St. Regis Paper Co.

In the Matter of ST. REGIS PAPER COMPANY (MULTI-WALL BAG - PLANT), EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHIN- ISTS, PETITIONER Case No. 15-RC-109.-Decided Jvne 21, 1941,9 'DECISION, AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before C. Paul Barker, hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed., At the hearing the employer and Inter- venor moved to dismiss the petition on the grounds that a contract existing between them covers the employees here involved and is, consequently, a bar to these proceedings. This motion will be-con- sidered hereinafter. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Reynolds and Murdock]. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds: 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. The labor organizations named above claim to represent em- ployees of the Employer. 3. The question concerning representation : The Employer is presently engaged in the manufacture of multi- wia,ll'paper bags at its plant in.Cantonment (North Pensacola), Flor- ida. On August 20, 1947, the Employer and the Intervenor entered into a contract for 2 years, which both the Employer and the Inter- venor contend is a bar to these proceedings. On the date on which the contract was signed the Employer was conducting operations at a New Orleans, Louisiana, plant. The Cantonment plant was not operating 1 At the hearing International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, AFL, herein called the Intervenor, was permitted to intervene on the basis of an alleged contractual interest International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 676, AFL, herein called IBEW, appeared at the hearing for the primary purpose of disclaiming any interest in the proceeding 84 N: L. R. B., No. 55. 454 ST. REGIS PAPER COMPANY 455 at this time although its prospective operation was contemplated by the parties to the contract as is evidenced by the fact that the contract purported to cover the employees at both the New Orleans and Can- tonment plants. Following the completion of the construction of the Cantonment plant, production was commenced at that plant about March 15, 1948. Production for a time was carried on in both plants with' a gradual increase in the size of the Cantonment operations and a corresponding decrease at New Orleans as the machinery and equip- ment' of the latter plant were, gradually- transferred- to the former. The New Orleans plant was shut down altogther in mid-1948, some months after the Cantonment operations first began. The record discloses that there were no employees at Cantonment at the time the contract was executed. Moreover, at the time of the transfer of operations, only a few of the 200 employees of the former plant transferred to the new plant.2 At the present time, there are more than 530 employees at the Cantonment plant, which represents an expansion in excess of 150 percent in number of employees over the former New Orleans operations. Furthermore, the present op- eration varies to some degree from the old operation, as equipment and machinery of a type not used at the New Orleans plant has been transferred from other plants of the Employer to the Cantonment plant for use in the present operation. In all these circumstances, we are of the opinion that the Cantonment plant is tantamount to a completely new operation and that the contract of August 20, 1947, made before the new operation begaij is no bar to a determination of representatives at this time.3 We find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act 4 4. The appropriate unit : The Petitioner seeks a unit of all maintenance employees, exclud- ing employees performing electrical work,' all production, clerical, and 2 While the record does not reflect the precise number of employees who transferred, it appears that at Cantonment there are approximately 30 employees who were formerly at the New Orleans plant. 8 See Matter of Sardik Food Products Corporation, 46 N. L R. B. 894 ; Matter of Good, year Tare and Rubber Company ( Special Products Plant "C"), 80 N. L. R. B. 1347; Matter of Ball Brothers Company, 54 N L. It. B 1512, Matter of Champion Motors Com- pany, 72 N L. It. B. 436. 4In view of our finding herein, we have no occasion to consider whether or not such contract fails as a bar because it contains a "maintenance of membership" provision 6 While the record is vague on this point it appears that the exclusion of employees who perform electrical work pertains to persons who are employees of independent contrac- tors, and not employees of the Employer , the multi-wall bag plant. It also appears that the IBEW has a contract at one of the paper mills of the Employer not involved in this proceeding, and the exclusion might pertain to these employees . In either of these even- tualities the exclusion sought is a proper one. 456 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. The Employer and the Intervenor contend that, because of a pre- vious history of collective bargaining on a plant-wide basis, the unit is inappropriate and should not be severed from the over-all unit. We find no merit in this contention, as we have held that a history of collective bargaining at a former plant does not establish such a history at a new operation.6 The maintenance department employees all perform similar duties and all possess similar skills. They do not interchange with pro- duction employees; and are under separate supervision. All main- tenance department employees constitute a homogeneous, readily identifiable, functionally coherent group, which, in the absence of a prior bargaining history, we have held, may constitute either a separate appropriate unit or be included in a broader unit if they so desire.7 Accordingly, we find that all maintenance employees 8 excluding all production, clerical, and professional employees, guards, and super- visors as defined in the Act, may constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. However, we shall make no final unit determination at this time, but shall ascertain the desires of these employees as expressed in the election hereinafter directed. If a majority vote for the Petitioner, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a sepa- rate appropriate unit. DIRECTION OF ELECTION As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than 30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, 9 Matter of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (Special Products Plant "C") by 80 N. L. R. B. 1061; Matter of Champion Motors Company, 72 N. L. R. B. 436. 7 Matter of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company ( Special Products Plant "C"), supra; Matter of Armstrong Cork Company , 80 N L. R. B 1328. a Included in this category are all employees of the Employer performing electrical work in the maintenance department at the Cantonment plant involved in this proceeding but excluding employees of independent contractors , and employees of the Employer engaged in such duties in the paper mill operations of the Employer. 6 Either participant in the election directed herein may, upon its prompt request to, and approval thereof by , the Regional Director, have its name removed from the ballot. ST. REGIS PAPER COMPANY 457 among the employees described in paragraph numbered 4, above who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein- stated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by International Association of Machinists, or by International Brother- hood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, AFL, or by neither.