Kimberly Clark Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 16, 1946

67 N.L.R.B. 347 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of ATLAS WALL PAPER DIVISION OF THE KIMBERLY CLARK
CORPORATION and LOCAL 298, INTERNATIONAL PRINTING PRESSMEN
AND ASSISTANTS' UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, A. F. OF L.
Case No. 13-R-3061.-Decided April 16, 1946
Messrs. S. N. Moe and M. H. Kettenho fen, both of Neenah, Wis., for
the Company.
Mr. Joseph B. Roche, of Chicago, Ill., and Mr. Clement B. Newcomb,
of Neenah, Wis., for the Pressmen.
Mr. Jerome Zapp, of Appleton, Wis., for the Independent.
Mr. Jerome J. Dick, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by Local 298, international Printing
Pressmen and Assistants' Union of North America, A. F. of L., herein
called the Pressmen, alleging that a question affecting commerce had
arisen concerning the representation of employees of Atlas Wall
Paper Division of the Kimberly Clark Corporation, Appleton, Wis-
consin, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations
Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before
Leon A. Rosell, Trial Examiner. The hearing was held at Appleton,
Wisconsin, on January 24, 1946. At the hearing the Trial Examiner
granted a motion of The Wallpaper Workers Union of the Fox River
Valley, herein called the Independent, to intervene in the proceeding.
The Company, the Pressmen, and the Independent 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. At the hearing the Company moved to dismiss
the petition on various grounds. For reasons hereinafter stated, the
motion to dismiss is denied. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at
the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
137 N. L. R. B., No. 48.
347
348 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Kimberly Clark Corporation is a Delaware corporation which
maintains plants in the States of Wisconsin and New York, where it
is engaged in the manufacture of pulp and paper products. This
proceeding is solely concerned with the Atlas Wall Paper Division
of the Kimberly Clark Corporation, which consists of a plant and a
warehouse in Appleton, Wisconsin, where wall paper is manufactured.
During the year 1945, the Atlas Wall Paper Division purchased raw
materials exceeding $500,000 in value, 40 percent of which was
shipped from points outside the State of Wisconsin. During the
same period, the sales of finished products of the Atlas Wall Paper
Division were approximately $1,000,000 in value, all of which were
shipped to points outside the State of Wisconsin.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Local 298, International Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union
of North America is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the
Company.
The Wallpaper Workers Union of the Fox River Valley is an un-
affiliated labor organization, admitting to membership employees
of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Pressmen, a few days prior to the filing of its petition on May
2, 1945, requested that the Company recognize it as the exclusive bar-
gaining representative of employees within an alleged appropriate
bargaining unit. The Company replied that it could not accord the
Pressmen the recognition sought because it had a contract with the
Independent which expired September 30, 1945, and that it was also in
the process of negotiating with the Independent for a new contract.
Subsequently, on September 29, 1945, the Company and the Inde-
pendent entered into a new contract, and the Company now urges that
this contract constitutes a bar to the proceeding.
Since the Company had notice of the Pressmen's claim to represen-
tation and request for recognition prior to the date on which the con-
tract of September 29, 1945, was executed, we find that this contract
KIMBERLY CLARK CORPORATION 349
cannot operate as a bar to an immediate determination of represen-
tatives.1
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear-
ing, indicates that the Pressmen represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.'
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
The Pressmen seeks a unit consisting of all the employees in the
printing department 3 and embossing department 4 of the Company's
Atlas Wall Paper Division, including journeymen color mixers, but
excluding the employees in the maintenance division and materials
division, watchmen, and clerical and supervisory employees. How-
ever, the Independent and the Company contend that only a plant-
wide unit is appropriate, and assert that the unit should consist of
all production and maintenance employees, excluding only office cler-
icals and supervisory employees.
The Atlas Wall Paper Division consists of the Atlas plant and the
Marshall warehouse. Raw materials are received at the plant, there
manufactured into finished products, and these products are then
trucked by an independent contractor to the warehouse from where
they are shipped to outside points.
The Atlas plant is divided into 3 divisions, the manufacturing,
materials, and maintenance divisions. The manufacturing division
is composed of the printing and embossing departments and the jour-
neymen color mixers. In this division the Company maintains 16
See Matter of Kimberly Clark Corporation, 59 N L. R B 568
2 The Field Examiner repotted that the Pressmen submitted 33 cards, of which 25 cards
bore the names of employees listed on the Company ' s pay roll of November 9, 1945 ; and
that 2 of the cards are undated, the remamdei being dated in March and Apiil At the
hearing, the Piessnien submitted 15 additional cards, of which 9 were undated and the
remainder dated in March and April There were approximately 44 employees in the unit
sought by the Pressmen at the time the petition was filed, however, at the date of the
hearing the same unit consisted of 105 employees
The Company asserts that, in view of the increased number of employees in the unit
sought , the Pressmen has insufficient evidence of representation As of the date of
filing of the petition , the Pressmen 's percentage showing was 56 percent , and at the time
of the hearing , its percentage showing was 38 percent. We find the Pressmen's showing
to have been substantial at all times
For its interest in the proceeding, the Independent relies upon its contract with the
Company
3 The job classifications in the printing department are as follows : surface printer
operator , rota press operator , sanitary press operator , block conditioner , color grinder,
roto press helper , sanitary color mixer helper , grinder operator , independent grinder helper,
surfa ce printer helper, squeeze roll operator , sanitary press helper , winderman, color
grinder helper , surface color mixer helper and block conditioner helper.
