Blake, Moffitt & Towne

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 17, 1938

4 N.L.R.B. 945 (N.L.R.B. 1938)

In the Matter of BLAKE, MOFFITT & TOWNE and INTERNATIONAL LONG-
SHOREMEN'S & WAREHOUSEMEN'S UNION No. 134
Case No. R-423.-Decided January 17, 1938
Paper and Paper Products Distribution-Investigation of Representatives:
controversy concerning representation of employees : rival organizations ; recog-
nition of one of rival organizations as bargaining agent of its employees simul-
taneous with notice to Board that it desired to be impartial and would negotiate
with any bargaining representative which the Board might designate-Unit
Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : warehouse employees ; no controversy
as to-Election Ordered
Mr. David Sokol, for the Board.
Cushing di Cushing, by Mr. Erwin E. Richter of San Francisco,
Calif., for the Company.
Mr. Carey McWilliams, of Los Angeles, Calif., for the Longshore-
men.
Rosecrans i Emme, by Mr. Joseph R. McGuire and Mr. Otto J.
Emme, of Los Angeles, Calif., for the Teamsters.
Mr. Daniel J. Harrington, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On September 16, 1937, International Longshoremen's and Ware-
housemen's Union, No. 126,1 herein called the Longshoremen, 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 representation of employees of Blake,
Moffitt & Towne, herein called the Company, at its Los Angeles,
California, plant and requesting an investigation and certification of
representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Re-
lations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On October 4, 1937,
the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting
pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of
1 The pleadings incorrectly designated the Union as International Longshoremen's &
Warehousemen 's Union, No. 134.
945
946 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as
amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Di-
rector to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon
due notice.
On October 9, 1937, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear-
ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, upon the
Longshoremen, and upon the Central Labor Councils at Bakersfield,
San Diego, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara, California. On October
18, 1937, the hearing was postponed. On October 29, 1937, the Re-
gional Director issued an amended notice of hearing, copies of which
were duly served upon the Company, upon the Longshoremen, upon
the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen,
and Helpers of America, herein called the Teamsters, a labor organi-
zation claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investi-
gation, upon the Central Labor Council, Los Angeles, California,
and upon the Los Angeles Industrial Union Council, Los Angeles,
California'. Pursuant to the amended notice, a hearing was held on
November 4 and 10, 1937, at Los Angeles, California, before George
Rochester, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The
Board, the Company, the Longshoremen, and the Teamsters were
represented by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full oppor-
tunity to be heard, to examine and to cross-examine witnesses, and to
introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties.
During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several
rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence.
The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds
that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Company, a California corporation, having its office in San
Francisco, California, and branch offices in Los Angeles, San Diego,
Fresno, Stockton, Sacramento, San Jose, and Oakland, California,
is engaged in the distribution of paper and paper products. It owns
and holds a majority of the capital stock of the following corpora-
tions : Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Seattle, Washington ; Blake, Moffitt &
Towne, Portland, Oregon ; Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Phoenix and
Tucson, Arizona; Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Boise, Idaho; Tacoma
Paper & Stationery Co., Tacoma, Washington. The several corpora-
tions, all engaged in the distribution of paper and paper products,
operate to a considerable extent under the supervision of the directors
1
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 947
and officers of the Company. Merchandise, which is purchased by
the companies from mills located in Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin,
Ohio, Massachusetts, and other States, is shipped to points within and
without the State of California. We are here concerned only with
the Los Angeles branch of the Company.
The Los Angeles branch, which consists of a branch office and a
warehouse, obtains merchandise from and makes shipments to points
both within and without California. Its operations are interrelated
with those of the companies mentioned above in that the Los Angeles
branch at times receives shipments of merchandise from the com-
panies for reshipment to customers of the companies inside and out-
side of California. During the period from January 1, 1937 to
October 1, 1937, in excess of 73 per cent of all products purchased by
the Company, through the California branches of the Company, in-
cluding the Los Angeles branch, were obtained from points outside of
California, 'and in excess of 28 per cent of all products sold by the
Company, through such branches, were shipped to points outside of
California.2
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The International Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union, No.
126, is a labor organization affiliated with the Committee for Indus-
trial Organization, admitting to its membership all warehouse em-
ployees of the Company, excluding office workers, supervisory
