American Forest Products Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 28, 1955

114 N.L.R.B. 1200 (N.L.R.B. 1955)

1200 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR-.RELATIONS BOARD
tenanceeand repair of machinery (except boilers and except work on
electric motors, and -generators other than, work on bearings on large
motors and `generators) and of valves where work is done in place
(except plumbing in quarters) ; fabrication, installation, or removal of
said hand rails and stanchions in machinery spaces; operation and
adjustment of boilers and machinery during ship trials (except elec-
trical equipment and dock machinery) ; operation of tool cribs and
central toolroom; fabrication and repair of parts in machine shops;
work incidental to the foregoing, and operation and use of all hand
and power tools in the machine shops and of such hand and power tools
aboard ships or in the yard as required by the nature of the aforesaid
work; excluding riggers, all other employees, watchmen and guards,
office clerical employees, and all supervisors as defined in the Act.
5. If a majority vote for the Petitioner they will be taken to have
indicated their desire to constitute a separate appropriate unit, and the
Regional Director conducting the election directed herein is instructed
to issue a certification of representatives to the Petitioner for the unit
described in paragraph numbered 4, which the Board, under such cir-
cumstances, finds to be appropriate for purposes of collective bargain-
ing. In the event a majority do not vote for the Petitioner, the Board
`finds the existing unit to be appropriate and the Regional Director
will issue a certification of results of election to such effect.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
MEmBEm MuiwocK took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
American Forest Products Corporation and Printing Special-
ties and Paper Products Union, Local No. 382, AFL, Petitioner
American Forest Products Corporation and International Union
of Operating Engineers, AFL, Petitioner. Cases Nos. 20 RC-
2856 and 20-IBC-868. November 28, 1955
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, and thereafter consolidated, a hearing was held before
Shirley N. Bingham, hearing, officer. The hearing officer's rulings
made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
114 NLRB No. 183.
AMERICAN FOREST PRODUCTS' CORPORATION 1201
2. The petitioning labor organizations and those that were per-
mitted to intervene at the hearing claim to represent employees of
the Employer.
3. A question of representation affecting commerce exists concern-
ing certain employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section
9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4: The petitions here' seek, 'respectively, a production and mainte-
nance unit and a maintenance unit at the Employer's new plant at
Newark, California, where it manufactures corrugated paper boxes.
At the hearing each Petitioner intervened in the petition of the other.
Also, Warehouse Union Local 12, International Brotherhood of Team-
sters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, AFL, which
seeks to represent production employees, intervened in the proceeding
for an overall unit (Case No. 20-RC-2856), as did the International
Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, AFL, which
seeks a production and maintenance unit. The latter union also inter-
vened in the proceeding for a maintenance unit (Case No. 20-RC-
2868).
The Employer urges the appropriateness of the production and
maintenance unit, rather than separate units of production and of
maintenance employees. The plant is housed in a single structure
having a separate boilerroom and adjacent mesh enclosure that is re-
ferred to as the "shop." The plant operates on a single-shift basis.
The 'production and maintenance group consists of 55 employees, all
of whom work at the various machines in the 1 large production area.
The three production departments-craft, finishing, and corrugat-
ing-and the shipping department each has its own "department
foreman." In addition the plant has two general foremen and a plant
superintendent. The maintenance department consists of 4 employees
plus 1 who is on extended sick leave.
The function of the maintenance department is to do all machinery
maintenance work and to operate the boiler, which is an automatic
gas-fired unit that furnishes power to the corrugating machine. It
is estimated that boiler operation takes a total of 2 hours of work per
day, which is divided between tJe 4 maintenance mechanics who are
working. One of these is a qualified electrician but the Employer refers
to him as an apprentice because of his lack of experience in machinery
maintenance at a plant of this type. All were hired because of main-
tenance experience rather than boiler operation. The shop contains
a welding machine, saw, workbenches, tool lockers, and a washroom,
and is used exclusively by maintenance employees in connection with
their work. It is anticipated that 1 mechanic will be terminated or
transferred when the mechanic on sick leave returns to work, and that
he will be assigned to the shop so that 1 of the 4 will spend the
majority of his time there. Maintenance employees do no production
1202 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
work. They receive their orders either directly from the plant super-
intendent, or through 1 of the 2 general foremen in the plant.
