Aluminum Ore Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 17, 1942

43 N.L.R.B. 285 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

•x9 7.-
In the Matter of ALUMINImI ORE COMPANY -(ILLINOIS FLUORSPAR
DIVISION) and DISTRICT 50, UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA,
GAS, COKE, AND CHEMICAL WORKERS, AFFILIATED WITH THE C. I. O.
Case 1lro. R-410114.-Decided August 17, l942
Jurisdiction : flnorspar mini ng and milling industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to accord petitioner recognition ; contract not covering employees in unit
held no bat ; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all employees atone of Company's
mules, excluding supervisory and clerical employees and guards.
Mr. I. D. Marsh, of East St. Louis, Ill., for the Company.
Mr. M. J. Ilanagan,, of Benton, Ill., and Mr. George l1 illi f ord, of
Springfield, Ill., for District 50.
Mr. Reynolds C. Seitz, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND,
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF TILE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by District 50, United Mine Workers of
America, Gas , Coke, and Chemical Workers , affiliated with the C. I. 0.,
herein called District 50, alleging that a question affecting commerce
had arisen concerning the representation ' of employees of Aluminum
Ore Company ( Illinois Fluorspar Division ), Rosiclare , Illinois, herein
called the Company , the National Labor Relations Board provided
for an appropriate hearing upon clue notice before William W. Ward,
Jr., Trial Examiner . Said hearing was held at Elizabethtown, Illi-
nois, on July 13 , 1942 . The Company and District 50 appeared, par-
ticipated , 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.
43 N L. R. B., No. 39.
2S5
286 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Aluminum` Ore Company is a corporation existing under and by
virtue of the laws of Delaware. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of
the Aluminum Company of America, and it operates a plant at
East St. Louis, Illinois. The principal raw materials used by the
Commpany, aggregatinb over 100,000 tons per year, are bauxite, soda
ash; limestone, fluorspar, sulphuric acid, and coal. The bauxite and
soda ash, which constitute about 80 percent of the raw materials used,
are purchased outside of the State of Illinois and shipped to the
Company's East St. Louis plant. Most of the other raw in
used, comprising about 20 percent of the total, are purchased within
the State of Illinois. The products manufactured at the East St.
Louis plant aggregate over 100,000 tons per year, 95 percent of which
consists of alumina (al uninum oxide), and the remaining 5 percent
of which is made up of aluminum hydrates, electrolytes, dry sodiuni
aluminate, and other miscellaneous products. Approximately 95 per-
cent of the alumina is shipped outside the State of Illinois. Involved
in this proceeding is the Company's Illinois Fluorspar Division, which
is located at Rosiclare, Illinois. The Company's Illinois Fluorspar
Division is engaged in the mining and milling of fluorspar, of which
it produces in excess of 5,000 tons annually. Almost all of this fluor-
spar goes to the Company's East St. Louis, Illinois, plant, where it is
used in the manufacture of alumina.
H. TZIE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
District 50, United Mine Workers of America , Gas, Coke, and Chem-
ical Workers , affiliated with the C . I. 0., is a labor organization ad-
mitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION - CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On May 12, 1942, District 50 . requested the Company to bargain
with it as the exclusive representative of the Company 's employees
in the unit described in Section IV below. The Company refused to
bargain with District 50 on the ground that it was already bargain-
ing and had a contract with District 12, Local 7709, United Mine
Workers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called District
12.
District 50 denies . that the contract between the Company and Dis-
trict 12 covers the employees at the Blue Diggins mine. The contract
ALUMINUM ORE, COMPANY 287 '
was entered into on January 24, 19411 The Company did not then
own or operate the Blue Dlggins mine, although it was under contract
to, take the mine's entire output. The Company contends, however,,
that at the time its contract with District 12 was entered into, it
intended to acquire the mine and that the parties to the contract under-
stood that it was to cover the mine employees, if and when the Com-
pany acquired it. The contract itself contains no such provision,
and a representative of District 12 in the negotiations with the Com-
pany leading-up to the contract testified at the hearing herein that
there was no understanding that any,new mining employees thereafter
employed by the Company were to be included under the contract.
Furthermore, District 12 was recognized in the contract as the collec-
tive bargaining representative for its members only', and there is no
showing in the record that District 12 oh-January 24,-1941, had, ot;
that it now has, any mennbers among the employees at the Blue Dig-
bins mine. On the contrary, a .representative of District 12 testified
at the hearing that it does not claim jurisdiction over the employees
in the unit hereinafter found appropriate. We find that the contract
between the Company and District 12 does not cover the, employees
at the Company's Blue Digging mine.
A statement of the Regional Director, introduced in evidence at
the hearing, shows that District 50 represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate=
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) 'of the National Labor
Relations Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
District 50 contends that all employees at the Company's Blue
Diggins mine at Rosiclare, Illinois, excluding supervisory and clerical
employees'-.and guards, constitute an appropriate unit.3 Beyond its
contention that these employees are already covered by its contract
1By its teams, the contract is to remain in force until January 24, 1943 . Admittedly,
it covers the employees at the Company ' s mill, which is about three -quartets of a mile
from the mine.'
2 The Regional Director reported that District 50 submitted 69 membership application
cards, of which 8 were dated in March 1942 , 52 in April 1942, 7 in May 1942 , and 1 bore
no date ; that 1 card submitted was a duplicate of a previously dated card also submitted,
that all of the membership application cards bole apparently genuine signatures, 'with
the exception of 3 cards on which the names were printed ; and that 59 of the cards bore
the names of persons whose names appear on the pay roll of the Company for the pay-roll
period ending May 15, 1942 , on which pay roll there are 117 names.
3 The employees at the mine are divided into two divisions , namely , surface and under-
ground The surface operations include power and hoisting and yard lumber and black-
sinithing work' or;'general°'shop'- work".'The underground ,, operations , are performed by
drillers , miners , helpers, pipe and track men , cage men, and pump 'runners.
`288 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
with district.12, the'Compaiiy does not question` the appropriateness
of the unit claimed by District 50.
We have found, in Section III above, that the contract between the
Company and District 12 does not cover the mine employees in
question. We find that all employees at the Company's Blue Diggins
mine, excluding supervisory and clerical employees and guards, 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 among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit, who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of our 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 Re-
lations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National
Labor Relations Board,Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended,
it is' hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Aluminum Ore
Company, Illinois Fluorspar Division, Rosiclare, Illinois; an election
by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later
than thirty (30) clays from the date of this Direction, under the di-
rection and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fourteenth
Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela-
tions Board and subject to Article III, Section 9, of, said Rules and
Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in
Section IV above, who were employed during the pay-roll peiiod
immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, includ-
ing employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because
they were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or train-
ing of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding
employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause; to de-
termine whether or not they desire to be represented by District 50,
United Mine Workers of America, Gas, Coke and Chemical Workers,
affiliated with the C. I. O., for the purposes of collective bargaining.
MR. ,Wtii. M. LEISERSON took no part in the , consideriition ' of the '
above Decision and Direction of Election.