Willys Overland Motors, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 15, 1943

53 N.L.R.B. 1343 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter Of WILLYS OVERLAND MOTORS, INC., (TOLEDO, OHIO)
and INTERNATIONAL DIE SINKERS CONFERENCE
Case No. R-5581 (8-R-1164)
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION
AND
DIRECTION
December 15, 1943
On August 23, 1943, the National Labor Relations Board issued a
Decision and Direction of Elections in this proceeding 1 and there-
after, on September 10, 1943, an Amendment to Decision.2 Pursuant
to the Direction of Elections and the Amendment thereto, elections
by secret ballot were conducted on September 14, 1943, under the di-
rection and supervision of the Regional Director for the Eighth Re-
gion (Cleveland, Ohio). On September 20, 1943, the Regional
Director, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 10, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, issued
and duly served on the parties a Report on Ordered Elections.
As to the balloting 'and its results, the Regional Director reported
a s follows :
Group 1
Approximate number of eligible voters----------------------- 96
Total ballots cast__________________________________________ 96
Total ballots challenged____;_____________________ _________ 8
Total void ballots___________________________________________ 0
Votes cast for International Die Sinkers Conference__- -------- 47
Votes cast for International Association of Machinists --------- 40,
Votes cast for neither_______________________________________ 1
Group 2
Approximate number of eligible voters_______________________ 39
Total ballots cast___________________________________________ 38
Total ballots challenged________________------------------------------------- 0
Total void ballots ---------------------- --_c----------------- 0
Total valid votes counted------------------------------------ 38
Votes cast for International Union, United Automobile, Air-
craft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Local
12, C. 1. 0------------------------------------------------ 3
Votes cast for International Association of Machinists --------- 35
152 N L. R B 109.
2 52 N. L. R. B. 548.
53 N L R. B, No. 245
4 1343
1344 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
In his report, the Regional Director made no finding with respect
to the ballots of Henry Sanders, Joseph Bauer, Thomas Myles, Wil-
liam Berkel, Harold Ragan. Charles Janicki, Lawrence Reimschussel,
and Robert Smoot in Group 1, all of whom were challenged by the
Die Sinkers as supervisory employees, but recommended that a hear-
ing be conducted for the purpose of taking testimony concerning the
duties and authority of these employees.
Thereafter, the I. A. M. submitted timely objections to the Report
on Ordered Election with respect to the eight challenged ballots iii
Group 1, and argued that the employees who cast these ballots possess
no supervisory authority.
On September 29, 1943, the Die Sinkers submitted an answer to the
objections of the I. A. M. and urged that its challenges to the eight
ballots be sustained.
On September 29, 1943, the Regional Director issued and duly
served on the parties his Report on Objections in which lie found
that no new issues had been raised by the objections or the answer
in opposition thereto and again recommended that a hearing be con-
ducted for the purpose 'of taking testimony with respect to the duties
and authority of the challenged voters in Group 1. On October 6,
1943, it appearing that substantial and material issues had been
raised with respect to the eight ballots challenged in Group 1 by the
Die Sinkers, the Board ordered a hearing for the purpose of receiving
evidence concerning the supervisory authority, if any, of the eight
employees whose ballots were challenged.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on October 19, 20, and 21,
1943, at,Toledo, Ohio, before James C. Batten, Trial Examiner. The
Board, the Company, the I. A. M., and the Die Sinkers appeared,
participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to ex-
amine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bear-
ing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing
are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties
were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Report on Ordered Election,
the Objections of the I. A. M. thereto, the Answer of the Die Sinkers
to said Objections, the Regional Director's Report on Objections, and
the record previously made,,the Board makes the-following:
SUPPLEMENTAL FINDINGS OF FACT
William Reimschussel is the superintendent of Department 109 and
is primarily responsible for its efficient operation. Assisting him are
five foremen and one assistant foreman who, all parties agree, are su-
pervisory employees ineligible to participate in the election. The dis-
pute concerns only eight so-called "leaders," seven of wh9m work in
WILLYS OVERLAND MOTORS, INC. 1345
the trim die section. All of the eight are trim die makers or header
die makers. None of them appears on the chart of supervisory em-
ployees in the department, which the Company prepared prior to the
issuance of the Decision and Direction of Election herein, although
the names of Charles Janicki and R. B. Smoot had appeared on a
previous chart. While the Die Sinkers argues that all the employees,
whose ballots it challanged, possess supervisory authority, it contends
that the duties and authority of Charles Janicki, R. B. Smoot, and
Joseph Bauer, particularly, are such as to render their ballots invalid.
