Tennessee Coal, Iron and R. R. Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 6, 1942

45 N.L.R.B. 423 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter of TENNESSEE COAL, IRON AND R. R. Co. and UNITED
STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA. -
In the Matter of TENNESSEE COAL, -IRON AND RAILROAD COMPANY and
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL
UNION No. B-287-A. F. of L.
Cases Nos. R-4341 and R-4342.-Decided November 6, 1942
Jurisdiction : coal and iron mining and iron and steel manufacturing- industry. -
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to bargain until certification by the Board; elections necessary
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : elections among (1) all pattern
makers and their apprentices of the Company's manufacturing division, with
specified exclusions, and (2) all remaining production and maintenance em-
ployees in the six plants of Company's manufacturing division ; determination
of, dependent upon results of elections; proposed units of electrical workers
and machinists held inappropriate when such employees did not constitute an
identifiable craft having special interests separate from other employees„
Mr. W. G. Stuart Sherman, for the Board.
Mr. Borden Burr, of Birmingham; Ala., and Mr. B. L. Rallins, of
Pittsburgh, Pa., for the Company.
Mr. Eugene Cotton, of Washington, D. C., and Mr. Noel Beddow
and Mr. R. E. Farr, of Birmingham, Ala., for the U. S. A.
Mr. Lawson Wimberly and Mr. Lawrence F. Daly, of Washington,
D. C., for the I. B. E. W.
Mr. J. A. Lipscomb, of Bessemer, Ala., and Mr. W. E. Brabston, for
the Pattern Makers League.
Mr. J. C. McGlon, of Washington, D. C., and Mr. J. D.. Baum-
gardner and Mr. M. G. DeShazo, of Birmingham, Ala., for the
I. A. M. -
Mr. Robert E. Tillman, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petitions duly filed by United Steelworkers of America,
herein called the U. S. A.) and by International Brotherhood of
45N.'I:.R.B,No.65.
423
424 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Electrical Workers, Local B-287-A. F. of L., herein called the
I. B. E. W.,'alleging that questions- affecting commerce had arisen
concerning the representation of employees of Tennessee Coal, Iron
and Railroad Company, Birmingham, Alabama, herein called the
Company, at its Manufacturing Division, the National Labor Rela-
tions Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice
before Thomas S. Wilson, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held
at Birmingham, Alabama, from September 30 through October 2, i942.
The Company, the U. S. A., the I. B. E. W., and the International
Association of Machinists, Local Lodge No. 368, A. F. of L., herein
called the I. A. M., and Pattern Makers League of North America,
A. F. of L., herein called the Pattern Makers League, appeared, par-
ticipated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine
and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on
the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. On October 21,
22, 23, and 27, 1942, respectively, the Company, the Pattern Makers
League, the U. S. A., and the I. B. E. W. filed briefs which the Board
has considered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
L THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, a Tennessee corpora-
tion, is a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation, engaged in
the business of mining iron ore, coal, and related' products, and in
the manufacture, sale, and distribution of iron, steel, and steel prod-
ucts. The Company maintains a Manufacturing Division in the
vicinity of Birmingham, Alabama, which alone is involved in these
proceedings. During the first 6 months of 1942, a negligible per-
centage of the raw materials used by the Manufacturing Division
came from points outside the State of Alabama. During the same
period 68.9 percent of the finished products of the Manufacturing
Division was shipped to points outside the State of Alabama.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Steelworkers of America is a labor organization affiliated
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to member-
ship employees of the Company.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No.
B-287; International- Association of Machinists, Local Lodge No.
368; and Pattern Makers League of North America, are labor organ-
TENNESSEE COAL, IRON-AND- R. R. CO. `425
izations affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,- admitting
to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QULSTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to recognize any labor organization not
certified by the Board. A statement of a Field -Examiner, of the
Board, introduced in evidence at the hearing, supplemented by a
statement of the Trial Examiner made at the hearing, indicates that
each of the labor organizations represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit it contends to be appropriate.'
