Virginia-Carolina Chemical Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 23, 1952

101 N.L.R.B. 1336 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

1336 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (c) of the Act:
All production employees of Fryer and Stillman, Inc., Litvak Meat
Company, Pepper Packing Company, Capitol Packing Company,
Denver Wholesale Meat Company, Joe Hoffman Packing Company,
K. & B. Packing Company, Lindner Packing and Provision Company,
at their plants in Denver, Colorado, and Sigman Meat Company and
Arvada Packing Company at its plant in Arvada, Colorado, including
truck drivers and combination coolermen and dockmen at the Fryer &
Stillman, Inc., plant, drivers of Joe Hoffman Packing Company plant,
truck drivers and dockmen at the Litvak Meat Company plant, and
Schectors at the Capitol Packing Company plant, but excluding drivers
and dockhands at Denver Wholesale Meat Company, Pepper Packing
Company, Sigman Meat Company, and Arvada Packing Company
plants, office, professional, and maintenance employees, meat peddlers,
shipping and receiving clerks, engineers, salesmen, buyers, cleanup
employees, foremen, assistant foremen, superintendents, assistant sup-
erintendents, and all other supervisors within the meaning of the Act.lo
Order
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petitions filed in Cases Nos. 30-RC-811,
30-RC-815, 30-RC-816, and 30-RC-817 be, and they hereby are,
dismissed.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
,20 The drivers , dockhands , engineers , and maintenance employees excluded from the
unit are represented by other labor organizations.
VIRGINIA-CAROLINA CHEMICAL CORPORATION and INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, LODGE No. 183, AFL, PETITIONER
VIRGINIA-CAROLINA CHEMICAL CORPORATION and UNITED GAS, COKE
& CHEMICAL WORKERS OF AMERICA, C. I. 0., PETITIONER. Case No.
11-RC-453 (formerly 10-RC-1950) and 11-RC-454 (formerly
10-RC-1959). December 23, 1952
Decision and Direction of Elections
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before
Gilbert Cohen, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at
the hearing are free: from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
101 NLRB No. 206.
VIRGINIA-CAROLINA CHEMICAL CORPORATION 1337
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with these cases to a three-
member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Murdock and Peter-
son].
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent employees of
the Employer.'
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. International Association of Machinists, Lodge No. 183, AFL,
herein called the IAM, the petitioner in Case No. 11-RC-453, seeks
to sever from an established production and maintenance unit at the
Employer's Charleston, South Carolina, plant, a unit of machinists,
welders, the maintenance truck drivers, their helpers and apprentices,
repairmen and repairmen helpers.2 In the alternative the IAM asks
for a unit of machinists, helpers, apprentices, repairmen, and repair-
men helpers, and a separate unit of welders, helpers, and apprentices.
It indicates that the maintenance truck drivers may be placed in
either unit.
In Case No. 11-RC-454 United Gas, Coke & Chemical Workers of
America, CIO, herein called the Chemical Workers, petitions for a
unit of all production and maintenance employees, including the
over-the-road truck drivers,3 at the Charleston plant. The Chemical
Workers contends, as does the Intervenor, that this is the only
appropriate unit,4 and therefore moves to dismiss the IAM's petition.
The Employer takes no position except to oppose the inclusion of
over-the-road truck drivers in the production and maintenance unit.
The Charleston, South Carolina, plant which is one of approxi-
mately 40 plants owned by the Employer throughout the country per-
x International Union of Mine , Mill & Smelter Workers , Local Union No. 863, herein
called the Intervenor, was permitted to intervene on the basis of its contractual interest.
After the close of the hearing on July 29, 1952 , the General Drivers, Warehousemen
and Helpers , Local Union No. 509 affiliated with the International Brotherhood of
Teamsters , Chauffeurs , Warehousemen and Helpers of America, AFL, by telegram, dated
September 8, 1952, requested the Board to remand the case to the Region for further
testimony or in the alternative , to place its name on the ballot for a unit of over-the-road
truck drivers . It submitted as evidence of its representative status a number of cards
dated August 9, 1952. As the Teamsters did not acquire a sufficient representative status
before the close of the hearing , we find , under well established Board principles , that its
attempted intervention is untimely . Accordingly , we shall deny its request . United Boat
Service Corporation, 55 NLRB 671 ; General Electric Company , 89 NLRB 726, 727.
'The IAM amended its petition at the hearing to include repairmen and repairmen
helpers.
s The Chemical Workers amended its petition at the hearing to include over -the-road
truck drivers.
