While the craft and semi-industrial unions constitute the major patterns, a number of variations have arisen representing adaptations to special circumstances.

In order to permit employees that freedom of self-organization which is their due under the act, the Board has studied closely the factors motivating such organization, and the forms most conducive to effective collective bargaining, to the end that its decisions as to the unit may further collective bargaining and self-organization among employees.

The considerations generally entering into the designation of a unit are: (1) The history of labor relations in the industry and between a particular employer and his employees as relates to collective bargaining units; (2) the community of interest or lack of such interest among employees in the matter of qualifications for work, experience, duties, wages, hours, and other working conditions; (3) the organization of the business of the employer from a functional, physical, and geographical viewpoint; and (4) the form which efforts at self-organization among the employees has taken, including the prerequisites for membership in the projected or established labor organization or organizations.

The precise weight to be given to any one of these factors cannot be mathematically stated. Generally, several of the considerations mentioned enter into a given decision, as a brief resumé of the cases will show.

1. HISTORY OF LABOR RELATIONS IN THE INDUSTRY, AND BETWEEN THE EMPLOYER AND HIS EMPLOYEES

The recognition, through an established course of dealing, or otherwise, in an industry generally, or between an employer and his employees, that a certain class of employees constitutes a unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining is an important consideration in the determination of the appropriate unit A unit established on such a basis encourages self-organization among the employees and facilitates collective bargaining.

In Matter of M. H. Birge & Sons Co. and United Wall Paper Crafts of North America, the fact that for the last 14 years the union manufacturers in the industry negotiated agreements with the union on behalf of color mixers, machine printers and print cutters, and that for at least 40 years the respondent had bargained collectively with the union or its predecessors regarding the same classes of workers employed by it, was held to be controlling in determining the unit.2

In Matter of International Mercantile Marine Co. et al. and International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 3,3 it was considered of vital importance

that in the labor relations of the shipping industry the chief, assistant, and junior engineers have for many years been considered a homogeneous group and treated as a unit

11 N. L. R. B. 731.

The machine printers and color mixers belonged to one local and the print cutters to another local of the same union. Annually each local signed a separate agreement with the respondent, but both agreements were customarily negotiated by the United Wall Paper Crafts of North America.

1 N. L. R. B. 384.

and

that whenever a contract is entered into between a shipping company, employing all three classes of engineers, and one of said unions,' the contract invariably covers wages, hours and working conditions of the chief, assistant, and junior engineers' (p. 388).

Again in Matter of Bell Oil and Gas Co. and Local Union 258 of the International Association of Oil Field, Gas Well and Refinery Workers of America, et al.,3 stress was laid on the fact that

Both the respondent and Local 258 have in the past treated the employees in the repressure, production and pipe-line departments as comprising one unit, separate and distinct from the employees in the refinery and the Pampa field' (p. 579).

2. SKILL

Organization of skilled employees along craft lines is an outgrowth of the identity of problems confronting those engaged in a common pursuit. Generally, the wages, hours, and working conditions of the skilled craftsman are different from those of other employees of the same employer, necessitating special treatment in collective bargaining. Therefore, ordinarily, where employees of a given craft, through efforts at self-organization, have manifested a desire for a unit limited to members of their craft, such a unit has been approved. Such a decision is facilitated in cases where there is no more inclusive unit seeking to be declared the appropriate unit.

In Matter of The Canton Enameling & Stamping Co. and Canton Lodge No. 812, International Association of Machinists, the union charged that the respondent refused to bargain collectively with it, the representative of the respondent's machinists. The respondent's answer to the complaint denied, among other things, that the machinists employed at its plant constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining. The Board found that

The machinists are engaged in work of a highly skilled nature and receive wages substantially greater than the average wages received by employees of the production departments *

that

*

It is obvious that the various problems which confront the employees of respondent from day to day in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment may be totally different in the case of the machinists than in the case of production employees *;

and that the machinists therefore constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining" (p. 406).

1 Three unions purported to represent engineers employed by the company.

2 The International Mercantile Marine Co. had contended for three distinct units among the engineers.

1 N. L. R. B. 562.

The respondent and the union some time previously had entered into a contract covering wages, hours, and working conditions of employees in those departments only. For a similar ruling see Matter of S. L. Allen & Co., Inc., and Federal Labor Union Local No. 18526, 1 N. L. R. B. 714.