4 The job classifications in the embossing department are as follows • multi -color emboss-
ing operator, ink embossing operator , plain embossing operator , finisher, multi-color
embossing helper , bundle tier , winderman, salvage man, salvage girl, hand roller girl and
rewindei girl
350 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
large machines for the manufacture of wall paper. There are 9
machine printers 5 and approximately 80 other employees in the divi-
sion. The unit sought by the Pressmen is limited to the manufacturing
division. The maintenance division consists of 7 employees, under
the supervision of the chief engineer. They adjust and repair the
plant machinery, devise new parts for the plant machinery, and also
maintain the plant and warehouse. The materials division consists
of 31 employees, 50 percent of whom unload raw stock and load fin-
ished products at the plant, while the other 50 percent load and unload
finished products at the warehouse.
Substantially all new employees start work in the materials division,
which is the Company's labor pool. They are promoted to the manu-
facturing division on the basis of seniority and merit. There is con-
stant interchange of employees between the materials and manufac-
turing divisions, both by promotions and demotions,s and also on a
temporary basis. This is a result of the seasonal nature of the Com-
pany's business, and this policy is followed so that the Company can
retain a maximum amount of employees during the slack season.
On November 29, 1938, the Independent was certified by the Board
as the bargaining agent for all hourly paid employees of the Atlas
Wall Paper Division,' exclusive of the journeymen color mixers and
machine printers." On November 29, 1938, the Board also certified
the United Wall Paper Craftsmen and Workers of North America,
A. F. of L., herein called the Craftsmen, as the bargaining representa-
tive for a separate unit of color mixers and machine printers .9 Al-
though the Craftsmen had two conferences with the Company in
December 1937 and January 1938, no contract was executed between
them, and the Craftsmen withdrew from all negotiations, making
no further attempt to bargain for this unit. The Independent and
the Company entered into a contract, dated January 24, 1939, cover-
ing all hourly paid employees, except for the journeymen color
mixers and machine printers, and continued to bargain solely with
respect to this unit until January 2, 1945. At that time this unit
5 The surface printer operators , roto press operators, and sanitary press operator are
considered to be machine printers.
a There is also a constant interchange of employees between the materials division and
the maintenance division
7In 1938 the Atlas Division included the KimIark plant which also manufactured wall
paper In July 1942 the Kimlark plant was converted to an ordnance factory and all of
its wall paper machinery was stored or transferred to the Atlas plant , since that time all
wall paper operations have been concentrated at the Atlas plant proper. The Company
ceased manufacturing ordnance at the Knnlark plant and converted it to a maintenance
headquarters, known as the field service division. The employees of the field service divi-
sion install new heavy machinery in all company plants , and have no relationship with
the employees of the Atlas division Pursuant to a consent election all the employees of
Kimlark are represented by Industrial Construction Machinery Erection Workers of
America, an unaffiliated labor organization , which has filed a disclaimer of interest int
this proceeding.
See Matter of Kimberly-Clark Corporation, 9 N. L. R. B. 1287.
See footnote 8, supra
KIMBERLY CLARK CORPORATION 351
was expanded as the result of an election directed by the Board 10
to include therein the machine printers and journeymen color mixers.
Since January 2, 1945, the Independent has represented the entire
Atlas Wall Paper Division on a plant-wide basis.
Thus the bargaining history shows that from January 1939, to
January 2, 1945, the Independent represented the Company's em-
ployees on a plant-wide basis, including the printing and embossing
departments, with the exception of a small grouping of machine
printers and journeymen color mixers. This grouping was added
to the comprehensive unit on January 2, 1945, after a Board election,
and since that time the Independent has been bargaining with the
Company on the basis of the enlarged unit.
In view of the past bargaining history and the interchange of
employees among the Company's various divisions, we conclude that
the complete plant-wide unit desired by the Independent and the
Company is appropriate."'
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the
Company's Atlas Wall Paper Division, excluding clerical employees
and all supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, dis-
charge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of em-
ployees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit ap-
propriate 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 employ-
ees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election
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 Atlas Wall Paper
Division of the Kimberly Clark Corporation, Appleton, Wisconsin, an
election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not
° See Matter of Kimberly -Clark Corporation, 59 N. L. R. B 780.
Apparently watchmen were always bargained for by the Independent , and perform the
usual duties associated with this classification . They are, accordingly , included in the unit.
352 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the
direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth
Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela-
tions Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said
Rules and Regulations among the employees in the unit found ap-
propriate 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 em-
ployees in the armed forces of the United States who present them-
selves 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 Local 298, International Printing Press-
men and Assistants' Union of North America, A. F. of L., or by The
Wallpaper Workers Union of the Fox River Valley, for the purposes
of collective bargaining, or by neither.