4 The Intervenor; Chemical Workers, and the Employer agreed to the exclusion of the
pilot plant operators from , the proposed production and maintenance unit.
1338 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
forms its manufacturing operations in 2 divisions-the fertilizer and
chemical divisions. Since 1946 the production and maintenance em-
ployees in both divisions have been represented by the Intervenor
in a single unit. In 1951, the Intervenor was certified after a consent
election as the exclusive bargaining representative of these employees.
Following certification, the Intervenor and the Employer entered into
an agreement which has since expired. Excluded from the historical
and certified unit have been the over-the-road truck drivers.
The machinists: The Employer maintains a machine shop as part
of the chemical division. The two machinists there employed work
principally under the supervision of a millwright-machinist. The
evidence establishes that they spend approximately 90 percent of their
time in the machine shop performing work customarily done by skilled
machinists. The Employer admits that they are skilled machin-
ists. The record also shows that the less experienced of the two
machinists is the product of an apprenticeship system which the
Employer once maintained, but which it has apparently abandoned
temporarily. Accordingly, we find that the machinists comprise a
traditional craft group which the Board usually accords separate rep-
resentation.
The repairmen, repairmen helpers, maintenance truck drivers:
There are six repairmen and three repairmen helpers employed in
the chemical division, and an equal number in the fertilizer division.
Repairmen are classified as first-, second-, or third-class repairmen
depending upon the degree of skill and experience. In the chemical
division, repairmen work under the immediate supervision of the
millwright-repairman. They are responsible for the mechanical re-
pair and maintenance of plant machinery and equipment,5 devoting
about one-third of their time to pipefitting work. The Employer has
never maintained an apprenticeship system or special training pro-
gram for repairmen. The repairmen in the fertilizer division work
under the assistant superintendent, performing the same general
duties as the repairmen in the chemical division. They spend a sub-
stantial amount of time in the repair of tractors, which requires no
greater skill than that of an automobile mechanic. They also do some
pipefitting and carpentry work, but no machining. Although consid-
ered mechanics with specialized skills, the record fails to show that
the repairmen possess the attributes of skilled machinists.
The repairmen helpers in both divisions are entirely unskilled. Al-
though they principally assist the repairmen, they also act as helpers
to the machinists, welders, and truck drivers.
5 Although the record indicates that they spend 20 percent of their time in the machine
shop , there is no evidence as to the type of work performed there or the tools used by
them . On the other hand , the record shows that the machinists make all necessary parts
for the repair of the plant machinery and other equipment.
VIRGINIA-CAROLINA CHEMICAL CORPORATION 1339
The maintenance truck driver is classified as repairman third class.
His job is to drive a winch truck, to load and unload it, and to look
after minor repairs to the truck.
In view of the foregoing, we shall exclude the repairmen, the repair-
men helpers, and the maintenance truck driver from the machinist
group e'
The welders: There are two welders employed in the chemical divi-
sion who do welding work exclusively. They do not interchange with
other employees. Although the Employer has no apprenticeship pro-
gram for welders, it hires only employees with welder skills. They
work about 40 percent of their time in the central machine-shop area
and the balance of their time in the field. Their supervision depends
upon the character of the work to which they are detailed. They are
not regularly assigned to work with the machinists, but spend a major
portion of their time doing the necessary welding in the plant. In
these circumstances, we shall exclude them from the machinists unit.
However, they may, if they so desire, constitute a separate bargaining
unit .7
The Chemical Workers and the Intervenor oppose the severance of
the machinists and welders, on the ground that these employees have
been represented for a considerable period of time as part of the plant-
wide production and maintenance unit. It is well settled that such a
bargaining history may not preclude the establishment of craft units
which are otherwise appropriate. Accordingly, we shall deny their
motion to dismiss the IAM's petition.8
The over-the-road truck drivers: There are 12 over-the-road truck
drivers attached to the chemical division of the Charleston plant.
Their primary function is to transport the manufactured products of
the division, although, as a matter of economy, they also carry return
loads from other plants of the Employer." They are under the im-
mediate supervision of a head truck driver who is apparently respon-
sible directly to the chief clerk of the chemical division at the Rich-
mond, Virginia, office of the Employer. During a substantial history
of collective bargaining for a unit of production and maintenance
employees, truck drivers have been uniformly excluded from such unit.
Indeed, the instant petition of the Chemical Workers, as originally
filed, was for the contractual unit, excluding, in effect, the truck
11 Chtcago Retort and Firebrick Division of Laclede -Christy Company, 99, NLRB 335 ;
General Foods Corporation , 97, NLRB 1243 ; Tennessee Copper Company, 97 NLRB No.