51 N. L. R. B. 402.

See also Machinists, apprentices, and helpers: Matter of Duplex Printing Press Co. and Lodge No. 46, International Association of Machinists, 1 N. L. R. B. 82; in Matter of New England Transportation Co. and International Association of Machinists, 1 N. L. R. B. 130; and Matter of International Filter Co. and International Association of Machinists, District No. 8, 1 N. L. R. B. 489. Ship carpenters, caulkers, and joiners: Matter of Harbor Boatbuilding Co. and Ship Carpenters Local Union No. 1335, 1 N. L. R. B. 349. Printing pressmen and assistants: Matter of Edward E. Cox, Printer, Inc., and International Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union, Local No. 376, 1 N. L. R. B. 594. Blank cutters: Matter of Pioneer Pearl Button Co. and Button Workers' Union, Federal Local 20026,

In Matter of Chrysler Corporation and Society of Designing Engineers,1 the testimony showed that the designing engineers employed by the company may be classified into three main groups-chassis, body, and tool and die designers-and that each in turn has certain subclasses, the members of which have special aptitudes and experience. In holding that all the designing engineers engaged by the company constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining, the Board said:

Practically all have received professional training in technical schools or colleges. The training is of a distinctive type. The men are fitted by training and experience to work in more than one of the subclassifications listed above and can move from a lower to a higher rating. The group is distinguished in function and training from clerical and production workers on the one hand and from electrical and chemical engineers on the other2 (p.. 168).

3. FUNCTIONAL COHERENCE

The rise of the mass-production industries and the ensuing division of the work of the craftsman into a number of minute processes impelled the formation of labor organizations along lines of functional coherence, embracing usually production and maintenance employees, and excluding clerical and supervisory staffs. The Board has dealt with the problems relating to such a unit for purposes of collective bargaining in a number of cases.3

In Matter of United States Stamping Company and Porcelain Enamel Workers' Union No. 18630, the union claimed that only the production and maintenance employees constituted a unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining, while the company contended that all of its employees, including clerical and supervisory, constituted such a unit. The Board said:

The office force includes typists, clerks, and the sales manager. In general, it is clear that they constitute a group with functions sharply distinguished from that of the employees engaged in actual processing operations, are paid on a salary basis as against piece-rate and hour-rate bases governing the production and maintenance group, are paid on the 15th and 30th of each month while the production and maintenance employees are paid on the 7th and 23rd of each month, and are regarded by the latter and by themselves as a distinct department. At the hearing they made no claim to be recognized as an independent bargaining unit or to be included in a total employer unit.

The foremen and assistant foremen are paid respectively on a salary and an hourly basis and ought also to be excluded as having supervisory authority and duties that relate them more directly to the management than to the workers.

The one unit clearly defined as to function and interest in establishing a mechanism for collective bargaining is the production and maintenance unit engaged in the actual processing of enamelware and incident activities, and not the total number of employees of the company as contended for by counsel for

11 N. L. R. B. 164.

See also Marine engineers: Matter of Delaware-New Jersey Ferry Co. and Marine Engineers Beneficial Association No. 13, 1 N. L. R. B. 85. Matter of International Mercantile Marine Co. et al. and International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 3, 1 N. L. R. B. 384.

In Matter of International Nickel Co., Inc., and Square Deal Lodge No. 40, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers of North America, 1 N. L. R. B. 907, the collective bargaining unit held to be appropriate consisted of service and transportation employees in addition to production and maintenance employees. This approaches more nearly the industrial form of organization. In addition to the usual clerical and supervisory staffs, the timekeepers, police, and hospital employees were also excluded. In Matter of Segall Maigen, Inc., and International Ladies Garment Workers' Union, Local No. 50. 1 N. L. R. B. 749, the appropriate unit was held to be the production employees at respondent's factory, excepting cutters, and those in clerical and supervisory positions. But for the fact that the cutters had their own labor organization, they would have been included in the appropriate unit.

1 N. L. R. B. 123.

the company. The production and maintenance department was described in the testimony as consisting of welding, press, enameling, dipping, spraying, beading, baking, packing, shipping, pickling, maintenance, day laborers, and night watchmen (p. 127).

In Matter of the Timken Silent Automatic Company and Earl P. Ormsbee, Chairman, Executive Board, Oil Burner Mechanics Association,1 the union alleged, and the respondent denied, that all who were employed at the Long Island City branch of the respondent, with the exception of clerical and supervisory staffs, constituted an appropriate unit. The Board found that:

The employees in the branch are divided into five groups: installation, inspection (of installations), service (subsequent to installation), garage, and stockroom. Though it is not the regular practice to shift men from one division to another, it is not unusual for installation men to go on service nor for either of these groups to lend a hand in the stockroom or the garage. This is borne out by the fact that a number of the men here concerned have been at one time or another used in installation, inspection, and service work.

