Lord Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 29, 1943

49 N.L.R.B. 278 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of LORD MANUFACTURING COMPANY and UNITED RUBBER
WORKERS OF AMERICA (C. I. 0.)
Case No. R-5048. -Decided April 29, 1943
Mr. W. Pitt Gifford, of Erie, Pa., for the Company.
Messrs. H. R. Lloyd and R. L. Cruden, of Akron, Ohio, and Mr.
Stephen J. O'Connor, of Erie, Pa., for the Rubber Workers.
Mr. John A. Spaeder, of Erie, Pa., for the Association.
Miss Muriel J. Levor, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION'
AND
,
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon an amended petition duly filed by United Rubber Workers of
America,, (C. I. 0.), herein called the Rubber Workers, alleging that.
a question affecting commerce had arisen-concerning the representation
of employees of Lord Manufacturing Company, Erie, Pennsylvania,,
herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board pro-,
vided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before S. Craig
-Carnes, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Erie, Pennsylvania,
on March 24, 1943. The Company, the Rubber Workers, and Lord,
Employees Association; herein called the Association, appeared, par-
ticipated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine
and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce 'evidence bearing upon
the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Lord Manufacturing Company, a Pennsylvania corporation, is
engaged at its Erie, Pennsylvania, plant, in the manufacture of anti-
vibration mountings and similar products. The principal raw mate-
rials used by the Company are steel, aluminum, and monel. During
the year 1942 the Company made purchases of raw materials amount-
ing to $3,000,000, of which approximately 70 percent was shipped
from points outside the State of Pennsylvania. During the same
49 N. L. R. B., No. 33.
273I
LORD mANi'UTFACTURIINM COMPANY 279
period manufactured products of this plant amounted to over $10,-
1_000000 in value, of which approximately 90 percent was shipped to
points outside the State of Pennsylvania.
For purposes of this proceeding the Company concedes that it
is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor
Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
United Rubber Workers of America is a labor organization af-
filiated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to
membership employees of the Company.
Lord Employees Association is an unaffiliated labor organization
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION,
On or about February 13, 1943, the Rubber Workers in a letter
to the Company claimed to represent a majority of the Company's
production and maintenance employees,' and requested a conference
for, the purposes of collective bargaining. On or about February
18, 1943, the Company replied that it had an unexpired contract With
the Association and that it could not recognize the Rubber Workers
as a collective bargaining agent unless and until it was duly certified
as such by the Board. '
The contract. referred to by the Company was executed by the
Company and 'the Association on March 16, 1942. It provided that
it was to remain in effect for 1 year and to be renewed automatically
in the absence of thirty (30) days' notice of a desire to terminate
or modify. However, neither the Company nor the Association
assert the contract is a bar to an election. Since the Rubber Workers
gave notice,of its representation claims prior to the automatic renewal
of the contract, the contract does not constitute a bar to an investiga-
tion of representatives.
A statement of the Regional Director, introduced in evidence at the
hearing, indicates that the Rubber Workers represents a substantial
number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate .1
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 Rubber Workers claims as, an appropriate unit "all production
and maintenance employees of the Company, excluding clerical,
1 The Regional Director reported that the Rubber workers submitted 599 cards, of which
427, all bearing apparently genuine original signatures , correspond with names on the
Company's pay roll of March 6, 1943, containing 1,600 names. The Association submitted
no evidence of representation and relies on its contract as evidence of interest in this
proceeding.
280 DECISIONS OF NATLONAL LABOR RELATffONS BOARD
supervisory, foremen and -guards, and also, excluding professional
technical employees."- The Association contends the appropriate
bargaining unit should be all hourly rated employees except 'fore-
men, guards, salaried offices employees, - not including, however,
office workers employed on an hourly rated basis in departmental
offices located throughout the plants of the Company." -Although
the terminology of their contentions is diverse, the controversy re-
lates only to the inclusion in the unit of a group of 45 time or produc-
tion clerks working in the plant, whom the Company desires to exclude
as confidential employees, and of a small group of non-professional
laboratory workers.
Time Clerks: The,time clerks, who are hourly paid, work through-
out the, plant. Their headquarters are offices located in the various
manufacturing divisions. They divide their time between these of.
,fees and the manufacturing divisions proper where some of, them
spend a majority. of their. time.. They, work directly under the
supervision of the superintendent of the division in which their par-
ticular, office is located. The time clerks' function is a liaison be-
tween production work and the general offices. They receive time
cards from the production employees. From these cards data is
obtained- on the number of hours spent on the various types of work,
which data is furnished to the cost department. They also obtain
results of the machine inspection on ' the amount of work rejected,
from which, together with the time cards, are worked up production
records, which in turn are sent to the production control depart.
ment., The time clerks do not set pay rates. On these facts we find
no merit in the Company's contention that these employees are con-
fidential, and since, although largely clerical, their work is closely
related to production, we will include them in the unit of production
and maintenance employee8.2 ' .
Laboratory employees: These laboratory workers are non-profes-
sional employees who have had only a high school education. They
work under the supervision of a chemist. Although most of their
time is spent in the laboratory, they also go out into the manufactur-
ing divisions to get pieces of rubber or to obtain information or to
pass on instructions from the chemist under whose direction they
work. The Board has frequently found that employees with simi-
lar status and duties should be included in a production unit.3 Ac-
2 Matter of The Edward Valve & Manufacturing Company, Inc. and Local Union No.
2498, Steel Workers Organizing Committee, C. I. 0., 38 N. L. R . B 428; Matter of Mueller
Brass Company and United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers
(U. A. W.-C. I. 0.), 39 N. L. R. B 167 ; Matter of General Steel Castings Corporation and
Steel Workers Organizing Committee, C . I. 0., 41 N. L. R. B 350.
3 Matter of The Mathieson Alkali Works and District 50, United Mine Workers of Amer-
ica, 38 N. L. R. B. 1084; Matter of MacAndrews & Forbes Company and Licorice & Paper
Employees Association of Camden , New Jersey, 39 N. L. R B. 699.
LORD, MANUFACTURING COMPANY 281 -
cordingly, we shall-include these non-professional laboratory workers
in the unit. -
We find that all production and maintenance 'employees of the
Company at its Erie, Pennsylvania, plant, including time clerks who
work, throughout, the. plant and non-professional laboratory em;
ployees, but excluding all supervisory employees, foremen and' assist-
ant foremen, plant-protection,- professional technical, and office and
clerical employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9'(b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that' the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of
Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in
the Direction.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
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 2, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain represent-
atives for the purpose of collective bargaining with Lord Manufac-
turing Company, Erie, Pennsylvania, 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 ' Sixth Region, act-
ing in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations
Board, and subject to Article III, Section 10, of said Rules and
Regulations, among the 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 any such
employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they
were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including em-
ployees in the armed forces, of the United States who present them-
selves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit
or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to
be represented by United Rubber Workers of America, affiliated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or by Lord Employees
Association, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.