Associated Banning Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 8, 1940

19 N.L.R.B. 140 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter of ASSOCIATED BANNING COMPANY AND WATERFRONT
EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ; CONSOLIDATED
STEAMSHIP COMPANY AND WATERFRONT EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION Of
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA; CRESCENT WHARF AND WAREHOUSE COMPANY
AND WATERFRONT EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CALI-
FORNIA; HAMMOND SHIPPING CO., LTD., AND WATERFRONT EMPLOY-
ERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA; LOS ANGELES AND SAN
FRANCISCO NAVIGATION CO., LTD., AND WATERFRONT EMPLOYERS
ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA; MARINE TERMINALS COR-
PORATION AND WATERFRONT EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA; JOHN E. MARSHALL, INC., AND WATERFRONT EMPLOY-
ERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA; MATSON NAVIGATION.
COMPANY AND WATERFRONT EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA; MCCORMICK STEAMSHIP COMPANY AND WATERFRONT
EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA; METROPOLITAN
STEVEDORING COMPANY AND WATERFRONT EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION
OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA; OUTER HARBOR DOCK AND WHARF COM-
PANY AND WATERFRONT EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CAL-
IFORNIA; PORT OF Los ANGELES STEVEDORING AND BALLAST COM-
PANY AND WATERFRONT EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CAL-
IFORNIA; SEABOARD TRANSPORTATION COMPANY AND WATERFRONT
EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA; P. F. SoTo
SHIPPING COMPANY, LTD., AND WATERFRONT EMPLOYERS ASSOCIA-
TION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA; SOUTHWESTERN STEVEDORING COM-
PANY AND WATERFRONT EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA; SEABOARD STEVEDORING COMPANY AND WATERFRONT
EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA and INTERNA-
TIONAL LONGSHOREMEN'S AND WAREHOUSEMEN'S UNION, LOCAL 1-13
Cases Nos. R-1230 to R-1245, inclusive.-Decided January 8, 1940
Shipping Industry-Employer: companies functioning through an associa-
tion-Investigation of Representatives: controversy concerning representation
of employees : controversy concerning appropriate unit; employer's refusal to
grant recognition of union ; petitions for, dismissed, as to four companies,
where no questions concerning representation have arisen-Unit Appropriate
for Collective Bargaining: ship and dock bosses employed by companies which
are members of employers association involved ; history of employer organi-
zation ; organization of companies on port-wide basis, functioning of com-
panies with respect to labor relations ; history of bargaining relations in in-
dustry on port-wide and coast-wide basis; restriction of unit to port-wide
19 N. L. R. B., No. 20.
140
ASSOCIATED BANNING COMPANY 141
basis in absence of organization seeking to represent employees on coast-wide
basis ; desires of employees ; performance of certain supervisory duties no,
bar; majorities within two or more separate units entitled to select same
bargaining representative-Election Ordered
Mr. Drexel A. Spreoh,,er and Mr. William R. Walsh, for the Board,
Lillick, McHose & Adams, by Mr. James L. Adams, of Los An-
geles, Calif., for the Companies.,
Mr. Gregory A. Harrison, of San Francisco , Calif., for the Asso-
ciation.
dlr. Charles J. Katz, of Los Angeles, Calif., for Local 13.
Mr. Richard A. Williams, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On January 9, 1939, International Longshoremen's and Ware-
housemen's Union, Local 1-13, herein called Local 13,2 filed with
the Regional Director for the Twenty-first Region (Los Angeles,
California), separate petitions alleging that a question affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of the ship and
dock bosses, herein called bosses, of Associated Banning Company;
Consolidated Steamship Company; Crescent Wharf and Ware-
house Company; Hammond Shipping Co., Ltd.; Los Angeles and
San Francisco Navigation Co., Ltd.; Marine Terminals Corpora-
tion; John E. Marshall, Inc.; Matson Navigation Company; Mc-
Cormick Steamship Company; Metropolitan Stevedoring Company;
Outer Harbor Dock and Wharf Company; Port of Los Angeles
Stevedoring and Ballast Company; Seaboard Transportation Com-
pany; P. F. Soto Shipping Company, Ltd.; and Southwestern Stev-
edoring Company, all of which are hereinafter included within the
term Companies; and requesting an investigation and certification
of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. Each petition
'Including Associated Banning Company ; Consolidated Steamship Company ; Crescent
Wharf and Warehouse Company ; Hammond Shipping Co., Ltd . ; Marine Terminals Cor-
poration ; John E. Marshall , Inc. ; Matson Navigation Company ; McCormick Steamship
Company ; Metropolitan Stevedoring Company ; Outer Harbor Dock and Wharf Company ;
Port of Los Angeles Stevedoring and Ballast Company ; P . F. Soto Shipping Company,
Ltd.; Southwestern Stevedoring Company; and Seaboard Stevedoring Company.