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
A.,Contentions of the parties
The U. S. A. and the Company are in agreement that the appro-
priate unit • should comprise all production and maintenance em-
ployees in the six plants of the Company's Manufacturing Division,
including the coke ' and byproduct department at the Fairfield Steel
Works, but excluding salaried employees , foremen, supervisors in
charge of any classes of labor ,2 watchmen, guards , and confidential
i The U S. A. submitted a total of 13,003 membership cards, of which approximately
12,000 bore apparently genuine original signatures. A comparison of these cards with
the July 31, 1942, pay roll of the Company showed the following distribution among the
Company's plants :
Plant
Total
Employees
Cards on
payroll
Fairfield Steel Works----------------------------- 7, 042 -2, 843
Easley Works------------------------------------ 4,116 2,073
Fairfield Tin Mill-------------------------------- 1, 794 - * 1, 400
Fairfield 'Sheet Mill------------------------------- 1,003 625
Fairfield Wire Works----------------------------- 689 *594
Bessemer Rolling Mills ---------------------------- 567 *477
Totals---------------- --------------------- 15,211 8,012
* Appioxuriate , since a 20 percent sample vas taken.
The I. B E. W. submitted 617 authorization cards, of which 43 were duplicates Only
168 of the cards bore appparently genuine original signatures A check was made of the
entire 574 unduplicated cards however, of which 420 bore names of persons listed on the
above-mentioned pay roll. There were approximately 595 employees in the unit proposed
by the I B E. W.
.
The I A M submitted 420 authorization cards, of which 3 were duplicates Only 256
of these cards bore apparently genuine original signatures. A check of all the cards sub-
,matted showed 376 bearing names of persons listed on the above-mentioned'pay roll. The
number of employees in the unit proposed by the I. A M was not indicated.
The Trial Examiner stated that the Pattern Makers League submitted a membership list
containing 14 names, 13 of which he found on the above-mentioned pay roll, which listed
21 employees in'the pattern shop.
2 By agreement with the Company, the U. S. A. has been bargaining on behalf of those
hourly paid employees who are engaged in production or other work more than 20,percent
of their time and in supervisory work less than-80'percent of their time.
426 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ' BOARD
clerical employees regardless of method of compensation, but not
excluding other clerical employees on an hourly wage rate basis..
The I. B. E. W. would,separate from the production and mainte-
nance unit and establish as a single unit all electrical workers in speci-
fied departments of the six plants of the Company's Manufacturing
Division, as set forth in Appendix A, including working foremen
and subforemen, but excluding supervisors, foremen, and subforemen
who are compensated on a monthly salary basis, and clerical em-
ployees.
The I. A. M. urges a separate unit consisting of all machinists,
machinists' apprentices, machinists' helpers, machine operators em-
ployed in the machine shops, which covers planers, boring mills, mill-
ing machines, turret lathes, etc., and learners and repairmen who are
engaged in the maintenance of machinery.
The Pattern Makers League seeks a unit of all pattern makers and
their apprentices in the Manufacturing Division actually engaged
in making patterns, but excluding foremen and assistant foremen
who do not make patterns, and clerical worker's.
B. Description of the Manufacturing Division
The Manufacturing Divison is one of five divisions operated by
the Company as separate and distinct management units. It consists
of six separate plants or works, two of which, as indicated in the
following chart, produce steel, and all of which manufacture various
steel products : -
Works
Total
em- Source of principal raw materials Products
ployees
Fairfield Steel---- ---------- 7,606 Ore mines----------------------- Pig iron," steel,Tand structural
Fairfield Wire-------------- 834 Ensley and Fairfield Steel -----_
steel.
Wire.
Fairfield Sheet Mill--------- 1,090 Tin Mill and Fairfield Steel----- Sheet metal.
Fairfield Tin Mill --- ------- 1,935 Ensley and Fairfield Steel ------- Tin and other plate.
Ensley---------------------- 4.882 Ore mines-----------------------
Pig iron and steel, rails and shell
Bessemer Rolling Mills----- 600 Ensley and Fairfield Steel -------
casings.
