United States Steel Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 10, 1952

101 N.L.R.B. 1000 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

1000 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
that the right to refrain may be affected by a lawful agreement requiring mem-
bership in a labor organization as a condition of employment.
E-Z MILLS , INC.,
Employer.
Dated-------------------------------- By------------------------------
(Representative ) ( Title)
This notice must remain posted for 60 days from the date hereof, and must
not be altered , defaced , or covered by any other material.
CONSOLIDATED WESTERN STEEL DIVISION , UNITED STATES STEEL COM-
PANY 1 and LOCAL UNION No. 390, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD
OF ELECTRICAL 'WORKERS, AFL, PETITIONER
CONSOLIDATED WESTERN STEEL DIVISION , UNITED STATES STEEL COM-
PANY 2 and SHOPMEN 'S LOCAL No . 630, OF THE INTERNATIONAL As-
SOCIATION OF BRIDGE , STRUCTURAL AND ORNAMENTAL IRON WORKERS,
AFL and LODGE No. 1457, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHIN-
ISTS, AFL, PETITIONERS
CONSOLIDATED WESTERN STEEL DIVISION , UNITED STATES STEEL COM-
PANY and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCAL
No. 450, AFL , PETITIONER . Cases Nos. 39-RC-P2, 39-RC-493,
and 39-RC-495. December 10, 1952
Decision , Order, and Direction of Elections
Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before Clifford W.
Potter, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hear-
ing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
these cases to a three-member panel [Members Houston, Murdock, and
Styles].
Upon the entire record of these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
i The name of the Employer appears as amended at the hearing.
I The International Association of Machinists , Lodge 1457, AFL, herein called the
Machinists , filed two petitions on July 8, 1952 , seeking to carve out all employees in the
machine shop department in Case No . 39-RC-496, and all employees in the maintenance
department except electricians in Case No. 39-RC-497. These petitions were consolidated
by the Regional Director with Cases Nos. 39-RC-492, 4931, and 495 on July 25, 1952. At
the hearing , the Machinists requested that its petitions in Cases Nos . 39-RC-496 and
39-RC-497 be withdrawn , and that it appear on the ballot as a joint petitioner with the
International Association of Bridge , Structural , and Ornamental Iron Workers, Shop-
men's Local 630 AFL, herein called the Iron Workers . The request to withdraw the
petitions in Cases Nos. 39-RC-496 and 39-RC-497 is granted . As the Iron Workers has
no objection , the request of the Machinists to be a joint petitioner with the Iron Workers
in Case No . 39-RC-493 is granted.
101 NLRB No. 162.
CONSOLIDATED WESTERN STEEL DIVISION 1001
2. The labor organizations named below 3 claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of certain employees of the Employer within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Iron Workers, the Steelworkers, the Council, the Boiler-
makers, and the Machinists seek to represent a plant-wide unit of
production and maintenance employees. The following unions seek
to sever from an existing production and maintenance unit the indi-
cated groups as craft units : The Electrical Workers, maintenance
electricians; the Engineers, hoisting engineers, crane operators, winch
truck operators, garage mechanics, and oilers; 4 and the Pipefitters,
the employees classified as pipefitters. The Employer takes the posi-
tion that only a production and maintenance unit is appropriate and
moved to dismiss the petitions of the Electrical Workers and the Engi-
neers and to deny intervention to the Pipefitters. For the reasons
stated below, the motion to dismiss the petition of the Electrical
Workers and to deny intervention to the Pipefitters is denied, and the
motion to dismiss the petition of the Engineers is granted.
For over 10 years, the employees of the Employer have been repre-
sented in a production and maintenance unit.5 From 1941 to 1951
the Iron Workers was a party to various collective bargaining agree-
ments with the Employer. In 1951 the Council was certified as rep-
resentative of all employees, excluding office clerks, salesmen, engi-
neers , draftsmen, over-the-road truck drivers, guards, watchmen,
executives, superintendents, and Supervisors.,' Thereafter the Em-
ployer signed a contract with the Council. The petition involved in
the present case was timely filed with respect to this contract.
In view of the number of parties , the unions in these consolidated cases will be desig-
nated as follows :
Petitioners : International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local No . 390, AFL,
Electrical Workers ; International Association of Bridge , Structural and Ornamental Iron
Workers, Shopmen 's Local No . 630, AFL , Iron Workers ; International Union of Operating
Engineers , Local No . 450, AFL, Engineers ; and International Association of Machinists,
Lodge No. 1457, AFL, Machinists.
