TWENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT - National Labor Relations Board

54 Twenty-sixth Annual Report of the National Labor Relations Board
6. Unit of Employees Appropriate for Bargaining
Section 9(b) requires the Board to decide in each representation
case whether, "in order to assure to employees the fullest freedom
in exercising the rights guaranteed by this act, the unit applopriate
for the purposes of collective bargaining shall be the employer unit,
craft unit, plant unit, or subdivision thereof" 73
The broad discretion conferred on the Board by section 9(b)
determining bargaining units is, howevet, limited by the following
provisions
Section 9(b) (1) prohibits the Boaid horn deciding that a unit including
both piofessional and nonprofessional employees is apptopriate
unless a majority of the professional employees vote for inclusion
in such a mixed unit 74
Section 9(b) (2) prohibits the Board from deciding that a proposed
craft unit is inapproptiate because of the prior establishment by the
Board of a broader unit, unless a majouty of the employees in the
proposed ciaft unit vote against separate tepresentation 75
Section 9(b) (3) prohibits the Board from establishing units including
both plant guards and other employees ot f torn cet tifyIng a
labor organization as representative of a guaid unit, if the laboi
otganization admits to membership, ot is affiliated, ditectly 01 indirectly,
with an organization which admits, nonguard employees 78
Section 9(c) (5) prohibits the Board from establishing a bargaining
unit solely on the basis of extent of organization 77
The Board adheres to the practice of declining to cei tify a unit
composed of a single employee 78
The following sespons discuss the mote Important cases decided
during fiscal 1961 which deal with factors generally consideted in
unit determinations, particular types of units, and treatment of patticular
categoi les of employees ot employee groups
78 Unit determinations also have to be made in refusal-to-bargain cases, as no violation
of the relevant section of 8 (a) or (b) can be found unless the bargaining representative
involved had a majority status in an appropriate bargaining unit at the time of the alleged
'Ousel to bargain
74 See Longs Stores, /no, 129 NLRB 1495, Westinghouse Electric Corp, 129 NLRB 846,
where the Board directed a separate election for the professional employees even though
they had, on a prior occasion, been afforded the opportunity to vote for inclusion in a
mixed unit
75 For the application of rules governing the establishment of craft units, see below,
pp 55-57
70 See Watchmanitors, Inc , 128 NLRB 903
77 See Hot Shoppes, /no, 180 NLRB 144, Member Fanning dissenting
74 See Foreign Oar Center, mc, 129 NLRB 319, where the Board dismissed a refusal-tobargain
complaint because bargaining would have been with a representative for a oneman
unit In di d Dick's Steak House, /no, 129 NLRB 1207, the Board dismissed a
petition for an expedited election under sec 8 (b) (7) (C) because the unit was comprised
of only one employee