Charles Janicki is a trim die maker and has been in the employ
of the Company for 29 years. For the past 2 or 3 years he has been
designated as a leader in the trim die section on the day shift. There
are approximately 14 men on shift with him. He receives the die
orders from Superintendent Reimschussel and then determines the
amount of steel required to make the die. He sorts the steel, separates
the amount needed for each die, marks it, and lays it out. He then
assigns the task of sinking the die to one or more men, or to another
leader. He makes frequent examinations of the die daring the
progress of the sinking and advises and instructs the men engaged
in the task. He passes on to the other leaders in the section infor-
mation received from Superintendent Reimschussel as to which dies
must receive priority. The foreman of this section is C. T. Gruber
but Janicki seems to work for the most part directly under the super-
intendent. Janicki testified that he cannot hire, discharge, or promote
men or even "bawl them out." If a man's work is unsatisfactory
he assigns the man to a task more commensurate to his ability. He
does not attend foremen's meetings and has no voice in management
policy.
R. B. Smoot is also a leader in the trim die section, day shift. He
works on a group of dies, building and maintaining them, and
assigns certain of the tasks to other craftsmen. The number of em-
ployees assisting him in his work varies with the number and com-
plexity of the dies being built. Since August 21, 1943, he has worked
under the supervision of Foreman C. T. Gruber and prior to that
date, worked under Superintendent Reimschussel. Even now he is
sometimes called to the superintendent's office to give information or
to receive instruction. For about 1 hour each day he is occupied
in keeping the time card records of the trim die section. His duties
in this respect are for the purpose of determining the man-hours
expended on each die and do not affect the earnings of the employees.
Ninety percent of his time is spent in working at his trade.
Joseph Bauer is the only leader in the trim die section on the second
shift and he works along with five or six trim die makers. Until
recently, Thomas Finn was designated as foreman of this group but
1346 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
he had not worked for a period of 3 months prior to the hearing.
Recently supervision over this section has been delegated to another
foreman working on the second shift. Bauer works along with the
men in his section, assigns work to them, and instructs them. He
denied at the hearing that his duties were expanded or his authority
augmented during the absence of Finn. For 3 weeks, during Finn's
absence, Bauer was off work and the section functioned without
supervision. Bauer asserts that his duties are simply to sink and
maintain dies and to assist and instruct his fellow craftsmen when
it is required.
Thomas Myles, William Berkel, Harold Ragan, and Lawrence
Reimschussel are leaders in the trim die section, working on the day
shift along with Janicki and Smoot. Their duties and authority
appear to be comparable. All are responsible for the completion of
dies assigned to them and all select and assign craftsmen to assist
them. They lead and instruct the less experienced when necessary
but spend most of their working hours at their trade.
Henry Sanders is the only leader in the header die section. Ac-
cording to the record, he spends 45 percent of his time on repair work
and the remainder in laying out his own work and building dies. In
the absence of his foreman, he transmits orders to the other employees
in the section and frequently instructs those on the incoming second
shift as to,what dies are to receive preference.
The Die Sinkers adduced testimony concerning the duties and
authority of those named above but failed to establish that any one of
them possesses authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or
otherwise effect changes in the status of employees or effectively recom-
mend such action. We are convinced that these so-called "leaders" are
craftsmen of skill and experience who have been found by the Company
to be capable of promoting efficient production by leading and in-
structing those working with them. Such a practice is not novel in a
shop where work of high precision is performed by skilled craftsmen.
We regard it as inherently improbable that in a small closely knit
group of 20 trim die makers, 7 in addition to the foreman, would pos-
sess supervisory authority. We find that none of the ballots chal-
lenged by the Die Sinkers in Group 1 were cast by employees
possessing supervisory authority and, since these ballots may affect
the result of the election in that group, we shall direct that they be
opened and counted.
No objections were filed by any of the parties with respect to the
Report on Ordered Election in Group 2. In the Decision herein, as
amended, we made no final determination as to the appropriate bar-
gaining unit or units. Since our finding in this respect as to Group 2
will be affected by the result of the election in Group 1, we shall defer
WILLYS OVERLAND MOTORS, INC. 1347
our finding in respect to the appropriate bargaining unit or units
until the result in Group 1 is determined.
DIRECTION
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, Sections 9 and 10, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Willys Overland
Motors, Inc., Toledo, Ohio, the Regional Director for the Eighth
Region shall, pursuant to the Rules and Regulations of the Board,
set forth above, and subject to Article III, Section 10, of said Rules
and Regulations, within ten (10) days from the date of this Direction,
open and count the ballots of Henry Sanders, Joseph Bauer, Thomas
Myles, William Berkel, Harold Ragan, Charles Janicki, Lawrence
Reimschussel, and R. B. Smoot, cast in Group 1, and shall, thereafter
prepare and cause to be served, upon the parties in this proceeding, a
Supplemental Election Report, embodying his findings therein and
his recommendations as to the result of the secret ballot.