Wichita Falls Foundry & Machine Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 17, 1961

132 N.L.R.B. 199 (N.L.R.B. 1961)

WICHITA FALLS FOUNDRY & MACHINE CO. 199
this matter to include all employees working in the Employer's labora-
tory at Latrobe who are engaged in the production of tantalum anodes,
including pill-press operators, furnace operator group leaders, fur-
nace operators, employees preforming physical and electrical inspec-
tion, and plant clericals.
[The Board clarified the certification by specifically including in the
description of the appropriate unit of production and maintenance em-
ployees all employees in the laboratory at the Employer's Latrobe,
Pennsylvania, plant who are engaged in the production of tantalum
anodes, including pill-press operators, furnace operator group leaders,
furnace operators, employees performing physical and electrical in-
spection, and plant clericals.]
Wichita Falls Foundry & Machine Co . and Lodge 1476, Inter-
national Association of Machinists , Petitioner. Case No. 16-B-
1685. July 17, 1961
DECISION AND ORDER ON MOTION TO
AMEND CERTIFICATION
On August 23, 1946, following a Board-directed election,' Lodge
1476, International Association of Machinists, was certified as the
collective-bargaining representative of all production and maintenance
employees, including the shipping clerk and pattern clerk, at the
plant of the Wichita Falls Foundry & Machine Co., Wichita Falls,
Texas. On October 11, 1960, the Petitioner filed a motion to amend
the certification to include employees in the appropriate unit employed
not only by the Employer named in the certification, but also by Wich-
ita Clutch Company, Inc. The Petitioner contended, generally, that
the two companies-Wichita Falls Foundry & Machine Co. and
Wichita Clutch Company, Inc.-should be considered a single em-
ployer for purposes of collective bargaining, and that certain em-
ployees of Wichita Clutch Company, Inc., should be included in the
certified unit. In response thereto, the companies contended that they
should not be treated as a single employer, and controverted the al-
leged facts of interrelationship either of corporate organization or
operation asserted by the Petitioner.
On March 13, 1961, the Board issued an order referring the matter
to the Regional Director for the Sixteenth Region, and directing that
a hearing be held for the purpose of taking evidence on the issues
raised by the motion to amend. Pursuant to said order, a hearing was
held before Paul F. Cleveland, hearing officer, on April 3, 1961. The
1 69 NLRB 458.
132 NLRB No. 25.
200 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
hearing officer's rulings made at the hearings are free from prejudicial
error and are hereby affirmed.
The Board 2 has considered the motion to amend, the response
thereto, and the entire record in this case, and hereby makes the fol-
lowing supplemental findings :
Wichita Falls Foundry & Machine Co., hereinafter referred to as
Foundry, was incorporated in Texas prior to 1945, and is engaged
primarily in the manufacture and assembly of industrial clutches and
clutch parts. Its plant is composed of a foundry department, machine
shop, and assembly shop. Wichita Clutch Company, Inc., also a Texas
corporation, hereinafter referred to as Clutch, was incorporated in
January 1955, for the apparent purpose of engaging solely in the
sale and distribution of industrial clutches and parts, primarily for
Foundry.
The record shows that during the past 2 years, purchases by Clutch
from Foundry amounted to approximately $970,000, while its pur-
chases from companies competitive to Foundry amounted to only
about $242,000. Both companies have a common address, namely 307
Barwise Street, Wichita Falls, Texas, and share a common telephone
number. Their offices adjoin each other, separated only by doorways.
Clutch rents this office space, in addition to a small warehouse a few
feet away from Foundry's assembly shop, and an area in the assembly
shop, for all of which Clutch pays Foundry an annual rental of $6,000.
The officers and directors of Foundry and Clutch, including the presi-
dent, John H. Wilson, are identical, with the exception of Charles P.
Warman, Jr., who is vice president and general manager of Clutch.
The stockholders in each company are generally the same, except for
Warman, who owns about 20 percent of the stock of Clutch, but none
in Foundry.
As chief executive officer of Clutch, Charles P. Warman, Jr., is in
complete charge of the operation, including the development of its
labor relations policy. John Wilson, president of Foundry, is respon-
sible for overall supervision of Foundry employees. While separate
books and payroll records are kept for each company, H. C. Huper,
secretary-treasurer for both companies, maintains these books and
records, and draws checks for the employees of both companies.
Clutch and Foundry employees work about the same hours, and re-
ceive the same vacation benefits. Both companies pay an additional
5 cents per hour to hourly employees who have more than 5 years of
service.
The record reflects that, prior to August 4, 1960, the packing and
shipping of Clutch parts was performed by a Foundry employee,
C. A. Pamplin, who also took care of the stock in a warehousing area,
'Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the Act, the Board has delegated its
powers herein to a three -member panel [Chairman McCulloch and Members Leedom
and Brown].
McCULLOCH CORPORATION 201
where parts, jigs, and fixtures of Clutch were stored. However, on
that date, Clutch assigned one of its office employees, Chris McClur-
kan, to the shipping department of Foundry, thereby displacing the
Foundry employee. McClurkan is classified as a shipping clerk. He
works in close proximity to the employees of the assembly shop of
Foundry, and, when absent or behind in his work, a Foundry assem-
bly shop employee is assigned to assist or perform his duties. Sub-
sequently; Clutch assigned another of its employees, Roy Nix, to work
in the storeroom or warehouse area adjacent to the assembly shop of
Clutch. Nix stocks parts for Clutch. He also spends a considerable
portion of his time in assembling the various parts that go to make
up the product, and conducts tests on them. He records pertinent
information, and passes his findings on to the engineering depart-
ment of Clutch. His job requires no special schooling or training.
We find that Nix may properly be classified as an assembler and
inspector, and as such is includible in a production and maintenance
unit such as the one established herein.
As the record shows that Foundry and Clutch have substantially
the same officers, directors, and stockholders, and operate on a closely
interrelated basis, including the sharing of common facilities, we find
that these corporations constitute a single employer for jurisdictional
and unit purposes. As the record further shows that since August
1960 Clutch has assumed some of the packing and shipping functions
formerly part of the established unit involving Foundry alone, we
find that such changes indicate the appropriateness of a production
and maintenance unit which is coextensive with the operations of
both corporations, and we shall amend our certification of representa-
tives accordingly.
[The Board amended the certification of representatives to include
as an employer Wichita Clutch Company, Inc., and further to in-
clude within the unit the two employees discussed herein.] 3
8 This is not to be construed as a new certification
McCulloch Corporation and International Union, United Auto-
mobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of
America, (UAW) AFL-CIO. Case No. 21-CA-3828. July 18,
1961
DECISION AND ORDER
On December 19, 1960, Trial Examiner John F. Funke issued his
Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that
the Respondent had not engaged in the unfair labor practices alleged
in the complaint and recommending that the complaint be dismissed
in its entirety, as set forth in the Intermediate Report attached
132 NLRB No. 24.