Standard Lime & Stone Co.

In the Matter of STANDARD LIME & STONE COMPANY and UCW, DIVISION OF DISTRICT 50, UMWA AND LOCAL No. 202 Case No. R-4959.-Decided March 03, 1943 Jurisdiction : limestone quarrying and cement manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : refusal to, accord petitioner recognition ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em- ployees at one of the company's plants, including the sample carriers, but excluding watchmen, chemical and physical analysts, supply clerks, other clerical employees, and supervisory employees with the rank of foreman or above. Mr. Lacy I. Rice, of Martinsburg, W. Va., for the Company. Mr. Ralph Kuhn, of Martinsburg , W. Va., for the UCW-UMWA. Mr. Delmar Barr, of Martinsburg , W. Va., for the A. F. of L. Mr. Robert Silagi, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by UCW, Division of District 50, UMWA and Local No. 202,1 herein called the UCW-UMWA, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Standard Lime & Stone Company, Martinsburg, West Virginia, herein. called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Earle K. Shawe, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Martins- burg, West Virginia, on March 4, 1943. The Company, the UCW- UMWA, and United Cement, Lime and Gypsum Workers Interna- tional Union, A. F. of L., herein called the A. F. of L., appeared and participated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses; and to introduce evidence 1 Through an error, the petition was filed in the name of Local No. 398 when Local No. 202 was intended. The petition and other formal papers are hereby amended to show the correct name of the UCW-UMWA. 48 N. L. R. B., No. 53. 424 ,STANDARD LIME & STONE COMPANY 425 bearing on the issues.2 • The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.' On March 10, 1943, the Company filed a brief which the Board has considered. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Standard Lime & Stone Company is a Maryland corporation with its main office in Baltimore, Maryland. Among the plants which it operates is the one located near Martinsburg, West Virginia, the only property of the Company involved in this proceeding. The Martinsburg plant is engaged in the quarrying, crushing and screen- ing of lin estone, andin the manufacture of cement, "staflux," and other products of limestone. About 85 percent of the Company's production goes into the war effort. During the last calendar year, the Company purchased for its Martinsburg plant in excess of 2,600 net tons of gypsum and in excess of 3,000 gross tons of mill scale which originated outside the State of West Virginia. In addition, the Company purchased in excess of 45,000 tons of coal, which although originating in West Virginia, crossed State lines before being delivered at the Martinsburg plant. During the same period of time, the Company produced in excess of 300,000 gross tons of stone, 395,000 tons of cement and 22,006 net tons of lime at its Martinsburg plant. Approximately 80 percent of the Company's sales were made in States other than West Virginia. The remaining 20 percent of the products sold by the Company was shipped to points in West Virginia, but all products, with the possible exception of 2 or 3 percent, crossed State lines before reaching their destination. The Company' admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED United Construction Workers, Division of District 50, United Mine Workers of America, Local No. 202, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. United Cement, Lime and Gypsum Workers International Union, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor is a labor organi- zation admitting to membership employees of the Company. 2 Although duly notified , Independent Employees ' Organization of the Martinsburg Plant. Standard Lime & Stone Company, herein called the Independent , did not appear at the bearing. -426 ,DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR -RELATIONS BOARD III. THE. QUESTION' CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On April 1, 1942, pursuant to a certification 3 by the Board, the Independent and the Company entered into a contract for 1 year. By, its terms,, the contract provided for automatic annual renewals unless written notice of termination was given by the parties 60 days prior to the anniversary date. On January 20, 1943, the Independ- ent notified the Company by letter that it had only -59 paid-up mem- bers out of over 400 employees- at the plant, and therefore wished to terminate the contract as of March 31, 1943. , On January 18, 1943, the UCW-UMWA notified the Company that it represented a sub- stantial number of its employees and requested a conference for the purpose of discussing a collective bargaining agreement. The Com- pany declined to meet with -the UCW-UMWA, basing its refusal on the ground of "existing circumstances." At the, hearing,, the Com- pany explained that it could not negotiate with any labor organiza- tion until the expiration of its contract with the Independent. A report prepared by the Regional Director, and introduced into evidence at the hearing, and a statement on the record by the Trial Examiner, indicate that both the UCW-UMWA and the A. F. of L. represent a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate .4 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 Company and the UCW-UMWA agree that the unit shall con- sist of all production and maintenance employees including the sample carriers, but excluding all watchmen, laboratory employees, supply clerks and all other clerical employees, and all supervisory employees with the rank of foreman of above. This is substantially the same as the unit found appropriate by the Board in a prior decision involy- $ Matter of Standard Lime & Stone Co. and local 4175, Quarry Workers Union, 19 N. L R B. 617. 