2 Incorrectly designated in the petitions and subsequent pleadings as "International
Longshoremen and Warehousemen 's Union, Local :1-13, C. I. 0."
142 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
also named Waterfront Employers Association of Southern Cali-
fornia, herein called the Association, as an employer handling the
labor relations of each of the respective Companies.
On January 11, 1939, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and
Article III, Sections 3 and 10 (c) (2), of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, ordered an in-
vestigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and
to provide for an appropriate hearing on due notice, and further
ordered the afore-mentioned cases to be consolidated for the purposes
of a hearing and for all other purposes.
On January 23, 1939, Local 13 filed with the Regional Director for
the Twenty-first Region (Los Angeles, California), a petition alleging
that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of the employees of Seaboard Stevedoring Company, here.
inafter also included within the term Companies, and the Association
and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives
pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act. On the same date, the Board
acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Sections
3 and 10 (c) (2), of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regu-
lations-Series 1, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized
the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate
hearing upon due notice, and further ordered the case consolidated
with the aforesaid cases for the purpose of hearing and for all other
purposes.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing in the consolidated cases was held on
January 30 and 31, 1939, at Los Angeles, California, before G. B.
Erickson, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The
Board, the Companies, the Association, and Local 13 were represented
by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be
heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evi-
dence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. At the hearing,
counsel for the Board moved to dismiss the petitions relating to Los
Angeles and San Francisco Navigation Company and to Seaboard
Transportation Company. Counsel for the Companies also moved to
dismiss all the petitions filed in this proceeding. The Trial Examiner
did not rule on these motions. The motions are hereby allowed as
to Los Angeles and San Francisco Navigation Company and as to
Seaboard Transportation Company. Except as to two companies
discussed more fully in Section IV below, the motions in so far as
they relate to the other companies are hereby denied. During the
course of the hearing, the Trial Examiner made several rulings on
motions and objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has
reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no preju-
ASSOCIATED BANNING COMPANY 143
dicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. Al-
though advised of their right to request oral argument before the .
Board, none of the parties did so. *Counsel for the Association and
counsel for the Companies filed briefs for the consideration of the
Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
'I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANIES o
The Companies are engaged in the transportation and handling of
water-borne cargo in the vicinity of Los Angeles, California, herein
referred to as the Los Angeles harbor area. During the hearing,
counsel for the Board read into the record the following stipulation :
It is hereby stipulated between, the National Labor Relations
Board and the parties represented here by James L. Adams as
follows :
(1) That each individual company here involved represented
by James L. Adams is engaged in the transportation or handling
of water-borne cargo.
(2) That the ship and dock bosses or the ship and dock fore=
nien, otherwise known as walking bosses, on whose behalf the
petition in this case is filed, handle said water-borne cargo.
(3) That more than 50 per cei'it of said cargo, at the time it
is handled by said ship and dock bosses, is in the course of trans-
portation between states of the United States or between the
United States and foreign countries, or between the United States
and non-contiguous territories or possessions of the United States.
(4) James L. Adams represents all of the individually named
employer companies named in this proceeding excepting the Los
Angeles and San Francisco Navigation Company, which is pres-
ently out of business, and the Seaboard Transportation Company
which does not engage in stevedoring work.8
The stipulation does not apply to the Association. We find that
each of the Companies is engaged in trade, traffic, transportation, and
commerce among the several States and/or between the United States
and foreign countries.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, Local
1-13, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial
Organizations, admitting to its membership employees engaged in
longshore work, including ship and clock bosses.
n The Companies represented by Janies L. Adams. are listed In footnote 1. supra.