employees, and cutters. Most of the members of Local No. 126 were
formerly members of International Longshoremen's Association,
Local No. 134. However, the members of the latter union decided
about June 1937, by referendum vote to affiliate with the Committee
for Industrial Organization and about September 1937, a charter was
issued by the Committee for Industrial Organization to International
Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union, No. 126.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stable-
men, and Helpers of America, Local No. 208, is a labor organization
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. It admits to its
membership all warehouse employees of the Company, excluding office
workers, supervisory employees, and cutters.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Longshoremen and the Teamsters each claim to represent a
majority of the warehouse employees of the Company at its Los
Angeles, California, plant, and each notified the Company of its
2 The above facts relative to the business of the Company were stipulated to by the
Company and counsel for the Board.
948 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
claim. By a letter dated September 22, 1937, the Company recog-
nized the Teamsters as the bargaining agent of the employees of the
Company at the Los Angeles plant. On the same date, the Company
notified the Regional Director for the Twenty-first Region that the
Company desired to be impartial in the matter and that it would
negotiate with any bargaining representative which the Board might
designate.
We find that a question has arisen concerning representation of
employees of the Company.
IV. 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 Company
described in Section 1 above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic and commerce among the several States, and
tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
In its petition the Longshoremen allege that all warehousemen and
drivers of the Company employed at the Los Angeles plant constitute
an appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining. At the
hearing, all parties were in agreement that the term "warehouse
employees" should include receiving clerks, truck drivers, swampers,
warehousemen, and building maintenance employees, but should ex-
clude clerical employees, supervisory employees, and cutters. The
term is so used herein. Neither the Company nor the Teamsters
raised objection to the unit which the Longshoremen claimed was
the appropriate one. It appeared that exclusion of the cutters from
the appropriate unit was sought for the reason that all cutters at the
Los Angeles plant of the Company are members of the Bookbinder's
Union.
We find that the warehouse employees of the Company at its Los
Angeles, California, plant, excluding clerical employees, supervisory
employees, and cutters, constitute a unit appropriate for the purpose
of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees
of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and
to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the
Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Company employs approximately 60 warehouse employees at
its Los Angeles plant. The Longshoremen submitted in evidence
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 949
membership application cards signed during July 1937, by 49 em-
ployees. It also submitted in evidence a paper, signed between
November 3 and 10, 1937, by 29 employees, stating that the signers
were members of the Longshoremen. The Teamsters introduced in
evidence a paper, signed about November 3, 1937, by 43 employees,
stating that the signers were members of the Teamsters. Thirty-four
employees, 11 of whom signed Longshoremen membership application
cards, signed both membership lists.
We believe that, under these circumstances, the question concern-
ing representation can best be resolved by the holding of an election
by secret ballot to determine whether the employees in question desire
to be represented by the Longshoremen, or by the Teamsters, for
the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.
Upon the basis of the above 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 employees of Blake, Moffitt & Towne at its Los Angeles,
California, plant, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section
2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The warehouse employees of the Company at its Los Angeles,
California, plant, excluding clerical employees, supervisory em-
ployees, and cutters, 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, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended,
it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as . part of the investigation authorized by the
Board to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with
Blake, Moffitt & Towne, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted
within twenty (20) days from the date of this Direction, 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, and subject to Article III, Section 9, of Said Rules
and Regulations, among the warehouse employees of Blake, Moffitt &
Towne employed at its Los Angeles, California, plant, during the
pay-roll period next preceding the date of the filing of the petition
950 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
in this case, excluding clerical employees, supervisory employees,
and cutters, and those who have since quit or been discharged for
cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by Inter-
national Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union, No. 126, or In-
ternational Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and
Helpers of America, Local No. 208, for the purposes of collective
bargaining, or by neither.
MR. DONALD WAKEFIELD SMITH took no part in the consideration
of the above Decision and Direction of Election.