In these circumstances the Board is of the opinion that self-deter-
mination elections should be directed for the production and main-
tenance employees . As the maintenance unit sought comprises all of
the mechanical maintenance employees in the plant and there is no
bargaining history on a broader basis , it may be an appropriate unit.
In the event that a separate maintenance unit is established, a residual
unit of production employees would also be appropriate. Obviously
a unit of production and maintenance employees may be appropriate.
The Employer and the petitioning unions would exclude the four
production department foremen or working foremen from the unit
found appropriate. The Teamsters and the Pulp-Sulphite Workers
would include them. The record shows that these employees have no
authority to effectively recommend hire or discharge although at the
inception of operations they did screen applicants for jobs during the
illness of the plant superintendent; nor do they have authority to grant
requests for time off. They spend approximately one-fourth of their
time each day in receiving production schedules and securing supplies
for their respective areas, and the balance in operating machines as
replacements or for instruction purposes. Their hourly rate of pay
apparently exceeds that of production employees by 10 to 20 cents an
hour. On these facts we find that these employees are at most "work-
ing" foremen and not supervisors as defined in the Act. We shall
consider them as production employees.
Accordingly, we shall direct elections among the following groups
of employees :
1. All production employees of the Employer at its Newark, Cali-
fornia, plant, including working foremen, but excluding mechanical
maintenance employees, office clerical employees, guards, watchmen,
and supervisors as defined in the Act.
2. All mechanical maintenance employees of the Employer at its
Newark, California, plant, excluding all other employees and super-
visors as defined in the Act.
If a majority of the employees in voting group 2 select the Operating
Engineers, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to consti-
tute a separate bargaining unit and the Regional Director conducting
the election is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to
the Operating Engineers for such unit, which the Board, in the cir-
cumstances, finds to be appropriate for purposes of collective bargain-
ing. In that case, should any of the other unions achieve a majority
in group 1, the Regional Director is instructed to issue a certification
of representatives to the appropriate organization for that group of
production employees, which the Board, in these circumstances, finds
to be an appropriate unit for purposes of collective bargaining. On
JONES & ANDERSON LOGGING COMPANY, INC. 1203
the other hand, if a majority in voting group 2 do not select the Oper-
ating Engineers, that group will appropriately be included with vot-
ing group 1 and the votes pooled at face value. If any union achieves
a majority of votes in the pooled group, the Regional Director is
instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the labor
organization receiving such majority in the pooled group of produc-
tion and maintenance employees, which the Board, in such circum-
stances, finds to be a single unit appropriate for purposes of collective
bargaining.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.]
MEMBER MURDOCK took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Elections.
Jones & Anderson Logging Company , Inc. and Darrington In-
dependent Woodworkers Union, Petitioner. Case No. 19-RC-
1573. November 28,1955
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National La-
bor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Melton Boyd, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.'
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks to represent the logging employees of the
Employer at its Darrington, Washington, operations. The Inter-
venor contends that the requested unit is inappropriate on the ground
that the Employer is part of a multiemployer unit. The Employer
agrees to the unit sought by the Petitioner and, in answer to ' the In-
tervenor, contends that : (1) The Employer has never been part of
a multiemployer unit; and (2) even if the Board finds that it did
bargain on such basis, it has unequivocally withdrawn therefrom.
1International Woodworkers of America , Local Union 23-75, CIO, was permitted to
intervene on the basis of its expired contract with the Employer covering the employees
involved herein.
114 NLRB No. 186.
387644-56-vol. 114-77