144 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
III. THE ASSOCIATION
Waterfront Employers Association of Southern California, for-
merly known as the Marine Service Bureau, is a corporation formed
in 1936 under the laws of the State of California by various shipping
and stevedoring companies in the Los Angeles harbor area. Control
of the Association is vested in a ' board of 12 directors who are
charged with the general management and conduct of the business
and affairs of the corporation. According to its articles of incorpora-
tion the Association was formed for the following purposes and
objects :
(1) To act as intermediary between employers and employees
directly or indirectly concerned in the commercial movement
and handling of goods; (2) To promote harmony between em-
ployees and employers to the end that greater efficiency without
injustice to either employees or employers may be had; (3) To
negotiate and arrange with. associations of labor that rules shall
be adopted and rates of wages and working conditions changed
only after conference between the interested parties; (4) To
represent members in all matters relating to labor, partic-
ularly with reference to hours or wages; (5) To assist
members in connection with any violations of agreements
with labor unions and in connection with sympathetic strikes
directed at members by labor unions; (6) To assist stevedores,
warehousemen, wharfingers and carriers of goods in the hiring
and retaining of labor; to assist working men in promptly and
conveniently securing suitable jobs under satisfactory condi-
tions at proper wages; (7) To establish, maintain and operate
such offices and employment halls as may be necessary for the
centralization of information, registration and the distribution
of labor; (8) To encourage efficient and safe working condi-
tions ; (9) To compile and preserve statistical records as to
longshore and other labor, earnings, costs, conditions of work,
to causes of accidents, safety practices, personal injury compen-
sation and other data; (10) To enter into, perform and carry
out agreements between its members and groups or associations
of working men, and to act on behalf of its members in all
matters relating to labor in which they are interested: . . . 4
With respect to the labor relations of its members, the bylaws of
the Association provide:
This corporation shall have power to negotiate wages, hours
and working conditions and working agreements between the
members of the corporation and groups or associations of work-
Article II of the Association 's Articles of Incorporation . Italics added.
ASSOCIATED BANNING COMPANY 145
ing men, and in the event any such agreement shall be made, no
member of this corporation shall depart from the provisions of
any such agreement . . . If any labor union, association of
working men or any members of any such union or association
shall violate any agreement with this corporation, 'or with any
member thereof, or shall refuse to work for any member or mem-
bers of this corporation, the Board of Directors shall, upon appli-
cation, cause investigation to be made, and if the Board of Di-
rectors shall find that such union or association is at fault .. .
this corporation shall render to such member or members of this
corporation the, fullest moral support, and shall pay such ex-
penses, incurred by, such member in any strike, lockout or other
labor trouble caused by such action of the Union, association or
member or members thereof, as shall be approved and limited
by the Board of Directors of this corporation in advance.5
This corporation shall have power to establish policies for its
members and the corporation in all matters relating to labor
contracts and labor ;controversies and to the enforcement and
performance thereof and'shall have power to represent and act
on behalf of its members, either itself or through other agencies
to be designated by the Board of Directors, in any negotiations
with unions of longshoremen or other employees ashore, and any
contracts, commitments or undertakings made on behalf of the
members of this corporation pursuant to the provisions hereof
with any union shall bind the members of this corporation.6
The penalty for violating the above-mentioned sections of the bylaws
by a member is suspension or expulsion from membership in the
Association.
The above-quoted provisions of the Association's articles of in-
corporation and bylaws were operative at the time of the hearing.
From the testimony of F. J. McGowen, president of the Association,
it is clear that in the exercise of its broad powers, the Association
formulates general labor policies for its members and, in addition,
endeavors to maintain uniformity in respect to disputes, hours, rates
of pay, and working conditions among all employers of longshoremen
in the Los Angeles harbor area, including non-members.
IV. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On several occasions late in 1938, and early in 1939, Local 13 re-
quested the Association for recognition as the collective bargaining
representative of the bosses employed by the Companies. During Jan-
Article XVII of the Association 's By-Laws. Italics added.
Article XVIII of the Association 's By-Laws. Italico added.
