The Texas Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 7, 1941

33 N.L.R.B. 1214 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of THE TEXAS COMPANY and OIL W ORKERS INTERNA-
TIONAL UNION, LOCAL 367
Case No. B-2666.-Decided August 7, 1941
Jurisdiction : oil refining industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence,of question : par-
ties stipulated that the Company refused to recognize either of rival unions
until certified by the Board ; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em-
ployees excluding department heads, their immediate assistants, and general
foremen ; clerical employees excluding despite request of one of the unions
involved for their inclusion.
Mr. James H. Pipkin, and Mr. S. W. Darling, of Houston, Tex.,
for the Company.
Combs & Dixie, by Mr. W. A. Combs and Mr. J. E. Cross, of Pasa-
dena, Tex., for Local 367.
Mr. W. H. Nosier, of Houston, Tex., for the Federation.
Mr. Bliss Daffan, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On April 26, 1941, Oil Workers International Union, Local 367,
herein called Local 367, filed with the Regional Director for the Six-
teenth-Region (Fort Worth, Texas) a petition alleging that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of The Texas Company, herein called the Company, at its
Galena Park, Texas, refinery, and requesting an investigation and
certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On June 11,
1941, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board,
acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3,
of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2;
as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional
Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon
due notice.
On June 13, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served upon the Company, Local 367, and
33 N L. R. B., No. 202.
1214
THE TEXAS COMPANY 1215
The Houston Works Employees Federation of The Texas Company,
herein called the Federation, a labor organization claiming to repre-
sent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to
notice, a hearing was held on Jui1e 24, 1941, at Houston, Texas, before
Albert P. Wheatley, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief
Trial Examiner. The Company, Local 367, and the Federation were
represented by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full oppor-
tunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to
introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. At
the commencement of the hearing a motion to intervene filed by the
Federation was granted by the Trial Examiner. During the course
of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on other
motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board
has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no preju-
dicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. Upon
the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Texas Company is a Delaware corporation with its principal
offices in New York City and Houston, Texas. It is the principal sub-
sidiary, wholly owned, of The Texas Corporation through which it is
affiliated with some 50 other corporations located in the State of Texas,
other States of the United States, and in foreign countries, all consti-
tuting a world-wide organization for the production, transportation,
refining, and marketing of crude oil and the products thereof, and for
incidental businesses.
This proceeding is only concerned with the employees engaged at
the Galena Park, Texas, refinery of the Company, which has a capac-
ity for handling approximately 20,000 barrels of crude oil daily. The
crude oil moves to this refinery from producing wells situated in the
States of Texas and New Mexico through pipe lines operating as
common carriers under Interstate Commerce Commission regulations.
The two main finished products of this refinery, are gasoline and fuel
oils. Approximately 25 per cent of the crude oil is devoted to the
production of gasoline and an equal amount to fuel oils and byprod-
ucts; the remaining 50 per cent of unfinished distillates being pumped
by pipe line to the Company's refinery at Port Arthur, Texas, for
further treatment. Of the refined products, approximately 75 per
cent are shipped by seagoing tankers to points of destination located
outside the State of Texas. There are approximately 200 employees
at the Galena Park, Texas, refinery of the Company.
1216 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
II, THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Oil Workers International Union, Local 367, is a labor organiza-
tion affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admit-
ting to membership production and maintenance employees of the
Company.
The Houston Works Employees Federation of The Texas Company
is an unaffiliated labor organization admitting to membership em-
ployees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The parties stipulated at the hearing that Local 367 and the Feder-
ation were both claiming to represent a majority of the employees
at the Galena Park refinery; and that on or about April 25, 1941,
Local 367 requested the Company to enter into collective bargaining
negotiations but that such request was refused by the Company until
such time as Local 367 or some other labor organization should be
certified by the Board as the bargaining representative of a majority
of the employees.
A report prepared by a Field Examiner of the Board concerning
claims of authorization for the purposes of representation which was
introduced into evidence at the hearing shows that Local 367 and the
Federation each represents a substantial number of employees of the
Company at the Galena Park refinery of the Company within the
respective units which each alleges to be appropriate.'
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of
employees of the Company.
1V. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen,
occurring- in connection with the operations of the Company, de-
scribed in Section I, above, has a close, intimate, and substantial rela-
tion to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and tends
to lead to labor disputes, burdening and obstructing commerce and
the free flow of commerce.
1 The Field Examiner reported that Local 367 submitted 70 authorization cards of em-,
ployees on the pay roll of the Company as of May 22 , 1941 ; and that the Federation sub-
mitted a list of its membership containing the names of 90 employees on the pay roll of the
Company as of May 22, 1941. There are approximately 165 employees within the unit
which Local 367 claims to be appropriate and approximately 180 employees within the
unit claimed by the Federation to be appropriate.
