Albemarle Paper Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 19, 1946

70 N.L.R.B. 153 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of-ALBEMARLE PAPER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, EM-
PLOYER and CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS, PETITIONER
Case No. 5-R-2274.-Decided, August 19, 1946
Messrs. R. E. Cabell and Charles H. Robertson, of Richmond, Va.;
for the Employer.
Messrs. Z'. D. du Cuennois and Ernest B. Pugh, of Richmond, Va.,
for the Petitioner.
Mr. Conrad A. Wickham, Jr., of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Richmond,
Virginia, on June 5, 1946, before George L. Weasler, Trial Examiner.
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 National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I: THE BUSINESS OF THE- EMPLOYER
Albemarle Paper Manufacturing Company is a Virginia, corporation
having "its main office and principal place of business in Richmond,
Virginia, where it is engaged in the manufacture of Kraft specialties,
laminating, blotting and cover paper. During the calendar year 1945,
the Employer purchased $4,000,000, of which 100 percent was pur-
^chased and shipped to the Employer's mills from points outside the
Commonwealth of Virginia. During the same period, the Employer's-
manufactured products were valued at approximately $6,000,000, of
which $5,000,000 was sold and shipped to-piaces outside the Common-
wealth of Virginia.
The -Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
70 N. L. R. B., No. 15.
153
f
154 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner, Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor
organization claiming to represent employees' of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION -
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the
Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning'
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner seeks a unit of all the Employer's foremen at its
three mills in Richmond, Virginia, including all paper inspectors
and the timekeeper at,the Employer's Brown's Island mill, but ex-
cluding machine tenders and all personnel having the rank of assist-
ant superintendent or above. The Employer contends that (a) fore-
men are not employees "within the meaning of the Act, and (b) if a
unit is set up, certain categories of foremen should be excluded on
the grounds that they constitute a higher level of supervision than
others., Although there is no history of collective bargaining con-
cerning the unit requested, the Employer is presently under con-
tract with an 'affiliate of the Petitioner covering its,production and
maintenance employees.'
The Employer operates 3 mills, all located in Richmond, Virginia,
,known as the'Brown's Island mill, the Hollywood mill and the River-
side -mill, which employ 250, 100, and 50 employees, respectively.
The Employer's executives include a president, vice president, pro-
duction manager and personnel manager. Each mill has a superin-
tendent, 1 or 2 assistant superintendents, and foremen of different
classifications which vary according to the particular mill. The_
Brown's Island mill also employs 1 combined timekeeper and assist-
ant personnel manager and 4 paper inspectors, all of whom the Peti-
tioner would include and the Employer exclude.
The parties have agreed to exclude assistant superintendents and
higher ranking officials, as well as the machine tenders in the Holly-
wood mill. They have also ,agreed to include the following fore-
men : car shipping, local and truck shipping, finishing department,
yard department and beater shift foremen in the Brown's Island mill;
the shipping, finishing department and coating foremen in the Holly-
wood mill; and the shipping foremen in the Riverside mill. We find,
these exclusions and inclusions to be appropriate,
1 Local 690, United Paper Workers of America, C. I. O.
ALBEMARLE PAPER MANUFACTURING COMPANY 155
The Employer would exclude, the Petitioner include, the tour fore-
men, the general beater foreman, the electrician foreman, the power
plant foremen, and the maintenance department foreman at the
Brown's Island mill ; the maintenance foreman at the Hollywood mill ;
and the night foreman at the Riverside mill. No position has been
taken by either party as to the assistant car shipping foreman at the
Brown's Island mill.
All foremen of the Employer have the authority to effect changes
in the status of employees under their supervision, and all are
charged with the enforcement of the Employer's rules and policy, in
the formulation of. which they participate through weekly foremen's
meetings with the -management and monthly foremen's safety meet-
ings. They are also all accorded similar vacation privileges, which
have additional advantages over those extended to production and
maintenance workers.
As to the first contention of the Employer, that foremen are not
"employees" within the meaning of the Act, both the Board 2 and the
courts's in considering the status of supervisory personnel, have held
to the contrary. Accordingly, we find that the foremen involved in
this proceeding are employees within the meaning of the Act.
As to the Employer's contention that the unit, if set up, should ex-
clude certain categories of foremen which constitute a higher level of
supervision, a majority of the Board 4 believes, on the basis of its
reasoning in prior decisions,-' that certain foremen in the instant pro-
ceeding do constitute such a higher level, and should, therefore, be
given an opportunity by separate voting to determine whether or
not they wish to be included in the same unit as those in the lower
level. Accordingly, we shall make no final unit determination at
this time, but will be guided, in part, by the desires of the employees
involved as expressed in the elections hereinafter directed. The em-
ployees to be included in the higher level will vote in Group I, and are
specifically ruled upon below in our individual treatment of the
several mills. All other foremen will vote in Group II. Should the
employees voting in Group I select the Union, they will be taken to
have indicated a desire to be included in a single bargaining unit with
the employees of Group II.