Rolled steel.
The four Fairfield Works are situated on adjoining plots of ground
within an area having, a diameter of perhaps 2 miles. The Ensley
Works is located 31/2 to 4 miles from the center of the Fairfield area;
"the Bessemer Rolling Mills is approximately 7 miles from the same
point. Aside from railroad rights of way, the entire stretch of land is
owned by the Company. Power for the Manufacturing Division is
generated at the Ensley and the Fairfield Steel Works, and is supple-
mented' to a certain extent by power purchased from the Alabama
TENNESSEE- COAL, IRON AND R. R. CO. - 427
Power Company. The Ensley Works depends on the byproduct coke
plant attached to the Fairfield Steel Works for the coke 'vital to its
steel production.
- The Manufacturing Division operates under the supervision of a
Works Manager. Each works, in turn, is headed by a superintendent
and an assistant. The superintendent of the Fairfield Wire Works
reports to the head of the Fairfield Steel Works, and the superin-
tendent of the Bessemer Rolling Mills reports to the head of the
Ensley Works. Next in rank below the superintendents of the sev-
eral works are superintendents over the various departments within
each works. Working conditions, hours, and wage scales are the
same throughout the Manufacturing Division. In each works senior-
ity operates upon an occupational basis and is confined to each de-
partment. A transfer of an employ to a different occupation or to a
different department at his own request results in loss of his seniority.
In the event of slack spells at one of the plants, the Company at-
tempts, where possible, to transfer employees to other of its works.
In such cases, if the transfer is permanent, a transferred employee
retains his- seniority.
The above facts clearly indicate the highly integrated character of
the management and operation of the Manufacturing Division. It is
also evident from the nature of the steel manufacturing industry that
the many varied operations found therein are highly integrated and
interdependent. In the absence of counterbalancing considerations,
the interdependence, is such as to render a single production and
maintenance unit most appropriate for purposes of collective bar-
gaining.
C. History of collective bargaining
The record in this proceeding presents substantially the same facts
regarding the history of collective bargaining relations with the Com-
pany as were set forth in a prior Board decision, involving the Man-
ufacturing Division, in which we dismissed an earlier I. B. E. W.
petition.3 Briefly, it may be noted that the U. S. A. began organiz-
ing in the Manufacturing Division in July 1936.4 Since 19371 the
Company as respects this Division, has entered into members-only
bargaining contracts with the U. S.A., and with the United Associa-
tion of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers, upon a division-wide basis.
The U. S. A. contracts subsequent to 1938 rhave been substantially
identical to contract's signed between- the U. S. A. and other sub-
sidiaries of United States Steel Corporation.
'Matter of Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company and Local B287 , International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 39 N. L. R B. 617.
* At that time and down to 1942, the U. S. A. was known as the Steel Workers Organizing
Committee. '
428 DECISIONS, OF NATIONAL LABOR, RELATIONS !BOARD
No craft organization has ever had a bargaining contract,in the
Manufacturing Division. The first efforts of craft unions to organize
therein, occurred in November 1940 with the establishment of
I. B. E. W. and I. A. M. locals. The first attempt of crafts to bar-
gain with the Company began in February 1941 when a general
organizer of the American Federation of Labor presented the Com-
pany with a proposed contract on behalf of seven A. F. of L. affiliates,
including the I. A. M. and the I. B. E. W. At the same time the
I. B. E. W. presented the Company with a separate proposed con-
tract covering electrical employees. The parties negotiated until
June 1941, without reaching any agreement. The Company's final
position was that it would enter into a members-only contract with
the A. F. of L. only if the several A. F. 'of L. affiliates would agree
to act as a single bargaining group. Subsequently, the I. B. E. W.
filed a petition with the Board requesting a unit of electrical
employees which was dismissed.
