Chapman & Dewey Lumber Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsMay 18, 1942

41 N.L.R.B. 29 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter Of CHAPMAN & DEWEY LUMBER COMPANY and INTER- NATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE CON- GRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS Case No. R-3763.Decided May 18, 194 Jurisdiction : wood flooring and box manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: con- flicting claims of rival organizations; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance employees at one of Company's plants, including a checker who also handles lumber and an experimental worker, but excluding clerical employees, watch- men, traffic men, engineers with special licenses, supervisory employees, ship- ping employees, checkers, lumber inspectors, assistant foremen, and tempo- rary construction employees. Mr. E. H. Chapman, of Memphis, Tenn., and Mr. George Kame- now, of Detroit, Mich., for the Company. Mr. Harry Koger, Mr. Ray Browder, and Mr. William R. Hender- son, of Memphis, Tenn., for the C. I. O. Mr. H. J. Burbach, of Memphis, Tenn., for the A. F. of L. Mrs. Augusta Spaulding, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by International Woodworkers of Amer- ica, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, herein called the C. I. 0., alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Chapman & Dewey Lumber Company, Memphis, Tennessee, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an ap- propriate hearing upon due notice before Charles A. Kyle, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Memphis, Tennessee, on April 22, 1942. The Company, the C. I. 0., and Upholsterers' Interna- national Union of North America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the A. F. of L., appeared and participated.' All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, 'United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, although served kith notice of hearing, did not appear. 41 N. L. R. B., No. 8 29 30 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 . The rulings are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Chapman & Dewey Lumber Company is engaged in the manlz- facture of southern hardwoods, floorings, boxes, and piling at its plant in Memphis, Tennessee, the only plant involved in this pro- ceeding. The raw materials used by the Company consist chiefly of rough lumber and paint. Practically all such materials, amounting annually in value to approximately $500,000, come to the Company's plant from points outside Tennessee. Sales of the Company's prod- ucts, consisting chiefly of flooring and boxes, amount annually in value to approximately $750,000. Such products are shipped from the Company's plant to points outside Tennessee. IT. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Woodworkers of America is' a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of ' Industrial Orgapizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. ` Upholsterers' International Union of North America is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, ad- mitting to membership employees of the Company. III. TILE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The C. I. O. and the A. F. of L. each claims to represent a majority of the Company's production and maintenance employees, at Memphis, Tennessee. The Company questions the majority of each organization. A statement prepared by the Trial Examiner indicates that the C. I. O. and the A. F. of L. each represents a substantial number of employees in the unit herein found appropriate. 'The C I 0 submitted to the Trial Examiner 156 applications for membership, dated between December 1, 1941, and March 3. 1942, of which 106 bear apparently genuine signatures of employees on the pay roll of April 18, 1942 The A F of L submitted 26 applications for membership , of which 23 bear apparently genuine signatures of employees on the pay roll of April 18 1942 There are about 210 employees' in the appropriate unit By agreement of the parties the Trial Examiner completed his check of cards after the close of the hearing and forwarded the statement of his findings to the Board at Washington The Trial Examiner ' s statement concerning the claims of the C. I. 0 and the A F of L to represent employees of the Company is hereby incorporated in, the record in this proceeding and made a part thereof i CHAP\IA\ & DEWEY LUMBER COMPANY 31 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 The parties agree that maintenance and production employees should be included in the bargaining unit. The parties further agree that clerical employees , watchmen , traffic men , engineers - with special licenses, and supervisory employees should be excluded from the bargaining unit. The parties disagree with respect to the inclusion of shipping employees , checkers, lumber inspectors , experimental workers, assistant foremen, and temporary construction employees. A. Shipping employees Everett Fleming is a shipping clerk who checks and counts the finished boxes leaving the plant. He does not pick up the boxes or do any manual work. He supervises 10 or 15 employees, who at his direction bring boxes from the mill to the loading platform and load them . He may recommend the hire or the discharge of such employees . Fleming keeps time for all employees in the box factory. He spends about 30 percent of his time in an office, which he shares with King, a. checking employee. Harold Young and another shipping clerk check and count floor- ing for shipment.. Neither man does any manual work. They super- vise the stacking of lumber by a working crew. They may recom- mend the hire or the discharge of such men . Fleming and the two shipping clerks check all the Company 's products that leave the plant. The Company and the C. I . O. would exclude , and the A. F. of L. would include , ,these three shipping employees . Since it appears that these shipping clerks are clerical employees , we shall exclude them with other clerical employees from a unit composed of produc- tion and maintenance employees. B. Checkers King checks the finished products, counting the number of boxes and estimating the amount of lumber used in them to determine the amount of waste. He spends about half- of his time in an office which he shares with Fleming. King has no supervisory duties. He does no manual work. The Company and the C. I. O. would exclude King, the A. F. of L. would include him. Since it appears that King is a checker and a clerical employee, we shall exclude him front the bargaining unit. 32 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Paul Ingle, listed as a checker on -the pay roll, tallies flooring as it passes on trucks from the flooring