Intervenors : United Steelworkers of America, CIO, Steelworkers ; Orange Metal Trades
Council , AFL, Council ; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers , Iron Shipbuilders and
Helpers of America, Local No. 408, AFL, Boilermakers ; and United Association of Journey-
men and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and
Canada , Local No. 195, AFL.
A motion to intervene by the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District of the International
Longshoremen's Association , AFL, was properly denied by the hearing officer as this
organization submitted no evidence of a showing of interest among the employees requested.
4 The unit description was amended at the hearing to exclude air compressor operators
as there is no such classification at the Employer's plants, and to limit the winch truck
operators sought to those working within the yard.
5 Evidence was introduced to the effect that in 1948 the Employer purchased from the
Government property which had been used as a shipyard . The shipyard was operated
from 1941 to 1946 by a subsidiary of United States Steel Company, which voluntarily
recognized a number of AFL crafts . We find that the bargaining history of the shipyard
has no bearing upon that of the Employer in the present case.
4 The certification followed an election ordered by the Board in Consolidated Western
Steel Corporation, 93 NLRB 1199.
1002 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Employer is engaged in the fabrication of structural and plate
steel products and pipe at its plant in Orange, Texas. At this plant
the Employer's operations comprise the plate mill section, where ex-
panded pipe is manufactured; the fabricating shop, where fabri-
cating and the production of structural steel products is carried on;
and the service department, which performs the maintenance func-
tions for the two production departments named above. The service
department is divided into two separately supervised sections, one
being composed of electricians, machinists, pipefitters, and mainte-
nance mechanics whose duty is the maintenance of plant machinery
and equipment; and the other comprising crane operators , garage
mechanics , oilers, and riggers whose function is the maintenance of
locomotive equipment and the moving of materials.
Electrician8: Approximately 29 electricians are employed at the
Employer's Orange plant, where they perform all necessary repairs
on the electrical motors and other electrical equipment. Their head-
quarters is the electric shop, which is located in the area designated
as the maintenance shop. They work throughout the plant, but do
heavier and more time-consuming repair jobs in the electric shop.
This shop is equipped with electrical instruments, such as a megger
for measuring resistance in a motor, voltage testers, and amperage
testers. The electricians furnish their own tools, which are peculiar
to their craft, and use the various safety devices necessary in this type
of work. These employees are supervised by the maintenance fore-
man who also supervises the maintenance machinists, maintenance
mechanics, welders, and pipefitters. In accordance with a city ordi-
nance of Orange, Texas, the electricians are licensed as maintenance
electricians . The record indicates that the electricians in the plant
are journeyman electricians and are capable of electrical repair on
any of the plant machinery.
The Employer contends that a craft unit should not be established
because the different categories of employees do the work of several
crafts regardless of their classification. Two electricians testified
that they themselves do not perform work other than electrical work,
that to their knowledge employees other than electricians do not do
electrical work, and that electricians do not perform the duties of the
other employees. The record reveals that electricians irregularly
and infrequently perform work other than electrical.? Such other
work is performed in connection with the duties of electricians and
requires only a minor portion of their time. It is the policy of the
'One of the electricians testified that he did pipefitting for 1 day several years ago.
One also testified that when making electrical repairs, electricians , in accord with the
practice in other comparable plants, install ball bearings. They do not install bushing
type bearings , which have to be turned on a lathe and must be handled by a machinist.
Electricians also appear to work on the gear box attached to an electric motor when they
are performing electrical repairs on a motor.
CONSOLIDATED WESTERN STEEL DIVISION 1003
Employer to assign only authorized personnel to electrical repairs.
Electrical switching at motor control boards is done only by the
electricians 8 The record contains no evidence that machinists, main-
tenance mechanics, pipefitters, or any other craftsmen have ever tied
in a live wire of 440 volts, the normal power voltage throughout the
plant, to any instrument or connection. In view of the foregoing, we
find that the electricians comprise a homogeneous, identifiable group
of craftsmen, and may, if they so desire, constitute a separate craft
unit despite a history of collective bargaining on a broader basis .9
Crane operators: The Engineers seeks to represent a unit com-
posed of hoisting engineers, crane operators, winch truck operators
working within the yard, garage mechanics, and oilers. The Em-
ployer employs approximately 42 crane operators of which 11 or 12
can operate various types of cranes and are classified as "combination
men." The Employer operates no winch trucks in the plant. The
only winches used by the Employer are provided for over-the-road
trucks. Crane operators usually advance to that classification from
the category of oiler and hooker-on. The garage mechanics perform
repair work on cranes, rigging, and various sorts of locomotive equip-
ment. The oilers oil and maintain cranes and various other types
of equipment and on occasion may be used as production employees.