D. The proposed I. B. E. W. unit
The I. B. E. W. claims that electrical employees in specified depart-
ments of the Manufacturing Division, as set forth in Appendix A,
comprise an appropriate unit. In the Fairfield Steel Works these
electrical employees are in various sub-departments within the elec-
trical and mechanical department.-, This department largely consists
of all the maintenance employees of the Fairfield Steel Works. It is
under the jurisdiction of the superintendent of maintenance, under
whom are a chief electrician in charge of all electrical work, a master
mechanic in the mills division who supervises mechanical maintenance
work in the mills, a master mechanic in the blast furnace and open
hearth division, and a master mechanic in the shops division, the
latter having charge of all electrical and mechanical maintenance
work in that division.' Within the mechanical and electrical shop,
the I. B. E. W. claims electrical employees in the electrical shop, elec-
trical construction department, mill and line maintenance depart-
ment, and powerhouse and substations. The employees of the elec-
trical shop are divided into two groups of electricians and one group
of mechanical workers. This shop handles all major repairs to
electrical machinery throughout the entire Company, except the
Ensley Works; accordingly, employees working there are sent, at
times, to various of the Company's enterprises. The record does not
indicate whether employees in the electrical construction department
and in the mill and line maintenance department have their own
6 The Fairfield Tin Mill and the Eilsley Works have comparable departments which include
the mechanical and electrical maintenance employees.
TENNEsSS 'EE COAL, IRON AND R. R. . CO.i 1' 429
shops , but it is clear that employees in both departments are like-
wise sent all over the Company's property . The powerhouse and
substation employees are permanently assigned to electrical -distribu-
tion centers throughout the Fairfield Steel Work S.6
There are other employees in the Manufacturing Division perform-
ing work of an electrical nature ( listed in Appendix B) whom the
I., B. E. W. would exclude from its proposed unit as so-called "fringe"
or "hybrid " employees . Thus, in' the electrical and mechanical de-
partment of the Fairfield Steel Works there are approximately 103
"assigned mill maintenance men" and 38 electrical ",assigned main-
tenance men to blast furnace and open hearth ." These 2 group con-
sist of repairmen who are assigned permanently in small numbers to
the several production mills, blast furnace , and open hearths within
the Fairfield Steel Work's, to handle electrical , mechanical , and other
repairs . Some of these repairmen are engaged solely in either elec-
trical or mechanical repair work; others are engaged in varying de-
grees in both electrical and mechanical work. The I. B. E. W. does
not now seek to include any of these employees in its proposed unit.
Assigned maintenance men in certain departments of other works,
however, are included by the I. B. E. W. in its proposed unit,'
allegedly either because of the presence in such departments of more
complicated electrical machinery demanding greater electrical skill
and technical knowledge , or because the repair work in such depart-
ments is entirely of an electrical nature.
In filing a second petition with, the Board, it is the position of
the I . B. E. W. that by eliminating the "fringe " employees, those
groups of 'electrical employees not readily identifiable and separable
from the other maintenance employees not engaged in electrical work,
it has met the objections which the Board had to the appropriateness
of the unit proposed in its first petitions However, our previous
decision dismissing the first petition of the I. B. E. W . was not based
solely upon the, fact that the unit then proposed did not comprehend
a segregable or functional group. In that decision the Board 'stated: 9
As we' have herein above found, the operations of the Com-
pany's Manufacturing Division are inter - related and interde-
pendent , with a resultant substantial community of interest
8 The work of electrical employees ' in the other plants was not described in detail except
for the tractor shop located, in the Fairfield Tin' Mill ; where 25 assigned electricians repair
electrically driven trucks , and in connection therewith are apparently engaged in some
mechanical won k
1 For example , in the 48-inch hot strip mill , the cold reduction department, and the tin
house of the Fairfield Tin Mill ,
8 The so-called " fringe" workers are to be found in the classification of assigned mainte-
nance men to which reference has been made in the text '
9 Hatter of Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company and Local B287, Internatioiat
Tnotherhood of Electrical Workers , 39 N. L R B 617 , 623-624. ( Footnote references to
the quoted text omitted )
430 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
among the approximately 17,000 employees -engaged in those
operations with respect to wages, hours, and conditions of -em-
ployment, which constitute the basic subject matter of collective
bargaining. Self-organization of employees and collective bar-
gaining both within the Company and within the steel industry
as a whole has been essentially on an industrial and multiple-
plant basis since' 1937. Such a development is consonant with
the integrated nature of the industry.
