Shakespeare Products Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 14, 1943

48 N.L.R.B. 1243 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTS COMPANY AND SHAKESPEARE
COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT
& AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO)
Case No. R-4990.-Decided April 14, 1943
Jurisdiction : ordnance manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives: existence of question : re-
fusal to accord petitioner recognition until certified by the Board ; election
necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em-
ployees of a parent and its wholly owned subsidiary including tool-room
employees. and experimental department employees, 'but excluding supervisory
employees, superintendent,'forenmen, assistant foremen, office employees, clerical
employees, time study department employees, engineering department employees,
plant guards, and watchmen.
Mr. •C. N. Sessions, of Muskegon, Mich., for the Company.
Messrs. Maurice Sugar, and Ned L. Smokler, of Detroit, Mich., for
the C. 1. 0.
Mr. Wallace E. Royster, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by International Union, United Automo-
bile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-
CIO), herein called the C. I. 0., alleging that a question affecting com-
merce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Shakes-
peare Products Company and Shakespeare Company, Kalamazoo,
Michigan,.herein called the Companies, the National Labor Relations
Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon- due notice before
Frederick P. Mett, Trial Examiner.. Said hearing was held at Kala-
mazoo, Michigan, on March 11, 1943. The Companies and the C. I. O.
appeared, participated, and were afforded' full opportunity to be heard,
to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence
bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
48 N. L. R. B., No. 153.
1243
1244 DECISIONS" OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANIES
• Shakespeare Products Company and Shakespeare Company are
Michigan corporations with their principal offices and places of busi-
ness in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Shakespeare Products Company is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Shakespeare Company and the manu-
facturing operations of both are conducted in0the same plant in Kala-
mazoo. They are engaged in the manufacture of war materials. The
Companies stipulated' at the hearing that their operations necessitate
the shipment of substantial amounts of aluminum, brass, and steel to
their plant from points outside Michigan and the shipment from their
plant of substantial quantities of finished products to points outside
Michigan:
The Companies concede that they are engaged in commerce withili
the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural
Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO)', is a labor organization
affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to
membership employees of the Companies;
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On June 8, 1942, the C. I. O. advised the Companies that it repre-
sented a majority of the employees of the Companies and requested
recognition as the exclusive bargaining representative of such em-
ployees.- This request was renewed on January 18, 1943. The Com-
panies 'have refused'both requests unless and until the C. I. O. is
certified as such bargaining representative by' the Board. -
The Companies stipulated at the hearing that the C. I. O. represents
a substantial number of employees of the Companies in the unit here-
inafter found appropriate. A statement of the Regional Director,
introduced into evidence, and a statement of the Trial Examiner,made
at the 'hearing, indicates the membership of the C. I. O. among the
Companies' employees.'
1 The Regional Director stated that the C. I. O. submitted 215 application -for-member
ship cards , of which 72 were dated in May 1942 , 11 dated from June to December 1942,
63 dated in January and February 1943 , and 69 were undated . Two hundred fourteen
cards bore apparently genuine , original signatures and of these 139 bore the names of
persons whose names appear on the Companies ' pay roll of February 20, 1943. There
are 674 persons listed on this pay , roll as within the appropriate unit.-
The Trial Examiner stated that the C I. 0 submitted nine additional application-for-
membership cards , of which six were dated in February and March 1943, and three were
-' -SHAKESPEARE -PRODUCTS COMPANY 1245
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Companies within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
Although Shakespeare Products Company and Shakespeare Com-
pany each maintains a separate pay roll, the employees of both are
intermingled in the sarihe plant, have similar skills, operate the same
machines, and receive the same- basic pay for similar work. The
parties have stipulated that the production and maintenance em-
ployees of both Companies, including tool-room employees, but ex-
cluding plant guards, superintendents, foremen, assistant foremen,
office employees, and clerical employees, constitute a single unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining. There is a dispute,
however, concerning the inclusion of certain categories of 'employees.
The C. I. 0. would exclude from the unit, and the Companies would
include the following :
Time study department employees. The function of this depart-
ment is to set hourly rates for production and maintenance employees.
Three employees are engaged in this work, which is clerical in nature,
and any disputes or complaints, arising from the rates so set are
resolved by a vice president. The. employees do no manual work,
operate no machines, and handle no materials. Since they are neither
production nor maintenance employees, Nye shall exclude them from the
unit.
Engineering department employees. The Companies maintain two
engineering departments each under the supervision of a chief engi-
neer. There are approximately 45 employees-engineers, draftsmen,
and blue printers, in the two departments, engaged in designing prod-
ucts and tools, working out mechanical processes,- keeping tool records,
drawing plansi and blue printing. It is our practice to exclude such
employees from a unit of production and maintenance employees' at
the request of the Union involved, and we shall exclude them here.
Watc/inne'i . The six or eight watchmen employed are carried on
the pay roll of Shakespeare Company., Although distinct from the
plant guards and under the direction of the maintenance department,
their work is in the nature of plant protection. They are engaged
• chiefly in the detection and correction of fire hazards. The C. I. 0.
undated. All bore apparently genuine oiigmal signatures and were the names of persons
N\hose names appear on the Companies' pay roll of February 20, 1943
On charges filed by the C 1 0, in Case' No C-2498, the Board issued a complaint
against-the ' Companies on December 11, 1942 , alleging thelviolation of Section 8 (1) and
(2) of the Act Pursuant to-a settlement stipulation among all the parties entered into
on January 6, 1943, an Ordei was issued by the Board on January 13, 1943, which was
followed by a consent decree issuing from the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit on February 11, 1943 The Order and Decree required the disestablishment of
the "Counselors Plan" of employee, representation theretofore existing at the plant
1246 DECISIONS-bf, 1V^ATIONAI LABOR *RELATIONiS° BOARD
considers them ineligible to membership and has not sought to, organize
them. In view of ` these circumstances, we shall exclude them from
the unit. ,
Experimental department employees. The Companies have 'two
such departments with a total complement of five or six employees.
These employees are skilled tool makers and have been selected from
the tool-room department of the Companies. The function of the
department is to make experimental tools, and, samples of products as
well as to do the production work on small orders which cannot be
produced efficiently in the regular production departments. The .lat-
ter work requires about'50 percent of the time of the employees. From
the record it appears that this department is an adjunct to the tool-
room department and that the employees in both are interchangeable.
Since it 'is stipulated that employees in the tool-room department are
included in the unit, we are of the opinion that the similar skills and
duties of the experimental department employees argue for their
inclusion. Accordingly, we shall include them in the unit.
In accordance with,the foregoing,and the stipulatioii of the parties,
we find that the production and maintenance employees of the Com-
panies at 'the plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, including tool-room
employees and experimental department employees, but excluding
supervisory, employees, superintendents, foremen, assistant foremen,
office employees, clerical employees, time study department employees,
engineering department employees, plant guards, and watchmen, con-
stitute 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 annong 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 Relations Act,
and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of, National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as ainended , it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain represents=
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Shakespeare Prod-
ucts Company and Shakespeare Company, Kalamazoo , Michigan, an
election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but
SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTS C OMPANY .1247
not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under
the direction and supervision of the Regional Director- for the Seventh
Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations
Board , and subject to Article III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regu-
lations, among the employees of the Companies in the unit ,found ap-
propriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction , including
employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they
were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees
in the armed forces of the United States who present themselves in
person at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit or been dis-
charged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be repre-
sented by International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agri-
cultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO), affiliated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining.
J