International Paper Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsOct 9, 1953

106 N.L.R.B. 1245 (N.L.R.B. 1953)

INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY, CONTAINER DIVISION 1245 determination until we have first ascertained the desires of the employees to be expressed in separate elections among the following groups of employees at the Employer's Jacksonville, Illinois, plant: (a) All maintenance employees, including general mechanics, but excluding all production employees, janitors, office clerical employees, professional and technical employees, guards, watchmen , gatemen , and supervisors as defined in the Act. (b) All production employees, including truckdrivers, plant clerical employees, and supervisory trainees, but excluding office clerical employees, professional and technical employees, guards, watchmen, gatemen, and supervisors as defined in the Act. If a majority of the employees in voting group (a) vote for the Boilermakers, the employees in that voting group willbe taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate appro- priate unit, and the Regional Director conducting the election herein is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the Boilermakers for a unit comprising employees in that voting group, which the Board, under such circumstances finds to be appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain- ing. If a majority of the employees in voting groups (a) and (b), respectively, vote for the Petitioner, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a single appropriate unit, and the Regional Director is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to such labor organization for a unit com- prising employees in both voting groups, which unit the Board, under such circumstances, finds to be appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining. [The Board set aside the election held on July 31, 1953. ] [Text of Second Direction of Elections omitted from publica- tion.] INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY, CONTAINER DIVISION and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCAL 501, A. F. of L.,t Petitioner INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY, CONTAINER DIVISION and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PULP, SUL- PHITE AND PAPER MILL WORKERS, A. F. of L.,2 Pe- titioner. Cases Nos. 21-RC-3206 and 21-RC-3213. October 9, 1953 DECISION, ORDER, AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing in the above-consoli- iHerein called the Operating Engineers. 2 Herein called the Brotherhood. 106 NLRB No 215 1246 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD dated cases 3 was held before Carl Abrams, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.4 Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds: 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the mean- ing of the Act. 2. The labor organizations named herein claim to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the rep- resentation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The Brotherhood seeks an election in a unit of all manu- facturing, shipping, and maintenance employees at the Em- ployer's Los Angeles plant, currently represented by GBBAS The Operating Engineers, in its petition, sought to sever from this unit all boiler operators, relief boiler operators, me- chanics, and helpers, comprising the maintenance department, but amended its request at the hearing to seek, in the al- ternative, any unit or units of maintenance employees deemed appropriate by the Board. Neither the Brotherhood nor Print- ing Specialties opposes a self-determination election for maintenance employees, but GBBA would deny the requested severance because of the bargaining history, and the Employer, in its brief, moves to dismiss the Operating Engineers' petition on the ground that the unit sought is inappropriate. At the plant herein involved,6 the Employer manufactures mainly corrugated paper board shipping cartons. Factory operations are performed in a 2-story building and production is on a 3-shift basis. There are about 160 manufacturing, shipping, and maintenance employees working in 5 depart- ments: corrugator and rolling stock, cutting, finishing, ship- ping, and maintenance. A foreman is in charge of the main- tenance department, which has 5 mechanics, including a leadman, and 4 boiler operators, including 1 being trained as a relief operator. The mechanics use a machine shop on the second floor, which has a surface and a bench grinder, a .drill press, an engine lathe, a power hacksaw, and a gas and 30n July 21, 1953, the Regional Director, pursuant to Section 102.64 (b) of the Board's Rules and Regulations, Series 6, consolidated these proceedings. 4Glass Bottle Blowers Association of the United States and Canada, A. F. of L , and its Local 224, herein called GBBA, was permitted to intervene in both cases on the basis of contractual interest. Printing Specialties & Paper Products Union No. 388, herein called Printing Specialties, was permitted to intervene in Case No. 21-RC- 3213 on the basis of a showing of interest. 6 in 1947, the Employer bought this plant, then referred to as the Vernon plant, from Owens-Illinois Glass Company, which had another plant nearby. The Employer assumed, for the Vernon plant, the GBBA contract, which covered production and maintenance em- ployees at both plants. in 1949, the Brotherhood sought the same unit as it seeks herein, and was opposed by GBBA and the Employer on the ground, inter alia, of a two- employer bargaining history. The Board directed an election which GBBA won, and, in 1950, GBBA was certified for the two-employer unit. International Paper Company, 88 NLRB 71. 6 The Employer has other plants in its container division throughout the United States, which are not involved in this proceeding INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY , CONTAINER DIVISION 1247 an electric welder , but most of their time is spentonmain- tenance and repair jobs inside and outside the plant. While individual mechanics may have specialized experience as machinists , electricians , pipefitters , or other craftmen, the Employer does not hire or classify them as such , and they perform any maintenance task within their capabilities. The boiler operators , one for each shift and the relief man, spend about 25 percent of their time operating an automatic boiler in the boilerroom on the first floor and the rest of their time performing various maintenance , repair , and odd jobs throughout the plant . It further appears that the Employer has no formal training program for maintenance employees and, when practicable , fills vacancies in the maintenance de- partment by posting in the plant . Moreover , the maintenance employees share the same benefits and working conditions as the manufacturing and shipping employees in the existing unit. In the light of the bargaining history on the basis of a production and maintenance unit , it is clear that the Operating Engineers ' primary request for severance of a unit of all maintenance department employees should not be granted.7 As to its alternative unit request , we conclude from the entire record that no group of maintenance department employees constitutes a sufficiently identifiable and homogeneous craft group to warrant a self-determination election .8 As no other basis exists for the requested severance , we shall grant the Employer's motion to dismiss the petition in Case No. 21-RC-3206. We find that all employees engaged in manufacturing, maintenance , and shipping at the Employer ' s Los Angeles, California , plant, excluding office clerical employees, pro- fessional employees , guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act , constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of the Act. [The Boarddismissed the petition in Case No . 21-RC-3206.1 [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] Chairman Farmer took no part in the consideration of the above Decision , Order , and Direction of Election. 7 W. C. Hamilton and Sons , 104 NLRB 627. 8Rockwood & Company, 106 NLRB 1075 , Gunnison Homes, Inc., 98 NLRB 1048; Columbia Southern Chemical Corporation , 97 NLRB 1555.