Upon the basis of these fundamental considerations, we are
of the opinion that a bargaining unit which, conforms to the
nature of the industrial operation involved and which gives full
recognition to the form of self-organization and practice of
collective bargaining adopted by the employees engaged in such
operation will best insure to the employees the full benefit of
their right to self-organization and collective bargaining as the
Act commands. Further, in the instant case, the unit proposed
by the I. B. E. W. does not comprehend a clearly defined craft
group, nor even a segregable or functional group of employees.
Furthermore, the unit now proposed by the I. B. E. W. rep-
resents a marked departure from the broad unit basis for bar-
gaining first sought by the I. B. E. W. and the other A. F. of L.
unions. No reason is given for the present attempt to constrict
the appropriate unit within narrower limits.
The same considerations are equally applicable here 10 The fact
that the I. B. E. W. seeks to exclude the so-called "fringe" employees
who are doing both electrical work and other mechanical work indi-
cates that there is no definite craft or functional group of electrical
employees distinguishable from -and having special interests of its
own apart from the other employees. It is impossible on a strictly
craft basis to determine whether the "fringe" workers are electrical
or mechanical employees. Moreover, the employees performing work
of an electrical nature in any one plant are scattered throughout the
io During the past year , in cases involving a number of other steel plants of United States
Steel Corporation subsidiaries , the Board has found industrial units substantially similar
to the unit here urged by the U. S. A. to be appropriate, and has certified the U. S. A. as the
exclusive representative thereof. See , e. g., Matter of Carnegie -Illinois Steel Corporation
and Steel Workers Organizing Committee , affiliated with the C . I. O , 40 N. L R. B 532;
Matter of National Tube Company and United Steelworkers of America, 42 N L . It. B 1121;
Matter,of American Bridge Company and United Steel Workers of America , 42 N. L R B.
1129; Matter of American Steel and Wire Company and United Steel Workers of America,
42 N. L It. B . 1194; Matter of Virginia Bridge Company and United Steel Workers of
America, 42 N. L R B. 1138 ; Matter of Columbia Steel Company and United Steel Workers
of America, 42 N L. R. B. 1125; and Matter of Oil Well Supply Company and United Steel
Workers of America, 44 N. L. R B . 470. The record shows , moreover , that many of the
subsidiaries of United States Steel Corporation have recently entered into contracts granting
the U. S. A. exclusive recognition upon an industrial basis. Similar contracts have been
signed with 'Republic Steel Corporation, Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation, Inland
Steel Corporation, Wheeling Steel Corporation, and Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company.
TENNESSEE COAL, IRON, AND R..R. CO. ^ 431
various departments, including the production departments, do not
report to any central point, work under no single electrical,supervisor,
and, on the whole, have little or no mutual contact since there is very
little intermingling of the members of the various electrical groups.
There is no one seniority list applicable to all who perform work of an
electrical nature; rather there are any number of such lists. Some
groups of electrical employees have shops of their own in. which to
carry on their work; other groups service the entire Manufacturing
Division, and in some cases the entire Company. Still others, in small
numbers, are permanently assigned to various production departments
where they perform maintenance work, not only in conjunction.with
other types of maintenance employees but frequently side by side with
employees engaged in production. These latter electrical employees
have far more contact with production employees and with other main-
tenance employees than with other types of electrical employees.
For these reasons we find that a unit of electrical employees in the
Manufacturing Division is inappropriate for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining. We shall, therefore, dismiss the petition of the I. B.
