The Firestone Tire and Rubber Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsApr 13, 1976

223 N.L.R.B. 904 (N.L.R.B. 1976)

904 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company and Interna- tional Society of Skilled Trades, ACA, Petitioner. Case 8-RC-10292 April 13, 1976 RULING ON ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION On February 12, 1976, the Petitioner filed a peti- tion seeking to sever a group of skilled tradesmen from an established production and maintenance unit at the Employer's plants. After an administrative investigation, the Regional Director by letter dated March 12, 1976, the pertinent parts of which are at- tached hereto as an appendix, dismissed said peti- tion, finding that the requested unit was not appro- priate for the purpose of severance. On March 25, 1976, the Petitioner filed a request for review of such dismissal , assigning error in fact and law and re- questing a hearing . Thereafter, the Employer and the intervening United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America, AFL-CIO, filed re- spective opposition thereto. Having duly considered the matter, the Board con- cluded that the request for review raised no substan- tial issues warranting review or a hearing herein. Accordingly, the dismissal of the petition is hereby affirmed.' 1 By order of this date, the Board also sustained the Regional Director's dismissal of similar petitions filed in : The B. F. Goodrich Company, Case 8- RC-10293; The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Case 8-RC-10294: and The General Tire and Rubber Company, Case 8-RC-10297. APPENDIX The above-captioned petition , filed on February 12, 1976, and amended on March 1 , 1976, by the International Society of Skilled Trades , A-C-A, (hereinafter referred to as ISST) seeks to sever a unit of "all skilled trades located at all locations under the present Master Agreement" from the existing em- ployer-wide multiplant bargaining unit comprising all production and maintenance employees , presently represented by the United Rubber , Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America , AFL-CIO-CLC, (hereinafter referred to as URW ). The ISST lists the following unit as that appropriate for collective bar- gaining: All skilled employees including, tool & die mak- ers, maintenance mechanics (machine repair), industrial electricians, millwrights , welders, sta- tionary engineers , sheet metal workers , pipefit- ters , (steam fitter), industrial automobile or truck mechanics , oilers, (not apprenticeable), carpenters, instrument mechanics, machinists, (machine shop), painters, riggers, scale repair- men (apprenticeable under machinist), bricklay- ers, cement finishers, blacksmiths, structural steel workers, engravers, electrotypers, composi- tors, pressmen, printer slotter operators, mold makers, air-conditioning & refrigeration me- chanics, plumbers, pipe covers, electronical maintenance, locksmiths, precision special ma- chine and equipment builders (not apprenticea- ble), tool makers, die makers, sewing machine repairmen, motor winders, mold repair & assem- bly men, foundry workers (skilled tradesmen), crane operators (servicing skilled trades only), battery attendants, elevator mechanics, crane re- pairmen, plaster moldmakers, firemen (high pressure boiler operators), but excluding all other production employees, office, clerical em- ployees, and guards, professional employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act. The ISST goes on to list the following locations as those covered by the Master Agreement between URW and Firestone Tire and Rubber Company (hereinafter referred to as the Employer): Russellville, Arkansas (represented by URW Local #884) Los Angeles, California (represented by URW Local #100) Albany, Georgia (represented by URW Local #887) Decatur, Illinois (represented by URW Local #713) Des Moines, Iowa (represented by URW Local #310) Akron, Ohio (represented by URW Local #7) Pottstown, Pennsylvania (represented by URW Local #366) Memphis, Tennessee (represented by URW Lo- cal # 186) Noblesville, Indiana (represented by URW Lo- cal # 138) Salinas, California (represented by URW Local #776) Bloomington, Illinois (represented by URW Lo- cal #787) The existing unit represented by URW encompasses all production and maintenance employees at the above locations, who number approximately 15,000. The skilled trades include both apprenticed and non- apprenticed trades and classifications, and they num- ber over 2,000 employees at the locations herein con- cerned, or about 13 percent of the total unit. The parties to this case have been given ample op- portunity to present and offer evidence relevant to 223 NLRB No. 152 FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER CO. 905 the petition . All evidence offered during the investi- gation has been carefully considered. The skilled tradesmen in the unit sought constitute all the employees who perform the general mainte- nance , repair , fabrication and installation functions in the Employer's production plants. While their principal function is to keep equipment operating properly and to minimize delays in the production department, the skilled trades jobs encompass such diverse classifications as oiler , welder , carpenter and laborer. In effect , the ISST is seeking to sever em- ployees whose primary function is maintenance from an existing production and maintenance unit. The URW has represented employees of the Em- ployer for more than 30 years. Since 1948, the URW and the Employer have executed a series of collec- tive-bargaining agreements in a multi-plant unit with specific provisions for supplementary agreements to be concluded through local plant negotiations. Thus, for the past 28 years , the Employer and the URW have been parties to successive collective -bargaining contracts which have involved in each instance a production and maintenance unit in which skilled tradesmen have been included and which have fea- tured periodic improvements in wages and other ben- efits . The investigation reveals that a pattern of dual representation such as that envisioned by this peti- tion does not exist anywhere in the rubber industry, a fact which lends credence to claims by the Employer and the URW that the destruction of this existing pattern