Cherokee Brick Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsFeb 4, 1946

65 N.L.R.B. 793 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the 'Matter Of CHEROKEE BRICK COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF MINE, MILL AND SMELTER WORKERS, C. I. O. Case No. 10-R-1622.-Decided February 4, 1946 Jones, Jones, and Sparks, by Mr. A. 0. B. Sparks,-of Macon, Ga., for the Company. Mr. Charles H. Wilson, of Macon, Ga., for the Smelter Workers. Mr. J. B. Pate, of Macon, Ga., and Mr. James F. Barrett, of Atlanta, Ga., for the Brick Workers. Mr. Warren H. Leland, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, C. I. 0., herein called the Smelter Workers, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Cherokee Brick Company, Macon, Georgia, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before T. T. Purdom, Trial Examiner. The hearing was held at Macon, Georgia, on October 26, 1945. The Company, the Smelter Workers, and United Brick & Clay Workers, affiliated with American Federa- tion of Labor, herein called the Brick Workers, appeared and par- ticipated.' All parties 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. All parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Cherokee Brick Company is a Georgia corporation, with its princi- pal office and place of business at Macon, Georgia, where it is engaged 'At the hearing, the Brick Workers ' motion to intervene in its own behalf was granted. At the same time the American Federation of Labor ' s motion to intervene in behalf of the Brick Workers was also granted 65 N. L . R. B., No. 135. 793 794 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of brick, tile, and other burned clay products at its two plants, known as the Cherokee plant and the Bibb plant. During the first 6 months of 1945, the Company purchased raw materials,2 consisting of coal and natural gas valued at approximately $50,000, of which approximately 100 percent was received from sources or shipped from points outside the State of Georgia. During the same period, the sales of the Company amounted to approximately $320,000, of which approximately 22 per- cent was shipped to points outside of the State of Georgia. The Company admits, and we find, that it is engaged in comm^rce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. United Brick & Clay Workers, affiliated with the American Federa- tion of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Smelter Workers as the exclusive representative of certain of its employees until the Smelter Workers has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the' hearing, indicates that the Smelter Workers represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.3 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 Act.- IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT We find, in substantial accordance with the agreement of the par- ties, and based upon the entire record, that all production and main- tenance employees and watchmen of the Company at both its Macon plants (Cherokee and Bibb plants), excluding office and clerical em- 2 The raw material , clay, used by the Company in the manufacture of its products, is not purchased , but is mined at the Company ' s clay pits in Bibb County , Georgia. 2 The Field Examiner reported that the Smelter workers submitted 89 application-for- membership cards, of which 62 were from the Cherokee plant and 27 from the Bibb plant ; and that there were approximately 171 employees in the alleged appropriate unit, of which 86 were at the Cherokee plant and 85 were at the Bibb plant. At the hearing, the Trial Examiner stated on the record that the Brick workers had submitted to him 20 application -for-membership cards. CHEROKEE BRICK COMPANY 795 ployees, executives, foremen, and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, 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 in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay- roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elec- tion 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 Rela- tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it 'is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Cherokee Brick Company, Macon, Georgia, an election by secret ballot shall be con- ducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Re- gional Director for the Tenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sec- tions 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Di- rection, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who pre- sent themselves in person at the polls, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether they desire to be represented by International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, C. I. 0., or by United Brick & Clay Work- ers, affiliated with American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.