E. W. in Case No. R-4342.
E. The proposed I. A. M. unit
In some respects, there are fewer considerations in ' favor of the
appropriateness of the unit proposed by the I. A. M. than were present
in the case of the unit proposed by the I. B. E. W."' Some of the
classifications of employees sought;to be included in the unit proposed
by the I. A. M. are identifiable, for example, the machinists. However,
other component groups sought to be included by the I.. A. M. are not
identifiable, particularly the repairmen engaged in the repair of ma-
chinery. Such employees are, for the most part, in the class of "as-
signed maintenance employees," previously referred to in the discus-
sion of the unit proposed by the I. B. E. W., where there exists a con-
siderable overlapping of mechanical and electrical functions. In this
regard, the superintendent of the electrical and mechanical depart-
ment of the Fairfield Steel' Works testified that he had approximately
700 men under his jurisdiction, of whom he estimated that approxi-
mately 250 were eligible to the I. B. E. W. unit; that 75 were clearly
eligible to the I. A.' M. unit;, that approximately 200 performed both
electrical and mechanical work; and that the remainder performed
neither. The I. A. M. admitted that in determining which employees
were eligible to its proposed unit, it could not draw strict rigid lines
in the case of "assigned" repairmen engaged in both mechanical and
electrical work. Likewise, the assistant manager of industrial rela-
u Thus , for example , the I. A. M. did not specify the departments or the classifications
of employees which it would include or exclude, as did the I. B. E. W.
432 DECISIONS .OF,'NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tions'of the, Manufacturing,Division testified that it would be difficult
to determine which of the repairmen were eligible to the I. A. M. unit.-
The shops division at the. Fairfield Steel 'Works is separate from
the electrical and mechanical department and comprises, among other
shops, a machine shop, forge shop, foundry, rigger shop, pipe shop, and
a carpenter shop. The machine shop handles all the heavy machine
work for the entire'Company. Here are located the bulk of the ma
chinists sought to be included in the I. A. M. unit. Other mechanical
employees in the Fairfield Steel Works work in the rail fastening de-
partment -under a third superintendent. The construction depart-
ment, under still another superintendent, also has several classifica-
tions of mechanical employees.
The distribution of repairmen eligible to the I. A. M. unit in other
works of the Manufacturing Division was not indicated in the record.
However, each mill in the several works has' an assigned maintenance
force including mechanical repairmen. The superintendent of the
maintenance department at the Ensley Works testified that a majority
of such assigned maintenance men were millwrights and not ma-
chinists, and that the distinction did not appear on the pay roll. We
find that the unit requested by the I. A. M. does not comprise an identi-
fiable craft whose members have special interests of their own apart
from the other employees.
Our conclusions with respect to a separate unit of electrical em-
ployees are equally applicable to the proposed unit of machinists and.
mechanical repairmen engaged in the repair of machinery. There-
fore the unit proposed by the I. A. M. is inappropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining and we.so find.
F. The 'proposed Pattern Makers League unit
All but 1 or 2 of the approximately 20 employees of the Manufac-
turing Division eligible to the unit proposed by the Pattern Makers
League are located in a single shop in one end of a building at the
Ensley Works; 12 the other end of the. building is occupied by car-
penters.' The pattern makers are engaged *in wood pattern making,
under their own foreman. Their tools and machines 'are solely for
their own use. 'This evidence indicates that the pattern makers con--
stitute a clearly identifiable skilled craft, possessing many interests
in common, in contrast to the employees engaged in electrical or, me-
chanical work who are' scattered throughout each of the plants, are,
employed' under several different supervisors, and to a great extent
Work in conjunction with other maintenance and production em-
ployees. The Pattern Makers League has had members in the Eiisley
" The record indicates at least one pattern maker in the Fairfield Steel Works and per-
haps another in the Fan field Wire Works. ) . , .3
TENNESSEE " COAL,' IRON AND R. R.. co. ; 433
pattern shop since' that shop was created. Furthermore, the Board
has many times set forth the considerations in favor of a separate
unit of pattern makers' and has found the considerations evenly bal-
anced with those tending to favor an industrial unit.13 We find in this
proceeding that the considerations are sufficiently balanced to make
the desires of the pattern makers themselves controlling in our deter-
mination of the type of unit through which they should bargain.
