National Labor Rel. Bd. v. Standard Steel Spring Co., 10956.

• Decision Date: 28 March 1950
• Docket Number: No. 10956.,10956.
• Citation: 180 F.2d 942
• Parties: NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD v. STANDARD STEEL SPRING CO.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

180 F.2d 942 (1950)

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD v. STANDARD STEEL SPRING CO.

No. 10956.

United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

March 28, 1950.

Marcel Mallet-Prevost, Washington, D. C., for petitioner. David P. Findling, A. Norman Somers, Marcel Mallet-Prevost, and Margaret M. Farmer, Washington, D. C., on the brief.

W. D. Armour, Pittsburgh, Pa., for respondent Standard Steel Spring Co. Nicholas Unkovic, W. D. Armour, Reed, Smith, Shaw & McClay, Pittsburgh, Pa., on the brief.

David E. Feller, Washington, D. C., for United Steel Workers of America, C.I.O., intervenor. Arthur J. Goldberg, Thomas E. Harris, Washington, D. C., on the brief.

Before SIMONS, McALLISTER, and MILLER, Circuit Judges.

McALLISTER, Circuit Judge.

This is a petition for enforcement of an order of the National Labor Relations Board. The order required The Standard Steel Spring Company to cease and desist from recognizing the United Steelworkers of America, C.I.O., as the exclusive representative of its powerhouse employees at its Newton Falls, Ohio, plant. It also required the company to refrain from giving effect to its contract with the Steelworkers, in so far as it affected such powerhouse employees, until the Steelworkers shall have been certified as the representative of such employees; and to desist from, in any like or related manner, interfering with the rights of its employees, as guaranteed by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 157. Affirmatively, the order required the company to withdraw all recognition from the Steelworkers as the representative of any of its powerhouse employees at the Newton Falls plant unless and until the Board shall have certified such organization as the representative of such employees. The order concluded with the usual requirement that the company post appropriate notices of the foregoing, and informing its employees that it was carrying out the above provisions.

The circumstances giving rise to the Board's order are as follows: The respondent company acquired the Newton Falls plant in May, 1946, and engaged contractors to remodel it. Prior to their acquisition by respondent, the premises had been occupied by the Timken Roller Bearing Company. At the time of the hearing in June, 1948, respondent company had employed about 350 permanent employees, of whom half had formerly been employed by the Timken Company. The Timken employees had been previously represented by the Steelworkers, C.I.O.; and the Steelworkers have, for a number of years, represented, with one exception, all of the production and maintenance employees, including the powerhouse employees, in all the other plants of respondent company in plant-wide units at such other plants.

For a long time before the present dispute arose, the Steelworkers, C.I.O., and the local A. F. of L. unions had an agreement in the area in which the Newton Falls plant is located, that the Steelworkers would not attempt to organize a new plant until the A. F. of L. craftsmen engaged in the construction work had left the premises, and the employer had hired production and maintenance employees and had commenced production. In turn, the A. F. of L. locals had agreed to give the C.I.O. a free hand in organizing the production and maintenance employees of such a manufacturing plant. In accordance with this agreement, the Steelworkers made no attempt to organize respondent company's employees until the latter part of July, 1947, after the A. F. of L. craftsmen had completed their work on the remodeling of the plant, and after respondent had hired permanent employees and was ready to start production.

However, while the new plant was under construction, during the first part of April, 1947, an A. F. of L. union from outside the community — the International Union of Operating Engineers — appeared upon the scene and proceeded to organize the nine powerhouse employees of respondent company. After these employees had designated the Engineers, A. F. of L., as their representative, the Engineers demanded that respondent company grant it recognition as their exclusive bargaining representative. Respondent company informed the representative of the Engineers that it preferred a plant-wide bargaining unit, and that it had agreements with the Steelworkers in all of its other plants covering plant-wide units of production and maintenance employees. It further pointed out that it had not yet started production and had hired only a few permanent employees, and that, at that time, it was not yet possible to ascertain what type of union all of the employees would want. This discussion took place approximately four months before the reconstruction work on the plant had been completed, and about five months before most of the production and maintenance employees had been hired, and production commenced.

Upon receiving this reply from respondent company, the Engineers filed a representation petition with the National Labor Relations Board, requesting certification as exclusive bargaining representative for the nine powerhouse employees. On May 28, 1947, the Board held a hearing on the representation petition, in which the parties to the proceeding were the Engineers and respondent company. The Board then took under advisement the question of the appropriate unit, and the determination of representatives for the employees in such unit.

When respondent had practically completed the remodeling...