The union was first organized in February 1935 by a group of employees in the branch, and is a labor organization. Employees in the installation, inspection, service, garage, and storeroom departments were eligible. The employees in these departments comprised all employees with the exception of the clerical staff, and constitute, with the exception of the supervisory and clerical staff, a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining (p. 339).

4. MUTUAL INTEREST

One of the prime considerations entering into a decision on the appropriate unit is whether it will operate for the mutual benefit of all employees included in the unit. To express it another way, is there that community of interest among the employees which is likely to further harmonious organization and facilitate collective bargaining? The Board discussed this question in Matter of International Mercantile Marine Company et al. In that case the petitioning union had requested that chief engineers, assistant engineers, and licensed junior engineers employed by the company together be considered a single bargaining unit, while the company had contended that each class of engineers should be in a unit apart from the others. After pointing out the similarities, and some few differences, in qualifications, experience, and duties of the three classes of engineers, the Board went on to state that:

From the viewpoint of economic interest all three classes are vitally interdependent and realistically one. All engineers must sign new articles of agreement for every round trip voyage. The company recognizes no seniority rights. A chief engineer on one voyage may be an assistant, a junior, or even unemployed on the following voyage. Similarly, an engineer employed as a junior on one occasion may be an assistant or a chief when next he signs ships' articles. This condition is enhanced by the transfer of men among the various ressels of the company. Since the status of the engineer is subject to change upon such short notice within the range of all three classes, it is patent that each of the engineers has an economic interest in the wage rate and working conditions of all who are employed as engineers regardless of rank (p. 389).

The Board held therefore that the chief, assistant, and junior engineers constituted a unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining.3

11 N. L. R. B. 335.

21 N. L. R. B. 384.

See also: Matter of Wayne Knitting Mills, Inc., and The American Federation of Hosiery Workers, Branch No. 2, 1 N. L. R. B. 53; and Matter of United States Stamping

5. WAGES

Frequently the wage rate, or the basis upon which employees are paid, is sufficient to distinguish one group from other employees of the same employer. For example, all employees paid by the hour may be production workers, while those paid weekly may be clerical employees. A common wage rate or basis of payment thus may serve to identify a class of employees of one employer uniformly affected by wages, hours, and working conditions, and hence interested in bargaining as a unit.

In Matter of Bendix Products Corporation and Local No. 9, International Union, United Automobile Workers of America,1 the Board held that all employees of the company paid on an hourly basis, except supervisory and clerical employees, policemen, and nurses, constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining.2

6. ORGANIZATION OF EMPLOYER'S BUSINESS

We have already seen that the organization of the employer's business has in some instances caused a realignment of employees from a craft to a functional basis. In similar manner, the arrangement of the employer's business in such a manner as to create welldefined and separate departments, or geographically to separate one of his plants from another, may necessitate the establishment of correspondingly separate units for purposes of collective bargaining.

In Matter of Mosinee Paper Mills Co. and International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, the Board said:

The company's mill, like other units in the industry, is divided into two more or less distinct parts. One consists of the treatment of raw material as far as it is in the condition of pulped cellulose half-stuff, ready for the papermaking operation proper. The other consists of the transformation of the pulped cellulose slurry thus formed into paper by the paper making process proper. Traditionally the organization of workers in paper mills has followed these distinct divisions, and they are followed by the unions with respect to their jurisdictions. The same situation obtains in the company's mill and there is no conflict between the unions as to jurisdiction (p. 399). The Board therefore held that two separate units, corresponding to the two distinct processes, were appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining.*

In Matter of Atlantic Refining Co. and Local Nos. 310 and 318, International Association of Oil Field, Gas Well, and Refinery Workers of America, the respondent operated three refineries in the State of Pennsylvania, and one, the Brunswick plant, in the State of Georgia. The latter plant was under the immediate supervision of managerial personnel different from that at the other plants. The Board stated the following as one of the reasons for holding that the employees engaged at the Brunswick plant, with the exception of clerical and supervisory staffs, constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining:

11 N. L. R. B. 173.

2 See also: Matter of Pioneer Pearl Button Co. and Button Workers' Union, Federal Local 20026, 1 N. L. R. B. 837, where unlike all other employees engaged at the plant of the company, who were paid on a time basis, the blank cutters were paid on a piece basis, and were held to constitute an appropriate unit.

1 N. L. R. B. 393.

For similar division of a unit along lines of organization of the employer's business see: Matter of Bell Oil & Gas Co., 1 N. L. R. B. 562.

IN. L. R. B. 359.