In view of our findings with regard to the pattern makers, we shall
make no final determination of unit at this time, but shall direct that
separate elections be held (1) among all pattern makers and their
apprentices who are actually engaged in making patterns in the
Company's Manufacturing Division, excluding foremen and assistant
foremen who do not make patterns, and clerical workers, to determine
whether they desire to be represented by the Pattern Makers League,
the U. S. A., or neither; and (2) among the remaining production
and maintenance employees in the six plants of the Company's Manu-
facturing Division, including the coke and byproduct department at
the Fairfield Steel Works, to determine whether or not they desire
to be represented by the U. S. A. Upon the results of these elections
will depend in part our determination of the appropriate unit or
units. If a majority of the pattern makers select the Pattern Makers
League as their representative, they will constitute a separate unit; if a'
majority of both voting groups cho_ose•the U. S. A., the groups will
together constitute a single unit.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that, the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by elections by secret ballot. The parties, with
the exception of the U. S. A., which took no position, expressed a
preference for reasons of convenience that eligibility to vote be de-
termined by the July 31, 1942, pay roll, introduced in evidence at the
hearing. In view of the time which has elapsed since the date of
that pay roll, we shall adhere to our customary practice and direct
that those eligible to vote shall' be the employees in the aforesaid
voting groups who were employed during the pay-roll period imme-
diately preceding the date of our Direction of Elections, subject to
the limitations and additions set forth therein.
Since the units proposed by the I. B. E. W. and the I. A. M. have
been found• inappropriate, the names of the I. B. E. W. and the I. A. M.
will not be included on any of the ballots.
ii See Matter of Bendix Products Division of Bendix Aviation Corporation and Pattern
Makers League of North America, South Bend Association, affiliated with the A. F. of L.,
39 N L. R B 81; Matter of Bethlehem Steel Company (Shipbuilding Division) and Pattern
Makers League of North America, New York Association, 40 N L R. B 922.
493508-43-vol. 45-28
434, DEOISIONS .OF."NATIONAL' LABOR 'RELATIONS. BOARD
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, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED, That, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Tennessee Coal,
Iron and Railroad Company, Birmingham, Alabama, in its Manu-
facturing Division, elections by secret ballot shall be conducted as
early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date
of this Direction of Elections, under the direction and supervision
of the Regional Director for the Sixth Region, acting in this matter
as agent for the National Labor Relations Board,, and subject to
Article III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, among the
following groups of employees who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of Elec-
tions, 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 any who have since quit or been discharged for cause:
1. All pattern makers and their apprentices who are actually engaged
in making patterns, in the Company's Manufacturing Division, ex-
cluding foremen and assistant foremen who do not make patterns, and
clerical workers, to determine whether they desire to be represented
by Pattern Makers League of North America, A. F. of L., or by
United Steelworkers of America, C. 1. 0., for the purposes of collective
bargaining, or by neither.
2. All production and maintenance employees in the six plants of
the Company's Manufacturing Division,,including the coke and by-
product department at the Fairfield Steel Works, but excluding sal-
aried employees, foremen, supervisors in charge of any class of labor,
watchmen, guards, confidential clerical employees regardless of method
of compensation (but not excluding other clerical employees on an
'hourly wage rate basis), and all employees included in group 1 above,
to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by United
Steelworkers of America, C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, the National Labor
Relations Board hereby orders that the petition for investigation and
certification of representatives of employees of Tennessee Coal, Iron
TENTDTESS 'EE COAL , IRON AND R . R.-CO. 435
and Railroad Company, Birmingham, Alabama, in its'- Manufacturing
Division, filed by 'International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local Union No. B-287-A. F. of L., be, and it' hereby is, dismissed.