mill into the warehouse. Ingle spends about 10 percent of, his time inspecting this lumber N and marking the culls from the good lumber. He has no desk and is on his feet all the working day. Ingle turns the bundles of lumber for inspection and adjusts the position of such lumber as it is placed on trucks by negro helpers. The Company would exclude Ingle from the bargaining unit. The A. F. of L. and the C. I. 0. would include him. Since it appears that Ingle both handles and checks the lumber, we shall include him in the unit with other lumber handling employees. C. Lumber inspectors Two employees at the Company's plant, tally, inspect, and grade all incoming lumber. The Company considers them supervisors: They are skilled employees, paid at a much higher rate than those who carry and stack the lumber under their direction. They do not handle the lumber themselves. The C. I. 0. and the Company would exclude lumber inspectors from the unit, and the A. F. of L. would include them. Since it appears that lumber inspectors are supervisory employees, we shall exclude them from the bargaining unit. D. Experimental workers Walter Perry spends about 30 percent of his time making models according to specifications furnished by the Company or by its customers. From such models mass production is determined. Flem- ing, the shipping cleric noted above, also makes some models. Perry spends about 70 percent of his time in production work, replacing any production or maintenance employee who may be absent from work. The Company -would exclude. Perry as an experimental worker. 'The C. I. O. and A. F. of L. would include Perry as a production employee. Since it appears that Perry spends so large a proportion of his time in work done by production and maintenance employees, who the parties agreee should be included, we shall include Perry with such employees in the bargaining unit. E. Assistant foremen The parties agree that the general manager of the plant, the superintendent of the box plant, the superintendent of the flooring plant, the planing-mill foreman, and the superintendent of the yard are supervisory employees and should be excluded from the bargaining unit. ' The parties disagree with respect to Harry Sullivan and Noble Grinder, assistant foremen. The Company and the C. I. 0. would CHAPMAN '& DEWEY LUMBER- COMPANY ,33 exclude them from the bargaining unit, and the A. F. of L. would include them. Sullivan works under the supervision of the superintendent of the yard. He supervises a crew of 18 to 20 men. He checks all the rough lumber which' passes from the yard to the plant. He knows chat lumber and how much lumber is necessary-to fill orders which are given to him. He directs that lumber be piled or sent into the plant.. Grinder, like Sullivan, works under the yard superintendent. .Grinder is a- carpenter who supervises a gang of 12 to 15= men in the yard., ,Grinder spends about 5 percent of his -time in manual work, and about 95 percent of his time supervising and ilnstructing'his men. Since it appears that Sullivan and Grinder are supervisory em- ployees, we shall exclude, them from the unit composed of non-super- visory production employees. F. Temporary construction employees ' `Up to July 1941, the Company maintained its entire operations at Marked Tree, Arkansas. In July,1941, a fire destroyed the box and flooring plants. The Company transferred its box and flooring operations to Memphis, Tennessee, where the new plant involved in this proceeding is now almost entirely constructed. The plant opened about February 16, 1942. The Company expects that its construction work will be completed and that the plant will be ready for full operations about June 22, 1942. At the time of the hearing the Com- pany employed 7 millwrights and machinists and a yard crew of 12 construction employees. All these employees were hired as tem- porary employees for construction work. Most of the millwrights and machinists and 9 of the 12 construction yard employees were trans- ferred from the Company's Marked Tree plant on the understanding that the Company would return them to Marked Tree when the con- struction work at Memphis would be, completed. - At the time of the hearing, the 7 millwrights and machinists were not only setting up new machines, but were also doing all necessary maintenance work on the machines operated at the plant. When the plant is under full operation, the Company will need 3 maintenance men for its machines. The Company will also need about 17 more regular employees than are now on its pay roll. Although the Com- pany stated its willingness to employ any temporary construction em- ployee now on its pay roll who may wish -to remain at the Memphis plant and who is able to do the work which it may in the future require, it does not, appear that these construction employees who were hired 'for temporary work have sufficient expectation of employment with the Company at the Memphis plant to entitle them all to participate with regular employees in the selection of a bargaining representative. 463892-42-vol. 41-3 34 DECISIONS' OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS - BOARD The record affords no basis- on which to differentiate, among them.' For this reason we shall exclude all temporary construction .employees from the bargaining unit. We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Memphis, Tennessee, plant, including Paul Ingle and Walter Perry, but excluding clerical employees, watchmen, traffic men, engineers with special licenses, supervisory employees, shipping employees, checkers, lumber inspectors, assistant foremen, and tem- porary construction employees, constitute 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 within the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of Election, subject to the limitations and additions set forth- therein. 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 Rela- tions 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 Chapman & Dewey Lumber Company, Memphis, Tennessee, 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, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fifteenth 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 all employees of the Company, within the unit found appropriate in Section ITT, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in the-active military service or training of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding employees who have since quit or been 'discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by International Woodworkers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or by Upholsterers' International Union of North America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collec- tively bargaining, or by neither.