4tlet, Inc , 160 NLRB 1595 8 An election eligibility list, containing the names and addresses of all the eligible voters must be filed by the EmploSer sith the Regional Director for Region 23 within 7 days after the date of this Decision and Direction of Election The Regional Director shall make the list available to all parties to the election No extension of time to file this list shall be granted by the Regional Director except in extraordinary circumstances Failure to comply with this requitement shall be grounds foi setting aside the election whenever proper objections are filed Ewcelasor Underwear Inc , 156 NLRB 1236 Temple Associates, Inc. and Laborers International Union of North America, Local Union No. 18, AFL-CIO, Petitioner.. Case 23-RC-2654 December 7, 1966 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, hearings were held before John W Bowlin and Clayton Corley, Hearing Officers The Hearing Officers' rulings made at the hearings are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed The Employer and Texas Highway-Heavy Branch of the Associated General Contractors filed briefs in support of the Employer's position The Petitioner and Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, filed briefs in support of the Peti- tioner's position 161 NLRB No 144 TEMPLE ASSOCIATES, INC 1605 Upon the entire record in this case, the National Labor Relations Board finds 1 The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act, and it will effectuate the purposes of the Act to assert juris- diction herein 2 The labor organization involved claims to represent certain employees of the Employer 3 A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9(c) (1) and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act 4 In its petition, the Petitioner requested an election in a unit of the Employer's employees working as laborers on construction jobs in Biyan, Texas The Employei contends that the unit is inappropriate The Employer, a Texas corporation with its principal office in Diboll, Texas, is engaged in the construction business as a general contractor At the time of the second hearing, the Employer was engaged in the construction of two buildings in College Station, Texas, which is about 5 miles from Bryan, Texas The Employer also had other construction jobs throughout the State of Texas As of July 6, 1966, the Employer employed approximately 23 car- pentei s 4 carpenter helpers, 3 iron workers, 1 dragline operator, 7 electricians, and 55 laborers 1 on its two construction projects in the Bryan, Texas, area 2 The Employei's construction laborers perform heavy-duty manual woik such as hand excavation, hand grading, transportation of mate- rials, and cleaning The carpenters, ironworkers, dragline operator, and electiicians employed by the Employer are journeymen and per- form the usual duties of such craftsmen Carpenter learners perform the duties of apprentices The Employer hires construction laboreis primarily for a partic- ular job but tries to tiansfer them from one job to another in the same area The Employer also has transferred laborers from one area to another, but such transfers are infrequent Construction laborers are paid considerably less than the craft and learner classification The Employer has a pension plan and group insui ante plan available to all employees The Employer contends that it has no written or oral collective- bargaining agreement with any labor organization 3 But it admitted i Is of the date of the second hearing (September 27, 1966), the Employer estimated that its complement of construction laborers had decreased by 30 to 40 percent 2 The Employer's vice president stated that all the Employer's employees are tempoiarv employees but admitted that some of its craftsmen have worked for the Employer for 10-15 years and that some of its construction laborers have worked for the Employer in excess of 3 years 3 Hower ei, the Employer is a member of the Houston Associated General Contractors Association which has a collective bargaining agreement with Petitioner 1606 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD that it pays its carpenter employees the Bryan wage scale that has been established by the local Carpenters Union. The local Carpenters Union's business agent has been granted visitation privileges on the construction projects of the Employer. The Employer also admitted that it had paid union scale to some of its craftsmen on other projects, and that the Employer had actually recognized the local Carpenters Union in the Waco, Texas, area. The Employer contends that the requested unit is inappropriate on the grounds that its operations are highly integrated and inter- dependent and involve constant and continuous interchange of employees between and among all its construction projects, and that the requested unit does not constitute a distinct and homogeneous group of employees. For the reasons stated in R. B. Butler, Inc., 160 NLRB 1595, we find the Employer's contentions to be without merit. Accordingly, we find that the following employees constitute a unit appropriate for collective-bargaining purposes within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act: All employees working as laborers on the Employer's construc- tion jobs in the Bryan, Texas, area,4 excluding all other employ- ees, office clerical employees, professional employees, watchmen, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. [The Text of Direction of Election is omitted from publication.5 6] 4 The Bryan , Texas, area includes College Station, Texas. 5 The parties did not agree on any formula for determining eligibility to vote. The Em- ployer stated that its position "only is that the petition should be dismissed . . . or really we have no position whatsoever." The Petitioner stated that it "would hope the Board would be lenient as to allow as many employees as possible an opportunity to vote." But since the parties could not agree on any formula for determining eligibility and since the evidence adduced at the hearing is insufficient to warrant a deviation from our usual eligibility requirements , eligibility will be determined by the usual payroll period. See R. B. Butler, Inc., 160 NLRB 1595. G An election eligibility list, containing the names and addresses of all the voters, must be filed by the Employer with the Regional Director for Region 23, within 7 days after the date of this Decision and Direction of Election. The Regional Director shall make the list available to all parties to the election. No extension of time to file this list shall be granted by the Regional Director except in extraordinary circumstances . Failure to com- ply with this requirement shall be grounds for setting aside the election whenever proper objections are filed. Emoolsior Underwear Inc., 156 NLRB 1236. Mate Holt Company and Robert Earl Davis . Case 2.3-CA-2240- December 8,1966 DECISION AND ORDER On July 11, 1966, Trial Examiner Thomas S. Wilson issued his Decision in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that Respondent had engaged in certain unfair labor practices alleged in the complaint 161 NLRB No. 138.