146 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
nary 1939, Local 13 presented to the Association a proposed con-
tract covering such employees. On all occasions the Association
refused to bargain with Local 13 as representative of the employees
in question. The Companies, moreover, dispute Local 13's claim
that it represents a majority of the employees. Both the Companies
and the Association desire that an election be held by the Board as
a prerequisite to any certification of Local 13 as bargaining repre-
sentative of the bosses. In addition, the parties disagree as to what
constitutes an appropriate bargaining unit.
Two of the Companies, namely Consolidated Steamship Company
and Port of Los Angeles Stevedoring and 'Ballast Company,.are not
members of the Association, and have conferred no authority on it to
represent them in their labor relations. Each of these companies,
moreover, employs only one boss. As we have frequently noted, the
Act does not empower the Board to certify collective bargaining
representatives where only one employee is involved.7 Under the
circumstances, no question concerning representation has arisen as to
employees of these companies. We shall dismiss the. petitions for
investigation and certification of representatives with respect to them.
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation
of employees of the Companies which are members of the Association.
These Companies are listed in Appendix "A," attached hereto and
made a part hereof.
V. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Companies
which are described in Section I above, tends to lead to labor disputes
burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce.
VI. THE APPROPRIATE. UNIT
The petitions filed by Local 13 with respect to each of the Com-
panies alleged the Association to be an employer handling labor
relations for each such company. The petitions further alleged that
the bosses employed by each of the Companies and the Association
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing. At the hearing, it was clear that Local 13 was seeking a port-
wide bargaining unit embracing all of the bosses in the employ of the
This conclusion does not mean that a single employee may not designate a representa-
tive to act for him ; he had such a right without the Act, and the Act in no way limits
the right . See Matter of Luckenbach steamship Company, Inc., et al. and Gatemen,
Watchmen, and Miscellaneous Waterfront Workers Union , Local SP -124 ; International Long.
shoremen 's Association, 2 N. L. R. B. 181, 193.
ASSOCIATED BANNING COMPANY 147
Companies which were members of the Association. The Companies
contend that there should be separate bargaining units, each re-
stricted to the bosses in the employ of a particular company.
For several years all of the Companies listed in Appendix "A"
have been members of the Association. At all times the Association
has possessed broad powers to represent its members in collective
bargaining, in the settlement of disputes and grievances, and in the
handling of "all matters relating to labor." The Association, more-
over, has exercised these powers on numerous occasions, particularly
with respect to the Companies' relations with their ordinary
longshoremen.
Employer associations formed by various shipping and stevedore
companies are a familiar device for the purpose of stabilizing labor
relations in given harbor areas. Associations exist in the ports of
San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle and are similar to that here
involved. The four existing associations on the West Coast function
through a large organization known as Waterfront Employers As-
sociation of the Pacific Coast, herein called the' Pacific Coast Asso-
ciation. The Pacific Coast Association itself formulates general
matters of labor policy for all its members.
The development of labor organizations for longshoremen on the
West Coast has been similar to the development of employer associa-
tions. International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union,
District No. 1, herein called I. L. W. U., is an organization with
jurisdiction extending over the entire West Coast. It is the parent
organization of local unions in each of the various harbor areas
on the West Coast. Substantially all contracts and disputes in-
volving I. L. W. U. members are negotiated and settled for them
by their unions, which deal directly with the employers' associations
described above.
14. P. Melnilow, director of the Pacific Coast Labor Bureau, testi-
fied that during his numerous conferences on behalf of I. L. W. U.
or one of its locals, with representatives of the, various employer as-
sociations, such representatives had insisted that there be no separate
negotiations between a union and individual companies relative to
contracts, disputes, or other labor problems. Further, Melnikow
emphasized the importance of uniform agreements relative to wages,
hours, and other working conditions as a means of promoting har-
monious relations in the industry. It is clear that contracts made
with effective employer associations tend to establish uniformity
which could be achieved only with difficulty, if at all, in contracts
with individual companies. On this ground Local 13 urges that
an agreement made with the Association covering the bosses in this
case is preferable to separate agreements with each of the Companies.