APPENDIX A
LIST OF CLASSIFICATIONS OF EMPLOYEES PERFORMING ELECTRICAL WORK
WHICH THE I. B..E. W. SOUGHT TO INCLUDE IN ITS PROPOSED UNIT
y
1. Fairfield Steel Works :
A. Electrical Shop (exclusive of outside forces) :
Sub foreman-Electrical Department.
Armature winder and apprentice.
Electrician (all classes including handyman, helper and
apprentice).
B. Electrical Construction :
Sub foreman and lead electrician.
Electrician, assistant electrician and helper-.
C. Mill and Line Maintenance :
Lead electrician. '
Electrician (all classes including helper).
D. Power House and Sub-Stations :
Switchboard and assistant switchboard operator.
Chief sub-station operator.
Load dispatcher.
Sub-station tender, motor house tender and helper.
E. Fairfield Wire Works :
Electrical :
Working foreman.
Electrician helper.
F. By-Product Coke :
Electrical :
Electrician (including handyman and helper).
First class repairman and helper.
Electric Current Distribution :
Sub-station tender.
2. Ensley Works :
A. Electric Shop-Electrical:
Armature winder.
Electrician (including handyman and helper).
B. Mill and Line Maintenance Crew :
Control Shop :
Working foreman.
Electrician and helper and apprentice.
Line Crew :
Working foreman.
Electrician (all classes including helper).
436 DEIOISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR) RELATIONS BOARD
C. Power House':
Switchboard operator.
Sub-'station tender.
3. Fairfield, Sheet Mill :
Electrical:
Senior repairman.
First and second class repairman.
Construction :
Electrician.
4. Bessemer' Rolling Mill :
Electrical:
Assistant chief electrician.
First and second class repairman (including first
class repairman helper).
5. Fairfield Tin Mill:
A. 4S" Hot Strip Mill:
'Working foreman.
Senior repairman.
Repairman-first and second class (including first class
helper).
B. Cold Reduction :
Working foreman.
Senior repairman.
Repairman-first and second class (including first class
helper).
C. Tin House:
Senior repairman.
D. Tractor Shop:
Working foreman.
Electrician (all classes including handyman and first
class helper).
E: Crane and General Electrical:
Working foreman.
Electrician (including handyman and first class helper).
F. Construction :
Lead electrician. '
Electrician (including' assistant electrician and helper).
-TEi\NNES,SEE` COAL, IRON AND -R. R. CO. 437
APPENDIX B
LIST OF CLASSIFICATIONS OF EMPLOYEES PERFORMING ELECTRICAL WORK
WHICH THE I. B. • E. W. DID NOT SEEK TO INCLUDE IN ITS 'PRO-
POSED UNIT
1. Fairfield Steel Works :
Blast Furnace :
Repairman-first class.
jepairman helper-first class.
Open Hearth :
Senior repairman-A.
Repairman-first class.
Repairman helper-first class.
Blooming and' Billet Mills :
Repairman-first class.
Repairman helper-first class.
Motor house tender.
11" Merchant Mill:
Repairman-second class.
Motor house tender.
11" Merchant Mill and/or Cotton Tie and Hoop Mill :
Repairman-first class.
Cotton Tie and Hoop Mill:
Motor house tender.
Plate Mill:
Senior repairman-A.
Repairman-first class.
Repairman helper-first class.
Motor house tender.
Structural Mill:
Repairman-first class.
Repairman helper-first, class.
Motor house tender.
Rail Fastening :
Repairman-first class.
Shops:
Senior Repairman-B.
Repairman helper-first class.
2. Ensley Works :
Blast Furnace :
First class repairman.
First class repairman helper.
Ore bridge operator.
438 DECISIONS'OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Open Hearth :
First class repairman.
Second class repairman.
Soil conditioner and Scrap Recovery Plant :
Second class repairman-electrical.
Mills :
First class repairman.
Second class repairman.
First class repairman helper.
Motor operator-(tonnage).
Electrical :
Outside Mechanics :
Senior repairman-A.
Second class repairman.(drop yard).
Second class repairman helper.
Shell production :
First claiss repairman.
First class repairman helper.
0