On these facts, we find that the employees sought by the Engineers
are not craftsmen 10 Accordingly, we shall not direct a self-deter.
mination election for the employees sought by the Engineers and
shall dismiss the petition in Case No. 39-RC-495.
Pipe fitters: The record reveals that the Employer employs five
qualified pipefitters. Although the pipefitters, like the electricians,
may perform minor duties outside their craft, there is no contention
that they are not primarily engaged in the usual duties and do not
practice the normal skills of their craft. Accordingly, we find that
the pipefitters are craftsmen and may, if they so desire, constitute a
separate appropriate unit.""
B A notice to employees provides :
Upon opening a switch for reasons of breakdowns or maintenance , the electrician
shall tag the switch giving the date, his name and reason for tagging switch. The
switch shall be closed only by the electrician whose name appears on the tag.
° General Steel Castings Corporation, 99 NLRB 607; Kaiser Manufacturing Corporation,
Richmond Machine Division, 99 NLRB 244 ; Armstrong Cork Company ( Lancaster Floor
and Closure Plants ), 97 NLRB 1057 ( where the Board held that a small amount of work
outside the craft did not detract from the distinctiveness of the craft group). The
Employer urges the doctrine of National Tube Company , 76 NLRB 1199 , as a basis for
denying craft severance in the present case. The Board has not applied the National
Tube doctrine to steel fabricating plants. Rheem Manufacturing Company , 100 NLRB
564 and cases cited therein.
io Crossett Paper Mills, Division of Crossett Lumber Company , 98 NLRB 542 (crane
operators ) ; Johns-Manville Products Corporation, 98 NLRB 748 , and Armstrong Cork
Company (Lancaster Floor and Closure Plants ), supra ( garage mechanics ) ; and Arm-
strong Cork Company (Lancaster Floor and Closure Plants ), supra (oilers).
ii Chrysler Corporation , Michaud Ordnance Plant, 98 NLRB 1105.
1004 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
We shall direct separate elections among the following groups of
employees at the Employer's Orange, Texas, plant :
Group (1) All electricians, but excluding all other employees and
all supervisors as defined in the Act.
Group (2) All pipefitters, but excluding all other employees and
all supervisors as defined in the Act.
Group (3) All production and maintenance employees of the Em-
ployer at its Orange, Texas, plant, but excluding the employees in
voting groups (1) and (2), office clerks, salesmen, engineers, drafts-
men, over-the-road truck drivers,- guards, watchmen, executives,
superintendents, foremen and subforemen 13 and all other supervisors
as defined in the Act.
If a majority of the employees in groups (1) and (2) vote, respec-
tively, for the labor organization seeking to represent that group
separately, the Board finds that the employees in each group constitute
a separate appropriate unit; if a majority of the employees in group
(3) select a different bargaining agent than that selected by em-
ployees in groups (1) and (2), the Board finds that the employees
in group (3) also constitute a separate appropriate unit. If the em-
ployees either in group (1) or (2) or both select the same bargaining
agent as group (3) employees, the Board finds that the employees
in these groups together constitute an appropriate unit. The Regional
Director conducting the elections is instructed to issue a certification
of representatives to the union or unions for the unit or units which
may result from the elections.
Order
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition filed in Case No. 39-RC-495
by the International Union of Operating Engineers , Local No. 450,
AFL, be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]
The unions, seeking a production and maintenance unit , and the Employer indicated
at the hearing that they believed over -the-road truck drivers should be excluded but that
they would be agreeable to the inclusion of this group in a plant -wide unit , if the Board
should so decide. The over-the -road truck drivers perform no work inside the plant
and have no contact with the plant employees . They bring their trucks to the plant where
other employees do the loading and the truck drivers then deliver to points outside Orange,
Texas. They have not been included in the historical production and maintenance unit.
In view of these facts we exclude the over -the-road truck drivers from the production and
maintenance group. Boro Wood Products Company, Inc ., 88 NLRB 886.
Is As these individuals have the authority to recommend the hiring and discharge of
employees working under them we exclude the foremen and subforemen as supervisors
from the production and maintenance unit.