148 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
'Since 1934 the Association and the other regional associations on the
West Coast have participated in the making of agreements affecting
the labor relations of their members The Association and the other
associations all were parties to a coast-wide agreement covering long-
shoremen, known as the 1934 Award, and to agreements amending the
1.934 Award, known as the 1937 and 1938 Agreements. An agent of the
Association negotiated a port-wide agreement covering marine clerks
in the Los Angeles harbor area. The Association also represented its
members in negotiating an agreement covering carloaders and a tenta-
tive agreement relative to Social Security reports covering employees
of its members. The association in the Portland harbor area has
-negotiated an agreement covering bosses in that harbor area, within a
-port-wide bargaining unit similar to that now sought by Local 13.
The 1938 Agreement,, covering. longshore ..work over virtually the
entire West Coast, is effective for 1 year. It is automatically renew-
able from year to year thereafter in the absence of notice given by
either party at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the term pro-
vided in the agreement. This agreement was made applicable to the
following occupations :
Longshoremen, gang bosses, hatch tenders, winch drivers, don-
key drivers, boom men, burton men, sack turners, side runners,
front men, jitney drivers, lift jitney drivers, and any other person
doing longshore work as defined in this section.
In addition to providing for wages, hours, working conditions, and
the maintenance of hiring halls, the agreement establishes in each of
four harbor areas a "Labor Relations Committee" composed of repre-
sentatives from the I. L. W. U. local and the employers' association in
such harbor area. Under the agreement each such committee is
charged with a number of duties, including the maintenance of the hir-
ing halls, registration of longshoremen, settlement of all grievances,
and the decision of "any other question of mutual concern relating to
the industry and not covered by this agreement." 8 The 1938 Agree-
ment also establishes permanent arbiters, one for the entire West Coast,
and one for each harbor area. Under its terms, arbitration may be
had whenever the Labor Relations Committee or the parties to the
agreement disagree on "any question involving a basic interpretation
of the agreement or any other question of mutual concern not covered
by this contract relating to the industry . . ." 9
Neither marine clerks nor bosses are specifically included in the 1938
Agreement. The marine clerks in the Los Angeles harbor area, how-
ever, are covered by a collective bargaining contract known as the
s Section 10 of the 1938 Agreement. Italics added.
0 Section 9 of the 1938 Agreement.
ASSOCIATED BANNING CONTPANY 149
Marine Clerks Agreement and dated April 20, 1937. This agreement
was negotiated for the employers by an organization styled in the cap-
tion of the agreement as "Employers of Los Angeles-Long Beach
Harbors," which is substantially the same organization as the Associa-
tion and which in this instance acted as agent of the Association.I°
The agreement established rates of pay and hours of clerks, and a sys-
tem of settling disputes before a "Labor Relations Committee" com-
posed of representatives from the organizations of employees and of
employers.
During the hearing, considerable evidence was introduced on the
question of whether the provisions for the settlement of disputes in
the 1938 Agreement, and those which preceded it, were applicable to
controversies among workers in longshore occupations not specifically
enumerated in the longshoremen's agreements. By virtue of these
provisions, the Labor Relations Committee is empowered not only to
settle disputes and grievances which develop among workers in certain
specified occupations, but to settle "any other question of mutual con-
cern relating to the industry" and not specifically covered by the agree-
ments. In the event that the Labor Relations Committee fails to solve
any such question, it is then referred for decision to an arbiter. This
machinery for settlement of disputes has been interpreted by arbiters in
two decisions, known respectively as the Morse decision and the Rosen-
shine decision, as properly invoked whenever disputes in question lead
to a cessation of work in the industry. These two decisions involved
controversies over the use of liftboards, work which admittedly did not
fall within the occupations listed in the longshoremen's agreements.
Nevertheless, the arbiters found that such controversies would lead to
a cessation of work and disrupt the peace in the industry and were
properly considered under the aforesaid provisions for settlement of
disputes. Since the arbitration provisions are not limited to disputes
arising among workers in occupations specifically named in the agree-
ments, disputes involving bosses evidently might properly be consid-
ered under these provisions.
As already noted, all of the Companies listed in Appendix "A" have
been members of the Association for several years, and the Associa-
tion during this time has possessed broad powers to represent them
in collective bargaining. The Association has frequently exercised its
"Members of both organizations are for the most part , if not entirely , the same. The
agreement was signed for the employers :
Enli ' LOYERS LABOR RELATIONS CO M MITTEE,
F. J. McGowEN.
E. Nicrtocs.
The Companies and Local 13 stipulated that F. J. McGowen and E. Nichols are members
of the Labor Relations Committee of the Association. McGowen, president of the Associa-
tion, testified that this agreement was signed for the employers by "The Employers' Labor
Relations Board with the authority of the Board of Directors" of the Association.