4 The Regional Director reported that the UCW-Ul\1WA submitted 203 authorization cards, 123 of which bore the apparently genuine original signatures of persons listed on the Company's pay roll of January 30, 1943, which contained the names , of 429 employees in the appropriate unit These cards are dated as follows : 38 in 1941 ; 83 in 1942 ; and 2 in 1943 - The A F of L submitted 83 application cards, 72 of which of which bore the apparently genuine original signatures of persons listed on the Company ' s pay roll of January 30, 1943. All these cards were dated between Jurie 1942 and Febiuary 1943. At the hearing, the A. F of L submitted 32 additional authorization cards, all'of which bore, apparently genuine original signatures and were dated since'February 4, 1943 Of these cards, 27 bore the names of persons listed on the Company 's pay roll of January 30, 1943. 1 STANDARD LIME & STONE COMPANY' 427 ing this same plant of the Company.5 All parties agree that watch- men should be excluded from the unit. They were included by the Board in the prior decision, apparently because of a lack of clarity as to what the parties intended by their stipulation upon which the finding as to the unit was based. In their contract, the Independent and the Company excluded watchmen from the unit. Since there has been no previous bargaining on their behalf, we shall exclude watch- men from the unit in the instant case. The A. F.'of L. agrees to the above-mentioned unit except that it 'seeks to include the laboratory employees and the supply clerks within the unit. Laboratory employees.-This classification includes 10 chemical and physical analysts and 3 sample carriers . The sample carriers take samples' from the cement slurry tanks to the laboratory for analysis. The parties are agreed that the sample carriers are unskilled laborers and should be included in the unit. Accordingly , we shall include the sample carriers in the unit. The chemical and physical analysts conduct tests on raw kiln feed and finished cement. They also analyze all stone mined and shipped for flux purposes and burned into lime. These employees are not graduate chemists, but technicians who have been taught a particular kind of chemical and physical analysis. The record indicates that they are trained in about 60 days and receive wages which are com- parable to those of the production and maintenance employees. The A. F. of L. urges their inclusion on the ground that they perform work " which' is' incidental to' production , and- are, covered by sub- stantially all contracts that 'the A. F. of L. has in the industry. How- ever, since they were excluded from the unit in the prior decision and there has been no previous history of collective bargaining on their behalf, we shall exclude them from the present unit. Supply clerks.-Supply clerks receive all materials and supplies coming into the plant, prepare inventories , issue articles to the various departments of the Company , sell personal safety equipment to the 'employees, and make records of all these transactions. They come under the supervision of the plant office, together with the shipping clerks, miscellaneous clerks , timekeepers , and watchmen, all of whom are excluded from the unit by agreement. The record shows that their work is predominantly clerical, and that they are to some extent interchangeable . with • personnel in the main office doing general clerical work. The A. F. of L. seeks to include the supply clerks in SMatter of Standard Lime & Stone Company and Local # 175, Quarry Workers Dntion, 17 N. L . R. B. 147. 428 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR- RELATPONS BOARD - the unit on the ground that they are part of the production operations of the Company and are covered in practically all of the agreements that the A. F. of L. has in the industry. Like the laboratory em- ployees, however, the.supply clerks were never the subject of collective bargaining between the Company and the Independent nor were they included in the unit by previous decision. Accordingly, we shall exclude them from the present unit. We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Martinsburg plant, including the sample carriers, but excluding all watchmen, chemical and physical analysts, supply clerks, and all other clerical employees and all supervisory eniployees with the rank of foreman or above, constitute a unit appropriate 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 the 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 Rela- tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargainig with Standard Lime & Stone Company, Martinsburg, West Virginia, 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 Fifth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, 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 STANDARD LIME & STONE COMPANY 429 armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be repre- sented by UCW, Division of District 50, UMWA, Local No. 202,6 or by United Cement, Lime and Gypsum Workers International .Union, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. 6 The UCW-UMWA requested that it be so designated on the ballot . The request is hereby granted.