would have a disruptive effect throughout the industry. Contrary to this position , the ISST asserts that there is no evidence that separate representation on a multi-craft basis would be a disruptive force in labor relations. While the Board has permitted separate represen- tation of maintenance employees in the absence of a prior collective-bargaining history, it has been the es- tablished policy well before Mallinckrodt Chemical Works 162 NLRB 387, as well as after that decision, to decline to sever a group of maintenance employees from an existing production and maintenance unit in the face of a substantial bargaining history on a plant-wide or multi-plant basis . Armstrong Cork Company, 80 NLRB 1328, 1329, American Cyanamid Company, 131 NLRB 909, General Foods Corporation, Maxwell House Division, 166 NLRB 1032, Wah Chang Albany Corporation, 171 NLRB 385, Rayonier Inc., 171 NLRB 651. By this petition , ISST seeks to represent, in one unit , a group of employees who perform a wide range of skilled , semi-skilled , and unskilled maintenance work for the Employer. The unit sought is clearly not a distinct and homogenous group of skilled journey- man craftsmen performing the functions of their craft on a non-repetitive basis . Several of the skilled classifications , such as mold changers , drum chan- gers , and tool and machine die makers , are assigned to production departments at some plants and to maintenance departments at other plants . The evi- dence submitted is replete with examples of mainte- nance jobs that overlap into production and produc- tion jobs that overlap into maintenance; furthermore , the Employer lists several classifications of employees whose jobs are not limited solely to a single traditional craft or skilled trade . These em- ployees are classed simply as "maintenance : multi- skilled , Level I , Level II or Lubricator -Inspector" and may be cross-trained in several skilled trades. Finally, as noted above , credible evidence indicates that a tradition of separate representation for the em- ployees sought does not exist at any of the Employer's facilities , nor does it exist in the rubber industry. The ISST asserts that the unit they are seek- ing in this petition is a homogeneous one and urges that the Board redefine its definition of "homogenei- ty" to conform with ISST 's concept of its meaning. The ISST alleges that traditionally heterogeneous crafts have been forged into one homogeneous grouping "recognized both by labor and manage- ment as the skilled trades" simply by the dynamics of minority status within the URW. Evidence gathered from all parties , including the ISST , indicates that the -word "homogeneous ," no matter how its mean- ing is distorted , cannot be used to describe the unit sought . From the unit description alone, it is obvious that the ISST is seeking to sever a heterogeneous grouping of maintenance employees engaged in vari- ous semi-skilled , skilled and unskilled occupations from an existing production and maintenance unit that is the product of 28 years of stable bargaining. The Board has consistently held that a group of em- ployees of this sort may not be severed in this situa- tion. United States Time Corporation, 86 NLRB 724; National Aniline Division, Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation, 102 NLRB 129; Union Steam Pump Company, 118 NLRB 689; Seville-Sea Isle Hotel Corp., 125 NLRB 299, 300; Moloney Electric Compa- ny, Division of Central Transformer Corporation, 169 NLRB 464; Lear-Seigler, Inc., 170 NLRB 766; Dow Chemical Company, Rocky Flats Division, 202 NLRB 17, Madison General Hospital Association, 218 NLRB 954. Skilled trades employees share the same general working conditions and benefits as the production employees. They generally use the same employee fa- cilities ; sharing parking lots, cafeteria and break fa- cilities , shower rooms, timeclocks and other facilities with production employees . The skilled tradesmen also receive the same fringe benefits as other employ- 906 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ees in the existing unit . Contrary to the positions tak- en by ISST, the investigation based in part on affida- vits given by ISST members, indicates that produc- tion foremen regularly supervise skilled tradesmen in the performance of their duties. The evidence also shows that skilled trades employees spend from 50% to 90% of their time in production areas. In addition, those skilled tradesmen involved in repairing produc- tion machinery are frequently assisted by production employees in the completion of their job assign- ments. Finally, while it is virtually impossible for an unqualified production employee to bump into the skilled trades, the employees sought have the option of bumping production employees in the event of lay-off at most of the facilities herein concerned. Investigation discloses that the skilled tradesmen have figured prominently in the maintenance of the existing pattern of representation . Since 1949, one of the three executive officers of the International Union has been a skilled tradesman. At present, 3 of the 11 local union presidents (who form the nucleus of the International Bargaining Committee) in the Firestone "chain" are skilled tradesmen . Skilled tradesmen also hold numerous other offices in the local unions, in addition to holding past and present positions on the International Executive Board of the URW. The Skilled Trades Department of the URW, created in 1960 to provide advice, information, and assistance to the International and Local Unions in the area of skilled trades problems and negotiation goals, has held numerous conferences and workshops to discuss and act on skilled trades problems all over the country in addition to advising the International Policy Committee URW regarding contractual rec- ommendations for the skilled trades. The skilled tradesmen have shared in the wage increases and im- proved benefits negotiated by the URW over the years. Furthermore , several "wage inequities" have been negotiated for this employee group and these increases have resulted in approximately 42 cents/ hour additional for the skilled trades since 1965. Fi- nally, the evidence shows that the skilled tradesmen have made frequent use of the grievance procedure. The numerous arbitration awards favorable to skilled tradesmen cited by the Employer show a continuing interest in the skilled trades by the URW. Clearly, the skilled tradesmen have a significant community of interest with the other production and maintenance employees. The Board has held in the past that severance is not appropriate where, as here, the employees sought have participated substantially in the maintenance of the existing pattern of repre- sentation . Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, supra; American Bosch Arma Corporation (Mississippi Divi- sion), 169 NLRB 287; Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, 205 NLRB 794. In support of its position, the ISST alludes to several specific inci- dents in which it alleges the URW has refused to accept and act on proposals made by the skilled trades or in which the skilled trades employees have, due to internal union negotiations, received less of an inequity raise than was offered by the Employer. It should be noted that the Board has held that a union that does not accede to all demands made upon it by the unit seeking to be severed cannot be accused of inadequately representing that unit based on that fact alone. In The Zia Company, 174 NLRB 972, the Board in the above situation noted that the employ- ees sought had been "adequately represented" by the intervenor since those employees participated in the affairs of the intervenor. The fact that the intervenor refused to adopt all of the demands of the employees sought was found to be immaterial to the central is- sue of severance. The Employer's production process is a continu- ous operation, requiring a highly integrated system which begins with the compounding of crude rubber and ends with the inspection of warehousing of a finished tire. An interruption of production would occur should any component of this system cease to function. In affidavits submitted by the Employer, the URW, and the ISST witnesses agree that the con- tinued normal operation of the plants herein in- volved is dependent on the maintenance and support functions performed by the skilled trades. All parties agree that production could not continue for more than a few days if the skilled tradesmen were to strike. Finally, many of the employees sought spend up to 90% of their working time in production areas, repairing production machinery, a function obvious- ly intimately related to the production process. The Board has a long tradition of refusing to grant sever- ance to a group of non-production employees whose work is so interrelated with the continued operation of the employer's plants. Allen-Bradley Company, 168 NLRB 15; Rayonier Inc., supra, Animated Film Pro- ducers Association for its Members and Associated Companies, 200 NLRB 473. E. I. Dupont DeNemours and Company, 162 NLRB 49, cited by ISST, concerns a situation where an election in a separate unit was ordered in the absence of a controlling collective- bargaining history. For that reason, it is inapposite to the factual situation before me in this proceeding. Investigation discloses that ISST has very little ex- perience in representing employees in a group such as it seeks in this petition. In addition, the ISST is not a union that has devoted itself to representing the special interests of a particular craft, and, as the ISST itself concedes, it cannot be considered a "traditional representative" of the employees sought, a factor FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER CO. 907 which, when considered with all the others listed above, weighs against severance from the broader unit . Kimberly Clark Corporation, 197 NLRB 1172. Therefore, in view of the long and stable history of collective bargaining within the existing pattern of representation, the high degree of integration of the Employer's operations, the active participation of the employees sought in the administration and negotia- tion functions of the International Union as well as its locals , the likelihood that the severance of the skilled trades would have a disruptive effect on the rubber industry, the certainty that production would cease should the skilled trades cease to perform their job functions , and in view of the heterogeneous na- ture of the unit sought, I find that the separate com- munity of interests which skilled trades employees may enjoy by reason of their skill and training have been largely integrated in the broader community of interests which they share with production employ- ees. Consequently, the petitioned-for unit is not ap-, propriate for severance. In addition to the above, it should also be noted that the ISST is seeking to sever a heterogeneous, multi-craft maintenance unit from an already ex- isting unit of production and maintenance employees with a long and stable history of bargaining in the broader unit. As noted elsewhere in this letter, the Board has consistently held for many years that this type of unit may not be severed en masse. Union Steam Pump Company, supra; General Foods Corpora- tion, Maxwell House Division, supra; Madison General Hospital Association, supra. Accordingly, for all the reasons referred to above, the petition is hereby dis- missed. Pursuant to the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as amended, any party may obtain a review of this action by filing a request therefor with the National Labor Relations Board , Washington, D.C. 20570. A copy of the re- quest for review must be served on each of the other parties to the proceeding, including the undersigned. This request for review must contain a complete statement setting forth the facts and reasons upon which it is based. The request for review (eight cop- ies) should be filed with the Board by close of busi- ness March 25, 1976, except that the Board may, upon good cause shown, grant special permission for a longer period within which to file. A request for extension of time should be submitted to the Board in Washington, and copy of any such request for ex- tension of time should be submitted to me and to the other parties to this proceeding. The request for review and any request for exten- sion of time must include a statement that a copy has been served on me and on each of the other parties to this proceeding in the same or a faster manner as that utilized in filing the request with the Board.