150 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
broad bargaining powers on behalf of the employers whose bosses
Local 13 claims to, represent. On one occasion, it authorized execu-
tion of a collective bargaining agreement covering the marine clerks
employed by substantially all of the companies which are its mem-
bers. There is no apparent reason why the Association having rep-
resented the Companies in their bargaining relations with most of
their employees, should not also represent them in their relations with
the bosses here involved.
Despite the foregoing considerations, the Companies urge that the
Board has no power to fix a bargaining unit broader than the indi-
vidual employer unit. As we have frequently stated, however, the
Board is expressly authorized by the Act to decide that the "employer"
unit is the unit most appropriate for purposes of collective bargain-
.ing. The Act includes within the term employer "any person acting
in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly," and the term
person "includes one or more ... associations . . ." We find that
Association is in fact an employer within the meaning of the Act."
The Companies' contention thus is without merit.
Indeed, the precedent existing in the industry might well be said
to suggest the propriety of a coast-wide bargaining unit for bosses.
In the absence, however, of any organization of bosses seeking to
represent them in a coast-wide unit, we are of the opinion that the
policies of the Act may best be effectuated by now restricting the unit
to bosses employed by members of the Association in the Los Angeles
harbor area. The bosses should not be denied the benefits of the Act
pending organization of the bosses in the other harbor areas.12
The Companies introduced much evidence to show that the bosses
are supervisory employees closely identified with the management,
apparently for the purpose of establishing that the bosses should not
be permitted to enjoy the rights guaranteed to employees by the Act.
It appears that in fact the bosses have power to recommend the dis-
charge of employees, but are inferior in rank both to superintendents
and to assistant superintendents. In addition, gang bosses and hatch
tenders, who are subordinate to the bosses, also may recommend dis-
11 See Matter of Shipowners ' Association of the Pacific Coast, et at. and International
Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, District No. 1, 7 N. L. R. B. 1002 ; Matter
of Mobile Steamship Association , et at . and International Longshoremen's and Warehouse-
men's Union, 8 N. L. R . B. 1297; and Matter of Alston Coal Company and Progressive
Mine Workers of America, International Union , affiliated with American Federation of
Labor, 13 N. L. R. B. 683. See also Matter of Admiar Rubber Company and American
Federation of Labor on behalf of Employees of Company , 9 N. L. It . B. 407 ; and Matter
of Monon Stone Company , et al. and Quarry Workers ' International Union of North
America, 10 N. L. R. B. 64.
"Matter of R. C. A. Communications, Inc. and American Radio Telegraphists ' Associa-
tion, 2 N. L. R. B . 1109; and Matter of Mackay Radio Corporation of Delaware, Inc. and
Mackay Radio t Telegraph Company, a Corporation and American Radio Telegraphists'
Association, 5 N. L. R . B. 657. -
ASSOCIATED BANNING COMPANY 151
charges.13 Most bosses are registered longshoremen and, when not
working as bosses, work as longshoremen. Most of them are shown
to be members of Local 13 and to desire representation by it. In
other ports labor organizations represent the bosses. Bosses are gen-
erally regarded as ordinary employees and in a number of instances
are hired through hiring halls in the same manner as other longshore-
men. Like the other longshoremen, the bosses for the most part are
paid on an hourly basis. Under these circumstances, we do not feel
that the bosses should be barred from the enjoyment of the rights,
guaranteed them under the Act,14 merely on the ground that they
perform certain supervisory functions.
The Companies further contend that since in an earlier case the
Board excluded bosses from the unit of longshoremen found appro-
priate for collective bargaining,15 the Board by certifying Local 13 as
the bargaining representative of the bosses in this case would be
doing, in effect, what it refused to do in the earlier case. The Act,
however, cannot be construed to prevent one union from acting as
representative of more than one group or class of employees for the
purpose of collective bargaining. Under Section 7 employees are
entitled to be represented by bargaining agents "of their own choos-
ing . . ." Majorities within two or more separate bargaining units
are as fully entitled to select the same bargaining representative,",
as they are to select different representatives.
