U. S. Electrical Motors, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 27, 1946

65 N.L.R.B. 1474 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of U . S. ELECTRICAL MOTORS, INC. and UNITED ELEC-
TRICAL, RADIO & MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, C. I. O.
Case No. 21-R-3065.-Decided February 27,1946
Mr. Sidney Cobacker, of Los Angeles, Calif., for the Company.
Mr. Carl Brant, of Los Angeles, Calif., for the Union.
Mr. John H. Wood, Jr., of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by United Electrical, Radio & Machine
Workers of America, C. I. 0., herein called the Union, alleging that a
question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation
of employees of U. S. Electrical Motors, Inc., 200 East Slauson
Avenue, Los Angeles, California, herein called the Company, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice before George H. O'Brien, Trial Examiner. The
hearing was held at Los Angeles, California, on December 13, 1945.
The Company and the Union-appeared and participated.' All parties
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. Both parties were afforded
opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
U. S. Electrical Motors, Inc., is a California corporation engaged in
the manufacture and sale of electrical motors and other electrical
equipment. It owns and operates a plant located at 200 East Slauson
Avenue, Los Angeles, California, which is the only plant involved in
this proceeding. Raw materials used consist chiefly of steel, cast iron,
copper, aluminum, and ball bearings. During the calendar year 1944,
1 Mechanics' Educational Society of America, Ind., although served with notice, did not
appear at the hearing.
65 N. L. R. B., No. 241.
1474
U. S. ELECTRICAL MOTORS, INC. 1475
the Company purchased for use at this plant approximately 5,000 tons
of such materials, approximately 60 percent of which was originally
brought into California from points outside the State of California.
During the same period, approximately 60 percent of the products
made by the Company at the plant was shipped to customers located
outside the State of California.
The Company admits, and we find, that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, is a
labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organ-
izations, admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as
the exclusive bargaining representative of its office and clerical em-
ployees until the Union has been certified by the Board in an appro-
priate unit 2
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear-
ing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate 3
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
The parties are in general agreement concerning the composition
of a unit of office and clerical employees.4 There exists, however,
some question with respect to the exclusion of certain classifications
which are discussed below.
Draftsmen :
The Union would include, whereas the Company would exclude,
the draftsmen. They make detailed drawings, drawing changes, lay-
out drawings, etc. They are in a separate department and are directly
responsible to two drafting supervisors,5 but are less closely super-
2 The Union presently represents the production and maintenance employees of the
Company at its Slauson Avenue, Los Angeles, plant.
8 A Board attorney reported that petitioner had submitted 70 application for member-
ship cards , and that 69 of the names signed to these cards appeared on the Company's
office and clerical pay roll of September 30, 1945, which bore the names of 120 employees
in the alleged appropriate unit.
4 Because their duties are supervisory or confidential and their interests sufficiently
differ from those of other office and clerical employees , the parties agree to the exclusion
of the following, classifications : outside sales employees , pay-roll bookkeeper , personnel
assistants , personnel interviewers , secretaries or personal stenographers to the executives,
and department supervisors , purchasing assistant , and time-study engineers.
0 The parties agree that these supervisors should be excluded from the unit.
1476 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
wised than other office employees. It appears that draftsmen are
required to have some technical qualifications not required of other
office employees, i. e., some knowledge of physics and higher mathe-
matics, and the Company prefers that they possess 2 years of college
education or its equivalent. Although we have included technical
and professional employees within a unit containing office and clerical
workers in the absence of contentions to the contrary, we have fre-
quently had occasion to recognize the differences in interests, back-
grounds, and functions between the two groups, and our general
policy has been to place the employees in these groups in separate
units.° In accordance with this policy, the draftsmen shall be
excluded from the unit.
Clerical Employees in the Drafting Department:
The Company presently has eight typists and file clerks in the draft-
ing department whose duties are to make up change notices. They
do not have access to,personnel files. Their duties are similar to those
of other clerical employees and they will, therefore, be included in the,
unit.
General Bookkeeper:
The Company contends that she is a confidential employee and
should, therefore, be excluded from the bargaining unit. Her wages
are on the same general level as those of other office clericals and she
does not have access to confidential matters or records having to do
with labor relations.' We shall include the general bookkeeper in
the unit.
Pay-Roll Clerks in Accounting, Department: .
These are two in number, subject to a supervisor of pay roll." Their
duties are merely to calculate the amount due to each employee and
they do not have access to any personnel files or to information relating
to labor relations. We shall include the pay-roll clerks in the account-
ing department in the unit.
Time-Study Clerks:
The Union would exclude, whereas the Company would include,
time-study clerks in the Industrial Engineering Department. They'
are engaged exclusively in time-study clerical work which involves
duties substantially the same as other clerks and typists; they do not
play any controlling part in the setting of wage rates .9 We shall
include them in the unit.
We find that all office and clerical employees of the Company, includ-
ing clerical employees in the drafting department, general bookkeeper,
6 See Matter of Aluminum Company of America , The Aluminum Cooking Utensil Com-
pany . 62 N L R B . 318, Matter of Houdaille Hershey Corporation , 59 N. L. R. B. 1292 ;
Spicer Manufacturing Corporation, 55 N L R . B 1491.
4 Matter of Briggs Manufacturing Co, 63 N. L. R. B . 860, and cases therein cited.
8 Both parties would exclude the supervisor of pay roll.
9 Cf. Matter of The Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company, 60 N. L. R. B. 626.
U. S. ELECTRICAL MOTORS, INC. 1477
pay-roll clerks in the accounting department, and time-study clerks,
but excluding draftsmen, outside sales employees, pay-roll bookkeeper,
personnel assistants and interviewers, secretaries or personal stenog-
raphers to executives, and department supervisors, purchasing assist-
ant, time-study engineers, superviser of pay rolls, and all other
supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge,
discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or
effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
1'. TTIE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among employees
in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period
immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elections herein,
subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction.
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 3, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with U. S. Electrical
Motors, Inc., Los Angeles, California, an election 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 Twenty-first Region, acting in this
matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject
to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations,
among employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above,
who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding
the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work'
during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or
temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of
the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but
excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged
for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of
the election, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented
by United Electrical, Radio &, Machine Workers of America, C. I. 0.,
for the purposes of collective bargaining.