174. As the Employer does not employ machinists helpers, or apprentices , we shall omit
them from the unit description.
' International Paper Company ( Southern Kraft Division ) ,, 96 NLRB 295.
n The Firestone Tire S Rubber Company, 86 NLRB 226 . The Chemical Workers and the
Intervenor also contend that severance of the units requested by the IAM should be denied
on the ground that the proposed units are too small for separate representation. We And
this contention to be without merit. Ibid.
Y It is estimated that 60 percent of their time is spent in transporting the manufactured
products of the Charleston plant.
1340 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
drivers, an occupational group which we have found on many occa-
sions to be a separate appropriate unit. Under all the circumstances,
we shall exclude the truck drivers.
Supervisors: At the hearing certain questions arose concerning
the supervisory status of gang leaders and the millwright employed
in the fertilizer division, and the millwright-machinist, the mill-
wright-repairman , and the millwright-carpenter employed in the
chemical division. Gang leaders are in sole charge of groups of
laborers and semiskilled employees who perform a variety of tasks
throughout the plant. Occasionally, they serve as assistants to their
foreman. In directing the work of these employees, the gang leaders
often exercise independent judgment. They have the authority ef-
fectively to recommend the hiring and discharge of employees.10 The
millwright in the fertilizer division directs the work of the carpenters
and their helpers in the performance of general maintenance and
repair. His work involves the exercise of independent judgment.
He has the authority effectively to recommend the hiring and dis-
charge of employees. Similarly, the work of the millwright-machin-
ist, the millwright-repairman, and the millwright-carpenter, who
principally direct the work of the machinists, repairmen, and car-
penters, respectively, in the chemical division, entails the exercise of
independent judgment. They also have the authority effectively to
recommend the hiring and discharge of employees. Although the
gang leaders and the foregoing millwrights devote varying amounts
of time to directing the work of other employees,- we find, neverthe-
less, that because their direction is not of a routine nature, and they
possess authority to make effective recommendations concerning the
hiring and discharge of employees, they are supervisors within the
meaning of the Act 12 Accordingly, we shall exclude them from any
unit found appropriate herein.
We have found that machinists and welders may constitute sepa-
rate units for purposes of collective bargaining. However, as they
may be with equal propriety included in a plant-wide production and
maintenance unit, we shall direct separate elections among the em-
ployees at the Employer's Charleston, South Carolina, plant, in the
following voting groups, excluding from each group all other em-
ployees, except as otherwise specified, but specifically excluding the
30 Although it is the Employer 's practice to investigate all disciplinary recommendations,
it appears that the purpose of the investigation is to make certain that the grounds for
the recommended discipline are within the scope of the collective bargaining agreement.
P3 The gang leaders' supervisory functions are, in fact , not separable from their manual
labor duties . On the other hand, the millwright in the fertilizer division spends approxi-
mately 25 percent of his time directing the work of others , and the millwrights in the
chemical division spend between 70 and 80 percent of their time in directing the work of
other employees.
12 Monsanto Chemical Company , 81 NLRB 625 ; West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company,
89 NLRB 815.
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY 1341
pilot plant employees, office clerical employees, technical employees,
guards, watchmen, professional employees, and supervisors as defined
in the Act :
(a) All machinists, excluding repairmen, repairmen helpers, and
the maintenance truck driver.
(b) All welders.
(c) All remaining production and maintenance employees, exclud-
ing the over-the-road truck drivers.
If a majority of the employees in voting group (a) or (b) vote for
the same labor organization as do a majority of employees in voting
group (c), such employees will be taken to have indicated their desire
to constitute a single appropriate unit of production and maintenance
employees and the Regional Director conducting the elections di-
rected herein is instructed to issue a certification of representatives
to such labor organization for a unit comprising employees in voting
group (c), plus the employees in the other voting groups selecting
the same organization, which unit the Board, in such circumstances,
finds to be appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining. If a
majority of employees in voting group (a) or (b) vote for a different
representative, then the employees in that voting group will be taken
to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate appropriate
unit, and the Regional Director is instructed to issue a certification
of representatives to the labor organizations thus selected for a unit
comprising the employees in that voting group, which the Board, in
the circumstances, finds to be appropriate for purposes of collective
bargaining.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
MACHINISTS, LODGE 398, AFL, PETITIONER . Case No. 4-RC-1671.
December 23,1953
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Eugene M. Levine,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member
panel [Members Houston, Murdock, and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
101 NLRB No. 202.