Chicago Mill and Lumber Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 7, 1946

71 N.L.R.B. 286 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter Of CHICAGO MILL AND LUMBER COMPANY, EMPLOYER and
INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, C. I. 0., PETITIONER
Case No. 15-R-1694.-Decided October 7,1946
Mr. C. E. Daggett, of Marianna, Ark., Mr. J. H. Dunn, of Helena,
Ark., and Messrs. R. M. Ware, Jr., and Paul R. Schwartz, both of Tal-
lulah, La., for the Employer.
Mr. F. C. Pieper, of New Orleans, La., for the Petitioner.
Mr. Martin 7'. Camacho, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Tallulah,
Louisiana, on July 30, 1946, before Thomas S. Adair, hearing officer.
The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from preju-
dicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. TIIE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Chicago Mill and Lumber Company is a Delaware corporation oper-
ating a plant at Tallulah, Louisiana, where it is engaged in the manu-
facture of lumber, veneer, and boxes. At its Tallulah plant, it annu-
ally manufactures in excess of $100,000 worth of products, 90 percent
of which is shipped out of the State.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress
of Industrial Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the
Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the
Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
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286
CHICAGO MILL AND LUMBER COMPANY 287
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The parties agree that a unit composed of all logging, woods, and
transportation employees, excluding supervisors and clerical workers,
is appropriate. They disagree as to the status of the locomotive
engineer, the train conductor, the section gang leaders, and the saw
filers. The Employer contends that these employees are supervisors,
the Petitioner that they are not.
Locomotive engineer and conductor: Together with a fireman and
two brakemen, the locomotive engineer and the conductor operate a
train which transports logs from the woods to the mill. The entire
train crew is under the general supervision of the transportation f ore-
man who is admittedly a supervisor. However, the conductor is in
immediate charge of the train crew including the engineer. Appar-
ently the fireman and the brakemen also receive orders from the loco-
motive engineer. The transportation foreman is a salaried employee,
whereas the locomotive engineer, the conductor, and the other train
crew members are hourly rated employees.
Section gang leaders: There are 2 section gang leaders, each of whom
is in charge of a crew of from 5 to 10 employees engaged in railroad
maintenance work. The gang leader is a working leader spending
part of his time in manual work and the balance in directing the
activities of his crew members. He receives orders, usually daily,
from the logging department foreman, concededly a supervisor, out-
lining the work to be done. Unlike the logging department foreman
who is salaried, the section gang leaders are hourly paid.
Saw filers: There are two saw filers each of whom is in charge of
crews of timber cutters. The saw filer spends about 3 hours of each
8-hour day in sharpening the saws used by the timber cutters. The
remainder of his time is spent in directing the work of the timber cut-
ters. The saw filers and the timber cutters are responsible to the cut
and haul foreman and the logging superintendent, both of whom are
acknowledged to be supervisors. The saw filers are hourly paid, the
cut and haul foreman and the logging superintendent are salaried,
and the timber cutters are paid on a footage basis.
Although the Employer contended that all these employees had the
power effectively to recommend a change in the status of their crew
members, it was not able to offer a single instance where such power
had in fact been exercised by these alleged supervisory employees.
Under all the circumstances, we are not convinced that the employees
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288 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
in dispute are supervisory employees within the Board's customary
definition. Accordingly, we shall include them in the unit.
We find that all logging, woods, and transportation employees of
the Employer, including locomotive engineer, conductor, section gang
leaders, and saw filers, but excluding clerical employees and all super-
visory 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 pur-
poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of
the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Chicago Mill and Lumber
Company, Tallulah, Louisiana, 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 Sections
203.55 and 203.56, of National, Labor Relations Board Rules and Regu-
lations-Series 4, 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 Direction, 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 present themselves in per-
son 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 or not they desire to
be represented by International Woodworkers of America, C. I. 0.,
for the purposes of collective bargaining.