Minnesota and Ontario Paper Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsJan 22, 1946

65 N.L.R.B. 571 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter Of MINNESOTA AND ONTARIO PAPER COMPANY and INTER- NATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PULP, SULPHITE AND PAPER MILL WORKERS AND ITS LOCAL No. 49, A. F. OF L. Case No. 18-R-1332.-Decided January 22, 1946 Messrs. C. Larson and J. Kalar, of International Falls, Minn., for the Company. Mr. Kenneth J. Enkel, of Minneapolis, Minn., and Messrs. Ernest Johnson, Frank Keiver, and S. B. Larson, of International Falls, Minn., for the Union. Mr. Nathan Saks, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon an amended petition duly filed by International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers and its Local No. 49, A. F. of L., herein called the Union,' alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Minnesota and Ontario Paper Company, International Falls, Minne- sota, herein called the Company, the, National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Clarence A. Meter, Trial Examiner. The hearing was held at International Falls, Minnesota, on August 28, 1945. The Company and the Union appeared and participated. 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 opportunity to file briefs with the Board. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Minnesota and Ontario Paper Company, a Minnesota corporation with its principal office and place of business at Minneapolis, Minne- I Name appears as amended at the hearing. 65 N. L. R. B., No. 96. 571 572 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD sota, operates a plant at International Falls, Minnesota, where it is engaged in the manufacture of craft and groundwood paper and structural insulation board. During the year 1944, the Company purchased for use at its International Falls plant pulpwood valued at approximately $4,000,000, approximately 40 percent of which was shipped to the plant from Canada. During the same period, the Company manufactured and sold approximately 75,000 tons of craft and groundwood paper and approximately 275,000,000 square feet of insulation board, of which more than 75 percent represented ship- ments to points outside the State of Minnesota. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers and its Local No. 49 is a labor organization, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership em- ployees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as the exclusive bargaining representative of its plant guards.' A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear- ing, indicates that the Union 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. 1V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union seeks a unit of all plant guards employed by the Com- pany in and about its International Falls plant, excluding the captain and the chief, and all other employees.' The Company opposes the establishment of such a unit. 2 One of the several grounds for such refusal was that under an existing contract between the Company and the Union covering certain production employees , plant guards, inter aria, "are recognized as being part of management and outside the jurisdiction of the Organization ( the Union ) " At the hearing , however, the Company stated that it would not hold the Union to that provision of the contract . Thus , the Company does not urge the contractual provision as a bar to this proceeding . The other grounds are discussed in Section IV, infra 8 The Field Examiner reported that the Union submitted 10 application -for-membership cards, all hearing the names of employees listed on the Company 's pay roll of June 21, 1945. There are approximately 25 employees in the appropriate unit. The other employees at the Company ' s International Falls plant are presently repre- sented by the Union and eight other labor organizations. The Union , under the terms of its contract with the Company , has ". . . jurisdiction over all jobs in the plant where there are no other unions having specific jurisdiction." MINNESOTA AND ONTARIO PAPER COMPANY, '1 573 The Company employs approximately 25 plant guards who are under the immediate supervision of a captain, and under the ultimate supervision of a chief. While they were militarized during the war, the guards are now neither militarized, deputized, nor armed; they are, however, still uniformed. The guards protect the Company's plant and other property against fire, theft, and sabotage, and direct traffic on a bridge near the plant. They also guard ingress to and egress from the plant, in the performance of which they examine the identification of all persons entering or leaving the plant, and report unauthorized entries and departures to their superiors. With the exception of the chief and captain, however, none of the guards has authority to discipline or penalize any other employees. Nor is there any evidence that they have the authority to hire or discharge em- ployees, or effectively recommend such action. Their function is merely to report incidents and violations of the Company's safety rules to their superiors, who take the necessary action in the matter. It is clear, therefore, that, except for the chief and captain, the guards exercise monitorial and not supervisory authority. In support of its position, the Company contends that its plant guards are part of management, and, as such, should not be repre- sented by the Union, or any other labor organization, with which it now has a contract; that the plant guards could not satisfactorily perform their duties and responsibilities to management if they were represented by a labor organization which also represents production employees. We have, in other cases, considered contentions similar to those made by the Company with respect to guards whose duties and functions were similar to those of the employees involved herein, and, as in those cases,Â° find them to be without merit. Accordingly, we shall establish a separate unit of guards. The Company also employs three watchmen who are under the same supervision as the guards, but whose duties consist solely of guard- ing the plant against fire, theft, and sabotage. The watchmen have since 1943 been included in the production unit now represented by the Union. The Union desires to continue bargaining for them in that unit, and the Company apparently does not object. In view of this history of collective bargaining, and inasmuch as the watch- men do not perform monitorial duties, as do the guards, we shall ex- clude the watchmen from the unit." We find that all plant guards employed by the Company in and about its International Falls plant, excluding the watchmen, the cap- tain, and the chief,' and all other supervisory employees with author- 6 See Matter of Bethlehem Steel Company, 61 N. L R. B 892; and Matter of The B. F Goodrsch Company, 62 N. L R B. 206 6 See Matter of Kelsey-Hayes Wheel Company, 62 N. L. R B. 421. Y The captain and the chief have authority to hire and discharge employees. Accord- ingly, we shall-exclude them from the unit as supervisory employees. 574 L CISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ity to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, con- stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DETER31INATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among employees 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 Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela- tions 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 Minnesota and Ontario Paper Company, International Falls, Minnesota, an elec- tion 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 Eight- eenth Region, acting, in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appro- priate 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 or not they desire to be represented by International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers and its local No. 49, A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective bargaining.