'Matter of California Packing Company, 66 N. L. R. B. 1461; Matter of Jones &
Laughlin Steel Corporation, Vesta-tihannopin Coal Division, 66 N. L. R B. 386; Matter of
L A. Young Spring & Wire Corporation, 65 N. L R. B. 298; Matter of The B. F. Goodrich
Company, 65 N. L. R. B. 294; Matter of Packard Motor Car Company, 64 N. L. R. B. 1212,
and 61 N L R.B 4
3 N. L. R. B. v. Armour & Company, 154 F. (2d) 570 (C. C. A. 10) ; N L. R. B. v. Skinner
of Kennedy Stationery Company, 113 F (2d) 667 (C. C A. 8). _
4 Chairman Herzog and Member Reilly.
'Matter of The White Motor Company, 67 N. L. IT. B. 828; Matter of Ifelsejt-Ifayes
Wheel Company, 66 N L. IT. B 570; Matter of The Midland Steel Products Company,
Faiish if Bingham Division, 65 N L R B 997.
156 - DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Brown's Island mill
Tour foremen: The Employer employs four employees in this cate-
gory, three of whom work 6 days'•per-week on a rotating, three-shift
basis. The fourth tour foreman relieves each of the others, as well
as the Employer's beater shift foremen, 1 day per week. On the day
shift, the tour foreman operates under the supervision of the mill
superintendent. He is in charge of the paper machine crews and
responsible for the amount of production. He has authority to make
changes in raw materials to insure proper production, and to reject,
divert, or hold manufactured' paper, if substandard, for disposition
by the superintendents On the night shifts, the tour foreman is
the acting superintendent' of the plant, supervising, in addition to
his own men, the beater shift foremen, the three power plant employees,
and the oilers. He can, at night, to meet an immediate situation, tralis=
fer men from one department to another. Only in cases of major
breakdown is he required to call the mill superintendent. Normally,
he, himself, handles all emergencies at night; calling oh the appropriate
foreman to accomplish required repairs. If necessary, he is author-
ized to shut down the mill to wash up, sew or change. wires and felts,
or. make necessary repairs. He is paid on an hourly basis, receiving,
with overtime, approximately $77 per week, with a guaranteed weekly
minimum of $30.
The majority of the Board is of the opinion that the tour foremen,
on the basis of their additional authority and responsibility on the
night shifts, before being included in a unit of all foremen, should be
given the opportunity by separate voting to determine whether or not
they.desire to be in the same unit with the members of Group H. We
shall, therefore, direct that the tour foremen vote in Group I.
Beater general foreman: This employee is a technical expert on
color formulas and' paper-making chemicals, about which he assists
and advises the superintendent concerning the manufacturing process
and conditions in the beater room department, which is the stock prep-
aration department of the mill. He works only on the day shift,
during which time he directly supervises the beater shift foremen, over
whom he has the authority to hire or discharge. At night, he leaves
instructions for them to follow. His pay is on a salary basis at the
rate of $93 per week.
A majority of the Board believes that this employee, because of the
authority he exercises over the beater shift foremen, who are super-
visory employees in their own right, should also be given the oppor-
tunity to vote separately., We shall, therefore, include him in Group I.
° Formerly , authority to reject , divert, or hold rested in the , Employer 's papet inspectors..
7This guarantee is also given the beater shift foremen , although their hourly wage,
schedule is somewhat lower. No other foremen are extended this guarantee.
ALBEMARLE PAPER MANUFACTURING COMPANY 157
Electrician foreman: This employee supervises his own crew of four
or five men. He works only on the day shift, except when required by
emergencies to be present at the mill at night, and exercies no super-
vision over other supervisory employees. He is paid a weekly salary
of $79. We shall include hint in,the unit and direct that he vote in
Group II.,
Power Plant foreman: This employee supervises his own crews,
having approximately 18 men under him. He directs the operation
of the steam boilers, the turbo-generators, and the receiving and stor-
ing of coal. He works in the daytime, but is on call in the event of
emergency breakdowns. No authority is exercised by him over other
supervisory employees. He receives a weekly salary of $82. We shall-
include him in the unit and direct that he vote in Group II.
Maintenance department foreman: This employee is known as the
"master mechanic." He is in charge of the maintenance and repair of
the mill's machinery, general equipment and buildings. The crew
under his supervision consists principally of millwrights and me-
chanics, of which there are approximately 40 in number. He exercises
no authority over any supervisory employees of the Employer and
receives a salary of $93 per week. We shall include him in the unit
and direct that he vote in Group II.
Assistant car shipping foreman: This employee assists the car ship-
ping foreman, whom the parties have agreed to include, in supervising
the loading of railroad cars. He assumes complete charge of this
operation in the absence of his superior. At no time does he perform
manual work. His pay is $0.91 per hour. Although the parties failed
to state their positions as to this employee, we find his duties to be
supervisory and shall include him in the unit. We shall direct that
he vote in Group II.
