Moretti-Harrah Marble Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 8, 1946

71 N.L.R.B. 299 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of MORETTI-HARRAJ MARBLE Co., INc., EMPLOYER and
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR, PETITIONER
Case No. 10-R-2033.-Decided October 8, 1946
Mr. J. S. Wilkins, of Sylacauga, Ala., for the Employer.
Mr. Walter L. Mitchell, of Birmingham, Ala., for the Petitioner.
Mr. Conrad A. Wickham, Jr., of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
Upon a petition duly filed, the National Labor Relations Board on
August 8, 1946, conducted a prehearing election among employees of
the Employer in the alleged appropriate unit, to determine whether or
not they desired to be represented by the Petitioner for the purposes of
collective bargaining.
At the close of the election a Tally of Ballots was furnished the
parties. The Tally shows that there were approximately 103 eligible
voters and that 96 of these eligible voters cast ballots, of which 72
were for the Petitioner, 19 were against the Petitioner, and 5 were
challenged.
Thereafter, a hearing was held at Sylacauga, Alabama, on August
28, 1946, before Albert D. Maynard, hearing officer. The hearing
officer's rulings made.at the hearing are free from prejudicial error
and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
The Employer, an Alabama corporation, is in the business of quarry-
ing and finishing marble, at its plant in Sylacauga, Alabama. All of
the marble so quarried originates in the State of Alabama. During
the year ending 1945, the Employer purchased steel for sawing, belting,
sand drills, machinery parts and other items used in connection with
71 N. L. R. B., No 37.
299
300 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
- marble quarrying valued in excess of $10,000, of which 50 percent repre-
sented shipments to the Employer from points outside the State. Dur-
ing the same period the Employer sold finished products consisting of
monuments, marble for the interior of buildings, and byproducts
known as "rip rap" from its Sylacauga plant valued in, excess of
$50,000, of which about 60 percent represented shipments to points
outside'the State.
We find that the Employer is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization, claiming to represent em-
ployees of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer has refused to recognize the Petitioner as the ex-
clusive bargaining representative of employees of the Employer in
the alleged appropriate unit.
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer, within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner and the Employer are agreed that the appropriate
unit should consist of all employees of the Employer, including watch-
men," but excluding office and clerical employees, draftsmen, and all
supervisors 2 and executives with authority to change the status of
employees or effectively recommend such action. The only dispute
between the parties relates to four of the five employees whose ballots
were -challenged at the election.3 The Employer contends that these-
individuals are not its employees, but are instead the employees of the
Sylacauga Calcium Products Corporation (hereinafter referred to as
the "Corporation").
The Corporation has its principal offices with Thompson Neiman
Company in Cartersville, Georgia. It is engaged in the crushing of
marble into limestone at its independently owned and operated crush-
ing plant in Sylacauga, Alabama, where the Employer's plant is
' The watchmen of the Employer perform watchmen duties only on weekends , acting as
regular production employees during the week
2At the hearing , the parties agxeed that this description included all foremen and sub-
foremen , as well as Lucius Benton, a mechanic ' s leader, since all these employees have
authority to hire and discharge or effectively recommend such action
2 The fifth challenged ballot was that of Lucius Benton, whom the parties agreed at the
hearing should be excluded as a supervisor. See footnote 2, supra.
MORETTI-HARRAH MARBLE CO., INC. 301
located. The sources of the Corporation's raw material, a marble
byproduct known as "rip rap," are the Employer and an individual
located in Talledega Springs, Alabama. The employees here in issue
are classified as mill workers and constitute the entire complement of
rank and file employees of the Corporation.
The record reveals the following factors showing an interrelation-
ship between the Employer and the Corporation : (1) Both have a
common president, a common treasurer, who is also general manager
of both entities with authority to hire and discharge, and share the
services of a superintendent; (2) the officers of the Employer own
one-half of the stock of the Corporation; and (3) the Corporation
shares the Employer's offices in Sylacauga and the services of its
bookkeeper.
The record, however, also reveals the following countervailing fac-
tors which establish the separateness of the Employer and the Cor-
poration and militate against including the disputed individuals in
the appropriate unit: Each employer is a separate entity, manufac-
tures different finished products, employs employees in different classi-
fications, conducts its operations without commingling or interchang-
ing employees and has different immediate supervision for its em-
ployees. And although both entities have several officers in common
and share the services of certain employees, these individuals receive
separate salaries from each company. In addition, the Corporation
is billed and makes specific payment for all raw materials obtained
from the Employer. It also appears that the Corporation frequently
employs outside mechanics for its repair work and maintains its own
supply room, and in those instances when the Employer may render
mechanical repair services and provide minor supplies to the Corpora-
tion, the Corporation is specifically billed for them.
Under all the circumstances, we are therefore persuaded that the
extent of integration between both entities is insufficient to constitute
Moretti-Harrah Marble Co., Inc., an employer of the four mill workers
in issue.4 Rather are we convinced that these individuals are solely
the employees of the Corporation. We shall, accordingly, exclude
them from the unit. We shall also sustain the challenges to their
ballots.
Accordingly, we find that all employees of the Employer at its quar-
ries in Sylacauga, Alabama, including the watchmen, but excluding
all office and clerical employees, draftsmen, executives, and all super-
visory employees with the rank of subformen and above, and any and
all other supervisory employees with the authority to hire, promote,
discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of em-
'"'t'hese employees, specifically. are David Threet John Hart, Willie Leonard, and Albert
Adams
302 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ployees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of
Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The results of the election held previous to the hearing show that
the Petitioner has received a majority of the valid votes cast irrespec-
tive of the counting of the challenged ballots. Under these circum-
stances we shall certify Petitioner as the collective bargaining repre-
sentative of the employees in the appropriate unit.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that American Federation of Labor has been
designated and selected by a majority of all production and main-
tenance employees of Moretti-Harrah Marble Co., Inc., Sylacauga,
Alabama, excluding executives, office and clerical employees, and all
supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge,
discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or
effectively recommend such action, as their representative for purposes
of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the
Act, the said organization is the exclusive representative of all such
employees for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to
rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of
employment.
CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Certification of Representatives.