THE TEXAS COMPANY
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
1217
Local 367 contends that the appropriate unit consists of all pro-
duction and maintenance employees at the Galena Park refinery,
excluding department heads, their immediate assistants, general fore-
men, and clerical workers. Such a unit would consist of approxi-
mately 165 production and maintenance employees. The Federation
is in accord with the unit contended for by Local 367 except that it
would also include therein clerical employees. Such a unit would
consist of approximately 180 employees. The Company takes no
position as to whether or not clerical employees should be included
within the unit.
The clerical employees are, for the most part, salaried employees.
Approximately 15 in number, they consist of clerks, stenographers,
tiniekeepers, a telephone operator, and a nurse, and are located in a
building separate and apart from buildings occupied by production
and maintenance employees. The working hours of clerical em-
ployees are confined to the daylight hours, whereas production and
maintenance employees are engaged in both day and night work.
Although no collective bargaining agreements have been entered
into by the Company with labor organizations, the evidence shows
that since November 1939 the Company has recognized the Federa-
tion as the bargaining representative of the employees at the Galena
Park refinery, has negotiated with it as such, and the results of such
negotiations have been reduced to writing and published by. the
Company under the title of "Working Rules." While there is no
evidence that Local 367 has been recognized by the Company as the
bargaining representative of employees at the-Galena Park refinery,
at other plants of the Company, where various locals of the Oil
Workers International Union have been recognized as a bargaining
representative of the employees, negotiations have been carried on
between such locals and the Company, and so-called "Working Rules"
resulting therefrom have been reduced to writing and published. In
the case of the "Working Rules" resulting from negotiations with the
Federation relative to the Galena Park refinery employees, the or-
ganization has been recognized as the` bargaining representative of
all the employees, including clerical employees, but excluding super-
visory employees. On the other hand, when such working rules have
resulted from negotiations between the Company and locals of the
Oil Workers International Union relative to the employees at various
of the Company's plants, such organizations have been recognized
as the exclusive bargaining representative of all the production and
maintenance employees, excluding supervisory and clerical employees.
The clerical employees whom the Federation seeks to include within
the unit are not eligible for membership in Local 367. Moreover, we
11
1218 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD -
have customarily excluded salaried clerical employees from a unit
composed of hourly paid production and maintenance employees.2
While we have under certain circumstances regarded bargaining his-
tory as a controlling factor in the determination of the unit, we do not
consider the history in the instant proceeding sufficient to stabilize and
define the unit urged by the Federation and to warrant a departure
from this general rule .3 Under the circumstances in this case we shall
exclude the clerical employees from the unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees engaged in
the Galena Park, Texas, refinery of the Company, excluding depart-
ment heads, their immediate assistants, general foremen, and clerical
workers, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining and that such unit will insure to said employees of the
Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to
collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen
can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. Both Local 367
and the Federation are in accord that an election should be held and
make no contention relative to the pay roll to be used to determine
eligibility to vote. Likewise, the Company has made no contention in
this regard. In accordance with our usual practice, we find that the
employees of the Company at its Galena Park, Texas, refinery eligible
to vote in the election shall be those employees in the appropriate unit
who are employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding
the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to such limitations
and additions as are set forth in said Direction hereinafter.
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. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of The- Texas Company at its Galena Park,
Texas, refinery, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6)
and (7) of the Act.
2. All production and maintenance employees of The Texas Com-
pany at its Galena Park, Texas, refinery, excluding department heads,
their immediate assistants, general foremen, and clerical workers, con-
See Third Annual Report of the National Labor Relations Board , page 184.
In Matter of Union Switch and Stgnal Company and United Electrical , Radio and Ma-
chine Workers of America, Local 610, 30 N L. R B 922, we excluded clerical employees,
from the unit under circumstances similar to those present here.
THE TEXAS COMPANY 1219
stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,
and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby
DIxx>Jcr>;D that, as a part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining
with The Texas Company at its Galena Park, Texas, refinery , an elec-
tion 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 Sixteenth
Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela-
tions Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and
Regulations , among all production and maintenance employees who
were employed by the Company at its Galena Park , Texas, refinery
during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this
Direction , 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 department heads, their immediate assistants, general fore-
men, and clerical workers, and those employees who have since quit or
been discharged for cause , to determine whether they desire to be
represented by Oil Workers International Union, Local 367, or by The
Houston Works Employees Federation of The Texas Company, for the
purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
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