Timekeeper and assistant personnel manager: Until recently, this
employee has been known simply as the "timekeeper" in the Brown's
Island mill, his duties in this respect being merely to maintain time
records of the plant employees." The major portion of his duties for
the past 7 years, however, has been concerned with personnel work,
performed in the capacity of assistant to the Employer's personnel
manager. Although this has been largely in-connection with the per-
sonnel at the Brown's Island mill, he actually does most of the Em-
ployer's routine employment, interviewing applicants and sending
them to the appropriate foremen for the latter's rejection or approval.
He also assists in the preparation of the weekly pay roll and distribu-
tion of labor costs for the accounting department. He has no one
under his supervision, but performs the staff function of keeping the
8 These duties are performed in the Hollywood and Riverside mills by the assistant
superintendent and superintendent , respectively
i
158 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
foremen and superintendent advised on the Employer's labor policies.
We are of the opinion that his work is confidential,,and that he is not
identified in interest with the employees in the unit here sought.- We
shall, therefore, exclude him from the unit. -
Paper inspectors: There are four of these employees in the Brown's
Island mill, three of whom work on a rotating shift basis similar to
that of the tour foreman, while the fourth acts as their, relief and
spends the remainder of his time as a test man. The duties of a
paper inspector include the maintenance of records on the weight,
size and number of rolls of paper manufactured, the time required
to produce particular orders, and the cutting of stencils. He keeps
informed on tests and specifications, and informs the tour foremen of
any deviation therefrom. He exercises no supervision over other
employees, receives pay at the rate of $1.04 per hour, and vacation
benefits similar to those extended the production and maintenance
employees. We find that these employees are not supervisors. We
shall, therefore, exclude the paper inspectors from the unit.
Hollywood mill
Maintenance foreman: This foreman is the only-exclusion requested
by the Employer at the Hollywood mill. He serves in the same capac-
ity as the maintenance department foreman at the Brown's Island
mill, whom we have included in the unit, although he performs the
work for both the Hollywood and Riverside mills. He is paid a -
salary of $67.50 per week. We shall include him in the unit and
direct that he vote in Group H.
Riverside mill
Night foreman: This employee is the only exclusion requested by
the Employer at the Riverside mill. He serves in an identical-capac=
ity to the tour foremen at the Brown's Island mill, whom we have
decided to place in a separate voting group in order that they may
express their desires concerning inclusion in a single unit of foremen.
A majority of the Board believes that the night foreman, because of
his similar status, should be given a like opportunity. We shall,
therefore, direct that he vote in Group I.'
We shall direct that separate elections be held among the employees
in the voting groups described below who were employed,during the
-pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of
Elections herein, subject to the limitations-and additions set forth in
the Direction : -
Group I: All tour foremen and the beater general foreman in the
Brown's- Island mill, and the night foreman at the Riverside mill,
ALBEMARLE PAPER MANUFACTURING COMPANY 159
excluding all employees of the rank of assistant superintendent and
above, the timekeeper and assistant personnel manager of the Brown's
Island mill, all paper inspectors, all machine tenders, and all employees
included in Voting Group II, as set forth below.
Group II: All the Employer's foremen, including the electrician
foreman, the power plant foreman, all maintenance foremen, shipping
foremen, and the assistant car shipping foreman in the Brown's Island
mill, all- beater shift foremen, finishing department foremen, yard
department foremen and coating foremen, but excluding all em-
ployees of the rank of assistant superintendent and above, the time-
keeper and 'assistant personnel -manager of the Brown's Island mill,
all paper inspectors, all machine tenders, and all employees included
in Voting Group I, as set forth above.
As stated above,-there will be no final determination of the appro-
priate unit pending the results of the elections.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Albemarle Paper Manufac-
turnng Company, Richmond, Virginia, separate elections by secret bal-
lot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30)
days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Fifth Region, acting in this
hatter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject
to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, among employees in
the voting groups described 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 those
employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have
not been rehired prior to the date of the elections, to determine in each
of the. voting groups whether or not they desire to be represented by
Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collective
-bargaining.
MR. GERARD D. REILLY, concurring separately :
My position in this case is similar to that expressed in my con-
curring opinion in Matter of The Midland Steel Products Company,
Parish cC Bingham Division.9 As in that case, I would direct no elec-
9 65 N . L. It. B. 0,97 /
160 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tion in the present matter for the reasons stated in my dissenting
opinion in Matter of Packard Motor Car Company," and further, in
this case, for the reasons set forth in my dissenting opinion in Matter
'01 Jones d Laughlin Steel Corporation, Vesta-Shannopin Coal
Division."- Since the majority of the Board entertain a contrary view,
however, I wish to concur in the conclusion that the tour foremen,
the beater general foreman and the night foreman herein should be
balloted separately so as to ascertain whether or not they desire to
be in the same bargaining unit which includes the other foremen
of the Employer. ' There is sufficient evidence in the record to indi-
cate that the duties and responsibilities of the first group are distin-
guishable from those of the second.
MR. JOHN M. HousToN,_concurring separately :
For the reasons stated in my concurring opinion in the Midland
Steel case,12 which I find equally applicable here, I would provide for
only one voting group of all foremen of the Employer.
1064 N.L.R B. 1212,and61N.L R B 4
u 66 N. L R. B. 386.
' 65 N . L. R. B. 997.