We find that all of the ship and dock bosses employed by those
Companies which are members of the Association,"' constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that said
unit will insure to the bosses the full benefit of their right to self-
organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate
the policies of the Act.
VII. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
During the hearing, lists of the bosses employed by all of the Com-
panies, except John -E. Marshall, Inc.,18 were admitted in evidence
78 Gang bosses and hatch tenders are considered longshore workers and are included
in the 1938 Agreement and those which preceded it.
14 See Matter of Shell Petroleum Corporation and Oil Workers International Union, Local
No. 867, 9 N. L. R. B. 831; and Matter of Wills Overland Motors, Inc. and International
Union, United Automobile Workers of America, Local No. 12, 9 N. L. R. B. 924.
15 Matter of Shipowners' Association of the Pacific Coast, et al. and International Long-
shoremen's and J17arehousemen's Union, District No. 1, 7 N. L. R. B. 1002.
18 In the Shipowners' Association case the unit under consideration' as of a coast-wide
character ; more than one union was involved, one of which had a separate local for
bosses ; and bosses were deemed by the Board not to fall within the scope of the tern
"longshore labor" as described in the petition.
11 See Appendix "A . "
18 At the hearing, counsel for the Companies stated that John E. Marshall, Inc., "does
not employ steady foremen, although the foremen that they do employ are regular foremen
whom they obtain when the need arises." There is in evidence a letter from John E-
Marshall, Inc., to the same effect. .
152 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and bore the names of 104 bosses. Local 13 submitted documentary
proof of its claim to represent a majority of these men. The Com-
panies opposed certification on the basis of such proof. We find that
the question concerning representation which has arisen relative to
the bosses can best be resolved by holding an election by secret ballot
among them in the unit found to be appropriate in Section VI above,
-to determine whether or not the bosses within the appropriate unit
desire to be represented by Local 13. The interests of all parties will
best be served by permitting those bosses to vote whose names appear
on the Companies' pay rolls immediately preceding the date of the
Direction of Election herein.
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and upon the
entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of the ship and dock bosses employed by the Companies
listed in Appendix "A," within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and
Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. Questions concerning the representation of the ship and dock
bosses employed by Los Angeles and San Francisco Navigation Co.,
Ltd., Seaboard 'T'ransportation Company, Consolidated Steamship
Company, and Port of Los Angeles Stevedoring and Ballast Com-
pany, have not arisen.
3. Waterfront Employers Association of Southern California and
the Companies listed in Appendix "A" are employers within the
meaning of Section 2 (2) of the Act.
4. All of the ship and dock bosses employed by the Companies listed
in Appendix "A," and which are members of Waterfront Employers
Association of Southern California, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining, Within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
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 Relations Act,
49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining
with the Waterfront Employers Association of Southern California,
as representative of the Companies listed in Appendix "A," an election
by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible but not later
than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction of Election,
ASSOCIATED BANN[NG COMPANY 153
under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the
Twenty-first Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National
Labor Relations Board, subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules
and Regulations, among all of the ship and clock bosses employed by
all of the Companies listed in Appendix "A," during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of this Direction including
those ship and dock bosses who did not work during such pay-roll
period because they were ill or on vacation and those who were then
or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding all ship and dock
bosses who have since quit or have been discharged for cause, to deter-
mine whether or not they desire to be represented by International
Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, Local 1-13, for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petitions for investigation and certifi-
cation of representatives of employees of Los Angeles and San Fran-
cisco Navigation Co., Ltd., Seaboard Transportation Company, Con-
solidated Steamship Company, and Port of Los Angeles Stevedoring
and Ballast Company, be, and they hereby are, dismissed.
APPENDIX "A"
Associated Banning Company.
Crescent Wharf and Warehouse
Company.
Hammond Shipping Co., Ltd.
Marine Terminals Corporation.
John E. Marshall, Inc.
Matson Navigation Company.
McCormick Steamship Company.
Metropolitan Stevedoring Com-
pany
Outer Harbor Dock and Wharf
Company.
P. F. Soto Shipping Company,
Ltd.
Southwestern Stevedoring Com-
pany.
Seaboard Stevedoring Company.